A Sneak Peak at River City...

As many of you know, Olivia has been rehearsing for her role in StarStruck Theatre's production of The Music Man since early October. The show opened last weekend, to rave reviews. There have been raving write-ups in all the local papers, including the San Francisco Examiner, on the caliber of acting and production in this youth theatre ensemble.

Here's a little peek at the show:



This has been an amazing experience for Olivia. If you live close by, come see the show. If you don't, you're missing out! Tickets are available online at the StarStruck Theatre website.

Feeling the love...

A friend sent me the link to this video. It is worth watching. And remembering the love that can be ours.

Whirlwinds for the Whitakers!

We here in the Whitaker household know how to get things done. At least some of the time.

In the course of the past week, we have assisted in preparing Olivia for her opening night debut of The Music Man! This entailed late night practices every night for the last 10 days (rehearsing from 5-11 every night), learning how to curl her hair and apply make up to make her look like a River City Girl from 1912. Up close, she looks like a vixen. But on stage, she's an adorable, innocent little girl!

On Friday, the entire cast appeared on The View From The Bay - a live afternoon talk show here in the Bay Area. To see her, go here. She's one of the girls in a purple dress & white pinafore.

Saturday night was opening night. While rehearsals last week were a bit bumpy, the first performance was out-of-this-world amazing! I laughed, I cried, and I rejoiced in the fact that our daughter has an opportunity to participate in something like this. The mayor of Fremont was in attendance, delivering a proclamation declaring January 2010 as "StarStruck Theatre Month". At curtain call, not a single person was sitting in their seat. And it wasn't just parents in the audience!

My dad and Barb were here for opening night, and enjoyed the festivities surrounding the performance. They were good sports as I went on and on about how adorable Olivia looked. And they agreed!

On top of all this, we have decided to put our house on the market. A big For Sale sign is out front, and our first potential buyer just left. It has been a crazy few days of de-cluttering and de-Whitakerizing the house. I don't know that it's ever been so neat and tidy. If only it could stay this way forever...

We are hoping to make a move up to Pleasanton in the near future. We located a house that we just love, and are hoping our house sells quick enough that we are able to snatch the other one off the market before someone else does. It's a decision that we both feel great about, in spite of how overwhelming the process appears right now. One day at a time, we'll get through it!

In the meantime, if you know of someone who is looking to buy a beautiful, spacious home in the hills of Fremont...send them our way!

Welcome Twenty-Ten!

I always love the new year—it's a great time to start over and let go of the past year (or decade, or whatever). I like setting goals for the new year, even if some may seem a bit out of reach. "It's better to shoot for the stars and miss than aim at the gutter and hit it!".

So this morning over doughnuts, our family set some goals for the new year.

Steve:
1. Get under 200 lbs. by March and sustain it through the year.
2. Lower golf index to a single digit handicap.
3. Continue for family to be #1 priority.

Olivia:
1. Train for and complete a kids triathlon.
2. Get straight As in school.
3. Eat healthier.
4. Make it into the next StarStruck play (tryouts aren't until September, she's just getting ready for her current production to open!)

Jack:
1. Become the next greatest swimmer
2. Play lots of baseball and golf.

Grant:
1. Golf on the deck into the water (no idea what this means, but Grant was pretty clear on this one)
2. Learn to bike ride with no training wheels.

And last, but not least, here are my goals for the new year:
1. Drop 15 lbs. by March, and maintain it throughout the year. I'm determined this year.
2. Exercise at least 1 hour 5 days a week.
3. Read another 15 books (I exceeded this goal in 2009, I think I hit 22 by year end.) - including re-reading The Book of Mormon.
4. Get an article published in a national magazine.
5. Complete a creative writing project, and see where it leads.
6. Spend 1-2 hours weekly on creative outlets - sewing, scrapbooking, creating, etc.

7. Plan out our menus weekly and add some new variety to our meals.

I'm excited for this year. I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great one!