Fall Festival 2013!

Yesterday, we attended our 7th St. Paul's Fall Festival.

This year, our mission was to get organized. CHECK!! The spectacular Master Schedule, by Ms. Hartel. With input from Derek and others.


As a member of the Prize Room committee, it was my job to help bring order to what had previously been a chaotic environment.










Fall Festival also means we have to have costumes ready by mid-October! Here they are:

Maren, the Statue of Liberty! Not homemade. Bought in Burbank. Yay.


And...

Deacon...


...emerges from the Prize Room hideout, where he and Derek worked on the costume until the very last possible minute...


...making some adjustments...


8 feet tall, and ready to go!


What is he?


He is an Enderman, who is the bad guy from the popular Minecraft video game.


Note the ghost's reaction...




Mr. Enderman is the latest in a long, strange tradition of costumes out of which Deacon cannot see.




Meanwhile... the symbol of freedom in an epic battle against the Force of tyranny.


"NO, I am your BFF." Micaela is impressive... most impressive... as Darth Vader.


The kids wait for the costume judging.




As far as I could tell, only one kid hit Deacon with a stick this year. He was just that imposing.


4th grade costume contest...






The Girl winner!


And now 6th grade...


Veteran St. Paul's Costume Contest judge Mrs. Wiedmann gives the prize to... Deacon!


She's not sure who's in there - knock knock??


Our heroic Lady Liberty swept in and accepted the award for Deacon. Who can't see, and has no available hands.


Posing with his arch-nemesis Steve, played by Eddie from 7th grade.


Eddie is also Deacon's percussion partner in Concert band!




A movie.

Maren plays her trombone in Beginner Band!


She wants the world to know that she was a bit pale...


Not due to improper breathing techniques...


but because of her pale-blue Statue of Liberty makeup.






The Beginner Band: a movie.

Elsewhere on campus... Deacon got the "Best in Class" honor for his entry in the PTF logo contest. The overall winner was a 7th grader.


Through it all, I'm happy in my air-conditioned Prize Room.


We can't end this blog entry without expressing our most sincere AFB gratitude to BRENT for loaning us this beautiful cordless drill, which made the Enderman costume possible.


Thank you, Brent.

It's hard to believe another Fall Festival has come and gone! On to the REST of our wacky October festivities!

BREAKING NEWS: St. Paul's Girls' Softball Wins First Game

The Dodgers aren't the only winning baseball team in L.A.!

The St. Paul's Girls' softball team beat Valley Presbyterian to win the first game of their season today.

Derek outdid himself taking great pictures this afternoon. Here are some of his Sports Illustrated-quality pics!

Maren in the dugout!


Mr. Mindock gives the team a rousing pre-game pep talk.


The dugout.


Deacon had homework in every subject and got it all done during the game.


Batter up!


An Angel in the Outfield.


Micaela runs to first base!


Maren contemplates the dirt in right field.


Among her many talents, Carolyn is an ace pitcher!


Grace, Andrea and Jacqueline.


Shannon's dad, in the green shirt, watches her hit the ball. Shannon's dad is a baseball fan; in fact, he wrote a book called Sermon on the Mound!


Mr. Mindock and the team.


"What's the score again??" I kept asking Elena.


This is the moment they found out they won!


The 2013 St. Paul's Indians girls' softball team, win-loss record 1-0.


Their next game is next Thursday, the 24th. If for some reason they don't show the game on ESPN, we'll have full coverage here on the AFB.

Happy Quake-aversary!

Today we at the AFB remember the Loma Prieta Earthquake, which happened 24 years ago today, on October 17, 1989.



Here is my 20th anniversary post (with video) from a few years ago!

CCB Fun Fest Theme Reveal 2013!

Ah, October. Our most manic time of year. It's not even officially October yet, and things are already crazy!

Last year, we announced the CCB Fun Fest 2012 theme in mid-August. The Fun Fest wheels started turning a little later this year, but today we're happy to present:

Fun Fest Theme Announcement 2013: ROCK of AGES!

Party on!

Sugar's Memorial Service

We're thankful to Kathy, Ally and Jeni for joining us for what was, truly, a special time.

Maren made a headstone and flower arrangement; I made the program. In front is Sugar's little casket.


Derek, ready to officiate.


It was an open-casket service. Sugar looked so peaceful.


Jeni took such good care of Sugar while we were away. So glad her family could join us. And Kathy thought to bring tissues, which we all needed.


A brief discussion with the girls before the Interment.


Lots of love for a little hamster.


Sugar's final resting place.

In Loving Memory: Sugar the Hamster

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our little friend Sugar the Hamster.

2011-2013

Sugar was born in North Hollywood and soon thereafter moved to her new home in Burbank, where she passed away on September 19, 2013. Sugar was an active, friendly hamster who loved running in her wheel, eating, and spending time with Maren and her friends. She will be greatly missed.

A memorial service will be held tonight at 7:00 pm.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

My grandfather, Orville Vanderlip, turns 104 today.

(He's only 100 in this pic.)


You can read a little more about Grandpa on his 100th Birthday post, here.

Happy birthday Grandpa! We love you!!

UPDATE: Disney Second Screen Live

Disney has posted a higher resolution video of the Alff/Ross kids commercial. MUCH better than the previous version (though still no Maren):

The Little Mermaid Second Screen Live

Click on the video and enlarge to fill your screen. I'm sure it will change your life forever. :)

The First Day of School!

August 26th, the first day of school.

Kids, kids, stop! Violence won't make this day any easier!


Some nice pics. Look at these mature young people!!




Here are Micaela and Maren, 4th Graders.




Meanwhile, over in 6th grade - Deacon and Mr. Z, the ultimate Packer fan.


Too bad about that 49er victory on Sunday. (Gotta keep our 49er fandom a secret at St. Paul's. Don't want to put the kids' grades in jeopardy!) LOVE THAT AARON RODGERS, he's from Chico!


But, it's been four and a half minutes, and your desk is still so CLEAN!


Maren takes a break from decorating her new locker (her friend Hope had a chandelier!!) to check out Mrs. Mindock's welcome message.


For fun, past First Days of School:

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

Derek's Food Adventures: Grill 'Em All

Derek and some of his co-workers took a field trip for lunch today to Grill 'Em All in Alhambra.

This is what he ate:



The Jump In The Fryer: Cheddar, Fried Chicken, Bacon, Maple + Hotsauce Drizzle, Waffle Buns.

This is what his email said:

Also, traded ¼ with Brent for ¼ of:

High On Fire: Bleu Cheese, Shredded Buffalo Chicken, Wing Sauce

And traded ¼ with Garrett for ¼ of:

Exciter: Duck confit, Frise, Truffle Herb Goat Cheese, Cranberry Gastrique

In addition to my regular fries with malt vinegar aioli (or was it garlic aioli? who knows, it was great), sampled the:

Primate Fries: Cheddar, House Thousand Island, Grilled Onion

No More Mr. Nice Fries: House Made Coney Chili, Cheddar, Diced Onion

Concerned co-worker Christi compelled him to report his condition to me after this decadent lunch outing. Here's his report:

1) alive, …check

2) awake, …check

3) chest pains, …ch-- WAIT-- WAIT— UNNGGGH

muh. OK. Whew. check.

Trina Chow Zazzle Store

My very dear and talented friend Trina Chow recently dusted off her paintbrushes and began painting again after many years. Naturally, she is now represented in a gallery in San Francisco and has her own line of notecards, which you can view and purchase here:

Trina Chow Zazzle Store

I'll be putting her Zazzle store permanently in the sidebar soon, but until then you can use the link above if you'd like to view/order.

Trina is not only very talented, she's also very charitable: 30% of her sales will go to the Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk. Oh, and she also donates platelets regularly. Is there anything she can't do?? Yay Trina!!

Alff and Ross Kids' Commercial Debut!

Back in March, Derek and the kids, and Carol and her kids, had the opportunity to make their professional acting debut in a promotional video for Disney's Second Screen Live.

Deacon!


Derek!


Carol and William!


Jessica and David!


Follow the link to see the final cut!

Disney's Second Screen Live!

Derek said Maren appeared in an earlier cut, but is not in this one... that's showbiz.

Maren's Musings - Part Deux

To the tune of "It's a Small World", by Maren.

"It's a world of laughter,
a world of cheer,
it's a world of cheese
and a world of beer."



Thank you, Maren.

Maren's Musings

Hello! We're currently on vacation at Disneyland. We will have full coverage, soon.

For now...

Overheard from Maren as we walked back to the hotel after an evening of fine dining on Harbor Blvd.:

"How could Mickey have a dog? A dog would, like, kill him."

The First Star Wars Email

Since it was such an auspicious, life-changing moment, you'd think Derek would have informed me of this sooner. I have just learned the following:

Derek received and replied to his first official Star Wars-work-related email on July 2, 2013.

He is not at liberty to discuss the contents of this email.