I Made It!!!!!!

On Oct. 5th I went to the Hale Theatre in Orem to audition for Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol.

It all came about because I started taking voice from a teacher who works for the Hale Theatre. At the end of my first lesson, she asked me if I would be interested in auditioning for A Christmas Carol. I said "Heck ya!" She was very encouraging and felt I would be perfect for several different parts in the show. By the way, she is not a director.

I was very excited and started to prepare.

I can not express how wonderful it feels to be back and doing something that I really, really, love. It is sooooooo easy to lose yourself trying to take care of a household. I found myself really starting to get depressed and just knew I had to make a change!

So... I started Weight Watchers (lost 15.8 so far), got back into voice lessons and decided to audition for this show.

My wonderful mother came up just for the occasion. I picked her up on Sat. and we went shopping for an outfit (see picture above). We wanted something sparkly that I felt good and slim in. We had a lot of fun and before you knew it, Monday came and off we went at 8 p.m. to go to my audition. My mom came with me for moral support. It felt good to have her there, just like old times:) I like to call her my lucky charm.

I have to say, the morning of the auditions, I woke up with a HORRIBLE cold. However, I think it was to my advantage because I seemed to be more relaxed about everything. When you have a cold, or any sickness, there is nothing you can do about it so you just have to make do. I found myself with an "Oh well, I guess I will just do the best with what I've got and have a good time" attitude. I also took the advice my mother gave me which was, "You are the new kid in town. Don't worry about competing. Just go in, have a great time and do it because you love it."

Well, it worked! It was very refreshing to audition for a new group of people who have no expectations of me whatsoever. The song I chose was "Show Me" from My Fair Lady. I chose it because I could show them that I can do a British accent and it showed some belt and lyrical soprano. My song went well, and after that they took time to really talk to me and look at my resume. As all that was taking place, I could see the "wheels" turning in the director's head and he proceeded to ask me more questions about what roles I would be interested in.

The worst part of the audition was when the stage manager realized he forgot to give me a reading while I was waiting in the hall so, he gave it to me on the spot and I had no time to look at it, however, I guess I didn't do too badly because two days later...

I GOT A CALL BACK!!!

I was called back for the roles of Mrs. Fred who also doubles as the Charwoman and the Caroler's which is considered to be the the chorus. I was sooooo excited.

At the call back, I went in with one goal and that was to be as sparkly as I could and have a blast. That is exactly what I did. I fought to the death, I memorized everything they gave me on the spot and tried to give them as much movement and character as I could. I really wanted them to notice me, that way if I didn't make the show, they would at least remember me if I came back. I didn't have my hopes up because I know how hard it can be to try to get into a new theatre company. You usually have to try several times and I was OK with that.

I was there from 6:30 to 10:30 at night and I was busy the whole time! I felt really great when I left and I couldn't have asked for more. I haven't done a show in 6 years so just to be called back after that long made me feel great!

After a couple days of waiting, I got a call. They asked me if I would except the roles of Mrs. Fred and the Charwoman (which were the parts I wanted and my teacher said I would be great for). Of course I said "YES" and had my first rehearsal on Tues. There are two casts because the performances are everyday (sometimes two to three a day) and during the busy season, it is unrealistic to have only one cast. I will be performing on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday cast however I will have a few Saturday's as well because I will be covering for my double. If you are interested in seeing the show, please call me and I will give you details.

All my neighbors are excited for me and I think they are going to make it a neighborhood event to come and see me perform. I love my neighbors:)

Anyway, I will put up pics and posts to keep you updated on all my fun. All I have to say is...

I get to wear a hoop skirt:()) How cool is that!?!?!?

Dad's and Doughnuts Day!

Vincent is very much enjoying kindergarten! Every Friday, the class has some sort of activity to go along with the theme of the week. This week the kids were learning about the letter D and got to invite their dad's and bring doughnuts:) Since Utah is one hour ahead, we lucked out that Josh could go because he doesn't have to start work until 9. What a treat for Vincent and Dad!

The kids got to read their favorite books with their dad's. However, some kids didn't have a dad or grandpa, so being as sweet at Josh is, he adopted some (Caleb and Sam). They read: Bunny Party, Max and Ruby's Christmas Tree (Vincent reads Christmas stories all year round) and the Tricky Twins.

I just thought it was an adorable activity and I think kindergarten is the greatest!

Gardner Village

I am so excited... Fall Is Here and there are so many fun things to do around fall time. The local farms have pumpkin patches, the haunted forests come out, Lagoon has "Frightmares," just to name a few.

To kick start the season, we went to Gardner Village in West Jordan. It is an historical site where they have turned barns and old houses into shops and restaraunts, and surrounding it all are very beautiful grounds. There is also a petting zoo for kids with pony rides. Every Sept./Oct. they have famous witch displays and the kids had a dandy time trying to find them all. I took pictures of several. Also, they have real witches that walk the grounds that you can have breakfast with or they also have a dinner show with the witches. We didn't get to do that but I will look forward to going back and checking it out!

Lily in a witch hat that she loved wearing...


This is some of the beautiful grounds we got to admire. As you can see, the kids even liked looking. (This shot is not posed.) Just to the right is a pond with ducks.

Lily just wanted to climb the walls, roll in the grass down to the water where the ducks were!




Lily trying to get into one of the displays.


Witches...


Cousins with the witches...








And finally, these last two witches were my favorite:


Hungry witch...
And, "Witchy Poo" who was sitting in this adorable outhouse. The kids got a kick out of this one. Vincent was very concerned and wanted to know what she was reading. I believe it was the comic section.

This is only a highlight of some of the fun things we did and saw. We were having so much fun shopping and looking for witches, that we forgot to take the kids to the petting zoo. I guess we have something to do for next time!

WARNING! The Conents In This Post May Be Disturbing to Some Viewers or To Anyone Suffering From a Weak Stomach!

Let me preface this by saying, all Lily had to eat the entire day was dairy products!

SO...
The day started with a bottle and some pancakes for Lily. We waited for Vincent to get out of school so that we could meet up at the Gateway in Salt Lake with the cousins. All went well, except that Lily didn't really want to eat lunch. She had two bites of Vincent's macaroni, watermelon and some ice cream. After lunch, we went to the splash pad were we had fun playing until it was time to go. We packed up, I gave Lily her a bottle and we were off for the long haul home. On my way I got to thinking and thought, "I might as well stop and do some grocery shopping since I have some extra time."

No problem... or so I thought!

First stop, Costco. Vincent LOVES Costco for all the yummy samples; he makes sure to hit every stand even if the item doesn't necessarily appeal to him. And, of course, he always picks up a sample for his sister. Lily had a Gogurt, some pirate booty and a few more things that were dairy. They practically had a meal at Costco.

Let's recap:
A bottle
Pancakes
Macaroni
Watermelon
Ice cream
Bottle
Gogurt
Pirate Booty
MORE DAIRY

Next stop, Sunflower Market. By this time, Lily had been sitting a long time and just wanted to run around. (As I have said before, she always has to be moving and only stops moving for two things: Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Starfall.com.)

So I decided to let Lily out of the cart to walk around with Vincent as I collected a couple of veggies. The next thing you know, she had a MASSIVE cough attack (she, by the way, had just gotten over severe croup). I walked closer to her to see if she was OK. She clearly got herself a little worked up from running and the next thing you know:
LILY THROWS UP EVERYWHERE!

My first instinct is to catch the vomit as it comes flying out which of course makes a HUGE mess all over me, as well as herself and Vincent. I was frozen! I didn't know what to do except stand there and let it happen. Had I tried to rush her over to the bathroom, it would have made a bigger mess. I figured, "stay there and at least that will keep it isolated to one area." As this is all taking place there is this lady who is just standing there gasping and saying "Oh, dear!" every five seconds, and never once offered to help me. In desperation for some help, I told Vincent to run to the cashier as fast as he could and tell them that he needed help right away." So, he runs off as quick as he could. Can you believe it??? That lady stood there as I sent my 5-year old son off to get me help.

Anyway, Lily is STILL throwing up and just when you think she is done, more would come out! It was HORRIBLE!!! It smelled like a gallon of milk had been sitting out for five months. It had cottage cheese chunks and everything.

While I am sitting there waiting for Vincent to get me help, an employee came by, looked at me, and said in a very "blah" and lazy voice, "I'll go get a mop." He didn't even rush off in a hurry. Then I said to the lady who is STILL standing there, "I left my diaper bag in the car and I don't have any wipes." She replied: "Oh, of course. Wouldn't ya know it...that always happens when you aren't prepared." She then continues to stand there and stare.

THEN...
as if I wasn't embarrassed enough already, this REALLY HOT guy comes around the corner, sees me, doesn't even hesitate for a second and says, "Oh my gosh! What do you need? I will go get you some paper towels!" and quickly runs off. WHY is there always a really attractive guy around when you are either totally ugly, buying tampons, you trip and fall, or whatever?? I am up to my ears in vomit...NICE!

(I just have to say as a side note that when I was telling my mother this story, she actually asked me if I had noticed if he was wearing a wedding ring. I laughed and said, "I have no idea. I didn't check. An extra marital affair wasn't the first thing on my mind.")

Anyway, the worker finally comes back with a mop and 2 DRY paper towels for me to wipe off with. What a joke! That wasn't even enough to wipe off one arm! As he was mopping, the hot guy came back with an employee to help out because he couldn't find the bathroom. So, then the hot guy looks at me and says, "Are you good? Do you need anything else?" and then notices the two paper towels in my hand. He then says, "Oh no no no. I will go get you more paper towels." I asked him if he would mind pushing my cart to the restroom instead so I could wash us all off. He smiled and said "Sure thing!" and then followed us to the bathroom. And, YES, the stupid lady was still standing there! This man was sooooo nice. He even tried to make me feel better by talking about how cute he thought Lily was. He dropped us off at the bathroom, handed me my purse and asked me if I was alright and needed anything else.

I stripped Lily down to her diaper, and cleaned Vincent and I off.

Now some of you may be wondering, "Where was Vincent this whole time and why he didn't come back?" Well, he took soooooo long because:
HE WAS WAITING HIS TURN IN LINE!
I said, "Come on Vincent... lets get outta here!" He replied by saying,"Now thaaat was a disaaaaster!"

A Fun Day at Wheeler Farm

This week we went to Wheeler Farm with my cousins and their kids. It is a historical farm that is located in Murry, UT and the best part of it all is... IT'S FREE!!!!

About once a week my cousins and I get the kids together. Most of the time I drive to Bountiful and we go to Lagoon, however, now that it is closed during the week, we find other things to do. This week was Wheeler Farm week. It is so big and very beautiful.

There are tractor rides...

This is my cousin Brandalee with her little girl Haven. I don't have pictures of my other cousin because she stays in the shade most of the time with her little girl Capri who has neonatal lupus (baby can't be in the sun).

There are also many fun things to climb on.

There are a million ducks, swans, geese etc. I am finding that Lily is very fascinated with animals and she is definitely not afraid of them. Chasing the ducks was her favorite part which was a bit scary for me because most of them were big than she is.

Vinny likes feeding the ducks:)

My cousin tells me one of the things Wheeler Farm is know for is their haunted forest. So, we look forward going back in October.

Anybody wanna buy some Kool Aid?

Kids and their bright ideas!!!

Last Saturday, my neighbor and I were chit-chatting when we realized our boys and two other boys had a table set up on the sidewalk with cups and water bottles. Then, we noticed two of the other boys were at someone's house with cups of water. "What in the world are they doing" I thought?

Here's what went down:

Jaden (the one with the harmonica) showed up at Ashley's door holding what had to be smaller than an 8oz. cup and said, "Do you want to buy some water?" Ashley asked "How much?"
He said " Two dollars!" Ashley laughed and asked "what are you doing this for?" He said, "We want to earn money to buy ice cream from the ice cream man." She laughed and said "Jaden, I have water in my house. It's free and it's cold." He groaned and said "Fine...one dollar then." Ashley proceeded to tell him that he was never going to make money that way and that he needed to make some Kool-Aid and sell it for 25 cents. He said "OK...well do you have some?" She told him to go home and get some and then he could come back.

After going around to other neighbors to find some kool-aid, some one finally gave them 2 single kool aid packets (the ones meant for an 8oz cup of water). So, they took the two packets they had, filled up about 3 cups and 2 water bottles full of water and dumped the packets in. They sold to Josh, Cory, Cory's friend and then Ashley. The funny thing is that they asked for the bottles and cups back so they could re-use them. I died laughing.

Here is a picture of the sign they made and a video about their newly-opened business.

There was a happily ever after... They boys raised enough money to go buy a box of Cremes at the store and they each got two Popsicles.

The end.

Picture Update

Well, we finally made it to the portrait studio after having to cancel twice. The first time I cancelled was because Lily was teething and miserable (not sleeping well) and I was still stressing about what they should wear. And then, I cancelled the second time because Vincent fell out of the cherry tree the night before the appointment and had a HUGE bump right in the middle of his forehead.

So, after the teething, bumps and trying to clear up scraped knees, we got there and got it done.

I really hate the whole picture process because there is so much involved. However, it's always worth it in the end:)