November 2013

The second week of November I got asked to participate in some Book of Mormon filming once again.  I saw the email again but I did not request to participate because of how busy it has been lately for our family.  But they asked me because they wanted to have some of the same people that they used on the shoot from the previous month. They asked me to go for two days.  It was different filming this time cause it was cold.  All the other times I have filmed in the summer and this being fall it was harder, we had to try and stay warm. This is day one, my hair is not really this long they gave me an extention.

The nature of filming is that they don't let the actors know call times until the night before.  They had asked me if I could possibly bring G and maybe another one of my children.  I said yes but on day one they told me they wouldn't need them.  Well before I left they asked me if I could bring them because they were going to need them. I said yes and S, CR, and G all got to go with me. S and CR were excited to miss school and get to participate again.  G was not too excited.  But I told her that if she was good, she would be able to pick a toy and that made her happy.  They told us we would be able to leave by 1 or 2. Once there, it changed to after one scene in the afternoon, then till the end of the day.  We were there from 7:30am to 6:30pm.  It was a great day though.  They used us for 3 different scenes and changed our costumes every time. They were filming scenes for seminary so hopeful we get to see them. 

For S birthday, we gave her tickets to the "So You Think You Can Dance" performance.  Here we are waiting for the show to start. 

Then it was Nutcracker week. Enough said. Our lives are just crazy during Nutcracker week because we are there every night from Tuesday to Saturday and the matinee on Saturday morning. CR stayed home with G every night while we worked backstage with the props. This is S last year dancing Nutcracker so it was kind of sad. But it's great to know that she has made it to the top. While we were filming KC had been working on this Nutcracker statue.  It was cracked and peeling that we decided to refinish it. He even took a day of work to get it done. This is the final product.

On Wednesday after rehersal we came out to the van and this is what we found! Our back window was shattered!!! It was a really windy night and I think a bunch of little rocks kept hitting our window that it finally broke. S said that a this happened to a few other people from Nutcracker also. Crazy! This was the second strike on the van this week. On Tuesday the battery was dead and KC had to charge it before he could come up to WSU. Wednesday KC had to work from home cause the van didn't start. Luckily the battery was still under warranty and we got it replaced that afternoon.

S was a Waltz Soloist and a Snow Soloist. After analyzing Nutcracker parts for the past 13 years that we have been involved we know that the Waltz Soloist is one of the best parts you can get on pointe.  Just bragging about awesome S. This just shows that all of S's hard work paid off. The previous week she went to the UofU to try out for their ballet program.  When she tried out she saw how good all of the other dancers were and she wasn't sure if she would make it. It is a very prestigious program as there are not many of them in the country. Dancers come from all over the country to audition. Well we found out on Friday that she made the program. Now we just have to wait and see if she gets accepted to the U. She is still auditioning for other colleges before she decided where she will go. But it is a great honor and demonstration of her ability that she got accepted.

Waltz Soloist 

Snow Soloist

We survived Nutcracker! And then after a quick breath here we are at Thanksgiving.  I didn't work all week so it was nice to have a few days at home to get caught up and ready for Thansksgiving. 

On Wednesday we went to the Discovery Gateway.  This is a cute picture of little Z:

Not a big group for Thanksgiving this year but fun nevertheless and grateful for all those that joined us.

The "kids" table: 

Half of the "adults" table: 

The other half of the "adult" table: 

A note about Black Friday shopping: We are a little upset that the sales are starting on Thursday night now instead of Friday.  But had to get the deals so we still went to a couple of stores and on Friday morning.

Just a picture of these two cousins that love each other so much. This totally demonstrates their relationship. Playing Candy Land but the characters they are using are a my little pony and an action figure. 

And this is our thankful wall for this year: 

I am so grateful for my family and for the times we get to spend together! They are getting harder as the kids get older. I am also grateful to have my parents and my sister close by that we can get together often. I am grateful for a wonderul husband that takes good care of me and the children. I am grateful for our home, for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for this beautiful world that we live in, for opportunity to live in the USA, for the freedoms we enjoy, for the jobs that we have, etc. etc.