Parents night for Seussical the Musical

This is a commercial for the musical!

And for all of those people who are wondering (Idaho)  Britt is wearing blue and has her hair down. It's kind of like playing Where's Waldo!

 

For David who only looks at pictures,

 Britt Blue!

(Good thing David loves me, lol!)

 

I saw Danni a couple of times too!!!

Cannot wait for tonite! It is parent's night! And Britt doesn't know yet that I am going to be there! My Awesome friend, Jana, is working my shift in concessions for me so I can go!

And Yes, David, I am taking pictures, you silly boy!

 

The Phoenix Temple

The Phoenix temple was amazing! So beautiful! And the area was beautiful and I can see why they wanted to build it there in the first place.

 

Getting there was the real adventure, though. I was busy tracing stripes for the butt capes that I sent Travis to get the kids from school. I figured we would leave a little bit before three to make it there before 4:15. Well, I forgot about the Schneblys and George (that is the cello. It was named Billy Bob Joe when Mathis played it last year but I lovingly refer to it as Baby Ruth. The just makes Mathis mad! And yet I can't help myself!) And the Myers come home from school with us too!

After I dropped George and the Schnebly crew off I hurried home. I pulled in the driveway and hustled inside just in time to hustle everyone outside. After a pitstop, I was off. But the keys were gone. And if you know me even a little you know I cannot keep track of my keys for anything! We looked for 10 minutes to find them! Finally I went out to the car to look one last time and Zach is playing with them, unaware of what they are! I guess I gave them to him not thinking! He wasn't either, lol.

 

Finally we are off! WE start to drive away until we see the Myers sitting outside their house. Valerie is not there. And then I remember. I am supposed to watch them until she gets back from picking up Matthew! We pull off to the side and I jump out. Travis realizes we have 2 gallons of gas in the tank. (Hey, I had just gotten back from Chandler with another batch of Vinyl for the butt capes and shirts. Again, only thinking about one thing!)

 

We rock and visit until Valerie comes home, and then we visit even more until Travis comes back. Meanwhile, Tarod is in the back and must be thinking we are all out of our minds! The ride there was uneventful, until we missed the turnoff and went for a very long detour to get back to where we should have gotten off at!

 

It was not busy at all. We loaded the busses, which was probably Joey's favorite part! And we just had to sit in the back row! Apparently the back seats are the best. And we get there, right next to the lavatory! And then Joey has to move up so he can watch the video. I am not moving! The seat was actually very comfortable and roomy and if I just had a pillow...

 

We arrived earlier than I wanted and all piled out. Again, they did not ask for a ticket. Good thing because we had 7 and not 6. We snuck in an extra person!!!!

 

The sister missionary introduced herself as Sister Carpenter and said she was from Boise, Idaho. I knew the day could only get better. And it did! The temple was fantastic! Joey and Mackenzie held my hand, enjoying what they saw, even if they didn't understand too much. They loved the oval baptismal font. Joey wants to come and use it someday! Mackenzie cannot wait for a year and a half and she can too! The walls were filled with wonderful pictures. The ones that stood out for me were the ones Jesus and teaching the woman. She was earnestly listening and seeming to want to learn more. There seem to be at least 4 of those pictures. I need to seek more from God. And go to the temple often.

 

I loved the celestial room. I could tell Joey was touched by it I love moments like this because it helps them to see the beauty of the temple but also feel the spirit that is there and give them something to look forward to because it is not easy being a teenager anymore.

We came out of the temple feeling very satisfied. We visited the host tent so the kids could see the mirrors in the sealing room. Joey tried sneaking a peek but the usher would not let him. And Mackenzie had to have a picture holding Jesus' hand.

 

And as we were leaving, I was told that Britt and Tarod had to hurry back for practice. I asked what Mrs. Stones said about them missing the day. They said they never told her. OOPS!

We hurried back as fast as we could! Danni text Britt and said that Mrs. Stones was fit to be tied! And, of course we hit traffic! But we finally made it home for them to get to practice, Joey to get to scouts for his merit badge, and Zach to make it to the dance.

 

I will go again! It was great and beautiful! And for the 3 1/2 people who read this

(yes, David. I am counting you as half because you only look at the pictures!)

I am taking my beautiful missionary with me next time!! Or maybe I will go a few times before that! :)

 just arrived! Finally!

 

 On the bus!

 

 Waiting inside the church building

 

 In line to go in

 Britt and Tarod

 

 Look, I am there too!

 Travis and I

 

 After the tour!

 

 Travis took off before I could get a picture with him so Britt stood in for him!

Learning about the temple.

Not a good picture but she wanted to hold hands with Jesus.

My Tuesday

Crazy, busy week! Yesterday it was my turn to feed the musical crew. So much work goes into each of those meals! I was very impressed!
Anyway, after spending three hours on making potato soup and brownies, we had to feed the missionaries. (We like to sign up a lot because there are wonderful saints out there feeding my daughter) But I was spent so we ordered pizza (which they loved! Apparently they don't get that as much as we think. Food for thought!) But it was kind of sad because after so long, Sister Wilihan is being transferred! She has been so wonderful! Britt has gone on splits with her a few times and she is so kind, caring, funny, appreciative and all around awesome girl! And from Salt Lake to boot!!! And she always asked about Ashley! So awesome! I will miss her a lot!

Today I am taking the crew to the Phoenix temple! I am really excited about it! And we are bringing Tarod with us. He would not get a chance otherwise. Of course, we can't count him as an investigator since he has been baptized over a year but it will still be a great opportunity to share with him and hopefully he will love it as much a we do!
Thursday is busy, busy, busy! My packages will be coming in and we will start the shirts! And the snaps! Yep, things will be happening!

 Sister Wilihan and Sister Merrell

 

Not shoes for a missionary

I have to share this and I will probably get in trouble for it but oh, well! Last week in Ashley's email, she sent some extra pictures for me to put up on her blog. One of them was one she did not want me to put up on hers. You see, my sweet angel was shopping at Payless and found the perfect pair of shoes for her. The only problem is that they were at least three inches higher than allowed! What is a girl to do? And if you know Ashley even a little bit you know that she is a sucker for a great pair of high heels.
She took a picture and sent it to me with permission to get into her account and pay for them! I laughed and laughed, but things got crazy so I sat on it, knowing that Britt and I would go for FHE. (Mondays are pretty open, thank goodness!)
Today I received a second email reminding me to buy those shoes. Well, I rushed down to Payless after Travis got off work and found a pair, but they were the wrong size. The sweet ladies called the other store and secured a pair for me. I picked up Britt in between and we headed to the other store. The shoes were supposed to be $29 from the original email and we only paid $17 for them! Thank goodness I waited!
Oh, and I have discovered if you go in with no shoes, they actually let you stay and shop. They must think you are a guaranteed sale!
Anyway, the moral of the story is she is still the same, shoe lovin' daughter of mine I miss terribly!

Totally Ashley! Now all she needs is a pair of yellow ones!

More nonsense for Ashley

We went to the temple for FHE one night and thought we would make you a video. I would send it to your email but it was too big!

 

Butt capes

Oops! I am falling behind on this and I need to do better so that Idaho know what is up here!
Butt Capes are done!!! (I hope, although I had to pull one out of my hat on Saturday morning because we were one short Friday night!) We are still trying to make sure they all fit properly so I might need to make even more! The good news is it only took about an hour and a half to make. But, I did manage to make 88 butt capes in a week and a half! No wonder my back is sore!!!
My house is another story! It will take a week to pull it back to some kind of presentable shape!

And across the hall on the stage the musical is coming along pretty well! I had to bow out of helping with costumes because of the butt capes but I think they will find something for me to do this week. Britt is having a great time, but they are working her hard too. She is one of he better dancers and they are keeping her busy. This week she will be at school till 8 or 9 pm every day. She says band is harder but they are both so time consuming! The good news is she will be in the stands on our last competition cheering us on like crazy!!!

I am learning so much as president. Like making sure truck keys match the right truck. And it is important to get the bus driver's phone number from the band teacher before the performance so you know where the busses are after, just in case he gets distracted by the other bands. And when the  band teacher finally decides on something, make it happen before he changes his mind, but be prepared for it to be your fault when he does change his mind, which is practically guaranteed! And most importantly, don't forget the plumes!!! But it is a lot of fun! I am working with so many new people whom I am getting to know and they are a lot of fun!

I am fighting this funky depression that I am hoping it will go away soon. If not, I will definitely write again Monday for sure!!!

October break

Next year I have promised, promised, PROMISED my kids we are doing something for October Break and I can't even look at my sewing machine that whole week!

 (If you say promised three times it binding and you can't break it! This is what Mackenzie says)

 

Joey says the sound of the sewing machine is annoying and is interfering in his computer time.
Yep, I have been told!

Britt just kissed my cheek and took over the ironing.

 

But on the bright side, I have almost 33 butt capes finished!

Please don't ask how many we need, That is not the bright side! And they need to be ready by this Friday.

(I have discovered that as I get older and I start to stress, I get absentminded. ... Yes, David. I know exactly what you are thinking and I am choosing to ignor it!!! )

 

But on the other bright side, I get to go to my own ward this week for sharing time! And I mentioned this to Sis Rainwater and guess what she did? She was so excited that she is letting me teach sharing time today!.....

 

I walked right into that one!

 

On a happy note, today it is 8 months that Ashley has been out! And only 10 months to go!!! No, I am not counting down AT ALL!!!

Boyfriend for dinner Take Two

Sunday night, while at dinner with the family, Britt told me that Tarod was having some family issues and needed to get away and asked if he could come to dinner. I figured the hard part had already happened and he was welcome.

Everyone liked him, especially Alex! They joked, teased, and seemed to have a great time! He got along well with the whole family!

 My mom was impressed. Not many boys impress her!

Later that night Britt took him to the temple in my place, which is okay, as long as I get next week! (I value my temple time with my girls!) And then they were together until curfew and then she was back on time. I think he might become a permanent fixture around here!

Dinner with the boyfriend

We had our football game on Thursday, which is a whole story in itself that I will get into later. Anyway, what are we to do with a free Friday night? They just don't happen!
Britt made that decision before anyone else could. We were going to have Tarod over for dinner. It was time for him to meet the parents. Britt then planned a movie night with Rylee and her date after dinner.
I picked up Britt from musical practice around 3:30 so she could help. But Tarod didn't make it out until after 6. By then, Rylee was there and her date was a few minutes after her. So we all had dinner together!
What a treat! Luckily Zach was off to his own party so we had enough chairs to go around the table. Joey didn't know which boy to talk to. Mackenzie was all smiles and hugs and I think Tarod appreciated that his friend was at the table as well, taking some of the heat away from him.
After dinner Travis and I went to get some ice cream and left Joey and Mackenzie in charge of the big kids. They had to babysit. Joey's idea of babysitting is watching them. The whole time! Yep, I am sure that didn't scare Tarod off at all! But we were gone for 10 minutes and then the two little ones were off doing something in Joey's room.
Later that night when it was time for family prayer, we invited everyone to join us. They did and we let Joey pray. Probably not the smartest thing considering you never really know what is going to come out of his mouth. And he has this need to bless old boyfriends. I held my breath, hoping that he wouldn't do that this time. He did, luckily is was only Ashley's and not Britt's! But he did bless Tarod, lol!
At the end of the night, Tarod had a great time and has even said he would come back! He made it through and can live to tell the tale!!!