We Built this City

Ruth had a great time performing in the Children's play this past weekend. The Friday performance was delayed several times because of very hard rains. The large pavilion where they preform has a tin roof that just thunders in the rain and it was too loud for the microphones to be heard. Even on Saturday it was super windy and all their set, even weighed with sandbags, was waving in the wind. Ruth did great on her lines and dances and is sad that it is over.




Back to School

Kaitlin and Chaz are back to school, and are overall very excited for the coming school year. Chaz found out that participating in the two top choirs will cost (not an exaggeration) $1000+. Not to mention he would miss work often because of rehearsals and performances. So this weekend he made the hard decision to drop choir, which he admitted that he was doing for the socialization, not because he liked singing. Kaitlin is making new friends and seems to like most of her classes.


Lunch Lady Labors

I started my work as a substitute lunch lady this past week. I had a couple days of training and then I started my work on the first day of school. It's always stressful learning a new job, but it was also kind of fun. They are willing to work around my schedule, so while the kids are off track I won't be working. When they are in school I'll get a day of work here and there. For me right now in my life it's an ideal job.

Ruth Getting Ready for Opening Night

Ruth's play is this coming weekend. She is practicing hard and is at that point where she is feeling stress that the show will never come together. She has dress rehearsals all week and then the show runs Thursday-Saturday. Ruth has three lines and sings a one line solo in one of the songs.

Jared dropped out of the play after a few weeks. Singing the song "Thriller" and dancing like a zombie freaked him out. Even after getting permission for him not to dance in the Thriller number, he still was not interested.

Can you spot Ruth's picture on this publicity poster? (click on it to see a bigger size)


Violent Hail Storm

On Thursday we had a powerful front move through that pounded our house with wind, water and hail. The hail shot out of our rain gutters forming large white piles and then backed up, leaving the rain gutters spurting water out the sides. Our emergency drainage ditch at the back boarder of our yard was full, almost overflowing and our back yard flooded with a few inches of water. I kept checking our window wells, but thank heavens they kept draining and we stayed dry. Several of our neighbors were not so lucky.


Lunch Lady Training

This week I got to sit through a couple hours of training to become a substitute lunch lady at the school. I got a food handler's permit and learned important things about hair nets and cantaloupe. I have another four hours of training next week and then I'll be ready to be called in when they need me. I'm not sure how many actual hours I'll get, but it doesn't matter, it's just for fun.


Musicals

For fun the last couple of weeks we've been watching musicals and some Shakespeare at our house. We've watched West Side Story, Les Miserables (the concert), The Fantastics, The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Much Ado about Nothing and part of Romeo and Juliet (it was so old and cheezy we couldn't get through the whole thing).

Kaitlin's favorite so far has been by far the Phantom of the Opera, followed by Les Miserables. As a result we've all been singing the Phantom songs around here for the past few days. Kaitlin also drew this artwork.

Youth Conference

Chuck, Chaz and Kaitlin had a good time at Youth Conference last weekend. They drove to Castle Dale Utah, where they camped and attended the Castle Valley Pageant. They all had a good time and Kaitlin said it was much better than Girl's Camp because: "there were boys there."






Shakespeare Festival

The same weekend I went to the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Ceder City with my mother and sisters. We had a wonderful time seeing the plays and spending time together. We saw Much Ado About Nothing, Pride and Prejudice and The 39 Steps. Our favorite by far was The 39 Steps which was not only very funny, but amazed us with thier simple yet very effective special effects.
Walking the grounds of Southern Utah University. Me, my Mom, my sisters Donna, Kathy and my Sister-in-law Shauni.

I couldn't pass up the chance to sit on the lap of The Bard.

We Built This City

Ruth and Jared are doing a lot of practicing for the children's play that they will be appearing in later this month. Ruth is loving every minute and Jared not so much.