Kaitlin in New York

I wish I had Kaitlin here to tell you all about her adventures in the Big Apple on her choir tour this past weekend. She saw the Lion King on Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Time Square and the Empire State Building.  They got top marks and placed 2nd overall at their choir competition.  Kaitlin's favorite part was singing in the beautiful cathedral and the wonderful acoustics there. She didn't like how dirty everything in New York was, that the people were rude, and that it stunk everywhere.  The day after she got home, (and even though she was really sick), Kaitlin was able to speak about some of her experiences at a church program.  She gave a very good address and I've received a lot of complements on it. Overall I'd say she isn't a fan of New York at all now, but it was an experience.  Kaitlin hasn't given me any pictures from her camera yet, but below is a recording of one of their songs.


 (Kaitlin is on the back row. Two girls left of the boys in the center.)

You're a Good Man

Ruth has been super busy with final rehearsals for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!  Her show is this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 6:00. 

Footloose Auditions

It seems all I'm talking about lately is music and performances, but that is what our lives will be for the next while.  Kaitlin came home from New York with a cough and fever (I blame it on airplane air) so unfortunately, she was too sick to attend auditions for the lead parts of Footloose (she is already in the chorus).  I, however, did audition and was called back as well.  I'll find out this week and then our full time rehearsals start next week. I'm not expecting a lead part, but I was already accepted into the chorus and that means that Ruth has made it in as well.  It will be fun for all us girls to do a show together for the first time.

At the top of our hike

Webelos Badge

Jared earned his Webelos Badge this month and was awarded it at our monthly Pack Meeting. That means he is about half way there to Arrow of Light. This week our Webelos den went on a three mile hike.  The boys did pretty well and only complained a little bit.

Chamber Choir

Kaitlin got news on Friday that she has made it into Chamber Choir for next year.  Chamber is the highest audition choir at the high school, which only accepts 24 kids.  She is very excited that she got in and is looking forward to a funner and less stressful, school work wise, Senior year. 

Middle School Talent Show

Ruth auditioned for the middle school talent show but they only took 15 of the 50 acts that auditioned and she didn't make it.  She did however, perform in the talent show with the cast of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. They performed the title song, and it was fun to see a sneak peak of the show. It's amazing to me that these are just 13-15 year olds and how well they do.  The performances will be May 1-3 and it's free. 

Sick Summer

Our bunny, Summer, came down sick this weekend.  She had a GI problem which can be fatal for rabbits. Once we discovered her sick and lifeless, we brought her back inside and periodically throughout the day we'd rub her belly and keep her moving.  It was a scary couple of days as she would lay, open eyed, on the couch (bunnies sleep with eyes open).  But luckily she kept drinking water and eventually took a turn for the better.  As of this morning she is back to her old self. It's tricky with bunnies because they are prey animals, so they don't show they are sick until they are very sick.  Even now, she seems 100% but I'm keeping a close eye on her.   Another bad bi-product of her illness is that Summer is also shedding her winter coat, so our whole house is now covered with a layer of bunny hair.

Kaitlin and her date Taylor

Prom

Yesterday was Prom and Kaitlin had a great time. She went with a fellow named Taylor; they went with five other couples that included a couple of very good friends of Kaitlin's, so that made it even more fun. They had a day date that was supposed to be picnicking but because of bad weather they ended up playing games instead.  In the afternoon she got together with girlfriends and they spent the afternoon doing make-up and hair and girly things.  The date itself was fun but she said the actual Prom was the low point of the evening.  It was held at the capital building and, while it was beautiful, it wasn't very conducive to music and dancing.  All and all she had a great time and I thought she looked beautiful!

We had a great time taking pictures. I've tried to include different ones than the ones I put on facebook.

Kaitlin called this her "Tangled Pose"

It was rainy and cold on prom night. Luckily, Kaitlin was able to borrow this smashing jacket from Ruth.

Kaitlin needed a little more length so I added the ruffle at the bottom.  It turned out super cute I think.

Conference Weekend

Last weekend we got to stay home from church to watch General Conference, where all the leaders of the church talk to the membership as a whole.  We enjoyed staying in our pajamas all day and watching it on TV.  Here is what we did:

Jared built a big fort.

I made alterations to Kaitlin's Trek clothes, sewed the ruffle on her Prom dress, did a little tatting and made these delicious cinnamon rolls.

Ruth did a lot of tweeting.  There are a lot of people on Twitter during conference talking about the speeches they liked best and such. Ruth joined in the conversation including tweeting a picture of Jared's fort.

The Beard

Chuck has started growing his pioneer beard for Nauvoo. Here it is after only two weeks.  Today was the first time he's worn it to church. He only got a little bit of teasing.

The Mustang...er...I mean horse. 

 It still has some parts, just not all.

A couple weeks ago Kaitlin's high school unveiled a huge bronze sculpture in the entryway of her school.  I guess when they ordered the statue no one took a really close look, or perhaps it was the way it was up on a pedestal that just put everything at eye level, but by afternoon of the first day the school administrators had taped a loin cloth on the mustang.  I guess it was just a little too *ahem* manly - if you get my meaning.  The next morning however, the loin cloth was removed and there was just a shinny spot where the offending part had once been.  Kaitlin said when they gave all the speeches to dedicate the statue, about how this is the great symbol of their school and the students blah blah, that she just couldn't get the symbolism that they had all been castrated out of her mind.

Kaitlin's artistic eggs

Happy Easter Fun

Our egg roll derby entrants.

On Friday we dyed eggs.  A dozen per child keeps us busy for at least an hour.  This  year we had the added challenge of creating an egg to participate in the egg roll derby the next day.

Booty from the city mad candy grab.

On Saturday we braved the city mad candy grab.  As Chuck and I walked Jared over to the square for the oldest kids, full of candy and eggs, we mused about years past when we would split up, sending the oldest children off  to fend alone, while each of us took a small kid to their respective hunts. Now here we were, the old couple, with our One.  Some prankster blew a whistle and set our field off a few minutes before all the others, and Jared, a seasoned veteran, shot off, unfazed, filling his bucket to the brim. The other fields were just starting by the time we headed for the car, passing crying children in the parking lot whos parents had not heeded the "Ten AM Sharp!" admonition.   Beating the crowd in this way, we were in and out in less than thirty minutes. A successful hunt indeed.

Grandma and Aunt Shauni hunting eggs

Later in the day we headed to the Family Easter gathering at my brothers house. Good time was had by all as we visited, ate, did crafts and played games.  Ruth and I were finalists in the egg roll derby and Jared's Sponge Bob egg was the winner; he was grinning with pride. Ruth and her cousin set up an egg hunt for us, and after the couple of younger kids started the hunt, the adults joined in.  The eggs were hard to find, under rocks and in car tail pipes.  I'm sure my brother will be finding plastic eggs for some time yet.

Prom Invite

Kaitlin has been accepted to Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or so she was told in the many letters that were delivered to her during her school classes on Friday.  While she had already agreed to go with this guy over text, the official prom invite came in the form of Hogwarts letters and a stuffed Hedwig that "flew" to her during the last class of the day, delivering the Prom invite.  She was thrilled and said that it was "perfect."

Kaitlin answered the invite by sending her date on a treasure chase around the town, leading to a table in  a park with two goblets, marked "Yes" and "No."   Her date, knowing well to 'never go against a Sicilian when death was on the line' drank from the correct goblet and received his response.