Happy Birthday Chuck

Chuck's birthday was on the 31st. We had a family party the day before with a home made cheese cake. On his birthday, Chuck went to a baseball game with the boys he works with at church, and Ruth and Jared and I went to the cast party for the play that Ruth had been in. Chuck got some clothes and motorcycle tires for his birthday this year.





Snow Family Reunion

This last weekend was the Snow Family Reunion. This is a reunion with my parents, my siblings and children. After school on Friday we packed the van and headed to Deweyville. All six of my siblings were there. That night we had a family talent show and karaoke night. We had several acts from our family, including Ruth, Kaitlin, Chaz and I singing "The Book Report Song" (pictured) and Ruth was the big hit with her singing Taylor Swift and playing the guitar.

The next day we went to the Logan Temple in the morning and then in the afternoon we attended an open house for my father and his sister (see newspaper clipping). This month my father, Woody, turns 80, and his sister, Ruth, turns 90. We were able to visit with cousins we seldom see and town members that I remembered from the short time I lived there. That night while the kids played games the grown ups enjoyed listening to the BYU football game and talking.

On Sunday we all went to church in the morning and in the afternoon had a meeting to plan the next reunion in 2013. We all had a great time visiting and the cousins had a good time together.

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.

In-Between-Week

We had one of those in between weeks. Hello, Dolly! had it's last show on Monday and school is starting for Ruth and Jared this coming Monday. Chuck painted the bathroom and we spent Wednesday at the water park. We also went to the float preview for the Days of 47 parade.

Here are some pictures:
This picture epitomizes my experience with Hello, Dolly! There I am standing back stage, checking over my lists. I'm standing in front of the scene change posters and diagrams I made for the cast.



Another cute picture of Chaz in Hello,Dolly!

Kaitlin in our new kayak. This is taken at the little beach and reservoir by our house.

This is just a cute picture of Jared at the beach.

We had the best time at the Days of 47 Parade preview. For those of you not local, the parade is the largest in the west outside of CA and the parade prides itself on creative amature floats. If you haven't guessed, we tried to make the same face as the characters faces on the floats. It was so funny, we had a hard time not laughing. (look over our shoulders for character we are imitating)

Goodbye, Dolly!

Chaz and I have one show left of Hello, Dolly! on Monday. We've had a good time doing the show, though it has been busy and stressful. The shows have mostly run smoothly and seem to get better every night. I admit that I will not be sad to see the end of the show, however, I feel very satisfied that I made a meaningful contribution.

Guest Blogger: Kaitlin

Hello, Dolly is awesome. I love watching it over and over and over again. On Monday, I will have seen the show a total of 5 1/2 times, and I would continue to see it, except the show isn't going to be running anymore. :( I realized last night that I can quote almost the whole musical. I am addicted to the songs, the many amazing singers and dancers, and Chaz's giant grin the whole time. (the scene changes are really good too, Mom) I still wish I was actually in Hello, Dolly, but I guess my time will come.

Guest Blogger: Chaz

Hello, Dolly! has been amongst the greatest experiences I have had in my life. I have made really good friends, and learned that performing musical theater is WAY fun! I will be really sad when the show is over.


We Build this City on Rock and Roll!

Guest Blogger: Ruth

Guess what i tried out for the kids play this year and i got a part! A lead part!
Isn't that awesome? Ok so my part is Ruthie. Its soo close to my name! I can't wait for the 27th. That's the first practice, how cool!
Jared is in the chorus he gets to sing. The show is called WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK AND ROLL! It's an awesome show. It is about a girls chess team and a boy chess team who compete
and pull silly tricks on each other .
If you are wondering the show is on AUGUST 26-29.



Scout Camp

Guest Blogger: Chaz

For scout camp, Dad and I went to the Teton High Adventure Base. There we participated in many AWESOME! activities. The most fun and exciting activity that we did was whitewater rafting. There were some rapids that when you hit them, the water completely rushes over you head and you see nothing but water. The first day I had a nice relaxing float down the Snake river through the Teton National Park, where we had a nice scenic view of the Tetons. We also participated in a Lower and Higher C.O.P.E. course. These basically were team cooperation tests. The high course was a bit nerve racking, because it looked poorly maintained and we were about 25 ft. in the air. The zip line at the end was really cool, though. Scout camp was a really good experience. I would do it again anytime.


Guest Blogger: Chuck

Scout camp was great fun. The white water rafting was wet and cold but we had a good time. Blah Blah blah. I got to sit in the front of the raft, and as Chaz said, when you hit the waves it's nothing but water. With the COPE course, I found that the high COPE was the most exciting as I got to live up to my Barnum name on the high wire. On the last day, I was able to go to canoeing for 22 miles down the Snake river. It was the first serious canoe trip I've taken in 20 years. It was pretty country and I have to redefine my opinion of Wyoming, as the west side is much nicer than the central and the east.


"What do you do in a little canoe, when the moon is shining all around?"

Well, not a canoe, a kayak. We bought a used one this week, and took it up to our little reservoir, for a test run. We are lucky to have this little pond only a few minutes away from our house. It isn't Clearwater beach, but it's something and it's free!

Click on any photo to enlarge

Chaz is in the middle of the back row in this picture from the song "It Takes a Woman". Notice the nicely painted shelf on the left - I designed and painted that, along with every other piece on Vandergelder's shop platform.

Chaz is fourth from the right in this photo from the song "Sunday Clothes"

Chaz is the one in the red vest.... just kidding. He's the waiter dancing second from the left dancing the "Waiter's Galop"

Chaz is 4th from the right singing "Hello, Dolly"

Hello, Dolly!

We had an exhausting week with the opening of Hello, Dolly!. Chaz and I were busy with dress rehearsals Mon-Wed and then we opened with a Family Preview on Thursday. Our big opening was Friday, and then we had another show on Saturday. Unless you've been a production it's hard to explain what it is like.

For me back stage, I have a 7 page typed list of every piece that needs to be set and when. I'm on a radio with my crew of 5, and the sound, and the director. I run the back stage, making sure pieces and props are cued, and that the actors are all in their places and keeping quiet. I deal with all emergencies, including curtain collapses, dead microphones, scenery breaking/malfunctions, and injuries. In the two hours of the show and the hour of set up before, I rarely sit, and I try hard to remember to drink and eat (if I don't I get faint as I learned). A few minutes before a scene change I get on the radio and tell the crew to get ready, then I go around to the cast dressing rooms and solicit as much help as I can get. I stand right behind the curtain and at the cue I yell "go, go!" in the radio and then I wave my arms wildly at the 20 or so people standing back stage getting ready to move. What ensues is 30 to 90 seconds of controlled chaos with as many as 28 pieces of scenery moving at once. Often at the end I take a quick visual sweep of the stage to make sure all is in place and then dive behind the curtain just as the lights come up. We have seven major changes like this. After the show when the cast is taking their flowers and praise, my work continues as my crew and I stow away the set and the props. Then exhausted, 30 minutes after the show, we shove the 17 foot rolling platform (it's kind of like giving birth in reverse) into the back stage, swing the gate closed and give each other high fives. Another night of Hello, Dolly! completed.

We have four more shows to go. Monday the 12th (Chaz will be at scout camp) and then Friday, Saturday and the following Monday, the 16, 17, and 19th.


Chuck on Sabbatical

Every five years at Chuck's job he gets a four week sabbatical that he started this week. He has been busy getting ready for scout camp, and he also started work on a new sprinkler line across the flower beds against our back and side fence. He is almost done. He has also been watching the kids a lot as I've been so busy.

Cow Day

On Friday, the kids and I made make-shift cow costumes and went down to the local Chick-fil-A for cow appreciation day. We all felt a little silly, but we got a free lunch.

A Camping we will go!

This week Chuck is taking his Varsity Scouts to scout camp, and Chaz is also going to scout camp with the Venture Scouts. They are going to the same camp but will be doing separate activities. Kaitlin also is off for a week of camp with the girls at our church.