It’s been a few weeks since I’ve had the time to catch up on family activities. Trust me… we are busy. Kimber and Ray and the kids are still living at our house. They are busy little people. Holland is getting his teeth… all at once! Poor guy. Freya loves going to pre-school several times a week. Ben is struggling liking school. He is in first grade and thinks he would rather be home-schooled.
Chad moved to Utah. He lives in the Salt Lake City area. He is renting a room from a former mission companions family. On his way there his car broke done. It was done for. He ended up buying a new car. He also got a new job. When he isn’t working, he is working on training for his summer sales job.
My parents had to put down their golden retriever. Jack was a very good dog. He will be missed. Our Charlie won’t be far behind. He is getting old. He is having trouble getting up and going down the deck stairs to pee in the yard. Poor guy.
I worked the Southern Region Regional Thespian Competition. This year I judged musical theatre rounds. Lilli performed a monologue, a duet with her friend Ethan, and in the large group number. She did well and learned good things and met lots of good people. The large group number qualified for State, so once again, she will be going to the State Thespian Conference. It is especially fun because this year her friend Ethan will get to go too. I love seeing the kids I help succeed. One of my vocal students was a State finalist and one of my vocal students is a state qualifier in solo musical too! I am so proud of the all. Mostly, I am proud of them for being friendly, helpful and in being sports about the whole thing. They are all beginning to understand the meaning of real character development.
I helped the conference arrange to have Rainbow Dance Theatre perform while they tallied the results. They were fantastic! They did a section where they had kids from the audience come up and participate. Lilli got to go up and make a glowing stick man dance. It really was amazing.
Ben had a birthday… and a Mario birthday party. A few little friends came over and played Mario Cart, ate cupcakes make to look like a Mario, to just plain old, have fun. We had a little family party on Sunday too. McKay and her family came for dinner and the rest of the cupcakes.
McKay and Myles are getting into the routines of life… and waiting for them to be interrupted again in a few short weeks. Baby is due in two weeks which means baby can come at any moment! They did head up to Portland while Lilli and I were at the Thespian Competition and watch Sai play basketball. Other than that, they have spent all their time on the process of unpacking their house and living day to day, which can keep a person very busy!
We had our big snow for the year. Weather guessers had people all panicked (and hopeful) for some major snow fall. They were talking 8-14 inches of snow. Well… I’ll just say, I can cover the yard with powder sugar better than that snow “storm” did. However, the coast did see some cool snow and we did get some ice which made it hard to get to Stake Conference. However, there has been nothing that would warrant a snow day. That is a good thing and a day thing. A good thing because we open Fiddler on the Roof in 2 weeks and there is so much more we need to do to get that ready and a bad thing because we could all use a good snow day. A snow day gives you that little “guilt free vacation” and permission to sit around in your pajamas watching movies or reading a good book while drinking hot cocoa all day.
Fiddler is coming along. Rehearsals are moving forward. The kids are doing well. It’s a long script and the show is tough.
We haven’t had many build days on this set. 3. 3 build days. Our first build day I was able to start the wagons, start Tevye’s cart and start the main structure. The second build day I was able to continue all those projects and was able to finish the main structures, giving the cast something to actually work on.
Yesterday was my last main build day. We were able to nearly finish the entire set. All that is left is one break on one of the 5 wagons, paint floor boards in the two “houses,” and paint the floor. The rest is done. Tech is this coming Saturday, so I do need to get lighting hung and cues programmed, scene changes choreographed, tech assignments made, sound set up, sound cues written and mics all ready to go. I am trying to make this as easy as possible because there is a very real possibility that I will be missing a very critical tech day with McKay’s baby due on Marathon Day. I need to be able to walk away and feel confident that Jeff and my production stage manager can handle whatever happens.
The set looks pretty good. I am pleased with how it turned out. It fit the show and is pretty much what I dreamed up in my head. I even stayed within a low budget because I was able to recycle old barn wood from Oklahoma! and old pallets I collected. I have only needed to buy a few 2x4s, a sheet of plywood and 3 gallons of paint so far. That is nothing compared to my usual expenditures!
I really like how the stationary set piece turned out. I wanted it to look like a house being torn apart. I succeeded. Now to light it and to make it really look cool!
Meanwhile, our missionary only has 6 more months to go. She is in a tough area… an area that is having difficulty moving the work forward. She works hard. She is putting all the skills I taught her (even power tools) to the test. She is a good missionary.
So… that is what we have been up to. How about you?
Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe 