Holy cow! I made it to the end of July. July is actually my least favorite month of the year because I am so tired that I can’t think straight. July was sup busy. Here are a few of the high lights from the month.
I went to see Wicked in Portland with these goofballs. They all met me there. I came in about 12 minutes into the show. I actually entered the building just seconds before the show started, but I had to go up the elevator and had to wait. I knew I was cutting it close when I left home, but then the drive was crazy and I was definitely driving with a little borrowed time. I narrowly escaped a car wreck. Seriously. Cars were skidding all around me I saw at least 8 of them hit each other and go to the side of the road. It was super scary. I had to leave right after the show because I needed to get back to Salem. Hannah was singing in her first performance since her mission. I didn’t want to miss that. I did, however, miss the group picture.
Lilli and I worked all of July at CET. I think her first year as a TA went well. It seems like the teachers and directors she worked with were impressed. I was Tech Director again. It is an exhausting job. When it was all over I slept for a couple days.
Lilli helped with the Park Play. This play perform at Bush Park at the Salem Art Fair. She was even assigned to so a couple of the dances as a choreographer in the production of The Phantom Toll Booth.
She rocked the dress up days and found out what it’s like to be a “mom.” Well… kind of. She ended up carrying all the stuff kids wanted or needed to the park every day.
I worked on the sets and where needed, the lights, for several productions: The Phantom Toll Booth (mentioned above), Much Ado High School (a level 7 show that the kids do most of the work and I am assigned to crack the whip), The Lion With and the Wardrobe at the Salem Public Library, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (a show that travels to several venues), Jack and the Beanstalk and When You Catch the Rainbow (two elementary school age one-acts), and Frozen, the Musical on the main stage. I am also responsible for organizing all things tech, and managing the kids who are in the tech program. It’s a lot of stress… long hours… and sometimes, quite overwhelming. This year we didn’t have as enough parent volunteers. We didn’t have parents with trucks to move the traveling sets and I ended up driving sets to and from their locations. Nearly ever day met me with a new problem to work out.
My friend Katie’s class painted these awesome billboard. They were scattered around the Art Fair for people to find.
One of the biggest successes of the CET Season was – NO PAINT SPILLS! It is the first year in 8 years I wasn’t power washing a parking lot, a sidewalk or a street. This was a huge deal. I had to take a picture of the kids that wheeled the paint around the building to storage to document the occasion. I also had to prove to Dani (my first hand man) that the prayers/moment of silence as we began the paint trek around the building was worth it. It was a miracle!
An other highlight of the season was having family come see Frozen. Ii worked hard on the show. It was going to be the last show in the Rose theatre. It will be destroyed in the coming year, making room for major building renovations and a new theatre. This last set had to go out with a bang. They all seemed to like it. Freya dressed up as Elsa to see the show and got a picture with the actor playing Elsa. When the set revealed the Ice Castle side, Ben whispered,”Wow! Just Wow.” Now that is cool. He had to go down afterwards and see how I did everything and climb around on the set a bit. It was cool.
These two are awesome. Even though they have graduated, they met John, Lilli and I at midnight and helped us unload the track and 2 trailers full of crap that we brought back from CET. CET is going to be super surprised at the cost increase of creating sets when I retire. I hope I get some people in to help me put it all away since right now, it is just sitting in the middle of the stage.
We had a couple “grandma school” days. Even Beckett came for one such occasion and we got to stop at the Farmer’s Market for ice cream. and Lenayah turned 5! It seems like yesterday that she was born and I left CET early to go visit her in NICU. Hannah made cheese cake for the family celebration. Lenayah went with Lilli and I to choose two nightstands that we will make into a play kitchen for the birthday girl.
Kimber and Ray and family are settling into their new home. They are awesome and had Kirby while we were at work so he woudn’t be lonely. Holland is a goofball and like the wading pool at the dog park and then will gladly sit in holes dogs dug. He also got a big boy hair cut from his grandma Yvonne. Kimber says the baby curls are still there, but I miss his little baby look.
When not at CET (a rare occasion indeed), we’d sing. I love having Hannah around. She never stops singing. We play in the pool to cool off. We went and say a play that Jeff was in, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Eola Winery. Hannah got new glasses. John hurt his back and laid on the the floor a bit before driving home.
And Lilli went on a canoe float down the Willamette with the youth from church. She took Ethan too. I think they both had a good time.
So… that wraps up July. Maybe I will do better with updates throughout August… but don’t count on it. LOL.
Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe 