August!

I realized I hadn't written a single thing for the month of August and the reason would be that I haven't had a moment to really sit down at the computer. It started out as a regular month for us, rehearsals about 4 times a week and a few play dates here and there, but then it just got crazy after about the first week.

My sister Andrea came into town the second week of August, and we had so much fun together. We took the kids to Thanksgiving Point to the Children's Gardens. We let the kids play in the water and had a picnic. I'll have to snag some of the pictures my sister took. Then on Saturday I got to take my sister around town to find a temple dress since she was going through the temple the next week. Later that day she got to come to one of my rehearsals and see all the craziness in person. On Sunday I talked her into staying a little later so she could be my guinea pig for a new recipe I wanted to try, Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce (we made it in cooking group) and it fortunately turned out great!

Week three of August consisted of more rehearsals, and then on Thursday we headed up to Boise. Friday we got to spend the day with our friends the Prices who just moved from Saratoga Springs to Caldwell. The kids had a great time playing in the water together and Ben and I got to fight over who got to hold Rachel's new baby.

That night there was a high school reunion picnic at DeMeyer Park. (Ten years, wow that makes me feel old!) It was really weird to bring my kids to the park where I used to play when I was a kid. There were tons of little kids everywhere so my kids were in heaven. I got to catch up with some old friends, but there were quite a few I didn't recognize. I always feel awkward when I haven't talked to someone in awhile. I get stuck in this limbo state of the person I used to be and the person I am now and I hate just passing idle chit chat "how's the weather" kind of stuff. Needless to say I survived and finally was able to enjoy myself near the end.

Saturday, we got to wake up nice and early to go with Andrea through the temple for the first time. I hadn't been in the temple with my family since I got my endowments so it was a wonderful experience. Afterwards we had a BBQ at my parents house and let the kids run wild with the Price's kids. At this point I was totally tired from the full schedule and no sleep so I squeezed in a power nap so I could attend the Saturday night high school reunion.

Hmmm, let's just say I'm really glad I've closed the high school chapter of my life. The party was held at The Reef which is a club, or in other words a bar. There was supposed to be dinner and a program, but it ended up being appetizers and some music in the background. The super awesome door prizes mostly consisted of Centennial T-shirts and cases of red bull. So we basically paid $40 a piece to see other members of our class fill up on free alcohol and get wasted. I did have a really good time talking to some of my old friends though, even though the party was not that great. Let's face it, at this point in my life, why would I want to hang out at a club?

So, after my "bar" experience we spent Sunday with my family and then headed back to Utah. Now, week four got really nuts. When I got back we were in dress rehearsal week, which meant long rehearsals every night. Friday was opening night and it actually went great! We had an awesome audience and we didn't make any major mistakes. The first picture is me in my maiden costume and the other one is for the second act when we are in our nightgowns looking for "papa".

I stayed out pretty late Friday night celebrating Opening Night, so I was pretty tired for a day at Lagoon on Saturday. My dad's company party was at Lagoon, so my dad, mom, and sister Andrea, came down take us all to Lagoon (free!) The pictures are from when we first got there. I don't think I posted the terrified looks Ella had on the rides. It's the first time she's been on a ride, so I think it scared her to death.

My parents were nice enough to take the kids for most of the day so Andrea, Ben, and I could go ride some rides. We went on the classic white roller coaster, Mouse Trap, bumper cars, the haunted house, the rocket, and the sky ride. We wasted most of our time waiting in line for Wicked, but it kept braking down. After about 30 minutes of waiting, and no moving, we finally gave up. The line wound around the entire park. After we finished riding rides, we met up with my parents and the kids in Lagoona Beach. Apparently the kids were sick of riding rides after 3 rides and begged grandma and grandpa to go play in the water. It was a super hot day! So my mom bought the kids swim suits and let them play in the water. They looked so happy not to have to ride any more rides. After we picked up the kids we went to a BBQ thing for my Dad's work and then had to race home since I had a show that night.

We got home and I showered and drove to the theater in like 15 minutes. I was excited because I had comp. tickets for my mom, Andrea, Ben and Hyrum to come see the show. We had a great audience and the show was awesome. We had so much fun on stage, but I was so tired by the time I got home that night. Sunday was kind of a blur for me.

So, now we are in the final days of August and it appears to be slowing down. I had another show last night and I'll have some on Friday and Saturday for the next couple of weeks, but at least I don't have to go to rehearsals in between. The rest of this week is going to be a serious catch up week. I've already done about a million loads of laundry. I'm hoping September will be a little tamer, but the calendar is already starting to look like a war zone. Ah well.