Floral artist wannabe

Look what I made? I went all Martha Stewart the other day! Actually, I got the idea off a blog that I like to read and it looked like a little project that I could actually handle. So when I went to the store a couple of days ago I bought myself some carnations and went to work. Obviously it won't last long being that they are fresh flowers. But it was fun to put together. Maybe I'll do it again some time.

"Sarah's Shrine" (as dubbed by Bryan)

Years ago my parents had this big "Gloria" poster framed. It's been hanging in my house ever since. And I've often thought, especially recently, that it would be fun to add some posters/programs from other shows that I've been in. Yesterday was the day that I finally put it all together. I'm so incredibly pleased with how it turned out. A big chunk of my free time is represented on that wall. Not everything is up there. I suppose I could've added covers from CD's that I've sung on. There are various other concerts sung with other choirs that aren't represented...
But anyhow, here are the bigger ones and here's a little description of what's up there...

"Gloria"... Written by Lex de Azevedo. We recorded it in 1999...and then have performed it numerous times yearly since then, mostly notably in Jerusalem but also all over Utah, Idaho and California. This picture, and the one on the framed advertisement poster are from Jerusalem.




"Hosanna"...written by Lex de Azevedo. We recorded it in 2000...and then have performed it numerous times yearly since then. Millennium Choir did go to Jerusalem to film "Hosanna" as well but I was newly pregnant with Brandon and, although heartbroken, opted not to go. This picture was taken from a performance in the Crystal Cathedral in California.







"Fiddler on the Roof" 2003. I performed the part of Chava, Tevye's youngest daughter, in this production with the Sandy Arts Guild. And yes, that is my sister Katie standing next to me. She played the part of Hodel.




Mozart's "The Magic Flute" in 2005. I joined the Utah Light Opera Company as part of the ensemble for this show. It was the first time I ever sang opera.







"Pirates of Penzance" 2009. Seeing that this has been one of my all time favorite musicals since I was a kid, I was so excited to not only be in the show but play the lead role of Mabel in this production with Syracuse Arts Council. Oh my, it was a blast!!





"Power In His Touch" 2010. An independent production not really associated with any specific theatre or city art council. I helped record the soundtrack way back in 2000 so it was a lot of fun to actually perform the show this year. And especially enjoyable was doing the show with Julianne. (Don't you think that I look like I'm about to sneeze in this picture?) :)


Obviously I'm hoping to do more shows in the future so my plan is to eventually maybe add two more frames and then rotate out the older shows for newer ones as the years go by.

No specific title because I can't think of one...

We celebrated Mountain Vistas Day today. What? You haven't heard of that specific holiday? In my neighborhood it's an annual event filled with activities such as a fun run, a children's parade, inflatable slides and bounce houses, a climbing wall, a dunking machine, various carnival games. The teenagers, not ones to be overly excited about bouncing in an inflatable with toddlers, had their own activities which consisted of a big volleyball game and then swimming. Then later families come back together again for a big BBQ and, this year anyway, a big family dance. (Can I just say, it was rather fun to watch everyone jam out to YMCA, Single Ladies and Thriller, specifically.)

But this afternoon it was hot. And I was tired. It's been a long-ish, somewhat hard week. Lots of bike riding. Lots of running errands here and there. I've been fighting some sort of bug that has given me a sore throat and made me feel slightly icky all week long. So between all that and other various things, I've been just off. Emotional. Really, really tired. Blah.

After the carnival games we had a couple of hours before the BBQ. I fell asleep. And woke up 45 minutes after the BBQ had already started. Oops. Bryan had sent the older kids over already so I decided to go, by myself, to Cafe Rio to get a salad for dinner. The line was really quite long. And I was still groggy. My exhaustion and crazy week must have shown on my face as I was zoning out...inching ever so slowly towards the front of the line. As I stood there I realized an older gentlemen was trying to get my attention. He said, "I have a task for you." "A task," I repeated? He replied, "I want you to to find one thing to be happy about." And then he smiled. So I thought for a moment. "Well, I left my 3 year old home which means I'm not having to worry about her wanting to run all over the place while I'm waiting in this long line!" And I smiled back at him. "Ah, there you go!" he said. And then suddenly it was my turn to order and I didn't see or talk to him again. But how nice was that? Because I found myself smiling the whole rest of the way through the order line and all the way back to my car and home again. And not because of the fact Lilian wasn't with me. It was the thought of this nice man who had seen someone looking down and went out of his way to do something about it that really made me smile.

Favorite Photo Friday: Amateur photo shoot

I've spent numerous days over the past couple of weeks school shopping with these kids. Relaxed fit jeans for Brandon, skinny jeans for Julianne. A one strap backpack for Brandon, a cool messenger type bag for the girls. Bras for the girls, more and more socks for Brandon. Tennis shoes for Brandon, Converse and slip-ons for the girls. Graphic tees for all the kids. (Brandon says "absolutely NO polo shirts...) New glasses for Julianne...ones that she will deem cute enough to actually wear in class. A cute vest for Rebekah....like the ones all her friends are wearing.
Target, ShopKo, Kohls, Aeropostale, Vanity, Payless Shoes, JC Penney, Justice.

They are growing up so amazingly fast. Sometimes it's nice to look back at pictures like this and remember when they were still little. Summer 2002.

Thursday in the park with the kids

It was only 79 degrees this afternoon. And to celebrate, we got a bucket of KFC and went to the park. (Side note #1: why is it officially now KFC and not Kentucky Fried Chicken? Easier? Just wondering.)

Julianne brought her new wave board. She is remarkably talented on the thing.
Brandon brought his somewhat new roller blades. He's freakishly fast on those wheels.

I had a huge and long conversation with one of my neighbors...all texted....about play group and pre-school. (Side note #2: Lilian calls pre-school "Pretty school." How cute is that?)


While I was alternating between texting and napping, Lilian was apparently rummaging through my purse. Maybe her sisters can teach her the correct way to apply lip gloss.


With the sun beating down just the right amount of heat and a slight breeze blowing, it was all too easy to doze off for a few minutes.

Pretty Julianne suggested that a good ending to our lovely park afternoon, would be to stop at DQ on our way home. Actually, DQ is not on our way home. It is quite out of our way. But we decided that the thought of blizzards, parfaits and shakes made the longer drive worth it. (Side note #3: Why is it officially now DQ instead of Dairy Queen? Easier? Just wondering.)

Accesorizing my bike

My white handlebar grip tape was getting awfully dirty. How fun that my bike store had tape in the exact same teal green color as the accent stripes in my bike? And yeah, okay....maybe it's really girly of me, but I love it. I think it makes the bike that much more uniquely "Sarah's bike." While I was at it I also got a bike computer. Tells me the time, how many mph I'm going, what my average mph is, how many miles I've gone, and how long I've been riding. Very helpful and very fun. Have I mentioned recently how much I love riding my bike??

Early harvesting

I was not happy to see this.

It didn't take long to find the culprit.

Here is the culprit looking appropriately chagrined after a stern talking to about the hows and whens she is allowed to pick vegetables out of the garden.

Favorite Photo Friday: D.C.

I went to Washington D.C. with my sisters Rachel and Melissa back in April of 2004. Me being the history geek that I am, I was in heaven! Museums and monuments, bits of American history lurking around every corner. But the highlight of the entire trip was visiting Thomas Jefferson's house, "Monticello". Which, I suppose if you're going to get technical, is not in D.C. It's officially in Charlotesville, Virginia. But whatever. Details, details.
Rebekah is in D.C. this week. I hope, hope that a trip to "Monticello" makes it's way into their sightseeing plans. Because it truly is worth visiting.

Yardworking

I do this a lot. Weekly. Bi-weekly even, sometimes. Don't I look cool (not) with those monster ear phones? Ear buds don't do the trick. The mower is just too loud. But with these noise cancellation ear phones I can hardly hear the mower. And the music makes the mowing so much more enjoyable. Something to even look forward to sometimes.

I edge too. I've decided I have a love/hate relationship with my string trimmer. I love how it makes my yard look...but I hate IT. I feel like I'm a pretty capable person when it comes to yard work but I struggle mightily to get the string in my trimmer to unspool the way it is suppose to. And so I have to stop every few minutes to take the darn thing apart and pull more string out. And when I'm already irritable from heat...sometimes "colorful" language accompanies my efforts. But it's worth it. Because I am driven absolutely crazy by grass growing up the side of my fence or hanging over my sidewalk. It's one of my pet peeves.

Today Bryan and I spent some time adjusting various sprinklers. This interest in our sprinkling system was brought on by the need to replace one of our sprinkler heads. Which was brought on by my running over it with the lawn mower a few days ago. Sigh. Hopefully the adjustment of the various sprinkler heads will result in the greening up of a few dry, yellow spots in our lawn. But it could just be from the fact that everyone in our town has been struggling with lower water pressure this summer. A result of some on going water-pipe-buried-in-road-construction. In which case all the sprinkler head adjustment won't help a bit. Time will tell. I'm grateful for all the rain this past week. It helps.

But the rain? It also helps my morning glory to grow. And have I mentioned how much I hate-despise-abhor-loathe morning glory? Well...maybe that's a story for another day.

I'll leave you with a collage of pictures Julianne took recently of odds and ends in our yard...

Daredevils

We have a 20 foot tall climbing rope/pole in our backyard. The kids scramble up it easily and often. Which means all too frequently this is my view as I'm looking out the kitchen window while cooking dinner or doing dishes. And I have to admit, my heart always skips a beat.