"Life is like a game of craps, and the devil is playing with loaded dice!"

As you all know, Julianne is our resident actress. She started taking children's community acting classes when she was 6 years old and it has been her passion ever since. Rehearsals and performances are a big part of her life. And as the years have passed, tap classes, voice lessons and theatre courses at school have been added to the mix. I often find her to be rather giddy when she comes home from a call back or a particularly engaging and challenging rehearsal.

But this summer marked a first for her. She auditioned for and was cast in Centerpoint Legacy Theatre's production of "Guys and Dolls." All of her other shows up to this point have been school or children's community theatre type of productions. And though she did do "Power in His Touch" with me when she was 12...that wasn't a show associated with any particular theatre or arts council and was kind of an independent thing...not to mention the fact that she was doing it with her mom. To be cast in a production at Centerpoint Legacy Theatre is a bit bigger of a deal...so much more professional than anything she had done before. And it was just her, none of her normal theatre friends she has already done countless shows with.

Which meant in a big way her summer wrapped around rehearsals, and then by mid-August...performances. The show ran for four weeks and she was in the Monday-Wednesday-Friday cast. And she LOVED it! She was a "mission doll"...a Salvation Army type volunteer. It wasn't a huge part. But she bonded tight with all those guys and dolls in both casts, despite the differences in age (she was the youngest) and life circumstances.

Side note: Gary, my voice teacher and one of my best friends, was also in the show as Sky Masterson as well as serving as music director for the cast. He was absolutely terrific, of course...and it was incredibly fun to watch him on stage with Julianne!

By the time they finished the run, Julianne was two weeks into school and already deep into rehearsals for the high school musical "Les Miserables"...so it was with equal parts relief and sadness she said goodbye to her "Guys and Dolls" pals. But she is already looking forward to auditioning for other shows at Centerpoint Legacy Theatre in the future.

Take a hike

After spending our anniversary in Park City back in July, Bryan and I decided that the hike we took was something we wanted our children to experience. Brandon miraculously didn't have gymnastics workouts over Labor Day weekend so we decided to make Saturday a hiking day.

(We brought our mini "Sister Croft" with us on our adventure...Rebekah was at least with us in spirit.)

It was forecast to be windy. With the potential for rain showers. We forged ahead with our plans...much nicer to hike in cooler weather anyway, right?

A few raindrops fell while taking the Crescent chair lift to the top of the mountain. And as we came over the peak, the freezing wind blasted us. I told the kids that once we got off the top of the mountain and onto the trail in the trees, the wind wouldn't be as strong and would also provide a bit of shelter from the rain. But they continued to look at me like I was crazy as I finished up with the suggestion of considering it all an adventure...war stories. "My parents made me slog through a massive windstorm with the rain coming down in sheets all in the name of family togetherness!!" (Complete with wild exaggerations.)

I was right, though. The wind was nowhere near as strong once we got down into the trees. And the rain tapered off rather quickly. When we got the occasional cloud burst, we'd move off the trail under a tree and wait it out seeing as they always passed by within 5 minutes. The sun came out and our jackets came off. The scenery was beautiful and I was reminded me of the quote from Anne of Green Gables when Anne has just come to stay and Marilla is teaching her how to pray in the correct and proper way. Anne says, "Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep woods, and I'd looke up into the sky--up--up--up--into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer." 

Because really, there is something about nature that makes me feel God's presence. There are few other places that show me so certainly the existence of God. Hiking this trail in the mountains with my family, trees and plants and wildflower and little critters and such beauty all around....I was so content.

We took a wrong turn at some point (well wrong from the way Bryan and I had done it back in July) and found ourselves at an old silver mine, with buildings that were in various stages of decay. We explored a bit...peeking in windows and doors. Being careful to not knock into or step on anything that might give way. And watching for any animals that might be making their home inside one of these buildings. (Actually I might be the only one that had concerns about that. I'm not a fan of running into something slithery. Or stinky. Or anything that might not like us disturbing its home....)

The ride down the Payday chair lift was a well earned break after all our hiking around and was such a beautiful and leisurely way to finish up our time on the mountain. We stopped for BBQ at a restaurant on Park City's historic Main Street before making the drive home. The kids all admitted that their worries of a miserable hike in the wind and rain were unfounded and that they had a wonderful time. It really was such a great day!

42 with a view

I turned 42 on Sunday. Yes, I admit to my age. I may not be completely thrilled about it...but I am willing to own it.

Being a Sunday, birthday celebrations included going to church. After three hours of meetings and then a big dinner we had decided to hike Ensign Peak. That sounds all impressive, doesn't it? Hiking up to a peak? It's really only a mile total round trip. The majority of the altitude climb is in the car winding our way up through the neighborhoods of the Avenues above Salt Lake City. I'd never been there before so I expected a pretty little walk up to the peak and then the famous view. We'd planned it to be right in time for the sunset out over the Great Salt Lake. But I was surprised to find that it was much more than just a pretty little walk. It really was a hike...short maybe, but one that had me huffing and puffing. I wasn't really thrilled about the fact that I was indeed huffing and puffing on this short little hike...even if it was rather steep and full of switchbacks. I decided to blame it on my sedentary summer due to recovery from surgery and clearly my body was just not up to its normal physical standards yet. {right???}

Rounding the final corner and ready to climb the last few feet, a warning was called down to us by a man already on top of the peak. "Stay to the right of the path," he said. "There's a rattlesnake down there."
Ummm...what?! His warning stopped me in my tracks. Cold fear came over me in a wave. I hate snakes. Someone in our little group pointed out the snake curled up under the big boulder just to the left side of the skinny little trail. Oh my. Before I had time to even think about turning around and going back down to the bottom, peak-less and view-less, Bryan hustled me past the snake...me doing the heebie jeebie shivers the whole rest of the way to the top. And the view was worth it...even if I did watch where I stepped the whole rest of the evening. I mean, who says the snake didn't have friends, am I right??

The view of the Salt Lake valley was pretty spectacular. And the sunset over the lake to the west was fascinating to watch. We explored around up top, took pictures and enjoyed the view for a good half hour or so. I was all set to stay longer and watch the lights wink on in the city below. Bryan thought it a better plan to start our walk down the trail before it got completely dark, especially seeing as he had somehow forgotten to bring his flashlight. {very unusual...he always has a flashlight, even when he isn't planning to be out after dark.} My iPhone has a flashlight...but as I mentioned this to him, my thoughts went back to the rattlesnake. Umm, yeah. Maybe taking the trail while there was still natural light to see by might be that much better to watch where I step. Our way back down was uneventful. The snake was gone. Although in some ways that made me more nervous...where did it slither off to? Was I going to run into it on the trail a little further down? I felt a little more in control when I could eyeball it. {as completely gross as that even is...to eyeball a rattlesnake. ewwww!}

Every now and again we heard rustling in the bushes to the sides of the trail. Lilian would stop and listen...nervous and excited all at the same time, wondering what kind of animal might be moving around in there. And then as Bryan grabbed my hand to walk with me behind the other three kids, I saw him lean down and scoop up a small rock...and throw it into the bush ahead of Lilian. She gasped and stopped...looking intently, trying to see if she could get a glimpse of anything...with Bryan sporting a sneaky little grin behind her. Daddies and their teasing. Lilian didn't realize what was going on till we got to the bottom of the trail.

It was a fun way to celebrate my birthday. I wished we'd had Rebekah with us, of course. But a few days later I got a birthday card in the mail {or the post, as the British call it} covered in Queen Elizabeth stamps. She filled that card full of her recognizable handwriting, saying such sweet things...line after line of specific things she was thankful I'd taught her, reasons why she loved me. I cried and cried and cried. I miss my Rebekah something fierce...even if I am so unabashedly proud of that girl and what she is doing!!!

Zoo day

The company my Dad works for had a summer party at the zoo. They were invited to bring their families...children and grandchildren alike. A hot breakfast was provided, along with face painting, a raffle and of course, free entrance to the zoo. We got an email from my parents...were we interested in coming along? Lilian and I jumped at the opportunity, despite the fact that I would still only be 3.5 weeks post op. I figured I'd take it slow and sit a lot of I got tired. Brandon didn't want to miss his gymnastics workout and Julianne had some other things on her Saturday to-do list so they both declined. But Bryan said he'd come! I have to admit I was surprised and delighted that he wanted to tag along. Katie came with her four kiddos (Dalton, Holly, Allison and Jackson) and Melissa brought Maddy.

Once arrived and in the specially set aside party pavilion, the kids immediately decided that face painting was the first order of business. I thought to try and convince them to eat first but Katie pointed out the wisdom of jumping in line before the line got long...and she was right. Not to mention, happily face painted kids would be much more willing to focus on breakfast. My Dad won two tickets to Lagoon in the raffle. All in all it was a successful morning and we hadn't even seen any animals yet!

(A butterfly, two rainbow cheetahs, a dragon, a wolf and a polar bear.)

 (Even Grandma decided to get in on the action and get a little butterfly on her face.)

But the animals of course were the main draw of the day. So despite the fairly intense heat and the crowded Saturday-in-summer zoo conditions, we headed out to do some animal watching.

The kids were pretty obsessed with the zoo maps...constantly referring to them to see where we were headed and what was up next. I think a favorite of everyone was Rocky Shores...the area of the zoo that housed the polar bear, sea lions and otters. They were super playful and therefore, really fun to watch.

"Run away....run away!!!"

In homage to dinosaur mania due to the new Jurassic World movie, there were life-size dinosaur models spread throughout the zoo. 

The zoo did indeed wear me out...helped in large part by the August summer heat. I tried to sit as often as I could but was red-faced and feeling decidedly lightheaded by the time we left the zoo. We had a wonderful time seeing all the animals and hanging out with the cousins, but as soon as we got home I climbed in bed and stayed there pretty much the rest of the day. It was worth it though!

Caught

It was a mad dash from my front den to the back bedroom...I'm sure they probably saw a flash of my pink fluffy bathrobe streak by as they came in the front door.

What was meant to be a productive day had devolved into a few hours sitting in front of the computer. I'd come to terms with it. After all, the blog post about the first day of school was taking me much longer to put together than I had thought...but it was on my list of things to do. So, maybe I wouldn't get a chance to visit the Museum of Fine Art today after all and needed to shift that activity to another day. No biggie. Reconsidering my to-do list, I'd already decided instead that some laundry and vacuuming would take its place after finishing said post. 

But then I heard a car door slam. It sounded close...I even glanced out the window, but didn't immediately see anything. I turned back to my computer screen. Then I heard voices. Glancing over a second time I saw Julianne walking up the front path, obviously coming home for lunch. Not unusual, really. But voices...plural. She had a friend with her. The realization of what I was wearing rushed over me and my horror deepened when I saw that not only did Julianne have a friend with her, this friend was a boy! I had seconds to decide how to play this. Stay in my seat and smile bravely? This is probably what I would've done had I been in my normal pajama pants and t-shirt. But no, today I was in a robe...a bright pink one, no less. I don't tend to wear pink anymore, but this was the robe I bought with some Christmas money from my grandparents back when I was in my first year of college. So not only a robe...but a really old and tattered one at that. I decided to grab my computer which was still gaily playing whatever song was cued up on my iTunes playlist and make a run for it down the hall.

Yes, a flash of pink. I'm sure they saw it as they came in. Because then Julianne called down a warning as they walked into the entryway and I could hear the humor in her voice, "Mom...I've brought Jaden home with me for lunch!" 

"Yes, I noticed!" I called back. "That's why I ran for it...you've caught me being lazy this morning and I'm in nothing but my robe!" 

I heard Jaden's laugh. Good thing he feels comfortable at our house and knows our family well.

And then the memory of the state of my messy kitchen came back to me. Face palm.

Maybe this'll teach me to get ready for the day in a more timely manner after the kids leave for school....

Another year...

And here we are again. Another First-Day-Of-School. Truth be told, I wasn't overly excited about school starting back up again. This summer was really low key. And it was meant to be. After mine and Julianne's NYC trip in early June, we didn't have anything else going on really. And after our crazy and emotional spring, this was a good thing! Brandon would continue with gymnastics 30+ hours a week with some extra morning workouts along with the normal evening ones. Lilian was signed up for odds and end little neighborhood cooking classes, swimming lessons and a crafts class. Julianne had evening rehearsals for "Guys and Dolls" at Centerpoint Legacy Theatre. But no vacations, camping trips or other big adventures. So I had hoped to throw in some hiking. And a few trips to Cherry Hill and Lagoon. I wanted to keep up on the yard really well and eat dinner on our back patio more frequently. I wanted to bike in the mornings. And read a lot of books....

But then I unexpectedly scheduled surgery. And although it was the perfect time to do it solely because we didn't have any vacations, camping trips or other big adventures planned....it turned our summer into even more low key of an event than I had originally expected. So some of those other little family activities I was hoping to enjoy didn't really happen. Well, except for reading a lot of books. Having a sedentary summer worked out well for reading and not only did I get through quite a few books on my own, we read through a lot of the Harry Potter series out loud as a family as well.

So I watched from the comfort of my bed and couch while all my neighbors and friends posted pictures on social media of boating and trips to the museum, camping and fishing, swimming and Lagoon. And I had to talk myself out of feeling somehow like I had failed my summer. Which is silly. Because a low key, relaxing, sedentary summer frankly is exactly what I needed. And though I wish for a few more weeks now that I'm actually up and moving again....the district planners unfortunately do not consult with me when they plan their school calendars each year, so here we are. The-First-Day-Of-School.

JULIANNE...senior





















Because of the block schedule, at the high school they get two First-Days. Which is maybe good for Julianne seeing as the first one didn't go quite as smoothly as she had hoped and when I insisted on taking a picture I got a look that more or less said, "Oh fine...but hurry it up please, I'm late!" She was much more cool and collected on the second First-Day.

She's a senior this year. Thank heavens, because junior year (generally accepted as the hardest of the high school years) about did us both in! All the same, she has her senior year jam packed with a bunch of AP and CE classes and an elementary education internship. So far, she still seems to be super excited about them all...but we are only a week and a half in to the semester. She's also thrilled to be on the Seminary Council this year. And is already in rehearsals for the school musical, Les Miserables.

1. AP Art History
2. Internship
3. Internship
4. Seminary
5. CE English 1010
6. Physics
7. AP Psychology
8. U.S. Government and Citizenship

Second semester she'll swap up some classes to add CE Communications, CE College Algebra 1050, Child Development and switch CE English for regular English Literature. She may decide to audition for a Children's Theatre class or for the Moonlight Singers her second semester in which case she would drop Child Development....she's still debating. Her counselor is absolutely thrilled that she's still on track to get the very hard to earn Regents Scholarship which would be worth a hefty chunk of college money. Here's hoping we've dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's! And then of course, senior year...as I learned the hard way two years ago with Rebekah....will mean graduation and the accompanying emotions as I lose another daughter to college and adult hood!

BRANDON....9th grade (aka Freshman)

Brandon is in 9th grade this year...a freshman in high school officially, so grades and classes now count towards graduation...but still over at the Junior High school. Because he is busy with gymnastics workouts every day of the week except Sunday, he isn't involved in any school extracurriculars. But being the big fish in the pond is nice and Rebekah and Julianne both really enjoyed their 9th grade years, and he expects to as well.

1. English
2. Earth Science
3. Computer Technology
4. Geography
5. P.E.
6. Math
7. Seminary

Second semester he'll trade out P.E. and Computer Tech for Photography and Advanced Art. I think after this year ends he will have taken every art class the school offers! The art and science teachers all know him extremely well...those two subjects being his favorite. This is the first year for Seminary and he's really been enjoying that class as well. Though we have a carpool...the same one we've had all three years of junior high, he's been trying to take advantage of the nice weather before winter sets in to ride his scooter to and from school as often as he can.

We get asked often how he is able to keep up with seven classes worth of homework along with his demanding gymnastics schedule. Interestingly he continues to get great grades and have no problem getting his homework done. Last week all the school counselors were visiting the english classes to talk to the kids about homework skills, time management, focus and priorities. Brandon's counselor randomly happened to be the one that visited Brandon's class and he was surprised (and probably a bit embarrassingly pleased) to hear her use him as an example. "There is a boy in this school that is an elite gymnast. He's in this class, in fact. He goes to the gym after school every single day. And yet he still gets really good grades. How do you suppose he manages that?" And then she asked Brandon questions about how he finds the time to do his homework and he talked about working hard during class rather than talking to his neighbors, and using that one hour he has right after school before he leaves for gym or sometimes working on homework during the drive to Bountiful, etc. Brandon has a great counselor who is super helpful and seems extremely proud of the kid.

LILIAN....3rd grade

Lilian is in the 3rd grade this year with Mrs. Williams as her teacher. And though she doesn't have any of her closest besties in her class with her (for the third year in a row..she was so incredibly irritated and railed for many long moments about the unfairness of it all) she claims that the her first day of school and her new teacher was the best one yet! Granted, she says that every year.

She's hugely excited to start learning cursive...despite the fact that it isn't really required for anything and very few people actually use it. A large chunk of her back to school clothes are cheetah print in one way or another. And she insists on me packing extra dessert in her home lunch every day so she can share with Luke....a boy from the neighborhood who is a year older than her but who now shares the same lunch period seeing as the 3rd and 4th graders eat together.

Extracurriculars for Lilian continue to include piano lessons (in which we tend to fail every week when it comes to practicing). A new season of soccer has started up with a new coach, more advanced rules, and a new field closer to home to play their games on Saturdays. With four girls from our ward on the neighborhood, we've started a carpool which helps tremendously getting them to and from their twice a week practices. CentreStage Theatre starts up again this week and rumor has it that among other things, they will be putting together a production of The Jungle Book. And then this year for the first time Lilian joined Singers Company...a little girls singing group run by a woman in our stake. We're newbies but from what I can tell, Singers Company is a national group with local affiliates. A lot of Lilian's little friends from outside the neighborhood are in this group. (See? You make lots of new friends when you don't have your traditional besties in your school class...as I keep trying to explain to Lilian when she complains.) I think she's going to have a good year.