Today is.....

My birthday!

I remember when I use to look at people my age, 33, and think that they were SO old! Am I old? I don't feel old. Well, sometimes I do. Like after a long day with Teague, but other than that, not so much.

I know that I have some wrinkles, I think Teague gave me those too, but are they really that noticeable? I'm not sure.

I know that I have some grey hairs too, but thanks to Melanie, you can't see them, so they aren't noticeable.

I also know that I am not ashamed to tell people my real age, should I be? Will I ever be?

Anyway...Happy Birthday to me!

It was WONDERFUL!

And...I am not just saying that because I am Piper's mom, or because I am a YTU alumni, well...I might be, but I really don't think that I am.

Annie was fabulous, the best of the night! I was able to go into the dressing room while the girls were getting ready and take some pictures. They were so excited, it was unbelievable and not one of them nervous. But does this surprise you? And, might I add...it was extremely difficult to get a normal picture of these girls!! Every time I would say something about getting a picture, they would all strike a pose with some sort of extravagance, again...does this surprise you? They are theatre kids.

This is a picture of some of the girls before we went down to the dressing room:


This is on the way to the dressing room. cute:



These are in the dressing room:


This one is of all the girls, the teen aids, their director, their musical director and Penny, the program director:


The first line Piper had was something like, "They're fighting and it's 4:00 in the morning and I'm not going to get any sleep. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" The audience roared, and my heart pounded, I was SO proud of her! And after every line she said the audience would roar, and I would smile, both inside and out. Then, along came her solo. YES, she nailed it and the audience roared. I am such a proud mom.
Some of these pictures are a little blurry due to the fact that I couldn't use the flash, but I did the best I could!

This is a picture of some of the orphans, including Annie (Robin):

This is a picture of all of them, including Ms. Hannigan right when Piper is saying one of her lines, I think, "But it's four o'clock in the morning!":

This is Piper beginning her solo, "Hey Dapperdan.....":


This is Piper at the end of the song, along with all the other orphans:


At the end of the night after all of the scenes have been performed, all Theatre School students, past and present go on stage and sing the Theme Song. Somehow, I was coaxed into this...okay, not really, I just went up, okay...not really, someone told me to and without hesitation I did. And of course, Piper is up front and center and if you look closely you can find me.


Anyway, what a good time. Piper and I are going again tonight to see the rest of the scenes performed, Piper is very excited, but sad that it is over for another year. In a strange sort of way, we want it to last all year.

I've been tagged! A-Z

Thanks Michelle, this ought to be fun.......

A. Attached or Single? Attached.
B. Best Friend? Camille (and Aaron).
C. Cake or Pie? Um....BOTH!
D. Day of Choice? When I was a kid, it was Wednesday, I had Theatre School that day, nowadays, I really don't know. A non-busy day. Or a day that I get a lot done.
E. Essential item? My phone.
F. Favorite Color? Yellow.
G. Greatest Accomplishment? Giving birth to my kidlets un-medicated, one at home. click here.
H. Home Town? Bountiful, UT.
I. Indulgences? Coke, Cadbury Cream Eggs.
J. January of July? The whether of January. The celebrations of July.
K. Kids? Piper, 7 and Teague, 5.
L. Life is incomplete without....."Momma Daddy" time each night.
M. Marriage date? March 21, 1997.
N. Number of Siblings? 4 brothers.
O. Oranges or Apples? Oranges.
P. Phobias or Fears? I hate dirty, nasty, sticky hands. Is that a phobia?
Q. Quotes? "Mom, I'm pretty sure that birds are naked, because they don't have on shirts or socks or helmets or hoods so I am pretty sure they are naked." - Teague Orlando Salazar
R. Reason to smile? Piper, Teague and Aaron.
S. Season? Autumn. Not too cold, not too hot and the colors are breathtaking. click here.
T. Tag three friends. Delynn, Stephanie & Lisa.
U. Unknown fact? I went to a Marilyn Manson concert...recently, and it was awesome click here.
V. Very Favorite store? It's a toss up right now either Cabin Fever or Black Chandelier
W. Worst Habit? I rub my feet together in bed, it drives Aaron nuts. It's a Hyde thing, my dad and all my brothers do it as well.
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound. Only because I associate it with my kidlets and an X-ray I associate with something broken.
Y. Your favorite food? Tomatoes.
Z. Zodiac? Cancer

By the way, make sure you check out Piper's Hairdos, there is going to be a giveaway on Wednesday July 2.

Back on the ice!

Teague had his first day of "Learn to play Hockey" last night. Yes, he already knows how to play, but he has been off of the ice for awhile, so we thought it would be a good idea for him to brush up on his skills. He had so much fun, and not only was I proud of him for how well he did, but he was very proud of himself.
When we first got there all the coaches were excited to see him which made him excited to play. He is still the littlest on the ice, but man can that boy skate. It's kind of funny to see someone so little out there skating like he does.
When it was over, he couldn't stop talking about it, he even had to call daddy to tell him all about it. They practiced crossovers, skating and jumping, skating backwards, turning, and falling and getting up.
We are looking forward to a busy hockey season.

At least we know she likes it......

One day after rehearsal, but before Theatre school started, I said to Piper, "You are practically going to be living at the West Institute for the next couple of months." She said, "I know, and I am going to love every second of it!" I just laughed....I knew exactly how she felt.

Aaron picked Piper up from rehearsal on Wednesday and they were just talking on the way home. He decided that he wanted to see how much Piper really enjoyed Theatre School and doing plays. So he said to her, "If you had to choose between going to Disneyland for a week or doing Theatre School and a play for a week which would you choose?"

Apparently without hesitation she said, "Theatre School and a play."

Then Aaron said, "If you had to choose between going to Disneyland for two weeks or doing Theatre School and a play for two weeks which would you choose?"

Again without hesitation, "Theatre School and a play."

Then Aaron said, "If you had to choose between going to Disneyland for an entire month or doing Theatre School and a play for and entire month which would you choose?"

With a little bit of thought she said, "Theatre School and a play, because you can act like you are at Disneyland!"

Swimming

Yesterday, Teague and I went swimming at the South Davis Rec Center. I ask him at 10:30 if he wanted to go, he said yes, ran upstairs and got his trunks on. We didn't leave our house until 12:20 because public swimming didn't start until 12:30. He wore his goggles the entire time.




He and I went down the huge slide six times. He was very excited about that. We actually spent most of the time in the indoor pools (that is where the slide is). And while we were in the big pool he came up with all kinds of new swimming tricks. Including but not limited to: "The dead fish," "Upside down," & "Throwing."











We had so much fun. Teague kept saying, "That was the best date ever."

Some things I should keep to myself, but o'well!

Me as Dolly Parton singing "9-5 ":











































Me as "Betty," with my fantastic Back-up singers, singing "Leader of the Pack."

















Me and some other wonderful women playing the "guess who game." Any of you who read this blog will know which one of these statements belong to me. click here.

Two of my good friends singing 'Suni' & Cher's "I got you babe." This is when we found out that both of these girls are expecting. We already knew that Kiersten (Suni, on the right) was with #2, but we found out that Monica (Cher, on the left) is 10 weeks along with #7!













Our Fabulous Bishop with his cute as heck wife, Stanna.


















This was such a fun time. My Relief Society (a group of women from my church) had a women's retreat this last weekend up at our bishops cabin. The music pictures were taken during our "Ricks Creekian Idol"(we belong to The Rick's Creek Ward) competition. (we all won) In church on Sunday, they said that they might make this an annual thing. I'm okay with that, it was so fun.

Conservation Carousel

Since we are members of Utah's Hogle Zoo, we got a special invitation to attend the open house for the grand opening of the Conservation Carousel. The kidlets were very excited.
We went and picked up Piper from Theatre School then we went and got Daddy from work. We went to The Training Table for a quick bite, which by the way, is FAR TOO EXPENSIVE now, which is very unfortunate, because I love that place. We paid $32.00 for the four of us to eat, we got two combo meals and a kids meal for the kidlets to share. We use to get two combo meals and two kids meals for about $25.00.
Hogle zoo has really gotten a bad rap the past few years but, I have to give them credit, they have really stepped it up. They now have Elephant Encounter, Asian Highlands, the Conservation Carousel and they are now working on a new polar bear exhibit.
We had been waiting for this day to come for about a year. The open house was from 6:00 - 8:30 and we got there at about 6:30 and it was PACKED, I was lucky to notice somebody leaving so we got a great parking place right up front. I was concerned that we would be waiting in line four hours to ride the carousel, so I talked to the kidlets and told them that all we were going to do was ride it and then go home. We ended up being in line for only about 20 minutes. The kidlets were watching the carousel and they chose which animals they wanted to ride, so then I had to have the talk about how "we get what we get, and we don't throw a fit," I assumed that we would get in a group where we would be last...


....NOPE, we were about the fourth people in our group and the kidlets got to ride what they wanted to. Of course, Piper rode the Tiger (her favorite animal) And, keep your eyes open...she may appear on the website or in the newsletter, a zoo employee ask me if she could take pictures of my "cute daughter." She said it was for the website and newsletter.


and Teague rode the Elephant, which surprised me because his favorite animal is a Giraffe.

They had so much fun. After we rode the carousel, we did end up going straight home so Daddy could study.
Anyway it was a fun night except for the expensive Training Table Experience.

Happy Father's Day

I know that I have posted this picture several times before, but I love it, it is my favorite picture of Aaron and the kidlets.

I thought that for Father's day I would ask the kidlets the same questions about Aaron that I ask them a few days ago about me. Again, Piper's responses are in yellow and Teague's are in orange.

What is something dad always says to you?
"You don't love me!"
"I love you!

What makes dad happy?
"Clean house"
"When I play with him."

What makes dad sad?
"When his kids aren't with him."
"When I be bad to Momma."

How does dad make you laugh?
"Mostly everything."
"He tickles me."

What was dad like as a child?
"He was the only boy."
"Teague."

How old is your dad?
"34, that's an old man!"
"I don't know, really, I don't know."
*He is 34.

How tall is your dad?
"Probably six foot one something."
"Maybe like 40 inches."
*He's six foot.

What is his favorite thing to do?
"Spend time with his children."
"Play with me."
*I like how Piper said Children...she was trying to be proper.

What does your dad do when your not around?
"Do his homework."
"I don't know."

If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
"Probably of his art."
"To kill bad dragons."

What is your dad really good at?
"Art"
"Racquetball"

What is your dad not very good at?
"Um, let's see....lying, cause he always says a funny lie."
"Well he's not very good at....well, that's too hard, I don't know."

What does your dad do for his job?
"Computers."
"He works on Comcuters."

What is your dads favorite food?
"Probably Panda Express."
"Is it steak?"
*It's sushi.

What makes you proud of your dad?
"Cause he's the one who goes to school and makes lots of money."
"That his dad and my dad worked on the sprinklers."
*We wish he made lots of money, that's why he goes to school.

If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
"Elmo, because he is really good at acting out Elmo, he kinda makes fun of him."
"Spongebob"

What do you and you dad do together?
"We always laugh so we can't even breathe."
"Play."

How are you and your dad the same?
"Our mouth. And our funniness."
"Cause we both have the same shoes and we both have whips, because I have one that just has one and daddy has one that has two to whack two people at the same time."
*I don't know about any whips.

How are you and your dad different?
"My dad is much more funnier than me."
"Cause we both don't have the same eyes."

How do you know your dad loves you?
"Because he always spends time with me when he's not at school or work."
"Because sometimes , I mean a lot of the time, I mean most of the time I be good for him."

And...since it is Father's day, I wanted to give a shout out to my dad and share my favorite story. It is funny that this is one of my favorite, because there are so many, but this one has always stuck out in my mind. And, I would post a picture, but remember what I said about me being really unorganized with pictures? So, I will just link you to this family photo.

So anyway, I was about 6 or 7 and we were on our annual family vacation, I can't remember where - I am sure my brother Jordan remembers - probably southern Utah somewhere. I was at that age when collecting rocks was the most awesome thing to do and I had a square hot chocolate can full of them. I was wandering around while we were hiking trying to find the coolest rocks, and I did find some cool ones. At the end of the day I had a bunch that I was VERY proud of...especially one, it was little and PERFECTLY round. I went up to my dad and said, "Dad, look at this perfectly round rock!" He looked at me, smiled and said, "That ain't no rock! That's rabbit shit!" Needless to say I dropped that rock so fast and started freaking out and also needless to say, I didn't hear the end of it from my four brothers. I HAD HELD RABBIT SHIT! Proudly.

playlist

You may have noticed that I now have a playlist on the blog (scroll to the bottom). The songs are very random, so I thought that I would give an explanation!

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - IZ
I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it about seven years ago when Dr. Green died on ER. It was also playing during the end scene of "50 First Dates." Now, it's everywhere.

"Hey There Delilah" - Plain White T's
This is Teague's FAVORITE song.

"Unwritten" - Natasha Beddingfield
Piper loves this song.

"More Than A Feeling" - Boston
This is the song that Piper was born to. While we were at the hospital Aaron ask me if I wanted to listen to some Primary songs, I said (yelled) "No!" Then he ask "How about Enya?" again I yelled, "No!" Those were the only 'soft' options we had, so he started naming all the cd's we had, he said, "Boston." I said, "YES!" So, he put it on, this is the first song on the album. So this is the one she was born to.

"We Will Rock You" - Queen
Great Classic Song. Teague loves anything by Queen. This is actually my ringtone on my phone.

"Can't Cry Hard Enough" - Susan Ashton (?)
Actually the original song is sung by "The Williams Brothers." Playlist.com didn't even have one song by them. I also wanted to put on "Happy Man." I just love this song, however, the original is better.

"Bad Day" - Daniel Powter
Another Piper song. She loves it.

"Waitin' On The World To Change" - John Mayer
Again, Piper. She loves it.

"Jessie's Girl" - Rick Springfield
Such an "Old School" song. Piper danced to this song once & has loved it ever since.

"Drift Away" - Dobie Gray
Piper heard this song on the radio one day and it is now one of her favorites.

"Jack & Diane" - John Cougar Mellancamp
Teague just loves the way this song sounds, his favorite part is when he sings "Long after the thrill of livin' is gone."

"Nights in White Satin" - The Moody Blues
Teague. Who really knows why he likes this song. The Moody Blues are awesome, but this is kind of a strange song to Love.

"Lionel Richie" - Does he really need an explanation? We all know that I am obsessed with him. I am a little upset that playlist.com didn't have "Dancin' on the Ceilin'" Right Camille?

I love the fact that my kidlets LOVE music so much. I love that Aaron really helps them love and appreciate it. There are so many other songs that I could have put on here that remind me of my kidlets, but I only chose a few. For instance, Piper loves Billy Joel, John Mayer and Classic Rock. Teague loves anything Hard Rock, Classic Rock or Metal.

I am so glad that I found playlist and that I figured out how to do it. We Love Music at our house.

By the way, remember to check out Piper's hairdos!

YTU in '08

Piper was hardly able to sleep during the week leading up to first day of Theatre School. She was SO excited. On Friday June 6, there was a little orientation for students and parents. They had to go over all the rules, get class schedules...and most importantly get their 2008 T-shirts. We were especially excited because this is Piper's first year in the pre-teen session, she gets to go from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This is her schedule:

9:00 - 9:30 Announcements and Warm ups
9:30 - 11:00 "Red Company" Musical Theatre
11:00 - 12:00 Clowning
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 2:00 Improv.
2:00 - 3:30 "Red Company" Musical Theatre

In her "Red Company" class they do a big "scene" at the end of camp. All of the girls in the class were VERY excited to find out that they were doing "Annie!" They will be singing; "Maybe," "Hard Knock Life," "You're Never Fully Dressed," and "Tomorrow." Piper's friend Robin got the part of Annie, and Piper is very ecstatic to be playing Tessie. You also may know that character as the orphan that always says, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness." In the morning class they practice lines and blocking and in the afternoon class the practice songs and choreography.

In clowning, they learn how to be a clown, and in improv, they learn how to do improv. Eb is her teacher for both of those classes. You may remember Eb from this post. He is an incredible actor and great with the kids.

Lunch is a pretty big deal because they get to choose from about six places where they are going to eat. So far it has been, "The Sev," "Einsteins," and "Subway." She can also take a home lunch, but still go to one of those places.

I know that I have said this 100 times before, but I will keep saying it. The West Institute (the building where Theatre School is & any YTU thing ie: Captain Bree, Honk & Charlotte's Web) is such a familiar and comfortable place for me, even still after having been there a lot this past year, it brings back some of the best memories of my life, even the smell makes me smile. Around each corner and in every nook and cranny of that building, there lies a memory...a good one. And it seems like each time I am there, I have a different memory that makes me happy.

I hope that Piper will always remember this time in her life and I hope that her memories are as Poignant as mine are. I have a feeling she is going to have a lot more of them than I have. I didn't start Theatre School until I was 9 or 10. She was 5.

Anyway, this post is our entry from last year, it also shows pictures of previous years T-shirts. This, is this years. I really like it.

I only got a couple of pictures of her first day, but I think that they are adorable, so here they are:

This is just a cute picture of her in the car on the way to Theatre School on Tuesday, the second day.

Piper's Hairdos

Here is a link to the new hairdo blog:

PIPER'S HAIRDOS

Enjoy!

Shrinking?

So, I FINALLY found new shoes for Teague. After going about 5 different places, we found some that are his style (he is very particular) and his size. He got a pair of black Converse high tops and a pair of Vans.
We were up at my mom and dad's house and I said to Teague, "Show Grandpa Larry your new shoes!"
So Teague ran over to Grandpa and held is foot up in the air as high as he could so Grandpa could see them.
Then I said to Teague, "Tell Grandpa why you had to get new shoes." I was thinking that he would tell Grandpa that his black Converse with the flames wore out, or that he was growing up so they did fit anymore, but to my surprise, this is what he said.

"Because my old ones were shrinking!"

Then he ran back outside to play.

Question your kidlets

So, I got this idea from a friends blog. It made me laugh reading hers and it made me laugh thinking about what my kidlets would say. To my surprise...I liked what they said. Piper's responses are in yellow (her favorite color) and Teague's, of course, are in orange.

What is something mom always says to you?
"I love you."
"I love you."
*I thought for sure they would say something like, "Hurry up! We're Late!" or "Clean your room!"

What makes mom happy?
"clean rooms"
"Um...I don't know."

What makes mom sad?
"I don't know."
"That I don't clean my room."

How does mom make you laugh?
"By tickling me."
"Doing this..." then he pulled a face, "Um making faces."

What was mom like as a child?
"You were an actor."
"Her dog had a big beard."
*I think it's funny that Teague, for some reason, thought of my dog instead of me.

How old is your mom?
"32"
"113"

How tall is your mom?
"Five foot ten inches?" (I wish)
1,2,3,4,5,6...I don't know!"
*I'm 5'7"

What is her favorite thing to do?
"Cuddle with her cuddle bugs."
"Lay down with me."

What does your mom do when you are not around?
"read"
"lays down when she is sick sometimes."

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"acting"
"I don't know what it means."

What is your mom really good at?
"acting"
"She's good at watching me at Hockey."

What is your mom not very good at?
"mmm let's see... I can't think of anything."
"Um, shes bad at...she never plays guitars."

What does your mom do for her job?
"doula."
"I don't know."

What is your moms favorite food?
"candy."
"salami"
*tomatoes

What makes you proud of your mom?
"cause she loves me."
"I'm proud she loves me."

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"Marge, since she always says the lines of Marge."
"Sally" (nightmare before Christmas)

What do you and your mom do together?
"Hang out."
"Kiss each other."

How are you and your mom the same?
"Almost everything."
"Both of our hair are blond and both of our eyes are blue and both of our noses are the same, cause mine has a slippery part on it and hers has a slippery part on it."

How are you and your mom different?
"Momma loves candy, but I just like it."
"Because we don't both have earrings."

How do you know your mom loves you?
"Because she takes care of me and all that stuff."
"Cause I almost play with her all the time."

Really?

Okay, I know that here in Utah our gas prices are still below the national average. I know that you living outside of Utah will look at these pictures and wish you were me.
However...I am angry! I drive a 1996 Toyota Rav4 (yes...1996!) It has a 13 gallon tank and gets great gas mileage. You know that there is a problem when I spend $50.00 to fill a small tank. I feel bad for all you that drive huge SUV's or Trucks. You will notice that I ran it almost dry.
I even go to Maverik to fill up because they are on average .05 cheaper than any other station, and I am a Maverick Club member so I save .02 on every gallon, so I save about .07. It's still $50.00!?!?! C'mon Georgey! At least I can get a bag of Jack Link Jerky for the same price as a gallon of gas, a large bag even.