Anniversary Trip 2011

My mom and dad were lucky enough to go to Hawaii for their anniversary! This is Harley by the way and I hope to be blogging more soon!

Beck

OK so I have to share another Beck story. So last night Monica and I were laying in bed talking and all 3 of the kids had been asleep for about an hour. Beck had decided again that he would rather sleep on the floor in the girls room instead of his comfy queen sized bed. Anyway, while we were talking I heard laughing and I told Monica I thought the kids were still awake. We listened for a minute and realized it was just Beck laughing and then it started to get closer. I looked up to see Beck walk right past our bedroom door into the living room, laughing and giggling all the while. Monica said, "I think he might be sleep walking". I jumped out of bed and followed him to see what was going on. He walked around the coffee table, towards the wall and then walked in a circle. After 2 circles he straightened out and started walking right towards me but he literally had no idea I was there. He was dead asleep, laughing and walking. I leaned down and picked him up and instantly he laid his head on my shoulder and stopped. I carried him into our bedroom and sat down on the bed with him. Monica and I were both talking to him and he would just laugh and laugh and when we'd stop talking he would just lay there peacefully. After a couple minutes I went and laid him back down and he was quiet for the rest of the night. This morning when we asked him about it he had no recollection of his little sleep walking adventure!

Beck

So yesterday was Beck's 4th Birthday and this is how our conversation went 1st thing in the morning:
Me: Happy Birthday Beck!
B: What, am I 4 years old now!
Me: Yes.
B: Oh my gosh, I grew so big last night. I'm so tall now. (looking at his hands) Look at my hands, MY PINKY IS SO LONG NOW!

The rest of the day was filled with "I'm 4 now, I can do it without help"

California April 2010

We went to California the first week of this month with my entire family and there are quite a few things worth writing about so I'll share a little. We left home just after 2a.m. on Saturday morning (April 3rd). In my tired state packing the car that early I hadn't left enough room in the car for the stroller so rather than repacking the car I put the stroller in a bag and put it on the roof and secured it with bungee cords. We realized the mistake that was when we got on the Highway and the faster we went the louder those bungee cords hummed in the wind. It was early so I told everyone to go to sleep and don't pay any attention to the sound (we were already late and didn't want to make everyone stop). We made it to somewhere between Nephi and Scipio I think when Harley yelled, "It just got really quiet!" and with that a loud thump on the back of the car. Yep, the stroller came loose and was held on with one bungee. We stopped, through the stroller in the car and sped along to catch up with the rest of the family. Later that morning when we were about 20-30 miles out of Barstow, we were following a car and I saw that their rear bumper was flexing in the wind. I started looking for somewhere to go as I told Monica that bumper was coming off. Unfortunately there were two semi's in the right lane and I couldn't get over so I started to slow down. Just then the bumper did come flying off the car in front of us. Everything moved in slow motion as the bumper rose about 15 ft. in the air. Just as the bumper landed on the ground we ran over it straight on. We stopped and the car in front of us now missing a bumper continued on their way. Luckily it only caused minor damage to our van but we called the police anyway. This part cracked me up, after I told the dispatcher what had happend she asked the following questions... "were you able to see what color the vehicle was?" to which I replied "yes, it was silver, I'm standing here looking at the bumper that I just pulled out of traffic." "Were you able to get a plate number off of the vehicle?" "Yes, I'm standing over the rear bumper and the plate is still attached." "Ok, it we'll run the plates but it may take a while to find the vehicle since we can't match up the plates." "Really, cause I would think that you look for the make and model of this car that's missing a rear bumper?!?!" Some people are so dumb. I know, people probably say that about me sometimes but seriously...
Anyway, the rest of the week went great. We felt our Hotel room moving in the earthquake that happenend down in Mexicali. Spent 3 days at the Disneyland parks, 1 day at the Wild Animal Park and a day at Sea World. It was a busy but very fun vacation!!

The Fam outside of Ruby's on Huntington Beach Pier.

Me and the Kids after meeting the Disney Princesses.

Harley's Baptism

I know it's late notice but any and all who can make it to the Baptism, we'd love to see you there.
It will be this Saturday, Dec. 26th at 10am in the Country Creek Chapel only a few blocks from our house to the East. The address is: 625 S. 750 E. LAYTON , UT 84041.
We will have a brunch afterwards there at the church!
P.S.: Here is a copy of our Christmas Card, I don't think we ordered enough therefore missing many of you!

I'll Give It A Try

You know every time I post, which is about once a year, I do it with the thought in mind that I will keep at it. With the goal that I will post at least once a week. It can really be quite daunting, there is much to catch up on. Viewing this as a journal, I feel the need to do it. Yes, the goal is to print the blog eventually in a book, but as often as I post we will be printing when I am 60. 30 years, that is about right I think?

Hmmm. Since, let's see February. HArley was in another play. Liza turned 6, Beck turned 3, Cameron turned 31, and I am 30. Harley will be celebrating her big day on the 21st of this month she will be turning 8 followed by her baptism on the 26th. We have been blessed to see New York, Italy, Switzerland, and Lake Powell. All of which were amazing! Definitely places one should not miss before leaving this earth. I have sadly miscarried too many times to remember which one happened at what time. Luckily I can remember the numbers. Since we were married in 2000 I have had 9 pregnancies, 3 were viable and resulted in our 3 beautiful children, 4 were miscarried by 8 weeks, and 2 were ectopic (pregnancy in the fallopian tube).

Do not be sad though, we were given some answers with the last one which turned out to be another ectopic pregnancy that grew too big and burst following the fireworks on independance day. It was truly the most physically painful night of my life. My uncle who is a surgeon was out of town, and I was unable to reach my OB. After a life saving blessing from my father, we went to the emergency room. Having had every kind of pregnancy possible we knew exactly what was going on. The people working in the emergency room however did not understand the urgency of the situation. Ectopic pregnancies took many lives before our more medically advanced times. When the fetus grows to big for the the tube it bursts resulting in massive internal bleeding, that if not stopped can result in death. I was writhing in pain, I must have looked like some kind of freak show in the waiting room. I could not get comfortable, I was making some kind of crazy noises, and I felt totally out of control.

After two hours of writhing in front of everyone. I was taken back. Half an hour later the Dr. came in and said, Well you look pretty uncomfortable, is there any chance you might be pregnant?" Wanting to scream I said, "Yes I have had positive pregnancy tests for 3 weeks now, I have seen my OB 3 times already with this pregnancy. My Dr. thought it might possibly be ectopic. This is my ninth pregnancy, I have had an ectopic pregnancy before, and I know this it is in the tube. Before leaving me he says, "Well lets give you some pain medication I will be back". 1 hour later no pain killers, he comes in and says, "Well your blood tests are showing you are only to weeks pregnant are you sure you have had a positive pregnancy test"? I respond, "Yes, 3! I have seen my Dr. I am at least 71/2 weeks along! The Dr. says, "Hmm. This may be ectopic. You look pretty uncomfortable I will order some pain medication". 30 minutes later I am still writhing Mom and Cameron have pulled up the side rails on my bed fearing I may fall. They are both teary eyed feeling completely helpless. They have asked at least 4 times since I entered the emergency room for someone to give me some pain medication. Luckily a new nurse comes in and quickly asseses the severity of situation, starts the pain medication. Calls for the Dr. he than proceeds to check if I am miscarrying, and tells us, "Well good sign you are not miscarrying, (Really! Wow that's because it's in the tube!) but you do seem to be in a lot of pain, I will order an Ultra Sound." 2 hours later I am in Ultra Sound. The tech is checking for abdominal pain, funny! 30 minutes out of Ultra Sound the Dr comes in and says, "Well what do you know, the pregnancy is ectopic. The tube looks to have burst, we are going to get you into surgery ASAP."

The surgery went well. I lost my right tube. The left tube come to find out is malformed due possibly to my previous ectopic pregnancy in that tube. According to the Dr. our only possibility for pregnancy now is in vitro. Hope is on the horizon! At this point we would definitely be throwing in the towel, but we know through some amazing blessings given to me with this last pregnancy, that we will have another addition to the family. It is just a matter of time. We are now in the process of becoming excellent money savers. The cost of in vitro is 20,000 to 25,000. We have found a Dr. who guarantees a live birth. This is definitely something we do not want to go into debt over, so someday we will meet our goal. It has been a great trial, but we feel so blessed to have been able to experienced it. Luckily it will not be something you will be reading about over and over again.

To continue with the update. Liza started her first year in elementary she is now in Kindergarten. She has been blessed with an amazing teacher. Lily started school August not knowing some of her letters, in 3 months time she is reading.



December 5, 2009

December 21, 2009
Obviously still trying. I think I will sum up this post quickly. Or else it may be another month until I finish. Yes, Liza is in Kindergarten! Harley is in 2nd grade. They are going to a new school this year. They are at Syracuse Arts Academy. It is a charter school in our area. Charter schools are not an easy thing to get into, the students are enrolled through a lottery process. If they have an opening and your family is drawn you are in. When we were contacted last year, we actually had 2
charter schools who had drawn our family. We decided on SAA because they have an arts based curriculum. We knew the kids would thrive in that kind of an environment, so we thought we would give it a try.

We really had no complaints with local school Harley was attending, but the draw to charter schools is that the parents have a big say in the education of their children. The teachers and administrators are working for the kids and their parents, quite literally if a teacher or even principal is not doing their job they can be replaced. I don't think it happens often though. The teachers at SAA are phenomenal. They all have a real passion for education, and their administration is amazing. They school is about 20 minutes one way from our house, luckily we carpool and I only have to make the drive once a day. Within the 1st few weeks of the school year we knew we were staying, no matter what the drive time. They say the pledge, and sing the star spangaled banner every morning, Harley had no idea what the pledge was. Also, I have always volunteered in the classroom, and the biggest difference I see is not only the massive educational advancements the kids are making, but the positive disaplin is incredible. In Harley's class last year it was constant chaos. At no fault of her teacher, she was amazing, but it was crazy. When I am in the classrooms now it is almost unreal to me the kids are actually staying on task. Even in the Kindergarten. Because the teachers are not having to constantly fight bedlam, more education can take place. Needless to say, obviously we love it! I have asked Harley here and there if she would like to go back to her old school, and she replies, No way!

Harley turned 8 today! She will be getting baptized the day after christmas, and she can hardly wait. She has been working so hard to prepare herself. She has been fasting every fast Sunday for the last few months, and has been reading her scriptures daily. She really wants to be the best she can be. She is such an amazing example to us. Infact, since the school year started we have been waking up and reading the scriptures and having family prayer every morning. Harley is not an easy child to wake, but when I say get it up it's time for scriptures she and Liza run. Because we don't have to wake so early on the weekends alot of the time we don't get around to it. Harley does not like this, and is constantly reminding us that the weekends need to be the same and we should be reading everyday. She is awesome! Well I have to get to the birthday girl so this is all for now. Love you all!

Harley is in Guys & Dolls

I just thought I would let you know Harley's play "Guys and Dolls" opens this weekend. She will be playing the part of Little Adalaide and will be singing a solo (Bushel and a Peck) on the nights of the 20th, 21st, and 26th. On the 28th she will be singing in the matinee at 2pm. The evening performances begin at 7:30pm.

She will be in the other performances on the 21st (matinee), 23rd (eve), 27th (eve), and 28th (eve) but she won't be singing her solo during those performances.

It is at the Jeanne Wagner/Rose Wagner Theater next door to PF Changs at 138 W. Broadway (300 S.) in Salt Lake City.

Tickets can be purchased through ArtTix, Academy Music, or at the door. There is a $3 charge per ticket for purchasing through ArtTix (801)355-2787. I would suggest buying tickets either at the door or at Academy Music in Kaysville (801)444-0554 as there will be no service charge if you purchase at those locations. Group tickets are available only at Academy Music for the price of $28 for 6 tickets.

Monica

Thoughts On My Sweet Family

Okay just a few quirky things this week that have had me laughing out loud. My Dad has said on more than one occasion to Beck "I have never seen a kid your age make his mother laugh so much." Honestly, he truely is my little comedian. As a baby (which wasn't long ago) even though he couldn't talk I could sense this small little humor in him. I knew he would never be a man of many words, (I may eat my words one day since quite recently he is really finding his voice) but I knew that when he did speak it would be well thought out and witty. It just kind of emanates from him. Now that he has found his voice which for some of you who have yet to meet him have not heard. It is low and monotone. My sister in law thinks he does this on purpose which is probably true because when he starts to chatter it is little higher than the bass tone he normally uses, and much more expressive than the typical monotone. So now that I have created a small picture of his voice for you. His newest is this when reprimanded or disappointed he responds with this great. Ahh Mann!! Heavy on the A like someone from Brooklynne. He kills me. He also is the entertainment for the carpool. When the kids get in the car he immediately turns on the charm and can have the entire car of 1st graders rolling. His favorite is a game that he plays. Where he will point his forefinger at you and command you with one word, SLEEP. You close your eyes, and he roars with his best tiger impersonation, and scares you. He will then turn the game around where you are commanding and roaring. He responds to with a shocking scream. The kids cannot get enough of it, and neither can I.


Last night was the recital for my students. It was fantastic. They were amazing! You know it really motivates me as a teacher to see the big strides my students make from one recital to the other. It was a very colorful evening, we went from traditional christmas songs, country, alternative, jazz all the way to spiritual. The age range of my students vary from 6 to 36. It has been such a great oppertunity. Anyhow, the only reason I brought it up was Harley and Liza sang with my youngest student Kate. They sang Let It Snow. I had more comments on their song than from any others. It was hilarious, and sweet and fun all at the same time. Because there were three of them singing I sat down on the edge of the stage and held the mic for them, so that each one could be heard. They all took a line and then sang let it snow, let it snow, let it snow together. When they were singing together I would move the mic in the middle further back, so they could all be heard. Then I would hold the mic up to each of them when they sang there line. At about the second verse. Harley decided she could do this herself. Always the one to take charge. Not only that, but she has a thing for the stage. When her turn would come she would try to take the mic from me, so that she could hold the mic up to each of them. Of course the battle was making some noise in the mic so I finally held her hand through the rest of the song. The audience was rolling. My father in law put it perfectly when he said; " It was a great picture of their personalities, Harley wanted to be in control, and Liza just wanted to show off her shiny dress."

Now let me clear things up a bit for posterity sake. Because that may seem somewhat harsh on Harley's part, but Harley is amazing. She is just truly 7 going on 37. I have never seen anything, but perfect scores on her homework, and report cards, she is reading at least one chapter book a week, she loves to be organized, and if any one has a longing to understand the world around her it's Harley. More than one of her teachers have referred to her as their "dream student". She also has a constant need to love those around her, and be loved in return. She is extremely soft hearted, and is always looking out for everyone around her. I can trust her with so many things, it's hard to remember that she will be turning 7 in a month. She is an amazing little girl I can teach her a song one day and the next she can be performing it an audition with no fear. It may sound like I am bragging when I talk about her, but she truly is a wonderful little person. She deserves to be written about.


My little Liza as I think I have referred to her before is my bowl of sunshine. She spreads light wherever she goes. She loves her family, and takes care of all of us. She is my butterfly catcher. Completely carefree and full of fun. I am doing preschool with her one on one right now, and it has been wonderful. I think it has been really good for her to have Mom to herself. She does not fight for attention because I don't think she "thinks" she needs it. Although of course Mom knows better everyone needs attention even my little Liza who rarely asks for it. It has been so fun to get to know her little spirit. We were at the dentist on Monday. It is uncanny how good my kids do at the dentist, and if you are thinking it is because they have never seen the drill you can think again. It is actually quite embarrassing how many cavaties we have seen. Any way the hygenist was telling Liza how good she was doing. Liza responded by saying, "I am a brave head." You know she really is. I love that girl.


Well, can you tell how much I love my kids. They are such a gift. I am so blessed to be able to share my life with them. In the spirit of bragging I need to just comment on my awesome husband too. You know for a husband he has plenty he could complain about, but instead I hear nothing but support. As Young Women president I am in meetings almost all day on Sunday's, on Tuesday's I am at activities. On Wednesday' s and Thursday's I teach till 8. I have yet to hear a negative comment. In-fact, last Tuesday knowing of the crazy week I was having. Cameron did an entire deep clean of my house. I came up the stairs from teaching and it was sparkling. Wow! What a man. We are going to Washington on Sunday and all have to do to prepare is pack our bags. I am usually going crazy by now doing a full clean up on my house. He saved me. I am so blessed to have him as my partner in this life. He is amazing.
Also thank you for all of your comments on my last post I was really apprehensive about posting about my miscarriages. I wrote a cousin of mine in reply to an email she sent me about my post. I am going to copy my reply here because this really sums it up for me.

Through blessings and prayers, I have learned that there are some experiences that should be shared. Crazily enough I have felt that these miscarriages have been a great teaching tool not only for my family and I, but for some reason when shared for some of our closet loved ones also. We learn our greatest lesson's through our trials, and in the smallest of ways we gain a greater understanding of the suffering our brother Jesus Christ offered in our behalf. Especially when through the pain of the trial he suffers a greater pain with us than ourselves. Through my own trials I have learned that these small sacrifices are gifts to help us greater understand and bring us closer to Him. I have been blessed to feel and know his love through this small window of my life. I have so much gratitude for my experiences good and bad.

My trials have been my greatest blessing. I have been given a deeper understanding of my Heavenly Fathers plan through every trial I have faced. Thank you for your sincere comments on our behalf.

Life

We are back! I know this post is long overdue and I am hoping to do a better job in the future. Our family has been very busy since our last post. It is high time we make a record of the things we have been up to, so here we go. WARNING there will be many happy and sad moments in this post. Thus the reason I have been so long in contemplation over posting, but like I said before, this is our journal, it would be sad not to put our experiences in writing.
At the end of July we went on a great camping trip with Cam's family.




On our last day there we went swimming in Lava. While we were at the pool I noticed something a little out of the ordinary. I could have sworn I saw a very small baby belly on my sister in law Emily. I pointed it out to Cam, and he shrugged it off and said there was no way. Reason being that Emily and her husband Tom had wanted a baby of there own for a long time. They had adopted my 5 year old niece Brinkley, and are in the process of adopting my 2 year old niece Ashley. Ashley has been living with them for a little over 8 months now. When Ashley came to live with them. Tom said we are finished. Well I think our Father in Heaven had something else in mind. Two weeks after our camping trip we were given the great news that Emily was expecting. What a miracle. They are due in February with a sweet baby boy.

About a year ago in December I miscarried at 8 weeks. Since then we have been trying for another. Up to that point we had a nice pattern going. Between Harley and Liza we had a ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy in the tubes). Harley was a mere 4 months old, so losing the little one was bitter sweet. One minute I am sitting in the ER and the nurse is showing me HCG levels that indicate I am pregnant, and the next minute we find that the pregnancy is in the tubes, and it has to be removed. Between Liza and Beck I miscarried at 8 weeks. This news was given to me through a phone call by my Dr. telling me that my HCG levels were decreasing at a rapid rate. I was told to see her the following morning for a D&C. This one we found out was twins.
Thus with the miscarriage in last December (twins also) we thought for sure to follow the pattern we would have a healthy pregnancy the next go around. After 7 months I found out just before girls camp at the end of July I was pregnant. We were on. This one was healthy right. At 5 1/2 weeks I miscarried. This one devasted us. Miscarriage #4? No way! This is not a good sign!

With our trials come blessings. I immediately started researching, and found that at miscarriage #2 you are considered infertil, and should be seeing a infertility specialist. We immediately started down the infertility path. We also through the shock of it became closer as a couple and a family. I don't think we realize how much of an effect something like this has on our little ones. Sadly because of surgury etc. miscarriages are hard to hide from your little ones. It has especially effected Harley who has been praying for a baby for over a year now. She is a great example of faith in our lives. Just following the miscarriage she asked her Heavenly Father during our family prayers, "Why did Mommy lose the baby?" after she asked she paused for a good minute. She then said, "Ok thanks for that." She then continued the prayer. When she was finished. Cameron and I immediately said what did he say? At first she was confused. "About what?" We responded, "The baby?" She said, "Oh that, he said the baby wasn't ready yet."

Through many prayers, and blessings we have learned that our Heavenly Father is very mindful of us. He knows what we need, and he also knows when we need them. We just recently experienced our 5th miscarriage, but with the help of our Heavenly Father and his power to heal we have been at peace. We have been blessed with a beautiful life and beautiful children. We are very content with what we have been given. We will continue to hope, but at this point, I am happy to wait for whatever he has in store.

Wow! That was quite the summary. But i felt like it was important to share and write down. Sorry from going from the great news of Emily's new addition to that. But I guess such is life. Well real quickly as you have read we have been busy with the infertility game, but there have been many other things to keep us on our toes.We have experienced 3 Birthday's since our last post. Starting with Liza's 5th birthday on August 29th. She had the privilage of having two party's.
One at Grandma Paula's. One at Lake Powell.

In September Cameron also turned 30!!! We celebrated at the Melting Pot Yummy!

My beautiful man!

Beck turned 2.


We have recently really gotten to know Beck since he started talking. Before he started to speak he was quite a quiet child. He still is a pretty mellow quiet kid, until you get him talking when that begins you can learn a whole lot of what he is thinking. He loves cars, trains, planes, basically anything with an engine. Although I would say cars are his favorite. Hmm he doesn't take after any one on my side of the family? Huh? (All 5 of my brothers, and Dad) He is a riot! We love to have him around. I love every minute I spend getting to know him.

Cameron and I also just recently returned from a vacation to Hawaii. We went with my parents, Kel, AJ, and Joel and his awesome girlfriend Chantell to Oahu. We stayed on the West side close to Makaha Beach in a Beach house our backyard sat on a volcanic shelf where we would watch Turtles peaking in and out of the waves.
Our Backyard
My Dad, Cameron and my brothers snorkeled from our back yard over to a sandy beach about 1/2 mile away. We went to the Hawaii temple. We went to the garden of eden. Just Kidding, but man what an incredible hike.

Manoa Falls Hike




Chantell lived in Honolulu this summer, so we went to and saw all of the good stuff. I was really impressed. I didn't know what to expect with Oahu. I had been to Kauai, but had never heard many positive things about Oahu. I was plesently surprised. It had everything, good hikes, body surfing, snorkeling, shopping. It was awesome. As I mentioned Joel did bring a girlfriend that we are hoping will soon be part of the family. They are definitely twitterpated. Chantell is an incredible girl. we love her.

Love birds.





I have been working on this post for hours now. And I really do not want to bore you any longer. I still need to post some halloween pics, and there are a few more things to blog. I think we are covered for now though. As you can see it has been busy, but we have learned alot in the process. We have witnessed many miracles, and feel the love of our Heavenly father daily. I will post again soon. Although my track record isn't great. It's never too late to change. Love you all. P.S. sorry for the spelling errors. I am sure there are quite a few.

Belated July 4th Pictures. Better Late than Never.

Fun



Mom being Artsy





The Parade

Monica's Song Link

I thought you might want to listen to Moni's song from the Jenny Phillips competition. She's not really happy with it so I don't know how excited she'll be that I've posted it but I'm proud of her and think she did a great job.

Sad Story

I left work early on Tuesday as I usually to to be home in time for the 11 year old scout activities. On my way home I took the mail with me and thought I'd drop it at the Kaysville post office since it's on my way home, but as I pulled up to the post office I couldn't get anywhere near it because there were so many police cars, fire trucks and an ambulance. Of course when you see something like that happening you are somewhat curious to know what had happened but I just kept driving past and figured I would go back the next morning and drop off the mail.

The next day my dad was telling me some bad news about my brother Shawn and his wife Jessica. It turns out that Jessicas dad was at the post office in Kaysville the day before and had passed out or something, they're not quite sure. When he hit the ground he hit his head really hard. The amulance took him to the hospital and they ran some tests but could find nothing wrong, no heart attack, no stroke or annurism... They then life flighted him to a hospital in SLC where they continued to run tests and had him on life support. Still nothing showed up as a reason for him to go down the way he did. When he hit his head it caused a big clot on his brain which they went in and surgically removed. The doctors said on Wed. that the chances were extremely hight that he would never wake up or breath on his own again but still no cause had been found. After speaking with the doctors and seeing the tests showing no brain activity the decision was made on Thursday to take him off of life support. The family met today to say their goodbyes and begin the funeral arrangements.

Life happens so fast and you never know when it will be your time. It really makes you stop and think about life and how fragile it is. I thought to myself, would I be ready? I don't know the answer to that but it sure makes me think that I need to try a lot harder to be a better person, husband and father. Our thoughts and prayers are with Shawn and Jessica as well as Jessica's family as they struggle through this time. We love you guys!

Theater and such...

As you can clearly see June has been an extremely busy month for the Crabb family. It has taken me a week to justify posting something about myself, but as this is our family journal I thought it would important for the up and coming generations to have knowledge of my happenings too. Although, it is so much easier for me to write about the kiddos and Cam.
The pics are of me in my Joannie Casino costume (really the outfit was generously lended to me by my cousin Sarah). It was actually quite fun to dress up for it. Anyhow, I played Joannie Casino in a local production of Grease. You may be asking yourself who? Well the part is usually played by someone of the male gender who plays the character Johnny Casino, who sings a great male rendition of the Hand Jive. Due to lack of male singers, they asked me to play a female version and gave me the name of Joannie Casino. It was a blast! I had some pretty cheesy lines where I said the word TERRIFIC every few words or so, to keep the audience and kids in the Prom scene enthusiastic about the Hand Jive Dance Contest. It was a riot! I really enjoyed performing the song also, it had a few big belty notes, and was really fun to sing. I also had the advantage of not having to go to any rehearsals. I basically showed up to the Tech and Dress Rehearsals and did the show. It was performed at Davis High and ran for a little over a week, we did 8 shows total.
I performed with Belasco Theatre Company which specializes in training young performers 18 and under. Harley was in their last production of Annie with her uncle Jordan who played Daddy Warbucks. In Annie I sang a couple of nights as the Star in the number NYC. With Grease we had decided that Harley needed to grow a bit before she became involved with theatre again. She did an amazing job, but 2 rehearsals per week with one of those running between the hours of 10am and 5pm is a little much for a 6 year old. The director had asked me to help out here and there teaching harmony in Grease, but a little over a month ago she asked if I would be willing to play Joannie Casino and sing the Hand Jive. I don't think I will continue to get these opprotunities, but it has been fun while it lasted. My little business has grown quite a bit too through this, a couple of the leads are my voice students, and coming away from Grease I now have a waiting list of about 7 people whose spots I am hoping will become available in the fall. It truly has been a blessing all around.
Well there you have it. It has been a crazy time for the fam, but we are surviving. I could not be more proud of my hubby and kids they are amazing. I have been so blessed. I am now off to a music convention. My Mom, and Cameron convinced me to enter a LDS recording competition. The convention is this evening and the actual recording session will be July 5th. To quickly sum it up I will spend a half hour with Jenny Phillips who has written and performed songs for the last couple of years about the Relief Society and Young Women's themes. She has written a song for next years Young Women theme. This song will be the one I will be singing at the recording session she will be helping me with. There are 150 contestants who will all be doing a recording session. We all get to take away a demo we can use anywhere, and one of us will be chosen to sing the song in next years album. Ten of us will be chosen to participate in the choir for the album. I am not a competitive person, so a competition is the last thing I want to be involved in, but Cameron convinced me to do it for the experience and the knowledge I will gain for myself and my students, so here I am.
This has turned out to be an extremely long update. So sorry. I love you all.

Wasatch Back Relay

So I survived my first race. I ran the Wasatch Back Relay with 11 other guys this last weekend and it was so much fun. The race runs from Logan to Park City mostly along the back of the Wasatch Mountains. It is a total of 180 miles and each team member runs 3 legs. Mine were 5.6 miles, 4.9 miles and 5.1 miles. All 3 were considered moderate but for an amature like me it was still pretty tough. I felt good about it as I ran 9 1/2 minute miles to finish all 15.6 miles in just under 2 1/2 hours. Our team ran the entire race in just over 27 hours and we placed 165th out of 548 teams. Really not too bad since 8 out of the 12 of us had never ran any type of race before.

I didn't take a camera but one of the other guys did so when I get some pictures I'll post them. I'll post a little more about the race then.