Lessons Learned

It all started a couple weeks ago when Parker asked me if I had seen his Nintendo DS anywhere.
Nope... not me. He began to search EVERYWHERE... then I searched EVERYWHERE.... then we all searched EVERYWHERE...
No DS :(
The last time he could remember playing it was on the airplane coming home from Atlanta after our cruise. Ryan even called Delta airlines to see if anyone by chance turned it in or something. Nope... no luck.
The bummer was, not only did he lose his DS, but his case and 6 of his favorite games that were in it.
Yes, there were a few days of Parker moping, crying and panic about how he was going to EVER find or replace it again.
But then, he had... a plan!
He would save up enough money to buy a new DS, but not just any DS...
he wanted the new, not even out yet, DSi XL!
So he had a week and a half to raise another $100 dollars to go with what he already had saved.

Working for $5 here and $10 there...his savings was growing... slowly!
What is funny is, just the week before he realized the DS was lost, I asked him if he wanted to wash my car and I would pay him. He politely declined saying, "No, I don't need any money right now, I'm not saving for anything."
He told me he had learned a few lessons from this experience...
1. don't lose your DS
2. don't keep ALL your favorite games in the case
3. don't pass up any opportunity to earn money, even if you don't need it.
(AMEN to that!!)

Finally after many hard working hours.... he had earned enough!
And so today, the day after the DSiXL was in stores, his dream came true! He is pretty excited with is new purchase. He loves the larger screen, the bronze color and the camera feature (that one isn't my favorite)
Now, he says, he won't be "bored" on the drive to California this week.
Thank goodness, because I would hate to have to drive to California without a DS...
oh wait... I have... and somehow as I kid I survived!!!

GIRLS TRIP!!!!

This weekend Miranda and I took off for Seattle for a little girls getaway with my sister Heather.
We had great plans of shopping, gossiping, shopping, eating, shopping and seeing Legally Blonde, the Musical.

Friday night we headed to 5th Avenue Theatre for the play. Ok, so we were all there, but Miranda was the cutest of the bunch so she got to pose for the photos)
This was the image projected on stage while waiting for the show to start.
The play was fabulous as expected. We were even surprised to see that Jeff McLean was Warner for the production. He did an excellent job!
Saturday, after catching the new Alice in Wonderland movie we headed to Pike's MarketThe place was buzzing with tourists and the smell of fresh flowers,fresh fruit and fresh FISH were everywhere!!(I wasn't even temped to buy octopus or squid)They did however have this handsome little fellow that just needed a photo-op...
However, I guess I'm the sucker because I jumped a mile high when he moved as I was taking a photo... but still managed to capture this shot before passing out! We stayed in a hotel right in Downtown Seattle and this was the view from our balcony....The weather was perfect... the company was perfect... the weekend was perfect.... thanks Heather and Miranda for a fabulous time!!!

Our Cruise Adventure

I'm not sure how I could ever describe the fun we had on our cruise to the Southern Caribbean.
Everyone had a fabulous time relaxing and playing in the sun.
Enjoy the slide show of our trip.

The sun will come out tomorrow

Well, Annie is officially over.
All the hours and hours of rehearsals and planning have come to an end.
I must say that it was such a great experience for Miranda. She grew so much being in this production. She has such an amazing talent for the theater.
Everyone in the audience thought it was a typo in the program when it said she was only 14 years old. She had such an amazing stage presence and it seemed like she had been doing this for years.

Miranda has bitter- sweet emotions about the play ending. She enjoyed it so much and loved working with all her "Broadway Family".
Working with Jolie Rand, the director, has been great for Miranda. She has learned so much.
So what's next???? Thoroughly Modern Millie auditions are this Summer with the performance this time next year. You won't want to miss it!!

I put together one more slide show with more scenes from the play.
(Sorry if some of them are a little blurry, but you get the idea)

>

You're never fully dressed without a SMILE!

Last night was the start of the second weekend of Annie.
Miranda had full support from the audience since over 50 people were there just to see her in action as Miss Hannigan.
There were so many ward members and friends there that I missed getting photo's with all of them.
And of course her biggest fans.... her family! Ryan and Parker have only missed one show and are ready for more! It's been so fun to watch Miranda grow from this experience. She has made so many friends by being involved in the plays. Only 3 more shows to go... Miranda is already sad about it ending.
Here's a slideshow with a few more pictures from last night...
Until Tomorrow!

It's a Hard Knock Life....

for us!
Wow what a crazy and intense week. It's been full of 6 hour rehearsals and Performances of Annie.
The beginning of the week (M-W) Miranda and I spent at Summerlin Library. She would rehearse while I helped organize and prepare props & sets backstage.
Finally, Thursday Night it was SHOWTIME!
Miranda was extremely nervous because despite all the rehearsing they had never ran through the entire show, only the first half.
Thursday night was the true test of preparedness for the entire cast and crew.
But it went off (with just a few glitches)
Whew... one down 7 more to go....
Friday night was even better than Thursday and Saturday matinee and evening were even better than Friday (hummm, maybe practice really does make perfect)

Now for my little mother bragging moment....
Miranda was AMAZING! I knew she was talented (after seeing her in Seussical that confirmed my suspicion) however, playing the role of Miss Hannigan has truly brought out the "best" in her... in true Miss Hannigan Style.
We had many friends and family come see her the first week and they all couldn't believe it was really Miranda on the stage. It's like she transformed into someone else once the costume (and make-up.... ooooh the make-up) was on.

Even complete strangers couldn't believe that she was only 14 and could act and sing like she did.
I couldn't be more proud and I'm so glad,(even though It's exhausting) that it's not over yet.... 4 more shows to go!

I've taken quite a few photo's so decided to make a slide show of the first week.
Enjoy!

Hakuna Matata

For Christmas, Santa gave each of us tickets to see the Lion King at Mandalay Bay.
We were all so excited and counted down the days.

Finally... Last Night was the night!

We started with a fabulous meal at Maggiano's in the Fashion Show mall.
It was the kids first time eating there and they can't wait to go back.. Yummy! We headed to Mandalay Bay and made our way to the Theatre
So exciting! Our seats were fantastic right in the center! It's almost time to start! After the opening two scenes, the lights came on and everyone was wondering what was happening. Then an announcement said that due to a sudden illness, the show will have a brief delay. It only lasted maybe 5 minutes, then another announcement... "The part of Rafiki will be played by XYZ the understudy" (don't remember the name)... Gee, I wonder who got sick?

After that, the play went off without a hitch (and Rafiki did a fabulous job!)
The costumes were amazing!
It followed right along with the Disney movie with a few additional songs. It brought me back to when Miranda was 2 years old and wanted to watch Lion King over and over and over again. I can practically recite the entire script from memory (mom's you know what I mean)

The dinner was Fabulous... the Show was Fantastic and we had so much Fun together!
It was definitely a "Hakuna Matata" (no worries) kind of evening!