Oh the Thinks you can Think...

When you think about Seuss!

In November, my stake put on a production of Seussical the Musical. I was fortunate to have a chance to participate in the show, and it was a BLAST! I had forgotten how much I enjoy doing a show and being on stage. For those who don't know what Seussical is: take Horton Hears a Who, add a whole bunch of other characters from Seuss (Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz..etc), mash them together, throw in music and lyrics, and out pops a musical!

Auditions were held in September, while I was in New York. For a while I used that as an excuse to not audition. But then the more I thought about it, and the more people at church asked if I was going to do it, the more I realized I wanted to try out. So I emailed the director and the producer, and asked if I could audition early. The worst they could say was no.

Well, Cory (Mr. Director) said we could make it work. So I auditioned a few weeks early, on a day I happened to get a sore throat..awesome for singing, right? Nevertheless, I managed. And the weeks of waiting to hear about my part were difficult. At first I wanted one of the leads, Gertrude McFuzz or Mayzie LaBird. However, I was cast as a bird girl, and I am sooo glad now. As a bird girl I had an absolute fantastic time! I got to do a lot of dancing and singing, and I spent a lot more time on stage. Plus I got to work with the other bird girls, including my friend Jessica, and they are all fantastic women. I really scored on my part. (Honestly, we were on stage for at least half the show...we were always busy!)

Now, normally to do a musical you have like 50 rehearsals--every night for several weeks. We had a little over 20 rehearsals to pull this show together, and it turned out so well! I was so pleased with our performance. I just can't express how much fun I had, the wonderful people I got to meet and work with and the friends I made. It was such an amazing experience, and I am so glad I decided to try for it!

Here are some fun photos of our show!

 We did a black light number! It was so cool!

Whole Cast and Orchestra!

Storybook Lane

Alpenrose Dairy is a fully functioning dairy really close to our complex. And they have built up a little Western looking town with store fronts you can go in and see, like a school, post office, cobbler shop, piano shop and Opera House. (The Opera House is legit, with 600 theatre seats and a 4,000 pipe organ). They also have a bakery (for real food) and model trains set up. It is so cute and we enjoyed seeing the dairyville all set up for Christmas.

This is the second year they have been open, and they have Santa in his own building/house set up at a photo booth We took Eli to get his picture taken with Santa. He wasn't too pleased with the sitting on a strange man's lap thing, but we got come cute photos.

 I can't help it, I love the little scowl

They also have an area called Storybook Lane with 4-H raised animals in little houses, among 100s of Christmas trees and little story clips along the way. So Cute!

Here are some other pictures from around Dairyville.

 Eli loved watching the model trains!

Inside the Western Town style Candy Shop

Inside the Post Office.

Visiting Dairyville made for a wonderful Saturday morning outing, and the perfect start to David's Christmas break. Yay!

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas arrived at our home! Here are some of the ways we have shown it:

 Over Thanksgiving, Mom showed me how to make my own wreath! It was so much fin to do it with her, and now I know how to do it, I can make more! Thanks Mom!

 Our little tree. I have been looking and looking for a decent tree topper, and found this one at Fred Meyer. I wasn't sure about it at first. (I knew the one I wanted, but it didn't come in silver.. only in gold! So annoying!). But the more I see this topper, the more I like it!

We have also been hunting for the perfect nativity set, and again, couldn't find it. But then my sister-in-law Shonda suggested getting a Fontanini nativity set because they are pretty much indestructible, a huge plus for little kids. So we went and looked, and I actually fell in love with them. So we started our nativity, and we will add to do every year. Shonda also gave me a Shepherd for the nativity, for the birthday, but I didn't get a picture of it. I'm very pleased with our little started nativity. It is just the right amount of traditional for me, and Eli has already put the unbreakable claim to the test...the nativity has passed with flying colors. Whew! He loves to play with the little figurines and it gives us a chance to talk to him about Christ's birth. Win win!

We also have a garland across our sliding glass door with lights and ornaments on it, but again, no picture. I love this time of year. Merry Christmas!

Charlie Brown and the Giant Pumpkin

Halloween was a busy holiday for us this year! I started out with a craft day with the other dental wives making these cute pumpkins.

So easy, and so quick!

On the friday before Halloween, we had our ward Halloween Party and Trunk-or-Treat. This year we dressed up as characters from Charlie Brown. People got who Eli was, and from there they figured David and I out. But at first it didn't look like we were dressed up. Oh well! I am so pleased with the way Eli's shirt turned out!

 And here is our little family at the party:

And the Photo Booth picture

Doesn't he make the cutest Charlie Brown!

 And in previous wards, decorating your Trunk has been a big deal for the Trunk-or-Treat. So I wanted to make sure that we decorated ours this year. I knew it wouldn't be a lot, compared to what I had seen others do, but it was something. Well, in this ward, trunk decorating is NOT a big deal. People were surprised, and liked, our festive trunk. Here is what we did short notice:

On Saturday night a gal in the ward hosted her annual "Witches" party--basically a girls night out, Halloween style, with food and lots of visiting. But you had to come dressed as your favorite witch. I chose to go as a Good Witch, and my friend Jessie let me borrow her Standard Ballroom dress! It was fabulous!

 On Monday, we carved pumpkins, finally! Better late than never. And with the wet here in the PNW, later IS better.

 On Halloween night we hosted a party ourselves, with some friends. It was a fun get together. I went all out with food, though. Made too much, as usual, but I had fun doing it!

 Mummy Cupcakes

 Monster Apple Mouths

Some of our decor. :)

Mummy Calzone

We chatted and played some games with friends, and just enjoyed the holiday together. Like I said it was an eventful holiday, but lots of fun!

Election 2012

If you are tired of hearing about the election, then stop reading now. But I feel like I need to get some thoughts down on a semi-public place, and I REFUSE to do so on facebook. So this is probably a venting post. So, like I said, if you don't want to read it, stop reading now. I won't be offended, heck, I won't even know.

A few weeks ago, I told David that if Pres. Obama gets re-elected, I honestly fear for our country. Well, it turns out just over half of America decided to see if my fears come to fruition. Our country is $16 trillion in debt, unemployment is high, same-sex marriage on the way in, oh yeah and Obamacare is on its way also, to name a few issues.

I have never been so emotionally affected by an election. When I heard the projected outcome on my way home last night, I didn't want to believe it. So I hopped on the internet to see for myself. I almost cried when I saw the results. Then, this morning, I did cry. Several times.

The biggest problem I have right now is Obamacare, because it will personally affect me, and my family's future, in a very real sense. Not only will it raise my private health insurance amount by about $2500 per year (according to projections) but it could significantly negatively impact David's future as a dentist.
First, the increased private insurance: with families paying more for private insurance, and the economy not getting better, they will have to be more selective in where they spend their money. $2500 more in health insurance means they will most likely choose medical procedures that are most necessary. Dentistry, strictly speaking, is often more elective than mandatory.
Second Medicaid: More families will be eligible for Medicaid, so in theory, more people will have insurance. Great! Except, where is the money to pay for this added care. A lot of doctors already don't take Medicaid because the reimbursement rates are so low. If dentists are forced to accept Medicaid, there will probably be a lot less dentists in the country. That may sound selfish, to the person who doesn't understand how a dental office works. To put it as simply as possible: David went and shadowed a dental practice recently. He found out that after all of the overhead expenses, and everything else that does in to making a practice run, the dentists come away with 2-3% of the office income, for their paycheck. Basically, dentists might as well be paying the government to care for the Medicaid patients, since they won't be able to actually make any money on these patients. And if the amount of Medicaid patients in creases, and dentists are forced to accept them, good bye dentistry in America. Ever wondered why there are very few dentists in England? Socialized medicine....

I won't continue with my thoughts. I truly believed that Romney was the man for the job, to get our country back on its way to profitability. Romney 2016?

One of my friends wrote on her facebook that she is going to pray for Pres. Obama, just as she would have for Romney. I disagree. I'm going to pray harder because this country is going to need those prayers.

New York, New York!

So David had this big, nasty, ugly, scary, horrible, brain numbing test to take in mid-September. What did I do? I took Eli and flew to the other side of the country to let him study play with my sister, while he studied! :) A full week with my sister and her family, whom I hadn't seen in a year= FABULOUS! Thanks for letting me crash your house sis! Love ya!

While we were there, Rosie took us to see the Church History sites in Palmyra, NY. I had always wanted to visit the Sacred Grove, Smith family Farm and Hill Cumorah. This was my chance. We headed to Palmyra directly after church on Sunday and spent the afternoon. It was a wonderful experience. I didn't truly realize how much of the early church history events happened in Palmyra. I was amazed by how small the original log cabin was, and the closeness of the Sacred Grove to the farm. We took the tour of the houses/farm and then walked through the Sacred Grove. Note: if you want time to experience the Sacred Grove, to ponder and pray... don't cart several kids along. :) Still it was beautiful and wonderful. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Then on Tuesday we went to Niagara Falls. Holy Cow! So worth the car trip! Gorgeous and incredible! We also took the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the center of the falls. Definitely recommend doing that, if you are ever close enough to see this incredible Natural Wonder of the World. :)

 

On Thursday we went to the Syracuse Zoo. A nice, small zoo but with several fun animals to see. It made for a good morning outing.

The rest of the time we visited, I helped Rosie prime her new sewing room, and we just enjoyed being together. Thanks again sis! Love you!