Totally Wicked!

I have to thank my sister-in-law, Anneke, for introducing me to Wicked. A few years ago, it came to Denver and she called to say she was making the trip from Salt Lake to Denver to see it and wondered if I wanted to come. I had never heard of it, but having grown up loving the theatre, I readily accepted the invite. I was blown away by the show. I bought the CD and hoped to see it again someday.

That someday was this last weekend. Wicked made it's debut in Salt Lake and I wanted my best friend, Lori, to see it (it's kind of a chic flick on Broadway all about friendship). We bought the tickets way back in January and have been counting down ever since. And, in fact, Wicked is now coming back to Denver this fall, so I got tickets AGAIN and this time I'm taking Kaiya two days before her birthday. Wohoo!

She picked me up at the airport in Salt Lake and we had two days of shopping, dining, jogging, seeing the show and girl time. You would think we would run out of things to analyze and talk about, but we never do. :) Love your guts, Lor!

Proud moments

**Warning - brag post. I figure if I disclose this first and you care not to read, it's not too late to hit the "X" button at the top right corner of your screen. At the grandparent's request, I have uploaded a video of Kaiya's first gymnastics meet (it was a practice meet, but the first time ever in front of a judge) and of Cooper receiving his Grade 13 & Beyond Scholarship. What a great week. :)

Kaiya was pretty nervous, but I honestly thought I might puke from nerves. She did great, though, and more importantly, she had fun and was happy with her performance. The scary part was the judge they used has been around for a number of years (the exact number is not important here, people) and I recognized her from my days in the gym. Now, we gear up for her first real meet in two weeks in Denver.

Last night, Cooper got his Grade 13 & Beyond Scholarship ($100 that might buy a spiral notebook by the time he's in college, but it all counts, I guess). There were 1,037 applications and 90 scholarships awarded. The kids had to write an essay about what they wanted to do when they grow up and what college would help them achieve that goal. Coop wrote about wanting to go into sports broadcasting to be a play-by-play baseball analyst. With a little help from my brother, Brandon, he might just be able to do that someday! His essay was very heart-felt and I shed a few tears thinking about how grateful I am that he is healthy enough to be thinking about his future this way. His teacher, Mr. Blick, had to write a paragraph about Cooper as well and this was the first time we were able to hear his remarks, which were so kind.

Not to be outdone, Miss Kinley decided she would become a reader in the matter of a few days. We have been working hard on sight words and phonics and she sat down yesterday for lunch and started reading the front of the mac & cheese box. She turned to me and said, "Mom, it says to add butter and milk." I about choked. Way to go, girl!

Level 4 Floor Routine

Cooper and his teacher, Mr. Blick

An Enjoyable Easter

Despite the soggy weather, we had a very nice Easter. A little time with friends, a little time with family, a lot of good food, a little too much candy and a wonderful church service.

We had a super fun time hunting for Easter eggs at the Zimmerman's on Friday and just watching the kids really enjoy being kids. I caught myself being very reflective wondering how they all go so old so fast, so it was good to be around Malia and Jude toddling around taking it all in.

Today was wonderful. The kids enjoyed stuffing their faces with candy and doing the traditional jelly bean hunt, finding them hidden all over our house (and so did the dog--hope that doesn't come back to haunt us!) Our church service was beautiful and powerful and I love that my girls allowed me to put them in matching Easter dresses (including ones for their dolls). After church, we had a great time with my family all afternoon and evening. It was one of those nights that the kids fell asleep as fast as their heads hit their pillows.

So, now we just pray that no one gets sick. About 12 years ago when I hosted Easter, every single guest came down with violent food poisoning about 24 hours later. So, I guess I'm not out of the woods yet, but I didn't do the ham this time (thanks, Dad!). :) It was wonderful having both my dad and mom here as well as both of my brothers and Erika. Papa Jay had to fly an airplane today, so we hope he got some ham in San Fran.

Headin' home

How is it that a week on vacation goes so much faster than a week at home? None of us are ready to head home, but such is life. It has been a great week and I love that my kids are making memories they will remember when they are my age. I love the ages they are right now in terms of traveling--no portable cribs, no strollers and everyone can carry their own stuff. And, they are still at the age where hanging out with their parents is cool. They got along so well this week (sometimes 3 is a crowd in our home!).

Here were some highlights:

-A Rockies Spring Training game
-Feeding the ducks at the park
-Climbing Camelback
-Hitting the pool everyday
-Meeting new friends from Illinois
-The pizza place that gave the kids their own dough to play with
-Out for ice cream a few times
-Dinner at Greasewood Flats (an outdoor restaurant surrounded by fire pits)
-A massage on my birthday
-Shopping at our favorite spots
-Hitting the hot tub after dark
-Visiting some old friends and seeing their horses
-Coming home a little less pasty white. :)