A List O'Stuff

1. The girls are gone! They are visiting my parents in California for a week. They left last Thursday - flew on a plane all by themselves. While both of them have flown before, they were babies at the time and don't remember. It was quite the experience! And, of course, the gourmet Burger King which was $12 for a hamburger, chicken nuggets and 2 drinks. Seriously, now!

The were all smiles as we watched planes out the window.

It was kind of sudden, though, when the boarding agent came over to get them and pre-board them on the flight. Piper started to tear up a little - she was nervous, but Chloe put her arm around her as she walked down to the plain.

So grown up!

I had to wait until the plane was in the air to leave - and it was delayed! We waited for another flight for 45 minutes so people could make their connections. I felt bad that they had to sit there that long before take off. Then I thought about how charming and personable they are, and figured they had the flight attendants wrapped around their little fingers! The called me when they got to the Oakland Airport and they were all giggles. In fact, everytime they call, they sound like they are having a blast. Sounds like they are getting pretty spoiled, but I'm glad. They deserve it.

2. Rehearsals - Well, this is my week as understudy. I have been in rehearsal since Thursday, and I also rehearse tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday. I ran through the whole show on Saturday and it was SOOOO fun! A really good friend of mine who has never seen me perform paid me the kindest compliments - he said I really blew him away! So I am really excited for August 20th - that's my show!!

3. Lola is a walking fool! She walks all the time! She still crawls if she has to go great distances, but she walks a little further each day.

4. Ryder is a talking fool! Nothing is off limits! He's adopted the strange habit of calling his daddy "Steve!" Today, he said "Steve is crazy!" He's just full of the funniest things ever and he's so sweet. I'm enjoying having a little extra energy and attention to devote to the babies. I'm working on getting a really good video of his "Fantasmic!" performance - he knows the whole thing and asks me to play it all the time so he can act it out. He plays Mickey and the Monkeys. It's seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen!

5. Sorry if I won't be posting a lot, Aida opens in 2 1/2 weeks and there is SO MUCH TO DO still. I have to do a whole bunch of costume pieces and the wigs still, and try to keep the director and the production organized as well as focus on my role. Seriously, it will be INSANITY around here for a while, so forgive me if I'm just not around. I will have someone take some photos and maybe video of my rehearsals just for fun!

Piper's Birthday Party

Piper had a birthday party on Saturday. She will be turning 6 this coming Friday. She wanted Sleeping Beauty to come, so I worked my sewing fingers to the bone and turned one out. I tried it in all gold. It needs some adjustments, but I think it's alright! She had a bunch of friends and they had a great time. Here's a few photos. I have to admit I chose the ones that were most flattering of myself. That last 10 pounds is killing me this time around.

So, tonight we're coming home from rehearsal and we stop to get gas. This drunk guy comes up to Steve's side of the car as he opens the door. He practically gets inside the car to try to talk to Steve. After he was told to back up and get away, this is what he says. "My girlfriend, my baby's mama, is an alcoholic...like me, like all of us. Anyway, she tells me, she makin me go out and get some money to get her a beer. So, do you have a dollar so I can get her a beer?" I won't tell you what Steve responded, it wasn't polite. But can you believe the ridiculousness? The nerve. My car still smells like his drunken mess. Ugh. This is why there should be a test to become parents. Some drunken dad out at midnight begging for a dollar to buy a beer for his drunken girlfriend, mother of his child.

Tag from Valinda

I got tagged from Valinda's Blog. Here's the way it goes:

1: As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2: Next, repost these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come leave a comment on your blog. If you don't have a blog or don't want to play the game on your blog, I'll leave my memory as a comment on my comments.So, c'mon, anything funny, strange, cool, embarrassing, or awful you remember about me?

A Post about my Dentist

You just never know where life will lead you! At the AIDA auditions, a very cute couple, Joeseph and Tiffany Hale, came in to audition. They had been out of the loop for a while because the husband is in dental school, but they were excited to audition for the show. Well, they were both fantastic. Steve cast him on the spot as Radames and was THRILLED to have found such an amazing performer. He fit the bill perfectly - dynamic actor, unbelievable singing voice and fantastic look. She was in serious consideration for Amneris and was also a solid performer and DROP DEAD GORGEOUS.



Unfortunately, the schedule for dental school was changed on him and he had to drop the show, much to the mutual disappointment of the director. But - hey - we understand! Ya gotta do what you gotta do. Anyway, I have been in serious need of some dental work, so I asked him about it and he said I could probably get into the program. I let it go for a while, and then one night when one of my teeth happened to start abcessing, he e-mailed out of the blue to see about getting the process going. It was fate! And I did. He pulled that tooth and right now I'm undergoing my thorough evaluation to look towards what kind of care I will need. He's trying to get me in a program to where I only have to pay the lab fees. Please pray for that! I have so much work that needs to be done and that would really help.



Anyway, I'm just happy to have a dentist who is my friend - because I usually HATE the dentist, but it helps to be comfortable in your surroundings and Joe never fails to put me at ease! We have a lot in common, being theatre folk who are married to theatre folk. And they have two cute little kids, too! I want his wife to be a princess for me when I get that going again -which will be soon!



So, here's their headshots and a recording of him singing. I wonder if he'd sing for me while he works on my teeth!

Butt Booster?

I'm TIRED! What a crazy weekend.

Friday night, I went to rehearsal with Steve, but we got locked out and had to scramble to salvage the rehearsal. NUTS!

Then on Saturday, we left the house at 11am and didn't get home until midnight. We shopped the whole day for costumes for AIDA. My friend Valinda watched the older girls and Lola and Ryder were the stroller brigade. They were actually very good. We found some great stuff.

I do have to share that Ryder is a total talker, now. Everyday there are new words. Today he surprised me with ketchup and chocolate. And he says the cutest full sentences. At a restuarant this weekend, as he was trying to get out of his booster, he said "Mah butt STUCK!" and "No more food. All done. Time to go!" I love it SOOOO much!

While we were shopping, every where we went they had these butt boosters. I told Steve - "I've been sitting on a fortune all these years!" Who would have ever thought that people would WANT to have my butt! I mean, I guess they have push up bras and falsies for the bust line, so what's the difference? It's just comical to me that people want to augment their bums. I come by mine naturally - I've always called it the shelf butt. I've often contemplated putting a nice potted plant back there. "Butt" now - I'm just going to cast my derriere in foam and sell it. Just $49.99! I accept paypal.

See my book!

For the last 2-3 weeks, I've been working on a book of photos from Beauty and the Beast for the director, but I also am making it available to the rest of the cast. So, you can see it at blurb.com and look at the first 15 pages! It's 40 pages and I photoshopped every one! Yeah, it took a lot of time, but take a gander - I think it was worth it!

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/188495/a3fe6a030e8299fa2e3b3afc960784f7

Tonight I spent a fun night at the theatre - we went to see 1776 - the July show out at the Ranch. So, I had my historical/patriotic night for the year. Good times!

Just click here...

to see what we did for the 4th of July.

http://thewinkelfamily.blogspot.com/2008/07/fourth-of-july.html

I'd just like to take a moment to thank my friend Shannon for writing my blog for me tonight.

I would also like to appologize for the horrendous photo of me on the page. I had horrible posture and I was bloated beyond belief. I would like everyone to know that I am not pregnant. I promise.

This afternoon at the picture show. . .

I hope you have your popocorn - lots of pictures today. The first two are out of chronological order, but who cares, right?

Last night for the 4th of July, we went to Shannon's house for dinner and fireworks. Shannon made yummy pot roast and veggies, we had banana splits for desert. We watched fireworks and did sparklers. Her little boy, Brendan who is about 3 weeks younger than Lola wasn't too thrilled with the noises. Lola, however, was totally unfased. I guess that's the difference between the first child and the 4th! Lola is used to a constant cacophony of noise and motion.

Anyway, after that, Shannon showed my girls how to do flips! Here's some photos I snapped with my phone while they were in motion!

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease - it's CHLOE!

Piper was very graceful and elegant in the air.

The funniest thing of the evening was Lola. She watched the girls a few times and crawled over to me. I "flipped" her a couple of times and then she'd crawl to me and as soon as I put my feet up, she'd arch her back to flip over! I'll have to get it on video, it's truly amazing. The girl is SMART!

So, rewind to Thursday evening. There was a concert at the Stake Center for the 4th of July with the Choir and Orchestra - who are both AMAZINGLY good. Their Christmas concert blew me away. However, as I learned not too long ago, it's futile for me to bring Ryde and Lola pretty much anywhere together by myself. My desire to go to the concert did not outweigh the knowledge that I would be chasing Ryder through the halls at the stake center with Lola on my hip. So, I did not go. But, I made the best of it with the kids. We went swimming and then - we had CUPCAKES!

Ok, so they were store bought, but who wants to turn on the oven when it's 110 outside!

Next we colored pictures! Chloe and Piper picked coloring pages off the internet, but Cody wanted to draw something terrible, so he drew free form.

My Chloe is turning in to quite the artist.

Cody poses with his original piece, "Terrible Things" dedicated to his dad! I just love this kid! He makes me laugh every day!

And of course, Piper's dainty and delicate Sleeping Beauty.

And we couldn't forget Lola -who, as she is labeled here, is FANTASTIC!

Today, there was much swimming in the morning, then LUNCH time! I pulled out the camera because I thought it was cute that they all had matching cups and bowls - aren't they so great? My mother in law picked them up at IKEA. I have never been there, but I love their catalogs. Anwway, they all started POSING!

Aunt McKayla with her sun burned cheeks shows us how to eat Spaghetti O's

Piper goes for Glam to match her pink bowl and cup.

All the kids cheese it up. I especially love Cody's strong man character.

Thumbs up for a great meal accented with neon orange. Perfect for Cody's bright personality.

Chloe get's serious. She's in a green mood.

Ryder got shy! My Ryder, shy? Too cute!

After I took this photo of Piper, I asked what she was doing. She said she was being Gizelle (from Enchanted!) How funny - it's all in the finger.

And last but not least, LOLA! I finally got a good photo of her fangs! I LOVE her smile.

Well, I have to admit I've been pretty down lately about a lot of things. But as I deal with it, the one thing I can always feel good about are my kids. They are just so amazing to me. The love I feel for them is absolutely overwhelming, and they always know how to brighten my day, even in just a little way. And it's hard to explain, but I know that Cody is such a special spirit. When I'm around him, I just feel a little closer to heaven. So I'm happy to have him here for another week!

Well, off to primp for my real date tonight! Dinner and a show!!!!! Just me and the husband. It's been like 2 1/2 months (since we went to Disneyland) that we've had dinner alone together. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.

Can't Sleep....must blog

Yes. It's become an addiction. I simply can't go to bed at night without blogging.

So, enjoy my son, dancing on the table. But to him, it's a stage. How can I deny him that, right?

Summer Fun!

First off, here's Ryder playing dress up.

Here we have Ryder as the Pharaoh of Egypt (from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.) It wasn't ever used in the show, but it's dang cool.

And now - Pirate Ryder! These were scraps from Peter Pan. And Grandpa's 3 sided ruler was his sword. Too Cute!

I do swear I like my other kids, too. Ryder just seems to be the one with the most photo opportunities lately.

Next we have photos of our summer swim today. Well, the kids. I didn't go. There is a small fountain/pond in the backyard. Absolutely perfect on a hot summer day like today. We also have a visitor right now. My nephew Cody is in town for a few weeks. His mom is pregnant with her number 4 and Cody, along with his brother Parker, both have Autism. His mom was worried that he was getting bored with not having school and she has a lot on her plate keeping his brother entertained along with taking care of their little sister who is Ryder's age and being pregnant, so he came to stay here for a while. He's awesome! I love having him around. He may be picky about what he eats and has some minor quirks, but he says the best things! He's always correcting me - like when I accidently cut his sandwich in half and he had requested triangles. I said that I had cut it in squares, would that be ok. He took one look at it and said "Actually, those are rectangles." And then when he went to try the sunchips we had with dinner, he asked if they were too too hot like the sunshine. The girls are having a blast playing with him - it's nice for Ryder to have another boy around as well.

That's Cody!

Ryder, Cody, Chloe and Piper, showing off for the camera.

Cody and my scrawny girl, Chloe.

Once again, Ryder, Piper, Cody and Chloe's bum.

Ryder! He mostly just splashes around, jumps up and down and sings.

Cody under the waterfall.

Piper and Cody going to explore.

It's hard to believe that June is over already. 1/3 of our summer gone! It seems like it just started. I do enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the summer. Hope you are enjoying yours!