It started out just like any ordinary Saturday

Megan got her chores done and was playing webkinz.
Holly was texting a friend about getting together to film a movie they had written together.
Melissa was crafting. Writing on rose petals from old roses I was ready to throw away.

Very creative!

Emily was watching some show on Nickelodeon.

Scott was playing Batman with Nathan and I was snapping pictures.

Then after lunch Emily and I got dressed in our Sunday clothes and drove to Seattle to watch the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. A big group of kids (who are going to be the elementary school beauty and the beast musical) and their parents bought tickets to see the Broadway show together. It was at the Paramount Theatre and it was awesome. Emily and I had a great time.

A nice man snapped a picture of the us before we headed in to watch the show.

Here is what the tavern scene looked like.

The Tale as Old as Time scene.

And here is the Be our Guest scene.

We weren't allowed to take photos in the theatre but these posters were outside and this is exactly what it looked like.

Emily and I sat next to lots of her friends from her school. The performance was outstanding and the kids were all singing along in their heads (since they have been practicing for their own performance soon). I was checking out the costumes intently and wondering how our handmade costumes would compare.

Because we came in a big group of 50 and because we were putting on the musical ourselves soon we were able to have three actors come and visit with us after the show for about 20 mintues. It was surreal. The three actors who came out were all main actors, the Wardrobe (Madame de la Grande Bouche), Mrs. Potts, and Belle. Emily's choir teacher was there and she introduced herself and had Emily introduce herself to the actors as well (since she is going to be Belle in the Elementary musical). Ironically the lady who played Belle in the Broadway show was also named Emily so they had an instant connection. Here are the three actresses dressed in their street clothes but with makeup still on (they still had one more show later that day).

We got to ask them several questions and then all the kids from Emily's school posed with them for a picture. This is a close up of Emily and her friends with Mrs. Potts (left back) and Belle (middle back). Then Belle hugged Emily and wished her luck and the ladies headed out to eat.

Emily can't decide which was her favorite part, watching the musical or meeting the "Broadway Belle".

It is a day she will remember for a long time. Here is one final picture of Emily and Belle.

Valentines Day and a New Tree

Scott bought me these beautiful flowers for Valentines day. We enjoyed them all week.
I got to attend Melissa's kindergarten Valentines party. The kids had each decorated their own Valentine's box and they were so cute and colorful.
Here is Melissa with her class.
I also attended Megan's party. They played a fun game called "Name the Candybar". A mom had cut 8 different candybars into pieces and glued them onto plates. The kids then had to guess what the name of each candybar was. A lot of kids could not name them, but all the parents could. I guess that means we've eaten a lot more candy than the typical 2nd grader.
On Friday we said goodbye to our Japanese Maple tree that had died. We bought it last year and it was so beautiful with its red trunk and branches. It has the nice green lacelike leaves. But the soil we planted it in was very claylike and it slowly died.
Scott let each of the kids saw off a branch.
Then he sawed off the top and dug up the base of it.
We bought a Thundercloud Plum tree to take its place. We added more good soil to the claylike soil and are crossing our fingers that this tree survives. Lots of our neighbors have this type of tree in their yard and they seem very hearty. The new tree wil have pink blossoms in the spring and lots of purple leaves in the summer. Scott planted the new tree on Saturday in the rain.
This week I am thankful that:
*My brother Bryce got engaged. He will be married in June here in Washington.
*Holly finished memorizing The Living Christ to complete her faith Value project. It took her 12 hours to do. It was amazing to hear her recite the whole thing.

My baby turned 14!

Last week Holly turned 14. I still remember the long days when it was just Holly and I. I watched old movies during the day, watched the Price is Right almost every day, took daily walks with her in the stroller and was excited when 5 pm rolled around so I could start preparing dinner. Now I never get to watch my own shows because my kids always want to watch theirs, I can't take walks because my child refuses to go with me and they are too small to stay home and 5pm rolls around too quickly and I am too tired to cook. The good news is I'm not as lonely as I was then. With five kids there is always someone to talk to. Holly is about 4 months old in this photo.
Six of the Miamaids from our ward dropped by on Holly's birthday with a candy card for her.
Isn't this sweet? Yes, Holly shared the skittles with her siblings. Nathan was convinced he should get a whole bag.
Here Holly is with her birthday gifts and balloon.
She got a lot of pens (different types) and money.
She requested cinnamon rolls for her birthday treat.

We are so happy Holly joined our family 14 years ago. She is a smart and helpful young lady.
This week I am thankful that

*Nathan got to go to his much anticipated soccer class.
He was excited at first but then quickly decided he only wanted to kick a ball into the net and not do any of the silly games his coach wanted them to do. I think we will wait a few months until we try soccer again.

*We got to have dinner with Scott's sister Laura's family on Saturday. The girls all enjoyed coloring together. It is really fun to live close to them.
*Today I was released from my church calling as Young Women 2nd couselor and now I get to teach Melissa's primary class. I'll miss the great girls in Young Womens but now I will have a lot less stress in my life and more free time. Watch out pinterest crafts, here I come. :)

YW New Beginnings

Last night we had our Young Womens New Beginnings. Each of the YW leaders had a different assignment to help with it. Mine was to decorate the room. The theme for 2012 is Arise and Shine Forth and so we went with yellow as the color. I bought scrapbook paper and some cute foam letters from Michaels crafts store and made these fun circles that spelled shine. Then I attached them to some bamboo skewers that I had and put them in mason jars filled with rice.
I got some larger mason jars and filled them with white Christmas lights and my mom loaned me this cute yellow quit top to use as a tablecloth. Here is everything set up in the Relief Society room where we had the activity.

Another one of the young women leaders made these adorable and delicious yellow lemon cupcakes. I need to buy some of these cupcake racks, they are so cute.

Another leader made a handout with the theme on it and 6 giant lemon balls for each of the girls. I provided the balloons and the yellow tablecloth.

Here is a closeup of the handout.

I got to have two of my daughters attend New Beginnings with me. Holly is already in YW and Emily was spotlighted since she will be turning 12 in a few months. All the girls that will turn 12 this year got a pink rose.

The talks and the music were fantastic. We have a lot of talent in our ward. We also watched the music video from lds.org that goes with the theme. It's definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it. Click on the link to watch it https://www.lds.org/youth/video/2012-theme-song?lang=eng