Final Cast Photo

michael ballam gave jace sixpence as a reminder of his lines in the play.

Moving Day and Other Yucky Stuff

We didn't get to bed until late into the evening, actually it was after midnight, so technically it was the next day. There was a crazy party going on outside the apartments with all cast members from any show invited to attend. It was crowded and everyone brought out any leftover food that they were not going to be able to eat before they left to share with each other. There was hugging and a lot of talking about projects that were coming up next and a lot of exchanged addresses. This group of people that we lived by were such good people. I didn't have to worry about swearing, smoking or drinking for most of the summer and they treated the kids nicely. We shared meals with some of them, swam with others and helped some clean their apartments out on the last day. They have made a big impact in our lives and they will be our friends forever. It took us about 5 hours to clean the apartment and load all of our stuff before we could head to LeAnn's for a yummy dinner. Poor Maci had to fend for herself since she didn't eat her lunch when it was served and ended up finding a jar of Nutella that could hold off her hunger pangs.

Found the Nutella but no utensils to scoop it out with.....

We ended up leaving Jace and Olivia with the Call's for a week to play with their children. We couldn't talk Lyle into keeping Maci too:) We will meet up with them when they go to Salt Lake on Saturday to see a Josh Groban concert and pick up the kiddos. Sierra was invited to stay but has girl's camp this week and had to pass, much to her dismay. After dinner and a little visiting, we headed home and got in around 10:00 and then had to unload two very heavily packed vehicles. I wanted to wait until the morning but then decided that the help from Dave, Chad and D.J. would get the job done much faster. What a wonderful summer experience this has been! We've made so many new friends and reconnected with old ones, enjoyed the Logan 5th ward, explored beautiful, historic Cache Valley, learned a lot about the theater world and created memories to never be forgotten. This will always be a summer to remember.

Winding Down

Norman and Ruth Bacalla

Another three days of catching up:

Sarah Maddock

Thursday we had both shows to perform, South Pacific in the afternoon and Oliver that night. I bribed the little girls with the promise of Aggie Ice Cream during intermission if they could sit still for the first half of the play and they did such a good job watching South Pacific for who knows how many times. Norman and Ruth Bacalla and the Maddock Family from our ward all came up to see the kids in the shows. Brother Maddock is our home teacher and the Bacalla's are such good friends with our kids, they are real lovers of grandchildren. Norman has missed having Maci sit on his lap during sacrament meeting.

We made some great friends when we lived in Mesa, Arizona, the Eddins Family and have stayed in touch over the years. We've even taken family vacations to Idaho to see them a couple of times. They drove from Idaho to see Jace as Oliver. They came to the apartment to visit and share dinner with us before the play. Myrna and I visited about what all the grown kids were doing now while Roy taught the other little kids some swear words:) Just kidding. We tease him about being the man who taught our 3-year-old, Chad, how to swear. He enjoys kids and they sure love him and are attracted to him like metal to a magnet. The Oliver show was sold out for the evening performance so Sierra had to stay home and babysit the little girls, since I couldn't get them tickets. I didn't have a hard time finding an empty seat to sit in, even though there were only a few no shows.

Friday went we on a fun day trip to a swimming hole by the Call's house. We had to park our truck and walk about a quarter of a mile, down a foot path, over a railroad track and wade through a stream before we got to the spot. It was a beautiful, shady/part sunny spot that was lined with huge trees on both sides and it had 2 rope swings that swung out over the deeper spot in the river. It was at least 5 feet deep where the kids were dropping in. There were some cool flat rocks for skipping on the water and I even found a couple rocks that looked like a hot dog and a bun. The kids had a blast and Sierra was forced to drop into the cold water, even though she just preferred swinging back and forth on the rope. There was a little rope swing, just the right size for Maci, so she entertained herself by swinging her feet and bum into the water.

That night was a South Pacific evening show, the last one of the season and the cast did a fabulous job. There were a lot of impromptu lines and I was really impressed with how the cast helped one guy who forgot his lines, to get back on track by mentioning a key word in an added sentence. Jace and Sierra were right on track with their lines and song and with the exception of "bay" instead of "gay", their parts went well.
Saturday we went to the swimming hole again but this time, dad met us there on his way into town. He got a job in Draper, working for a company named Prosper and hasn't had the freedom to get up to Logan whenever he wants. We packed a lunch and played for a couple of hours. The Call's met us there once again and while the adults talked, the kids had fun swinging and trying to get Sierra to get into the water again. They would just stand on the bank and not let her back to shore so she would have to drop in after awhile of just hanging on to the rope. They were all trying to grab the swingers feet as they went by, trying to drag them into the water. When we got home, the Session family, from our Elk Ridge ward, came to our apartment to eat dinner with us before the show. We had a baked potato bar with salad. Olivia, Ethan and Rachel painted some pretty artwork while they were waiting for dinner to be done. The older kids watched "Soul Surfer", a movie about a surfer girl who gets her arm bitten off by a shark and goes on to become a recognized surfer. The Sessions are good company and we consider them dear friends. After berry pie and vanilla ice cream, they headed to the informance before the show and I had an hour to get ready. I packed a few boxes for them to take back to Elk Ridge with them, since Dave was afraid everything might not fit. It turns out that that was a good call on his part. They came by after the show and loaded their suburban with several boxes before heading home. The Call's also came to closing night with their children Hudson and Allie. Braxton and Mackenzie had already come earlier in the season so they didn't come but Sierra and the little girls went over to their house to keep Braxton company since MacKenzie was in Washington picking cherries for a job. LeAnn's oldest daughter Shey and her husband Dustin came and they all enjoyed the play and stayed after to take pictures and hug Jace.
Jace had to be dropped off at 5:45 for costume and make up one last time for his final performance of the season. It was sad to see it all coming to an end. Yvonne and Andraya drove up for the finale and stopped to eat a bite of dinner with us before heading to the theater. It was nice to have such good support this whole season. It is a long 3 hour drive from Elk Ridge and we appreciated everyone who took the time to fit us into their plans.
Jace had been plotting to do this since dress rehearsals but saved it until the last night of performances because he thought I would kill him:) Take a look....

Luther Billis (Stephanos), a rowdy sailor from South Pacific gets a large pirate ship tattoo before each show. They are kind of like cracker jack tattoos and go on easily. Jace came out to show me at the end of the show what he had done. I just laughed and snapped this picture. I told him that this would be the only tattoo he ever gets! I hope I was convincing:) He went home and showered it off because as it dried, it became taut and started getting itchy.

Three Days of Fun

A quick update for the last 3 days:
SUNDAY we attended church and then had a glorious nap afterwards. We went to LeAnn and Lyle's house for dinner and a slumber party, not something we do often. All of the kids played together and watched, "The Game Plan". Trying to get the boys to sleep was a joke, they wanted to "pull an all-nighter" but they stayed up shooting hoops in the boy's bedroom only until about midnight, thank goodness. LeAnn and I weeded the garden the next morning and then she made yummy baked orange French toast. We came home after an exhausting battle with the kids to stay longer.
MONDAY we came home to clean up the apartment, do laundry, and practice getting along with each other. We purchased tickets for some friends and family that will be attending the shows this week. For family night, we went on a cool bike ride to the Logan River Trail. It was beautiful and the paved trail was surrounded by huge trees, and a flowing river. Jace was the recipient of a bird's poop which landed on his leg, GROSS and also had a line of mud on his back from riding through mud puddles so fast. Sierra took a tumble on her bike just as we were about to end. She hit the bridge at the wrong angle which sent her bike flying out from under her.She got a little injury on her leg but was more embarrassed that a guy saw her fall. He asked her if she was o.k. but didn't really stop to help because he was jogging. Maci was a trooper for the most part. We rode two miles and listened to her complain about her back for most of the way. She stopped frequently to rest her aching back and pet any dog that we passed. Olivia is in need of a new bike, hers is getting to small and her knees hit the handlebars. The area was beautiful and we will try to get back there one more time before we leave. It is peaceful to hear the river water rushing by. On the way home, we looked at homes for sale and then enjoyed a breathtaking sunset.

TUESDAY I let the kids choose what they wanted to do since I had tickets to a different opera that night with Janet Rouse. They chose to go to the Logan Aquatic Center for the day. We got a discount because we were members of the opera festival and enjoyed 5 hours in the sun. I got a huge sunburn, so did Sierra on her nose. Everyone else fared pretty well. The water was the perfect temperature and the kids all had a great time. They played on the high dive, the twisty and drop slides, and Maci hung out in the kiddy pool. By the end of our time there, she was without a life jacket and going under the water a lot. I wish we lived by the pool in a warmer climate sometimes so that the kids would all be more confident in the water. We had super burritos for dinner and then I left for the opera, the kids watched t.v. amid a very messy apartment. When I got home at ten, we had a cleaning party, much to everyone's dismay, except for Jace, who asked what he could do next. I like not waking up to a huge mess. Everyone gladly went to bed and I'm sure, had a sound sleep.