More Sold-Out Performances

It is getting pretty risky to just wear my parent badge and hope to be able to get into a production and find an empty seat. Today's Oliver that I went to, I shared an over sized chair with another mother who had a boy in the play. And then at intermission, I found a seat that was vacant and made the switch to a chair of my own. The ushers were told not to let anyone with a badge in but because I was Oliver's mother I was able to squeak by. Thank goodness I have a connection to the star:)
Jace's primary class from our Logan ward came to see Oliver today and his teacher bought all six kids plus her mother a ticket. I know that wasn't cheap and she was so generous to do that for the kids. She said that some of them probably had never been to a play before and she was glad to do it for them. We made them little treat bags with goodies to eat during intermission. After the play, I took a picture of all of Jace's class from here with his teachers too. Sister Kandler said that they would really miss Jace because he participates so well in class and that he is just one of the most polite children she has ever met. She even bought Jace an Aggie ice cream to eat after the show was over. He felt very special to have his new summer friends show up to support him.

After the show, Sierra and I went on a date with the Conrad's, Melanie and Kazlie. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and then to the Don Giovanni play. It was in Italian with super titles in English above. The singing was wonderful. Rochelle Bard, the soprano has a glorious voice that is pleasant to listen to. She makes singing those high notes seem so effortless and she didn't seem to be straining at all. Jace and the girls had a water fight with some of the girls in the apartments and then got their fill of television while we were gone. It seemed as though everything went well while we were away.
Saturday morning came way too early for Jace and Sierra. They had been up late the night before and they were the guests for "Breakfast with the Stars" this morning. They had to be there at 8:30 to mingle and tell their stories about how they got to this point in their lives. I guess Sierra made everyone laugh by standing on a chair because no one could see her. Michael Ballam and Jessica Medoff were the other guests that came this morning to answer any questions people had for them. They both enjoyed this opportunity and the lemon poppy seed muffins that they got to eat.
We came home and cleaned the apartment for a bit and then Jace and Sierra had to leave to do a South Pacific matinee. We packed a lunch for them and then dropped them off and headed out for some fun. We loaded the bikes on the truck and went searching for a bike path along the river. We drove to Hyrum State Park but found that it was not what we expected and ended up at an elementary school in Hyrum instead. We had lunch there, played on the playground and then headed to the Willow Park Zoo and Park to ride around. A spinning toy kept Olivia busy for a good 1/2 hour, it was like a merry-go-round and Maci just played on the other stuff. She wanted to go on the spinning toy but it was moving too fast for her liking. We enjoyed riding bikes at this park because it was flat and had no bumps. When we ride bikes in the neighborhood, Maci is constantly stopping to get off her bike and pull it over the uneven squares of sidewalk. Because there are so many old trees in Logan, the sidewalks are quite bumpy from the roots pushing up the squares of cement and breaking some of them. Maci is nervous to ride over those, fearing that her training wheels will not keep her bike upright. She jumps off often so it takes us forever just to go around the block. At this new park, the cement was smooth and our ride was pleasant.
Tonight we went to the Call's for a BBQ and a visit. Lyle grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, I made potato salad and LeAnn cut up a watermelon. They are such good friends and the kids have sure enjoyed visiting with them. They all get along so well and we will all miss the friendships that have formed this summer. They will be the reason we come back up to visit Logan in the future. Only one more week and we will head home to a lonely dad, Chad and Hannah. We miss them and the kids are looking forward to playing with old friends before school starts. We will have to register for school when we get home and see what teachers the kids have been assigned. Something to look forward to.