Willow Park Zoo and Date Night with Manda

Had a fun day off with the all the kids. We went to the Willow Park and Zoo which was small but very fun. They had a scary aggressive peacock that jumped right up on top of the four foot fence when Amanda played back the call it made when we got close to the baby peacock. She recorded it on her iphone and when she played it back, it got all nervous and started looking around for another bird. The zookeeper said that the peacock occasionally flies out of the pen, but he has never seen it attack anyone before. It was a beautiful day at the park afterwards and as usual, Maci had a new friend that she was exchanging phone numbers with. We came home after playing for a bit and made lunch and then I went to do laundry at the laundromat and take Sierra to get an eye examination for contact lenses while the others stayed here to nap and watch a movie from the library.

Sierra did such a good job putting in and taking out contact lenses that it seemed like she had done it before when really this was her first time. We had potato soup and Red Lobster biscuits for dinner and then Amanda and I went on a date. We walked around the historic district on 100 North and Main St. It has a bunch of old homes that have been converted into cute little salons, coffee houses, diners and little boutique type places. There is a bicycle shop that I need to take my bike to to get the flats fixed so I can ride with the kiddos. I think I'll do that in the morning. After walking around, we went to a little restaurant called Angie's and got a hot fudge brownie sundae that seriously could have fed all of us for $6. Amanda and I barely made a dent in the thing. We had a good talk about marriage and important stuff that young adults talk about. Amanda is a fun girl to hang out with and I'm glad she is here. She will be staying in Utah about 3 more weeks before heading back to New York for her new nanny job that will only be 5 minutes away from Wadi. She really loves him and is excited to get back to him. They haven't been together since May 28th so it will have been almost 2 months by the time they get to see each other again.
Tomorrow's practice schedule is from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm, which is such a bummer because the firework show is at 9:30 or ten ish. I'm hoping that the director will let all of the little boys go early to see the fireworks but I guess that will depend on how well they're doing. Either way, Amanda or I will go with the other kids to see the display while the other one waits for Jace.

Oliver Dress

This morning was the dress rehearsal for Jace as Oliver. He had to be in the wig and costume shop at 9:00 a.m. At 9:30 he had to be miked and onstage for a fight scene. From there he had another fight scene and then had a little break before the full cast came to get dressed around ten-thirty. The curtain call was at 11:00 and we made it just in time to see the performance begin. It is such a cool show with the costumes and scenery. On Friday we will see it all put together with orchestra, scenery and costumes. Can't wait. He worked til 3 and then had a 2 1/2 hour break before going to the sitzprobe for 3 hours tonight. The sitzprobe (for those who are as clueless as I am) is a practice with the orchestra for the singers. They just sit onstage, not in costume and then stand and sing their part in the play while the orchestra accompanies them. They work out any bugs that may be there and get a feel for how the performance is going to go. All the extra music that plays in the background while the actors are going from one place to another is synchronized and timed to perfection so that everyone knows on what note they are to take a step in a certain direction or lift a cup when the drum starts to play. It was very precise and interesting to watch the maestro orchestrate all of the details. A lot goes into making a production this grand into a work of art. So excited for Friday's dress.
We stopped at the library to get Jace a book to read while he has down time during the scenes. He chose the Last Olympian in the series he started reading in school. He also chose out some movies to watch at home when he has down time. The Logan Library allows Festival members to have library access at no charge and has proved to be a fun place for the little girls to play on the computers and for the older two to get their fill of reading material. I've even checked out some gardening books to browse through while I'm here.
The best thing that happened all day was that Amanda drove up from Elk Ridge to spend some time with us. We are so glad she came to add some excitement to our lives. She arrived just in time to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" and we got to watch some of the remaining performers. She was nervous that she wouldn't get here in time after I gave her some bad directions. I told her to turn on 400 South and we really live off of 400 North. My bad.
Sierra designed a swimming suit today and we got most of it done tonight. I'll post a picture after we add the shoulder straps and fix the bottoms. It turned out cute.
Today while Olivia, Maci and I were watching Jace, Sierra stayed home and enjoyed the quiet apartment for a short while. Her friend Kazlie Conrad took the free city bus to get to our apartment. The girls decided to go and cash Sierra's check that she got from Grandma Doris so they took a city bus to the bank but when they got back on, it took them quite a while to get back home. They had taken a wrong returning route and had to wait quite awhile to get back to the transit station. They decided just to walk the four blocks from the station to our apartment, not trusting their routing skills. They made fettucine alfredo for lunch and then we all went to the park. Olivia and Jace went to the Conrad's house to play in between practices and we hit up JoAnn's fabric to get another piece of lycra for Sierra's swimming suit. Fun but busy day again. Tomorrow is our day off of South Pacific and Oliver so we are going to do something fun with Amanda. We might go swimming or maybe hiking. Who knows?

South Pacific Dress Rehearsal

This was the big day for Jace and Sierra! The two of them started early with a wig and make up call, followed by a costume and mic call. The rest of the cast was ready to go at 11 and the curtain went up. They are in the very first scene dressed in their native clothes. They look like island kids with their big bright floral print dress and skirt for Jace. They sound so cute singing together and the acting itself is very entertaining to watch. I took Maci and Olivia and they sat and watched attentively for over an hour. We didn't stay the whole time because we needed to make the kids some lunch and take it back to them. They stayed until 3:00 and then we came home and made some cinnamon rolls for the long practice tonight. The rolls were well received and then we even took some to our new neighbors that just got here from New York. After that, the kids stayed home and watched a movie and I went to garden for a couple of hours at Janet Rouse's home. She is a single mom with one teenager left at home and is an art teacher at the junior high here in Logan. Her garden is overrun with Johnson grass and morning glory but she has watered well for the last two days and it is coming out beautifully. We hope to be done weeding by Friday of this week and have the garden in by Saturday.
Olivia went to her first achievement day with a friend she met in this ward. She even went to play at her house for a couple of hours before achievement day started. She had a good time with Hayley Morrill and enjoys having a new friend. Maci is working on being more obedient and is having a struggle with that principle. I thought if I could bribe her with gum (her most favorite thing in the whole world) that she would respond in the way I wanted her to, but she is not cooperating thus far. She did earn two pieces of gum in one day but today was not so good. She can be so stubborn at times and just insists on doing things her way. The kids asked her to come out of someone's apartment and she wouldn't listen. They didn't know what else to do and the apartment owner finally carried her out and sent her home. I made her go to bed early (10:00) because she wouldn't obey the kids tonight when they were watching her. She didn't like that at all and cried for longer than I thought reasonable, so I sat on her bed and explained why it is important to learn to obey when you're young. As a parent, you never know how much of what you say is sinking in but I hope she picked up something from my endless yakking tonight.
We are having a mosquito problem here, anytime we're out after the sun goes down. Sierra had 4 mosquito bites in less than fifteen minutes last night and is not happy at all. We looked for some stuff to put on them to take away the itching but the herb store here didn't carry it. We've put in a request to Dave to get some ointment for our relief. The temperatures here have been in the high 80's, low 90's during the day but the nights are tolerable, probably somewhere around 65ish would be my guess. Another beautiful day in Logan.

First Day Singing with the Full Orchestra

This was an awesome day for Jace. He had his first rehearsal with the full orchestra today. He walked into the band room and sat down in a row of chairs along the wall with the other principals. He was called to the front and introduced by the maestro, who had to ask him how to pronounce his last name correctly. "This is Jace Salcido and he is our Oliver this year. Don't let his size fool you".  They gave him a microphone so that the orchestra could hear his interpretation of the music and follow his lead (instead of the other way around). The musicians smiled at him and then at the maestro's cue, they began to play a beautiful introduction to the song he has been practicing for weeks with just a piano. The members of the orchestra focused their eyes on their music and the maestro, but when Jace began singing, a few of the members just looked up and had big smiles on their faces. It was so thrilling to hear Jace really feel the music he was singing because of the background instruments that were playing. The orchestra adds so much more feeling to the pieces that are sung. After he finished his song, he came over and whispered to me, "That was SO fun!!"
We had a lot of little errands to run today and by the end of the day we had finished with most of them. I helped a woman in this ward garden for  a couple of hours this morning and then came home to get kids up and out the door to practice. We bought a new allergy medicine for Jace because he has been so stuffy here and blowing his nose constantly. He has even resorted to stuffing toilet paper up his nose when it's really drippy and yesterday when we were on our walk, I had to teach him what my next door neighbor used to do when he was outside without a kleenex. He would put one finger on one side of his nose, bend his head over toward the ground and then blow air out through the open nostril, sending a stream of snot to the ground. Boys are so gross! Jace didn't quite get the hang of how to do it properly so we'll be washing his Sunday shirt soon:) We're going to try Zyrtec for kids and that may eliminate the need to perfect this skill.  Sierra and Jace both have a long day ahead of them tomorrow, starting at 9:00 in the morning and going til 9:30 that night. Jace has a dress rehearsal on Wednesday that will take up most of his day.
The kids went on a bike ride today up to a house that we have been looking at. It is two blocks from the Logan temple, has a beautiful grand piano, a jacuzzi and two stairways leading downstairs, but other than that, it is pretty old. We were mostly just looking for fun:) although I really do love this beautiful place and have told Dave I wouldn't mind moving.
I found a great bike at D.I. today so that I can join the kids on their rides. Dave took the other bike I was using back to Utah County because I couldn't get the tires inflated and got really sore the first time I went riding but I decided I needed to persevere a little longer. This would be a great family activity when we get back to Elk Ridge.
Tonight we went to the mall to exchange some shoes that Sierra bought today. She ended up with two completely different shoes for some reason. As we were walking in, Maci was trying to hold Sierra's hand and Sierra kept batting it away. Maci put her hand down, looked straight ahead and said, "Stop it Sierra, you're embarrassing me." We got a good laugh out of that.
It is becoming warm during the days here in Logan. Our apartment managers installed a window a/c unit today and boy I hope it works. It seems so tiny. Apparently the pioneers didn't care if they were sweaty because many of the homes here are built without air conditioning.

Sunday at the Logan 5th Ward

We love our Logan ward. There are very friendly people in this ward and we had a lot of people come to introduce themselves to our family. The kids found their classes and met their teachers and classmates. Sierra is excited to go to youth conference with this ward because they are going boating at Bear Lake. Jace met the 11 year old scout leader who seems very on top of activities and Maci and Olivia left with phone numbers for new friends. Olivia wanted to sing in the ward choir so she asked me to go back with her at 2:00 for the practice. There was one soprano, 2 altos, 2 basses and 3 tenors. It was a tiny little choir with an enthusiastic choir conductor. I am going to try and recruit these opera people to come with me on one Sunday to choir practice to blow the choir conductor away:) I've had one say that "yes", she would come. We went for a long walk along the logan canal in the evening still wearing our church heels and so we all had sore feet when we got home. After showers we made a triangle and gave each other lotion foot massages that felt so good! What a lovely Sunday it was.

Oops! We missed a few days

So we were waiting for the pictures to be emailed of our golfing adventure but they haven't come yet so we will post them later. We have really had a lot of fun the last two days. We got to go to Willard Bay to play on the "beach" on Friday. The kids got done practicing around 2ish and we drove the 45 minutes to our sandy destination. We bought some snacks and water toys at the local Dollar store and Walmart and we set out to have some fun. The kids were all looking forward to this tropical day in the water because the temperatures have been hot here. When we arrived and got out, we were so disappointed because there were a MILLION mosquitos. Luckily we had some bug spray with us and drenched everyone from head to toe. The bug spray kind of stung because we all had been bitten a couple of days before when we were outside and the new bug spray had lemon in it. Come to find out, they weren't mosquitos at all, only annoying gnats. The kids hopped in the water and started playing and then the Conrad family joined us and they really started having some fun. The Conrad children are about the same ages as my children and so they all play well together AND they have a dog that entertained Maci and gave her someone to play with. We didn't leave there until around 8:30 and no one wanted to go home. We'll have to do that activity again.
Saturday we only had one practice from 10-1:30 and while the older two were at practice, the little girls and I went grocery shopping. It just so happens that it was national Kid Day and Macey's grocery store had a lot of fun things going on for little kids. The had a huge inflatable slide, cotton candy, corn dogs, dunk tank, and face painting for free. Olivia and Maci had a blast! After we picked up the kids and had lunch, we met the Call's at the park by our house. The adults played a card game and the kids ran around the park playing tag and riding bikes. We went to their house for dinner and I got to do some more laundry. Sierra made potstickers and we had Chinese stir-fry too. It was yummy and the Call's are such good company. Still loving Logan!

Mini Golfing

This is written by yours truly, Sierra.(my mom had me put that so you wouldn't think this update was written by her...if it was bad :)
Today Jace and I had a full day of practice planned out for us. The schedule only gave us an hour break! It was a boring practice considering we were only in two of the scenes. I watched the play to see how it was coming along, while Jace battled it out playing Plants vs. Zombies... he's such a boy...

My family was planning on going mini golfing with one of our friends, the Conrads. They happen to be the Artful Dodger's family. However they would be leaving me and Jace because our practice wouldn't get over in time. We ended up going anyways because they were done with us for the day, so all worked out. I guess the Conrad's ward goes on little outings like this a lot. When we got there all the kids rushed to pick out their favorite color of golf ball and putter while the adults walked and talked and occasionally helped the younger kids golf. Everybody did 18 holes before going back to eat a yummy dinner. The amazing dinner consisted of: Pulled pork in a roll, fruit salad, chips...lot of them, creamies, veggies in ranch, soda/water, and little crackers and a variety of cheese. Now I don't know about you, but to me that is quite the spread for a church outing. It was kind of miserable to golf because it was so stinkin' hot, but everybody still had fun. When we got back to our "department" and Maci calls it, we saw all of our neighbors visiting out on the grassy area near the apartments. My mom was trying to hurry everybody in so she wouldn't be a bother to them. While she chatted up a storm with Jessica, Maci was having her own conversation with Vanessa. Vanessa could tell my mom wanted all the kids in the apartment and told Maci in her English accent to get inside the house right now. I would quote her but I have my mom's memory skills and forgot what she said. Maci, being the spicy character she is, didn't listen to Vanessa. That was a mistake on Maci's part. Vanessa then used the trick of counting down. Maci was very brave, but by the time Vanessa got to two, Maci was hugging onto Mom's leg for dear life. Vanessa wanted Maci inside not stuck to Mom's legs so she kept on counting. By now Maci was running into the house laughing and screaming all at the same time. Mom went to round up the other more obedient kids that didn't need a count down while I tried to give Maci a shower. Mom came back and went straight up to mom and said, "That was fun , but kinda scary..." All in all the day has been quite eventful.