Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Have you ever heard of Dr. Horrible? Yeah, me neither...well, not really. I recall a co-worker mentioning something about it at a team meeting, and even pulling up the blog...until my manager walked in, then we had to get back to work.

Anyway, so a college roommate and friend of Eddie's is also an actor and he called us and let us know he was performing in "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog" at the Balagan Theatre in Seattle. We were excited to go and support him. I had also never met Butch before, just talked with him over the phone when he called Eddie, so it was a good opportunity to finally meet him.

The show was phenomenal! From the music to the comical lines to the level of energy that was present, there are some very talented people in that theatre company! And meeting Butch just topped off the whole evening!

So, if you're in the area this weekend, looking for some funny entertainment (ok, there are a few raunchy lines in Act II, Scene II...so let's call it PG-13), head to the Balagan Theatre!

Butch - Eddie and I will see you for dinner next week and again, fantastic performance! :)

Peaches, peaches, and more peaches...

Summer time = fresh fruits and vegetables = making jam and canning.

Last year, we bought 50 lbs. of peaches and canned half of them, made freezer jam with the other half. This year we again bought 50 lbs. of peaches but canned them all. That's right, in a matter of 4 hours or less, I cleaned, blanched, peeled, sliced, pitted, and 'jarred' all of the peaches. I followed up that act by adding simple syrup to all jars, sterilizing the lids, and finished preparing all jars for sealing. Sealing the jars is not my favorite part...I left that for Eddie! :)

Finally, with a 97% success rate (one jar didn't seal, so it just went in our fridge and we ate those peaches :) we ended up with

30 quarts of peaches!!

The best part of all of this? A co-worker had given Missi some canning jars and since she doesn't do any canning, she gave them to me! There were almost 50 quart jars and several pint/jelly jars. Yay - means all I needed to buy were lids and some rings! Thanks, Missi!! :)

Next project, making lots and lots of raspberry and strawberry jam!
Oh, if only I had the time...maybe in a few weeks, you know, after Missi's wedding! ;)

Dad

I love you and miss you, Dad!

February 1940 - August 2007

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I love you! :)

Girls Camp 2010

Main camp theme banner

For the past four years, I've spent the first week of August at Girls Camp. The last three years as a "Teepee Mom" (leader over a specific group of girls), and this year, I was a part of the Stake Staff specifically over Golden Hour, the evening activity/lesson.

Daily Theme Banners

There is so much more to do for Golden Hour than I had ever imagined; preparing every detail for each night, ensuring activities are approved, getting music in line, learning how to set up and use all of the microphones and A/V system, holding song practices, meeting with my two helpers, and then trying to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

It's always a lot of fun, but was a lot of work. Add preparing for that to preparing for my vocal recital and helping Missi plan her wedding - I just don't know where the summer has gone. Feels like I haven't had a moment to myself and my house/yard are evidence of the neglect!

Just having fun...

At any rate, it was fun. Tuesday night, everyone participated in the "Value Olympics." There are eight values by which we try to help the Young Women of the Church to come closer to Christ: faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue. For each value, we had an "event" associated with it and a goal of helping these girls understand how they can live these values daily and draw closer to Christ. From what I saw, everyone enjoyed the activities Tuesday night!

Value Olympics - Virtue

Wednesday evening, we started off with skits - not my favorite thing in the world, but required for camp certification, so we added them in the schedule. Following the skits, we changed the modd a bit through music. A friend of mine along with one of my helpers met together and planned the flow of the evening. They decided to combine the overall Mutual theme for the year of, "be strong and of a good courage," with the camp theme of, "Come Unto Me." We started off with songs about being strong and establishing a strong foundation in Christ ending the evening learning through song of the many things our Savior has done for us, and what we will do in return. We had stories, testimonies, and dialogue between the numbers.

Thursday night, we had some very special guests: Mary, mother of Jesus, Joseph and Emma Smith, Captain Moroni, a Sister Missionary, Sariah, and the three virgins sacrificed in Abraham 1:11. We asked people/leadership in our Stake to come be a part of our activity Thursday evening by playing one of these roles and explaining how they stood as witnesses for Christ, why it was so important, what role the gospel has in their lives, and how we can do the same in our life. We ended the evening all together in the amphitheater and watched a powerful video with examples of being strong, being an example to others, and being a witness of Christ. Thursday was by far the most impactful evening in my opinion.

Sariah

Mary

Emma and Joseph Smith

Three Virgins from Abraham 1:11

Captain Moroni

Sister Missionary

It was great, although I don't think I slept the entire week, or the 6-8 weeks leading up to it! After camp, I talked with the person who was in charge of Golden Hour last year and I fully agree with her - we need to form a support group for former Golden Hour leaders!