Backpacking, Painting, Silverwood, and a Headache

Rick and Chase were gone this week backpacking with the Scouts... ...so I promised the girls we would do something fun. We started the week by painting the girls' room (going from pastel yellow and lavender to red, cream, and black)... Before... Yummy!

Primer

[after pictures to come if the girls ever get their room clean]

...then finished the week with a terrific day at Silverwood. The girls didn't want an odd number, so they did rock, paper, scissors to see who got to invite a friend -- Tara won and invited her friend, Jessica. We had a great day with great weather, and except for a headache that I got from going on Aftershock one too many times, the day was PERFECT!!

Tremors -- what a photo op!Aftershock -- yes it was!!!Yep, this is the headache happening. Whitney was kind enough to capture the moment in pictures. Thanks, Whitney! Lunch! Nutritious AND delicious!!! Mmmmmm After lunch we went to the water park, but didn't bring our cameras in so the only evidence is that our hair is now fuzzy from being air-dried. (That's why mine is pulled back.)
The end of a PERFECT day!!

What Would You Do For This?

What would you do for this brand new, black, nickel plated, Pro Alto Cannonball saxophone, valued at $3,075?

Would you work hard for over a month to raise all your grades; would you sit on a hard floor for an undetermined amount of time with your hands on an instrument case and not be able to lift your fingers even the smallest iota; would you wait every six hours before you could take a bathroom break and only eat and drink when someone fed you; would you stay awake even when your body screamed SLEEP and your head kept nodding off; would you continue to stay in this position for 21 hours??? Chase did!

Chase was the winner of Ted Brown Music's "Hands-On Instrument Contest". After sitting with his hands on an instrument case for 21 hours (from 6:30 p.m. Friday night to 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon) he beat out 27 other students in the Tri-Cities in order to be the grand prize winner. He kept his concentration, stayed awake, paced his eating and drinking, and was a very good sport watching kids drop out of the competition one-by-one. Chase and a 7th grade girl were the last two contestants for about the last two hours and were both rock solid. The girl made one slip and raised a thumb to make Chase the winner. As a family, we all took turns being Chase's support crew, staying with him to help him stay awake and feed him when he needed it. Tara took the toughest shift (from midnight to 4:30 a.m.). Aaron and Kendall even called a couple of times to check in and encourage Chase. Chase was extremely happy that his determination and persistence totally paid off and he loves his new saxophone! My only question is this: If he can sit THAT still and under control for 21 hours, why can't he sit still for one hour of church?

This is Chase at the beginning of the competition. Notice the bright eyes and happy smile:

This is Chase at the end of his 20th hour. He was losing the comfort of his pillow and blanket right after I took this picture. Notice the droopy eyelids and bloodshot eyes:

At the end of the 21st hour, the two kids left in the competition were losing their support crews and would be on their own to endure every itch and not be able to scratch, not be able to eat because no one was there to feed them, and have no one to talk to or wake them up if they started to nod off. I fed Chase, put his water right next to him with a very long straw, and gave him a dose of a 5 hour energy drink. Right at the end of the 21 hours was when Chase's competition slipped up and raised her thumb. It was heartbreaking to see her lose after lasting for 21 hours, but we were very proud of Chase for sticking this out and working hard to accomplish his goal. He looks much happier now:

The local news came and did a story before the competition started. Here is their news report:

Chase's Jazz Band Concert Solo

California Pup Tents

Rick is a funny guy -- for those of you who know him well, I don't need to make any explanations, but if you don't know Rick very well, he likes to do "different" things -- sometimes to get a reaction, sometimes because he needs a good laugh, and sometimes just because he can. Today was one of those "different" times and I think his reason might have been all three. He approached me at lunchtime and said, "I just made California Pup Tents" for lunch. Then he showed me this:

Do you know why I call them "California Pup Tents"? Because they are hot dogs [pups] with tents over them, and when I microwave them, they melt just like the people in the California wild fires. Like this:

I laughed so hard. It was hilarious!

Success! Prom 2009

After two weeks of stressing over Whitney's prom dress, it's complete and Whitney wore it beautifully! I won't tell you about all the mistakes I made or how many seams I had to undo or even all the mistakes that I just had to cover up in the end. I'm not sure that I'll ever do this again, but I'm glad that Whitney was happy with the dress and that she had a good time at Prom. Whitney could make a potato sack look glamorous! Thank you Sarah and Stefani for doing her makeup and Kim Craigo for doing her hair. Whitney looked absolutely gorgeous! Thanks Jake for showing Whitney a good time!

Prom Dress Pursuit - Part 4

I'm nearly done now -- had a fitting on Whitney last night and it fits and looks great except for one (really two) parts, so I need to add a little something to make it fit better. Hopefully, once it's done, you'll never know I did something different. Tomorrow is prom so I better get sewing!

Prom Dress Pursuit - Part 3

Just when I thought I was almost done...I have to make a major change now.
It's time to get my seam ripper sharpened! Aaaarrrrgh!