My students ROCK!!

I have 32 incredibly talented, hardworking students and I could not be prouder as 18 of them sang at our Spring Fling Recital tonight!! They sang well, showed personality and just wow-ed me through and through!!
We had uptempo, ballads, characters, tear jerkers, etc, etc, etc!! We heard laughs, sighs, and tons of applause!! We had some guests that put a few at nerves but everyone stepped up and blew us away!!! I was EXTREMELY proud!!! And I might add, excited that they make me look so good! :)
The evening ended with yummy fruit pizza (sugar cookie crust, whip cream and cream cheese topped with kiwi, strawberries, banana, blueberries and grapes) and loads of "you did an awesome job"!! I was very pleased with the evening!
Thanks go to my students, their parents, my family and friends! (Especially Sarah and Adam for helping me 'get fruity'! (: Couldn't have done it without you!)
MY STUDENTS ROCK!!!

Happy Day!

Last night pretty much stunk! Geoff and I were at odds - I wanted help cleaning up kitchen and he wanted to relax. Well, I did all the work but woke up better because it was done.
He and I went to lunch at Cafe Rio (our new fav place) and then I got my nails done. Yeah! (I took them off the past 2 days and they have really hurt)
Now, he just called to tell me bonuses are in! Hip hip hooray! I'm off to get it and deposit the moola!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Later gators!!

Spoiled kids!

Ok - so tonight we had a couple of "traumas"! Maddi decided it would be fun to try and "tow" herself and some kids in the neighborhood around on the moving dolly. Now she has a bruised knee and a few scraps. Jonathan lost another tooth. Not a big deal but he proceeded to tell us how he lost his tooth and ends up in tears that the tooth fairy will not accept a note explaining what happened and that he will not get money. This devasts my kids lately because any dollar bills or spare change goes directly into our "Disneyland Bucket" (they have been funny about wanting to help unload laundry to look, and checking ashtrays and pockets). Well, he is almost 9 so I do the inevitable and tell him there is no tooth fairy and that Mom and Dad will still give him the money for the note. He says already knows that and if I was going to take money for the DB, not to do it because it just go back into the bucket. Needless to say, now we HAVE to go get money for him from Circle K or something because he'll know if we took it from the bucket. UG! They are just too smart! Then Dakota proceeds to complain because he didn't get to have baseball practice - Geoff is the assistant coach and cancelled practice because of lack of kids able to make it. Then Kylee is upset with me for not getting her last 2 piano books that she needs for her lesson tomorrow morning. Well, I just didn't have the funds until today to get them and I didn't have time today with Visiting Teaching and a makeup lesson for Danny and teaching my niece piano. SO . . . Geoff promised them all Cold Stone Creamery tomorrow night! Geez! Must be nice!! If I was lucky my parents bought a gallon of cheap ice cream at the store and we got to have it at home. But on the bright side, my kids all memorized their poems (Franklin requires them to recite one every six weeks in front of the class) and helped each other with actions and quizzed each other on them tonight. They are due next week in their respective classes and I'm thrilled that we won't be cramming over the weekend! Oh! And Geoff showed me why he was so generous with the offer - work gave him a $20 gift card to Cold Stone for his birthday and he's been holding out on me! :) HA! It's not enough to pay for everyone's ice cream but it will take a chunk out of the bill. Raising kids in not cheap but it's rewarding!! I LOVE MY KIDS!!!

Need a buddy!

Ok - so everywhere we live I have been able to find a new "Wal-Mart buddy". Freakish, I know but it just seems that I can make friends quickly and they all shop at Wal-Mart for groceries and 'stuff' and we "connect". We find that it's easier to get dinner, baths and bedtime done and then leave the husbands to watch sports or play video games (yes, I married a big kid) and head out later in the evening. It ends up almost a routine. We stop at Circle K or Sonic (my fav) for a soda or large ice water (with extra ice) and a snack of sorts and then head to our favorite place. There are plenty of things that bug about Wal-Mart: the lack of intelligence in some employees, the clientele (including me sometimes - hee) is not always 'up to par', etc. BUT . . . they will usually take my returns without question, they have most everything I need AND best of all - they are open 24 hours!!! I love that! Grocery stores are missing out on this great idea! If I have a sick kid or realize that we are in need of something before morning (you know, those lovely thoughts that come to you after midnight - like field trip lunchs or birthday treats, etc.) - all I need to do drive a mile to the Wal-Mart. Anyways, last night I really needed to go but had no one to go with. No one out here seems to go anywhere after 10pm and let alone the Wal-Mart, it seems. Almost like they are too good for that. UG! Hate that! Between Wal-Mart and Costco, that's all I shop for groceries mostly. Anyways, I was moping and then the call came. One of my past (for lack of a better term) buddies called and was telling me of her frustrations at the Wal-Mart tonight and I actually got a little choked up. :) I miss our late night trips to that Wal-Mart! The employees (on the night shift) knew us by sight, some knew our names and others asked about our personal lives a lot! HA! But it was like another little dimension we slipped into after 10pm and we loved it. There were many night I would get home and find my husband in bed and my house dark because it was well after 2 or 3AM! But I got some "girl time" and a chance to do a couple of "chores" done, by getting the grocery and toiletry shopping finished. Well, I am on a mission to find a new Wal-Mart buddy or hope that someone moves over here (Julie or Kristi or Char) or back to Arizona (Laurie) soon!! I MISS WAL-MART!!!

P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S

Politics! Everyone knows that life consists of politics. I received a text this morning from a good friend, Cambrian. He and I worked on THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL and he will direct again when I work on LITTLE MERMAID and LUCKY STIFF. We have been marketing ourselves as a team, since we feel we work very well together and we love working together. Well, apparently he saw an email advertising for a choreographer and music director for the summer program at ATC (Arizona Theatre Company). This is the company that I am supposedly doing the summer program for! I didn't know what to think so I got on the phone to my friend there and she assured me it was all "politics". They had to advertise the position in order to be 'politically correct' if someone in the future found out there wasn't an opportunity to apply. I am now in limbo, hoping that I will still be what they want after all the applications are in. She seems to think that I am VERY qualified and a GREAT candidate and told me numerous times not to worry but I am. She is worried now that I'm upset because she wasn't clear when I thought it was "offered" that she didn't get the last word but I'm not - just feel stupid for assuming it was mine. Of course, there will be some decisions and discussion about it. I did mention to her that Cambrian was very interested as well. He is going to send me his info and I'll get it to her since he is leaving town for a family funeral. Keep your fingers crossed for us both! We are a team! :)

NOVEL - to catch up

Ok - I'll admit it. I thought only a couple people were reading it - so I stopped. Especially since the ones I thought were reading it, I chat with online too. Not worth posting in order to just tell them again what's happening in my life. But . . . I found out more read it than I thought. So, here's our update.
Last week Kylee and I did the "Mother/Daughter Movie Night" at the school. This the one hosted by the nurse, not a chick flick by the means of fun. :) We were to learn all about our bodies and fun stuff like that. Well, I had to teach, so I moved my students around in order to make it in time. I thought it started at 7pm and Kylee was sure it was at 6:30pm. We were at the studio so I called Geoff between lessons and he looked at the invitation on the fridge and it was indeed at 6:30pm. I felt horrible because I didn't have time to rearrange any more lessons (one comes from Queen Creek -very far south). I made a bargain with Kylee to sit while I taught one more lesson and then we'd go to dinner wherever she wanted and she could ask me any question she could think of about being a girl. Whoa! Was I in for a treat. :) She now knows most of the birds and bees and I didn't freak out or laugh or get embarrassed. I also made sure she knew that she could come to me in the future and ask anything. I'd rather her talk to me than friends, simply because they may not tell her the truth because they don't know and I don't want her to have the wrong answers. She agreed. We enjoyed a fun dinner at Applebees (our favorite Oriental Ck'n Salad, wings for appetizers and Diet Coke to drink). She wanted a Sonic Blast afterwards and then we went to the store so she could buy her little school friend some pencil sets for her birthday (Lisa Frank - all the girls favs). All in all it was an enlightening and fun evening!
Geoff and I have been "forced" to go on weekly dates the past 3 weeks. One of my students has been begging me to let her babysit. Well, I finally gave in and said to come for her lesson on Friday evening and then we'll go out and let her stay. She was thrilled! And the kids LOVE her! She brings activities for them (coloring, sidewalk chalk, games, and treats) and they have a fun filled evening (which usually ends in Geoff and I having to clean up when we get home but worth it). We have really enjoyed the time that we usually wouldn't take for ourselves, simply because life gets too busy. We have done nothing special but we always go to dinner (we've been checking out all the places people talk about but we never go to) and then just shop around or look at trucks (keep dreaming) and then head home. It's brought us a little closer and now I know why the prophets say you have to MAKE time with your spouse. Life is easier when you get along! :)
Saturday was our Neighborhood Spring Fling. It is to raise money for the neighborhood block watch and get to know your neighbors. It's a BIG deal here! It cost $10 a family and they had hotdogs and brats, chips, soda, water, snowcones, cupcake walk, 4 bouncers, bouncer obstacle course, rock wall, fishing pond, etc etc etc. You name it - it was there!! The kids had a blast!! The firemen showed up and gave rides on their 1940's fire truck and then the big ladder truck showed up and sprayed everyone for about 20 minutes. It's an annual thing - so my kids are looking forward to next year already.
I don't know if I've mentioned before that Geoff's company sold themselves to a bigger firm. The "transaction" will take place next week. So we've been dealing with meetings, insurance changes, 401K transfers, etc. I think from what I've seen and heard that the change will be a good one for all involved. Geoff seems to be happy and thinks that it will actually be a great career boost. The new company is Atwell-Hicks and they have quite a national reputation. So, Geoff is excited to in on the ground level of their move into Arizona. I'm not thrilled that our insurance premium is going up a bit and they aren't matching as high as the previous company on our 401K but they have better bonuses and a great family cruise as incentives. I guess I can pay an extra $45 a month on insurance to know that every year my family can go on a company cruise that they pay for! HA!
I was asked this past Friday by Dave Dietlein of Hale Centre Theatre (where I've performed and recently music directed THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL) to music direct their summer kids show THE LITTLE MERMAID and also their fall show LUCKY STIFF. I'm very excited about that! I am hoping to have started to etch my name on their permanent roster of Music Directors!
That's all for now and I will keep you all updated as exciting things happen! Thanks for being friends and PLEASE post a comment to let me know you were hear!! It makes me feel loved! :)