So, Tiffany has always dreamed of being an actress and after several small scale productions at the Bellevue Youth Theatre (which does an AMAZING job, by the way), she finally graduated to the main stage and got her wish, when she was cast as a background singer and dancer in Meydenbauer Center's "Oklahoma!" She was pretty thrilled! Now, before you go thinking she is some incredible actress (and she is!), just know that EVERY child who auditions, gets a part. :) That's the beauty of it - no one is turned away, no matter what, so it's a great experience for all. The directors and producers are brilliantly talented and accomplish so much within a short amount of time and the patience they have with these children is outstanding. That said, can I just say that Oklahoma! is one of the most boring productions I have ever seen? My word! I almost fell asleep. For the love! I only kept my eyes open to watch the little cutie pie in the back sing and dance her heart out in those kickin' boots! We had a fantastic time all in all and Gma Priscilla, Gma Mary and Gpa Joe even came out to cheer on their future big screen grandaughter. Well worth it!
Seriously, look at these two adorable children and tell me, do you see ANY similarities at all? Okay yes, they ARE wearing the same dress, I realize that, but other than that? I just don't get it. Tiffany is brunette with dark chocolate eyes and Natalie is blonde with blue eyes. How could they in fact be from the same parents? But they are! I can't tell you how many comments I get from people at the park or in the mall about how non-alike these sisters look. I have taken to telling folks that they have different dads, just to get a reaction. I'm not very gifted at carrying the joke too far before I erupt in laughter. It's kind of funny to watch their eyebrows lift off their faces when they think I've been with two different men, so I get a kick out of it, even though it's so far from the truth. When my hair was it's, ahem, natural color, I was even asked several times if Natalie was adopted! Now that I'm on the blonder side, I dont' get that anymore. But I still see people dying to ask me if Natalie is the UPS man's baby when I tell them they are really sisters. I'll let them think what they want. As long as Dave believes what I tell him. :)
So yes, I realize this is just a little on the self-serving side (Dave is behind me saying, "conceited, write conceited, honey") to post a billion pictures of myself, but for someone who has up until recently shunned the camera, I am just making up for lost time. :) So sorry to give you a full Julie photo-assault/attack. Yes, I'm a dork. I promise not to do it again, but I am still getting used to seeing myself on film. Most of you know I just lost 63lbs. I say that like it happened overnight, but really, as anyone who has lost a lot of weight knows, it was an arduous task and I've never worked harder for anything in my life thus far. This is just a little self shout-out. Indulge me, would ya? Thanks for ALL of your support through my journey. You have all been amazing cheerleaders and motivators. You have no idea how far the compliments have taken me. Love ya~!
Okay, so right away you should know I will be shamefully boasting in this post. Don't say you haven't been warned! I have had THE VERY BEST Mother's Day ever! Aside from having to wake up early for an 8:00 AM church meeting, that is. Dave and the girls and I were all matching today in our bubble gum pink hues. I actually had it together enough to to style Tiffany and Natalie's hair and still be on time, which is a huge feat for me that early in the morning. Had a fantastic Sunday at church with all the Primary children and teachers/leaders. Me and my "gals" (Primary Presidency - I am the secretary) had a glorious time, albeit slightly hectic, helping the kids make cards and frost/decorate cupcakes for their mothers, which they then presented to them in adorable little gem-adorned boxes. The BEST part of this activity is the fact that I had probably 3 (okay, more like 4, could have been 5......I lost track) cupcakes and about a pint of frosting. These are homemade cupcakes and frosting that my friend, Erin, produces and they only surface twice a year, so the whole supply and demand factor was at work. I knew I wasn't going to see another cupcake for roughly six months, so I had to store up. Oh MAN! These are hands down the tastiest treats in the world. NO kidding! Seriously! So, after gorging myself and cleaning up our mess, the girls and I headed home. Dave has to stay after church on Sundays to do his calling, so we are always alone the first hour. Now, you have to realize that Sundays are clearly the messiest day of the week in our house, due to the tornado that takes place getting us all ready to walk out the door so early. I was not exactly looking forward to coming home and cleaning it up on my special day. Imagine my surprise as I walked into an immaculate house! Floors swept and mopped, carpets vacuumed, beds made, spotless kitchen - I was stunned! Martina McBride's "There You Are" blaring from the stereo on repeat - love that song, fresh pink tulips (my favorite color, of course)in a vase on the table and a beautiful Mother's Day card, enclosing CONCERT TICKETS to both the BFD Kiss 106.1 venue and the Sarah Evans concert coming up! My sneaky boy had raced home during church to do this all for his adoring wife and make her feel special. Thank you, Dave!!! I love you so much. Then I got to crawl into bed, due to the effects of my sugar-fest now wreaking havoc on my body (yes, I know, not the best choice!) and take a long and fabulous nap. Ahhhhhh, I do feel like a Queen today. I'm going to revel in it for the next little while before I can no longer milk it. Hope you all had amazing Mothers Days as well! See, I told you it was shameless.
Well, someone in our church thought it would be a good idea to ask Julie Westra to make a salad for 300 women attending an educational luncheon. What were they thinking?! I suck at this kind of thing! I am more of what I'd like to call a party "participant" and not an actual worker-bee. I talk far too much to be productive, basically. I just want all of the fun with none of the work involved. Is that so wrong? Anyway, of course I said yes and then freaked out! I rallied my favorite go-to girls (who, btw, would all have been much better choices as project managers!) and we turned it into a party. My dear friend, Tajee (no, she is not Native American - everyone asks me that - her mom was just being creative that day) offered her house for us to desecrate as we chopped, measured, scooped, stirred and mixed. Monique, Cathie, Tajee and I were crazy knife-wielding divas. But we did have one injury. I hope the attendees can't taste the blood in the concoction. :) Thank you, Tajee! Dave even stopped by for a cameo appearance and a big smooch. And I have to say, those ladies at the function tomorrow will be extremely happy because this dish is super delicious. Oh heck, I'll just be happy if no one gets food poisoning. But then again, if they do I guess they'll never ask me to head this up again, now will they?
I love love love playing with my sweet children, but I am a big believer in frequent "date nights"!! Dave is pretty much my favorite person to hang out with, so any time we get together alone or with good friends, it is well-deserved. This particular evening we were with Gerard and Camilla Nowak, in Seattle, at what Dave commonly refers to as the "Meat Palace". I'm pretty sure that is not the given name of the restaurant (call me if you want the real name and I'll get the details!), but it is a spot-on accurate description of the all-you-can eat joint. I can hardly describe it, but it is in no way an option for vegetarians. There is just about every kind of animal imaginable available on a skewer for you to inhale at two-minute intervals, being paraded around your table by attractive Brazilian men. Okay, maybe attractive is a stretch, although I do love that dark skin! A true cave-man sort of place, with an up-town swanky feel. I had to pace myself. And I love meat, but come on, this place was out of control. Dave and Gerard eat there several times a year and rave about it, so we ladies had to try it. It was delicious, yes, but I think annually will be enough for me. I'll stick to my meat being served on a plate, thank you. By an attractive male server. :)
One day last week we actually had some sunshine, so as fast as I could I got us all outside to document this momentous occasion. My poor girls were acting as if I had awaken them from a deep vampire sleep and I felt certain that at any minute their skin would peel off. They moaned in agony as the sun beat down on them as if they had never seen it before. Luckily, I have several pairs of diva sunglasses that I was able to quickly pull out and remedy the situation. Check out their faces in each photo!
So, Dave and I are big fans of Will Farrell. Especially in "Blades of Glory". If you will recall the portion of this particular film where he is in court to be stripped of his skating rank, he encounters the lovely Miss Nancy Kerrigan. His character, Chazz Michael Miachaels, leans over and asks her, "Hey Nancy, are you an Official?" The ensuing line is where the fun begins. I can't repeat it, as this is supposed to be a "family" blog, but you can download the movie and see for yourself. Dave has taken to walking around the house ever since we've seen it asking me, "Honey, are you an Official?" with an extra wink wink. I erupt every time! Never gets old. 12 years of marriage and I still think he is the funniest thing walkin'. So, this takes me to my first post. I've finally succumbed to the pressure of blogging. I can now honestly say that I AM an offical. I have to admit, I have thought of blogging as kind of cheesy; in a long drawn out showing-off Christmas card/letter enclosed with all the many accomplishments of myself and lovely/perfect children sort of way. I have secrectly (and not so secretly) made fun of bloggers for a long time now. I guess it's time to repent and ask forgiveness as I now find myself unable to resist any longer. I am slightly embarrased! Am I a sell-out? For sure. A big shout out to Brittany McCulloch for helping me set this baby up! Hope I can make her proud.
