Easter Pageant 2011

This year's Mesa Easter Pageant is well underway! We only have 5 shows left! The rest of the shows are all in English and are Tuesday through Saturday this week (19-23)!

Just like last year, I am the Assistant Choreographer in charge of the angels on top of the stage. However, since the choreographer in charge of the 10 Virgins, Mary, and Mary Magdalene just had her baby a few weeks ago, I've also been filling in for her. I thought my life couldn't be any busier since I have to commute from Flagstaff once a week and find babysitters (THANK YOU MOM, DAD & JESS!) every night. I quickly learned never to announce how busy I think I am, because the Lord always lovingly shows me how I'm really not the one who makes that decision.

One of my dear angels was put in the hospital Tuesday only a few short hours before our public-invited dress rehearsal that lds.org would be taking pictures of and filming. Since I knew her part best, I "got" to fill in. Most people would find this exciting. I, on the other hand, am deathly afraid of heights. When I teach the angels, I avoid the stage as much as possible, or hold on to someone while I give them quick corrections. The stage is also tilted and has different levels. Now add total darkness and blinding lights to that equation, and it's a nightmare! My angels said they could see me shaking! Luckily it was windy, so no one from the grass noticed. Best of all, lds.org got their full ascension picture without a hole. Click here to see it! I'm the second from the right in the front row (literally 3 inches away from the edge of the stage).

After Tuesday, I was so excited to watch the show from the grass. That, clearly, didn't happen. At the last minute, I was told she was still in the hospital and wouldn't be released til Thursday. So, I went back on stage on Wednesday.  She was released right as the show was starting on Thursday.  So, you guessed it, I performed again on Thursday.  Friday came, and so did my angel. However, she was still on Morphine and super shaky. We both didn't think she was in good enough shape to go up to the stage, so 10 minutes before the show started, I threw on my costume, gave Emma (I brought her to watch because I didn't think I had to perform) to the mom of one of my angels, and ran up to the stage. When I got down from my first scene, Emma was nowhere to be found. I finally found the mom, and she showed her to me. The mom put Emma in this (see below) costume and wanted to take her on stage during a scene so that Jesus could touch her. This mom was A-mazing! She was seriously exactly what I needed!

Emma looks sad in these pictures. She was mostly just blinded by the flash, but was also exhausted and ready to go to bed. :)  I let Emma watch the pageant from the wings when I didn't have to be on stage.  I am in the Resurrection and Ascension scenes, so the mom had to take her on stage for Finale.  Because of her position on stage, Emma wasn't able to watch the Resurrection and Ascension.  Therefore, she still hasn't gotten over how Jesus "got hurt".  Hopefully she'll be able to watch the entire show this week and finally have closure that Jesus "gets better".  :)

Unfortunately, Saturday my angel was back in the hospital. That made 5 nights in a row that I needed to conquer my fears. By Saturday, I wasn't noticeably shaking, but still want my angel to come back and let me enjoy the pageant from the opposite view. :) We're all hoping she's well enough to perform this week! Keep her in your prayers!

Mama Mia, Papa Pia...

I'm horrible at secrets...I'll be the first one to admit that. :)

Ammon and I are celebrating our 5th Anniversary at the end of the month. He's done a fabulous job of keeping everything a secret from me. However, he slipped up just once, and I took full advantage. He sent my present to the house under my name and did not tell me not to open it. Although I had no idea that the box on my doorstep was a present, I still couldn't bare to wait!  After calling Ammon twice and getting voicemail both times, I figured I should just go ahead and open it. :)

Ammon bought me a pasta maker!!! It was the exact one I wanted!! To top things off, my dad made the amazing drying rack you see below. Now, with only 1 egg and less than 1 cup of flour, I can make a 1/2 lb of the best tasting homemade spaghetti. You can also make tons of other types of pasta, and ravioli if you get an extra attachment!  From now on, I'm planning to make several batches at a time, drying them, and storing them. Perfezione!

So, obviously I didn't make enough for everyone to be full.  I didn't want to use a ton of ingredients in case I screwed everything up.  :)  It turned out awesome!  So easy and soooo yummy!!  Even Ammon likes it better!  :)

Thanks again, Love!  Can't wait to see what else you have planned the rest of the month!  Hopefully I'll be better at letting you keep the secret.  :)

Perfection!!!

Our daughter, Emma, is seriously perfect...

...okay, before you throw up, I was just kidding!!  I'm obviously referring to the "Big Girl Bed" that my dad made for Emma (and a special thanks to mom for the curtains)...

Oh, and Ammon painted the entire bed and the E M M A are courtesy of my cousin, Lindsey (thanks again)...man, have I done anything to Emma's room??

Before the bed, Emma's room never looked this clean!!

It has a "tent" where I hide all Emma's big toys, but Emma thinks that she's just super cool for having a clubhouse in her room.

Behind the shopping cart is a little scooter and baby stroller...the thing is deep!  The top shelf has all of her purses, kitchen items, and playdough/crafts!

The cubbies under the stairs are also hiding tons of blankets and books.

The bottom three drawers house the rest of her toys, leaving the top one empty!

Clothes (notice the one empty drawer again) that I know she won't try on all day long.  I'm a mean mom and try to enforce the one-outfit-a-day rule.

I mean, come on, is that not the coolest bed??  Utter perfection!  :)

So I realized that we haven't updated this dang thing for a while...here's what we've been up to lately...

We went on a hike to Cathedral Rock in Sedona a few weeks ago.  The drive is a beautiful one, and only 45 min from our house.  It was a gorgeous day, and exactly what we all needed!  Here we are having an Oreo break!  :)

Emma loves being outdoors like her Daddy.  During the steep hike, she was reminding her Daddy that she was climbing rocks just like him.  :)  Ammon actually climbed to the top of Cathedral Rock in the background on a different trip.

We were in the valley during President's Day weekend so Ammon could paint Emma's bed.  We went to Sakana, a teppenyaki restaurant for Ammon's birthday (which is on the 28th, if you need a reminder :)).  After a fabulous meal, they brought out this cat, a sugarless ice cream, and sang a Japanese-ish Happy Birthday.  The night was a success!  :)  Natsukashii!

Even Madi and her friend Stef parted from their boyfriends long enough to join the family dinner.  :)

Isn't this the CUTEST picture EVER???

So this pic is random, but I thought it was amazing!  This was dinner on Valentine's Day.  A heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's!  YUMMY!  We are doing this every year!  :)

Sledding...on her face...

Emma has discovered sledding.  She loves loves loves it!  She's so hard core that even after a nasty battle wound, she's willing to get right back up and say "I do it again" through her tears...

New Year's Day on a hill right off Milton by NAU.

Emma takes a much needed break getting pulled back up the hill each time.  It's hard to be such a professional sledder!

We thought it was a good idea to let her try it by herself.  In powder, it is a good idea...

In ice, it's not.  We went again on January 8th to a different hill because the hill on Milton was pretty torn up from all the sledders.  The only problem was that the new hill was a little icier than before.  She rolled off the sled at the end of the run like she did in the video above, but this time, she didn't think it was really fun.  This is her pondering how that brutal run could have gone much better.  Maybe we won't take her when it's icy.  :)