Marli's First Wee Wee!

Okay, so that title isn't true, but she did her very first tinkle on the potty last night before bed! It wasn't just a couple of drops, but a nice amount! I'm so proud of her and kinda sad that she's getting so big. :( But, I'm excited for her to continue potty training so she'll be out of diapers soon! Yay!

We did a family photo shoot earlier this month and I'll be posting those photos soon!

Perform, perform, perform!

I'm very excited because I have an audition coming up for A Little Night Music with Lyric Opera. I love that company. Great shows and people. I was asked to do Pirates of Penzance in April, so I'm looking forward to that! But, I have a shot at a role in the Sondheim show, too, so I figured, why not give it a shot?

Ibis is working again! Yay! The only downside, is that he works nights from 6pm to 2am. Yikes! I actually love having him home during the day, but I miss him at night. :( But, it's work, right? We have a lot of good prospects on the horizon and MK is doing great! I'm very excited for my business and I have lots to keep me busy.

Marli is going to be a WWE Diva for Halloween. Yeah, not my idea. Ibis thought it would be cute. He bought her a Women's Champion belt for her for Christmas when she was a month old and now he wants to dress her up. It's original, I'll give him that! She'll wear a black leotard with black pants and a sparkly headband and her belt. It'll be super cute. Mia is going to be Tinker Bell and Tristan will be Peter Pan. Cute! Reagan, who gets to spend Halloween with Grandma Mary, will be Minnie Mouse. Adorable! I'll definitely post pics after the fun night. :)

Anything Goes!

ANYTHING GOES
by Cole Porter
October 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2009

"Anything Goes" is one of the most frequently requested repeat shows from our past by members of our audiences. One of the first elements of the re-organization of our mission twenty years ago was to set out to examine the “jazz age musicals of the American Musical Theater tradition and "Anything Goes" is at the top of the list of that type of show. Its score is packed with the best of the great Cole Porter’s signature wit and tunefulness, featuring “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top,” “Friendship,” “It’s Delovely” and “Anything Goes.” This show really made Ethel Merman a star and gave Victor Moore, as public enemy 13, a great personal triumph as well. David Brannen will return to direct for us, and he has the style and the dance choreography chops to make a memorable production. J. Sherwood Montgomery will return to play the role of Moonface, the comic character dressed as a clergyman. Come see Jordan Miller as Billy Crocker, Laura Bueno as Hope Harcourt and Debra Wanger as Reno Sweeney. Chris Thompson will join us once again in the role of conductor. The joy of returning to the musical comedy roots of Broadway in the 1930’s is a reminder to all of us that in the great depression people could only stay “holed up” so long. The time came when a night on the town, and a witty, naughty time needed to be had by all.

Ticket prices: $32, $37, $42, $47, $52

Visit www.lyricoperasandiego.org to buy tickets and for more information.

10-Year High School Reunion

Me with Ryan Montague (our Mr. Park Hill senior year)

I'm wearing 4-inch heels and still barely come up to his shoulder. Sheesh!

Kelly Armstrong, Me, Fred Maidment, Valerie Jones
Me with Kelly Armstrong (have known her since 8th grade!)
We used to hang out every day in the summertime at the pool or each other's house.

Me with Laura Meek Coppess (we used to ride the bus together in 8th grade)

Margaret Keiffer Bailey, Me, Tara Sloan Painter (my church girls!)

Me with Sarah Kinkaide Canovi (we used to hang out in 8th grade, too)

Ryan Pigg and me (good friend from high school and college)

Me and Niki Campbell Bradshaw (we took theater classes together in high school)

Jason Blazer and Me (my Shapoopie partner in Music Man freshman year)

Cari, Me, Jeff, Kaitlyn, and Ashley at the Visitor's Center in Independence, MO

The whole gang, Class of 1999 (a few got cut off on the sides)

Margaret Keiffer Bailey and Me

Me and Tyson Leone

A pic of me before the party

Me and Cari Moegling Maughan (one of my best friends from college days)

Has it been that long, really? I found the perfect outfit at Ross for WAY under my budget. Score! I also got some awesome shoes to go with it. I flew out to KC, MO and stayed with my good friends Cari and Jeff Maughan and their adorable little girls. The reunion was great. I missed everyone and it was a bit sureal to see everyone together and married and having kids and all. But, life goes on, right? I had a blast and I'm so glad I went. The only downside was not having Alice Anne there by my side. :(

Summer

Here are some pics from my sister's visit a couple of weeks ago. We had lots of fun at the beach and hanging out. It was good to get the girls together since they don't see each other often at all.

At Tyler's Taste of Texas for breakfast. That's my sister and her daughter.

Me and the babies.

Aunt Mimo (my Aunt Esther) with the girls.
Marli and Reagan. Looks like Reagan was cheering Marli on with the bucket full of water. She walked it all the way from the water to the canopy!

Mommy and Marli

Grandma Mary and Moo

Roo and Moo

Reagan

Aunt Erin and Marli

Thinking

There comes a time in everyone's life when they finally figure things out. For me, I have thought I've done that previously with my business. However, come to find out, I'm definitely not convinced that I was as committed as I could have been. After returning from Dallas last week, I feel that I have a fire lit under me to make my life what I truly want it to be. These are things on which I will not compromise:

-owning a home for my family to live in
-having the monetary security to be comfortable and be able to help those in need or at least to offer to pay for dinner for a group of friends
-having the discipline to focus on my business and what I need to do to get to where I need to be
-being able to take fabulous vacations with my family when I want just because I can
-serving a mission(s) with my husband when we're much older ;)

There are probably many more things that I can't think of at this moment, but I know that when I set my mind to something, I accomplish it. It's not a matter of IF, it's WHEN. I believe that WHEN is NOW. That being said......adieu!

Wheel of Fortune

Back in October, I was chosen to be on Wheel of Fortune. It was a blast and I only had a week to prepare! I finally found a clip of the December 2, 2008 broadcast online through YouTube. So, here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC_mm9Thn0Q

Enjoy! I start off strong, but it all goes downhill after I guess the letter "H". You'll see what I mean. :o( I had fun, though and left with a little money!

A Legend Dies

I'm very upset today. Michael Jackson has just passed away. I can't even believe it right now. Very shocking news. I have ALWAYS loved his music, regardless of how he runs his personal life. He was such a talent. As I type this, I'm listening to his music. Funny how in this particular week, the world has lost three huge, iconic figures: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. What a sad, sad, sad week for the entertainment industry to lose such talents! Rock on Michael!

Happy Father's Day

We had a very nice day today. After church, we all came home and took naps. I love Sunday afternoons when we can all just snooze away! Then, we went to my parent's house for dinner. I gave Bob some shirts and we had a nice meal. Then, we headed over to the Bueno's house. I'm so grateful for Ibis and for what a loving and involved father he is. I can't wait to have more children because I know he will do everything in his power to show his love and support. I love him so much and I am proud to be his wife and mother to his children.

Update on events

Ibis lost his job....again. I tell you, this blue-collar trade bidness is driving me crazy! We're looking at other options. He's going to go back to school for either electrical apprenticeship, or he'll complete his associates and work on a bachelors in electrical engineering. I like the sound of that. The only issue is that Ibis isn't a huge fan of school. He's very intelligent, but doesn't do well in a classroom. I'd LOVE to go back to school. I can't believe I just wrote that. Ha ha ha! I would love to go to pastry school eventually to pursue opening a bakery at some point. Not for a while yet, though! So, we're just waiting on a couple of companies to get back to Ibis about starting work again and then we'll be able to decide our next course of action. I mentioned border patrol to him and he's agreeable, but they aren't accepting applications right now.

In other news, I have a couple of cake orders for this summer. A 4th birthday cake for a little girl in a princess theme. That will be fun. Also, my aunt and uncle are renewing their wedding vows and I'm making a two-tiered wedding cake for them with fondant. I'm excited to see how they turn out.

I have submitted an audition cd to LDS Auditions for Mormon Night at Dodgers Stadium in August. I needed to submit a cd of me singing the National Anthem (of course!) and one other song of my choosing. I came down with laryngitis the week before I needed to record my song. Of all the luck! But, because I was in an actual recording studio, there was magic! I was singing a cappella so I'd just sing one line....wait.....sing the next.....drink of water....sing the next, and so on. Then, he just spliced it all together. I tell ya, it was difficult to sing through the laryngitis. When I got to the other song I had to sing, I just used a previously recorded art song in French that I had from college. My voice has definitely matured and developed quite a bit from six years ago, but this cd was just to get a live audition. I put a disclaimer in my package of info to let them know that I was singing with laryngitis and that I'd love to sing live for them. Hope it works! The submission deadline was this Monday, so I had to record when I did.

The contest winner receives: $1500 award for singing the Star Spangled Banner at the game, VIP seating at the game, a chance to audition for Deseret Shadow Mountain Record Label, among other opportunities. So, I'm stoked that I might be able to be chosen for this opportunity. There will be 10 finalists who will also receive awards and will be asked to sing at various engagements throughout the contest period. We'll see how it goes!

Lyric Opera San Diego

I'm very excited to report that I've gotten one of the leading roles in Anything Goes at Lyric Opera San Diego! This is probably one of my biggest roles professionally. I've had bigger roles in community theater, but not professionally, so I'm very very stoked about this! I get to dance, sing and act. I'm going to be playing Hope Harcourt. She's a young aristocratic American who is engaged to an older English gentleman, whom she can't stand. She falls in love with an American named Billy. One of the songs that I'll be singing in the show is "It's Delovely", which is a very well-known piece. It's all Cole Porter and some of it's pretty tricky music. I'm very excited. It will be performed the first two weeks of October. Check back for updates on tickets and other info!

Fun with Marli

Marli and I went to the park today and we had a blast splashing in the water and playing on the playground. Here are some pics!

A couple of weeks ago, I had Rene, Geno, Coco, Tristan and Mia come over for an impromptu dinner. I made a roast and it was so big, I thought I'd invite everyone! Well, Mia and Marli both needed a bath, so we stuck them in the tub together and of course, we HAD to take pictures! Here they are!

Both the girls smiling pretty!!!

Crazy hairdos for the both of 'em!

Marli's vocabulary is growing. Here is a list of the words she says now: mama, uh-oh!, fow-ow (flower), efow (elephant), nana (banana and Grandma Coco), shoe, Pooh, waz is? (what's this?)

She really knows and understands us now. We'll tell her to go get something or go do something and she does it. She keeps a lot of stuffed animals in her crib and Ibis and I will ask her to find Tigger, Lambie, Dolly, Monkey, Wiener Dog, etc. and hand it to us and she knows each one of them out of a pile of animals. What else.....she is still afraid of Bebo, Ibis's cousin......I don't know why. She just freaks out when she sees him. :o( He's so nice, too!

Yay for Ibis!

I'm so happy for Ibis! He's been working a lot lately. Lots of overtime (which is good for our income) with the company he's working for now. We're starting our house hunting this week and we've been pre-approved for a home loan. We're so excited that we'll be able to get out of this apartment this year (hopefully!) and that we'll have more room to add some more little ones. :o)

Speaking of little ones, here are some recent pictures of my Marli Jayne

Marli likes to drink milk and water. That's all I ever give her to drink. I choose to not give her juice, but it's fine if she has some at Grandma's house. She has one bottle of milk and one bottle of water in her hands and she didn't want to put either one of them down!

As you can see, she's by the door. In her right hand, she has my car keys. She put on Ibis' hat and grabbed my keys and started waving "bye bye". Too cute!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Fun at the beach with Daddy

Listenin' to some tunes!

More Cakes from My Classes

I've been taking the Advanced Cake Decorating Class with Amy Malone and here are the cakes I've decorated during this class:

This cake was a two-toned cake with oriental poppies (made of royal icing) and a ribbon, zig-zag swag border on the sides. Since Ibis's birthday was the day before I made this cake, I chose to make the cake for him. :o)

This cake was made with a stencil and with airbrushing underneath it. The black outlining is done with black piping gel and if you look closely, you will see paw prints on the sides and a dog bone border.

This cake I made outside of class for a competition at church. It needed to be a car-themed cake, so I made two six inch round cakes and cut them in half for the wheels. There was a little extra of those rounds, so that is what made the pieces for the top of the car, which is sitting on a 9x13 inch sheet cake. My first carved-out cake made at home. Hope it does well in the competition! Who knows?

Silly Mami!

I need to write down some very cute things that Marli does that are just precious and need to get put down somewhere! Yesterday, she grabbed Ibis' ball cap and put it on her head backwards. Then, she grabbed her bee (a talking toy that goes through numbers and sings songs and stuff) and my keys and walked toward the door, ready to leave! So cute.

She is now saying these words: bye bye, uh-oh!, mama, papa, puppy, elfow (elephant), shoe. There are probably more, but I can't think of them right now. She loves peas. I mean, LOVES peas. Can't get enough. She waves bye bye with her palm facing herself as if she were saying goodbye to herself. Very cute. When I grab some Cheerios as a snack for her, she immediately runs over to her little plush box, sits down with it in front of her and waits for me to put her snack inside. She then proceeds to eat her Cheerios and milk.

When Marli is asked to smell a flower, she blows on it as if she was blowing out candles on a cake! Since that's the sound she hears when people sniff, I guess that's how she's figured out how to make the sound.

No more bakery!

Unfortunately, due to the increase in the prices of the ingredients at the bakery, Fernando had to let a few people go. He will be calling me when things turn around though, and he mentioned that he thinks I'm a great decorator and I have a lot of potential. So, it's all good. I'll be taking another one of Amy Malone's classes starting tomorrow, so I'm pumped! :o)

Hallelujah!!!

Ibis got his job back last week. We're so blessed. We are slowly, but surely working our way into a home. The first task is paying off debt. After he lost his job, I felt that it would never happen since we couldn't make double and triple payments anymore. But, now that I'm working at the bakery, singing with SDO next month, running my MK biz and teaching dance classes and he's working again, we have more than enough to get out of that debt ASAP! I'm so excited and looking forward to the day when we can purchase our very own home!

Marli's 16 Month Stats

Can she really be that old already? Wow! I couldn't take her to the doctor, but Ibis did and here are her stats:

23 lbs. (right on track for her height)
2 ft. 8 inches (80th percentile for height! Got a tall one!)

She's growing so much and I am wanting another little one soon! No, we're not trying yet, so don't get too excited! LOL!

Scary GI Joes!!

I have to backtrack a bit to tell you about a funny thing that happened back in December. I never wrote about it, but I was just reminded today and HAD to get it down somewhere! Ibis's grandmother passed away (Alfy's mom) before Christmas, so the whole family went down to Tijuana for the funeral. As most of you know, there is serious trouble in TJ right now with the drug rings and murders and everything. A bit scary. I was very nervous. Well, we were in Coco's big Excursion and as we crossed the border into Mexico, we had to be searched off to the side. Everyone got out, except Marli, because she was strapped into her carseat and it would have been a hassle for such a quick search to get her out for just a minute. The guys searching the car were in full-on battle regalia! They had helmets, guns and bulletproof vests and the whole shebang! Poor little Marli started FREAKING out when they crawled into the car and were checking the upholstery and under the seats all around her. Poor thing thought we left her and were giving her to the GI Joes!!! So, I quickly unbuckled her and got her out of the car to calm her down. Now it's a standing joke that she's afraid of the GI Joes. They scared her so badly! Hey, I'd be scared too if guys with guns slung over their backs and wearing helmets came into my car and I was a little baby. Pretty funny though, at the time. :o)

Some Pro Cakes

Well, as promised, here are some of the cakes I've done at the bakery this past week.

He likes me!

So, Fernando, the executive pastry chef at Crumbs of Paris has asked me to come back tomorrow and we'll be discussing pay and schedule. I'm very excited because that means I didn't totally stink last week! He had to fix a few of my cakes because the clients were repeats and they were very picky and know his work. Glad he did, cuz I don't want to be the one to lose the clients!

As for Marli, she gets to spend lots of quality time with Daddy. That's good for him because he is such a good daddy and has soooo much patience for her! I married a very great man. :o) Marli has discovered her fish face and when I do it back to her, she kisses me. Just tonight, I put a goldfish in my lips and she came up and took it with her mouth like a little bird. So cute! I read a story to her tonight (twice-same book) and then she went to sleep after her tooth brushing session. She loves her routine and she knows that after her bath, she puts on her pj's, has a snack and some milk, reads a book with Mommy or Daddy, brushes her teeth and then the lights are out for bedtime. She's so precious! :o)

All dolled up in Mommy's hat, Daddy's watch and with her pacifier that she's actually never really used except as a toy!

She decided that she wanted to do some work like Mommy, so she moves the mouse, then punches the keys, then the mouse again, and so on. Too cute!