The Little Mermaid Jr.

I can't say enough good things about this play.  The only bad is that it's over!  College Street Players have always held their performances in the Fine Arts Building, which consists of a tiny stage and limited seating.  For this show, they were able to use Hartselle High School's auditorium which is HUGE and has lots of comfy seating!  It was wonderful!  They had the space to incorporate bigger sets and props.  Three different newspapers came out for marketing purposes and my girl was quoted in the Hartselle Enquirer.  
 

Esther came up with some awesome ideas for Brit and Chan's makeup.  

Applying Brit's scales

 

 

Charming

Dad and Rosie came up to watch the Saturday matinee with me and Dakota.

The entire cast did a fantastic job!  This is easily our favorite show with CSP.

Just as a side note:  This is Britney's 20th play!  That's amazing, baby girl!  Congratulations :)

Father of the Bride & Dakota's birthday party!

Yesterday, we all went to watch Father of the Bride.  Dad and Rosie joined us.  Plus, Matt brought Chan up there, the Amos family was there, and Karen...I think we knew 90% of the audience :)

The show went really well!  Brit was very worried about some things, but I think they all pulled it off beautifully.  I love her character.  She's one sassy maid!  The play was quite funny!

I love, love, LOVE this picture.  Britney and Keilee's characters have a bit of a spat.  Brit looks like she's going to knock her out!

During intermission, they had set up a 'reception' area in another room with cakes and drinks and had live music playing.  I think that was an awesome touch.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

Taking her bow!

 

 

After the play, we swapped Chan for Ben and went to eat with Dad and Rosie.  We ended up at Five Guys after trying to eat at two other restaurants that were closed.  What's up with places being closed on a beautiful Saturday afternoon...the day before St. Patrick's Day?  At any rate, the food was great and everyone had a wonderful time.

 

After we finished eating, we said out goodbyes to Dad and Rosie and headed home.  Suzette and Dave were bringing Zachary over after they went out to eat at the new Mellow Mushroom in town.  We were at the house for maybe 10 minutes before they got there.  We hung out of the front porch and chatted for a good bit while the boys immediately started playing Minecraft and Britney flipped around the yard.

The only thing Dakota asked to do for his birthday was to have Ben and Zachary spend the night.  He also mentioned going to the glow in the dark putt putt in the mall.  I tried to call them to set up some sort of birthday...thing, but their phone was disconnected.  When Dakota and I went to fye on his birthday, they were closed.  So I had no idea if it would work out or not.  We asked the boys if they would like to go see and I thought Zachary was going to have a come apart!  He was pumped about going!  We decided that if they were closed, we'd take them bowling.

Happy kiddos!

They were open!  I think they have hours revolving around school hours or something.  I didn't take pictures because of the lighting.  Well, I tried...but failed.  Anyway, it was SO much fun!  They had a blast!!!  Definitely worth the 5 bucks for each player.  The came up with names for themselves - Dakota was DAKODINATOR, Brit was B DAWG, Ben was BENJAMMIN' and Zachary was ZACH ATTACK :) 

Look!  Bobby and I were there too!

 And then we took them out for one more surprise :)

Once we got home, they played and played.  Then they decided to watch Wreck It Ralph and I made them a big pallet in the living room and went to bed.  You'd have to ask them what they did the rest of the night :)

We all got up this morning and I made up three batches of pancakes.  I went to the track and came home long enough to pick Brit up and take her to the thrift store to look for some jeans.  Closed.  On.  Sunday.  Meh.  So we ended up at Walmart for a few minutes and I bought myself a pair of workout/softball practice pants.  By the time we got home, it was time to take them to meet Suzette.  We dropped Brit off too.  She's gone to a concert in Birmingham with Dave, Emily and her youth group.

I dub thee 12th birthday a success!

March 14th!

Today is The Boy Child's 12th birthday!  It was also opening night for Britney's play!  So...yeah...fun, busy day :)

We went to Esther's yesterday and spent the night.  The kids played and played and chatted and laughed to all hours of the morning.  And Bailey and Cooper whined and whined and barked until all hours of the morning.  Hopefully, the Crawfords will forgive them and let me return.  Naughty puppies.

We got up this morning and headed home.  I think Brit and I both took a quick nap.  She had to be up at the church at 4:00 so after Bobby woke up for the day and before I took Brit up there, we had cake!

Dakota chose his cake and frosting ~ chocolate cake with mint chocolate frosting.  He wanted it in the 13x9 pan so we could cut it into squares and the pieces would look like earth cubes from Minecraft.
 

He added sprinkles to his piece so it would look more pixelated.

Then Brit and I were off.  We're all going to the Saturday show with Dad and Rosie.  I can't wait to see the whole thing!

 I came back to the house and picked up Dakota and took him to Chick-Fil-A for a quick bite...

 

And then we were off to the mall and fye.  They swear, my kiddos LOVE that place.  They have items from their favorite shows.  Dakota had some money left on the gift card he got for Christmas.  He used that along with some birthday money to buy two Dr. Who items.  He also tried on Steve's head for size.

When we got home, I was very happy to see a box by the door...his surprise present had arrived!

We got him the LEGO Minecraft!  He's SO excited!  I've been wanting to get him this for over a year, but that sucker was nearly $150 and we just aren't going to spend that much.  Amazon had an AWESOME deal on it just in time for his birthday!  :)

March 14, 2013 pretty much rocked!  And the best part for Dakota, he sill gets his 'party' on Saturday when Ben and Zachary come spend the night!

"Little Women"

Tonight was opening night for Britney's 13th play "Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy"!  She has been working so hard on her role of Sallie Gardiner and did a fantastic job!  That sweet girl just shines on stage.  Absolutely beautiful!

She also volunteered to be a part of the stage crew and that poor kid was more worried about messing the sets up than she's ever been for a performance.  The couple of people who knew what to do during set changes weren't there tonight, so she was in charge!  I wish I could have videoed her taking charge of that group of people before the play started.  She explained scene by scene what needed to be moved and taken care of.  They seemed to understand, but darn if they didn't completely space on her.  She ran the entire first act by herself, moving tables and props without any help.  I think she put the fear of God in them during intermission though.  She had help after that!

Dressed for stage crew

I took Cody home before the show and missed the 1st act.  That boy was HONGRY!  We're (Cody and I and Rosie and Dad) are going to the Saturday show.  I decided to head back after Bobby got home from work and got there right at intermission.  I was excited to see so many of our friends there!  Ladies from church that we just love and of course of Roamies!  Thank you all for being there!

Our BEAUTIFUL girls!

Playing catch up!

Wow!  I'm so far behind, I don't know where to begin!  Let's see...

August:
We went to Heather's for a get together complete with swimming and birthday cake for Britney :)

We watched the Crawfords in their awesome performance of Alice in Wonderland!

We spent a day with our friends at Rhodes Ferry Park.

Britney and I hiked Walls of Jericho with the Crawfords.  We also stopped to watch the bats at Sauta Cave on the way home.

We found out about a movie that was being filmed and were in need of extras.  Britney, Cody and I spent a VERY LONG day in Birmingham.  We got home at 2 am, but it was an awesome experience!  We were in key scenes with James Denton,   AJ Michalka,  Chris Ellis and Jamie Grace. Jamie Grace even did a little performance for us :)  Grace Unplugged is due to be released summer 2013!

September:
We went to Oka Kapassa with a lot of our friends!  We all really enjoyed this and plan on returning!

We spent a day visiting Lake Guntersville State Park and High Falls Park.  I can't say enough bad things about the trail at Lake Guntersville...worst trail we've ever hiked and we've hiked A LOT.  I also can't say enough good things about High Falls.  I think I could go there every single day.

We spent a couple days at Tishomingo State Park to celebrate my 31st birthday!  We had the best time and will definitely be back.

We went to Steele Orchard on a field trip with one of the homeschool groups.  We enjoyed it a learned a few new things, but overall felt it was geared more toward younger kids.

October:
Britney was in her 13th...or 14th (I need to count that up) play, Give My Regards to Broadway.  She did an amazing job as Connie! 

Bobby and I walked part of the Flint Creek Trail.  LOVE fall :)

I hiked Rainbow Mountain with a friend!  I can't wait to go back with my family!

There was a film being shot here in town.  We know several people who are in it, and they needed extras for a couple scenes.  Brit and I spent several hours doing that one day.  Cody had NO interest in going.  I'm actually glad he didn't.  It was quite cold and he would have been miserable.   The movie is called Little Josephine and it will be shown at local film festivals.

Bobby and I celebrated our 13th anniversary on the 26th!  We spent the whole day together.  We grabbed some delicious food from Earth Fare for a picnic and hiked Wade Mountain.  Thanks for the recommendation, Esther!  We loved it!

Every single year, we want to go the Alabama Renaissance Faire and every single year something has prevented us from going.  We were determined to make it this year, but it was SO cold!  Bobby and Cody stayed home.  I hate that they missed it and really hope it's nice weather next year.  Several friends came and we really did have an awesome time.  Britney has been wanting a cloak for years.  She had been saving up and FINALLY bought herself one.  I wish I had a picture of her face when she showed it to me.  She was SO happy!

Esther scheduled a tour at the Golden Flake factory in Birmingham.  Most of our friends have been there several times, but we've never made it before.  Oh my goodness!  We had a blast!  It's a FREE tour and we learned a lot about the process.  Plus the guide gives you hot, off the conveyer belt goodies! Not to mention lots of bags to take home!

Britney had an upcoming performance of Little Women.  She is playing Sally Gardiner and I'm really looking forward to this play!

Of course, there was a pumpkin carving day and trick or treating with friends!

November:
November 1st marked the beginning of NaNoWriMo!  Britney has participated and has exceeded her goals for the last two years.  This year is the final book in her trilogy and at November 6th, she has written over 17,000 words!  Her goal is 100,000 words!  Good luck, kiddo!


Okay, I know this isn't EVERYTHING, but it's a start.  I was overwhelmed and at least now, I can see it lined up and I can start going through and getting some pictures up!

We're off the see the wizard...

Britney absolutely loves acting. She has wanted to entertain people since she was old enough to sing. Dad and I often talk about how she would get on the staircase and sing for us. If we weren't paying her enough attention, she would walk over, grab our faces and say "Look at me!"

When Cody was in the 1st grade, his teacher told us about auditions for 101 Dalmatians. She knew the kids would love to be on stage and she was right. Britney got the part of Pepper - a speaking role - and she was completely psyched! Cody was cast as a chihuahua, as was Keilee. That's how we met Karen and Keilee. Amazing how life works :)

That was all it took. That kid was hooked! After that, they both were in Enchanted Sleeping Beauty. Then Cody decided that he loves show week, but he doesn't like the months of practice beforehand. ESB was his last play. Britney went on to do Pocahontas and Seussical the Musical, along with the plays she did while she was in public school. Then the theater company stopped putting on shows due to financial reasons. Brit hasn't been in a play in over two years, which has been quite difficult for her. She has missed it so much. But in December she had the opportunity to audition for Wizard of Oz with another theater group! Talk about a happy girl! Plus a lot of our homeschooling friends auditioned.

Getting ready to audition...

On stage with her age group.

She did an awesome job! She got to read Dorothy's lines, which was the part she was gunning for. That was quite exciting for her! Everyone did such a great job and we found out the next day that she landed to part of The Gatekeeper in Oz! All of our HS friends got cast! How cool is that?!

She had her first practice on Thursday and LOVED it. She just beams when she's on stage. Don't worry baby. We're looking at you.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Britney and I went to watch To Kill a Mockingbird last night and Keilee nailed the part of Scout!

While we were waiting for the show to start...

Things happen when we have to wait and have a camera in hand.

Things like this.

We were soon joined by the Amos family and then the Crawfords. Everything's better with friends:)


All of our kiddos.
See? Keilee's the perfect Scout!