Ina- Anna Trip

Earlier this month we went to Indiana to visit my brother Glenn's family. That has been one perk of living here in KC, it's only an 8 hour drive to their home. Well, that was before they moved to Japan for a few years. With it being summertime they were able to come home for a visit too. Greg couldn't come, so that was a bummer, but we made sure to stay really busy so we wouldn't miss him too bad.

The first day was rainy so we went to a place there in Bloomington called Wonder Lab. It was so fun for the kids, (and Tracey& I) to play and explore. My favorite was the bubble room. We spent the next two days at the pool. Brody & Tate had a blast going from the baby pool to the big one. They were both very brave, and very protected with their life jackets & floaties. I actually got to sit a few times and watch! I thought that wouldn't happen for years to come. Although I am realizing that Brody is getting a little old for his lifejacket. I think I need to teach him how to swim now, opps!
Later that night some of Glenn & Tracey's friend's invited us (adults) to come hang out & play rock band. I love that game... We gotta get a wii! Their friends were super nice & didn't mind Glenn's kid sister tagging along. What a difference a few years can make!

The main reason I came at that time was to be a part of Emma's baptism. The boys & I drove out a few days before to spend some extra time before the rest of the family came out. When they did get there we broke the ice by having a karaoke night. (Dad & Mom are both re-married and it was the first time Dad was going to meet David. I knew it would most likely be fine, but I was still a bit nervous). Everyone seemed to have a good time and it was not too weird at all. The next day was Emma's baptism, followed by a BBQ back at the house. The boys had a blast riding bikes & climbing trees. Ann Marie surprised Tracey & I with copies of Breaking Dawn, it had just been released that day. She is the one who turned us on to these books in the first place. We couldn't help but take a few silly pictures to commemorate.

After church on Sunday we went to see Tracey's parent's land. They have built a barn and will start on their house soon. It is beautiful and so fun for the kids to ride on the trailer & play on the tire swing. Before I left Shailey wanted me to cut her hair. She wanted to donate it to locks of love. We cut 11 inches and she loves it. The only thing I was worried about was how grown up it made her look!. She is so sweet & giving to do that. We had so much fun with them that it was hard to say good-bye. Thanks for a WONDERFUL trip!! We love you!

"One year older & wiser? too"

Last week I had my 27th B-day~ It was a really fun day. Thanks to everyone for your calls & notes.
They made me feel so special!
A few friends from here put together a fun B-day play-date for me. We had hoped to go swimming, but mother nature had other rainy plans. My wonderful friend Kristin invited 7 mothers & 16 kids into her home so we could still play. She was sweet, brave, & best of all a fabulous cook.( She made a yummy soup for us all too).
While Mandy, Angela, Kristi, Whitney, Melessa, Kirsten, Kristin, & I visited, the kids actually played really well together. We made an indoor picnic for them and then sent them downstairs so we could enjoy a few moments together. I feel so grateful to have such wonderful, fun friends here in KC.
That night Greg & I went out for a date night to a new Italian restaurant. We had fun walking around shops before & enjoying some much needed time together. It was probably one of the best B-days I'd had in a long time.

Thanks again!

Also on the slide show- We helped surprise Kristin's husband Chad for his B-day the previous week. (Chad, Kristin & My B-days are all one week away from each other. It's been a full month). He had no idea that a few friends had come over for some treats & a little rock band. I think the main reason I wanted to post these pictures is because I think Brody is SO cute playing rock band. He totally got into it. He sang "Underdog" & "Greatest American Hero". I couldn't be more proud.

Going out on a limb Here....

Last week I did something I've wanted to do for about 7 years.... I auditioned for American Idol! (Don't laugh!) I don't really know why I wanted to, it's not like I want to be the next Kelly Clarkson. I know I'm not that great of a singer. It's just, I've always loved to sing. (I remember telling Mrs. Martin in 5th grade that I didn't need to learn math because I was going to be on broadway. Yeah, um- That didn't happen). Truth is, I get SO nervous singing for other people. It's really something I want to get over. AI is one of my favorite shows and I figured what better way to attack my nerves that to sing for a bunch of strangers and TV producers?

I heard that auditions were coming to Kemper Arena in downtown KC. I thought about it A LOT. I didn't want to look silly or like some total crazy Idol wanna be. This was more for me to stretch my comfort zone, than anything else. I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least try. Also I thought it would be cool to be "behind the scenes" a little, to see how this show really worked.

First thing was registration. Two days before you the actual audition you have to go register. This is to make sure you're "legal" to be on the show. I've heard even this can cause big lines. I also heard that the order you reg. is pretty much the order you audition. So I decided to get there at 6:00 am to get a good audition time. I waited in line for 2 hours before I finally got in and spent the 5 mins it took to actually register & get my wrist band. It was fun though. They had camera crews, of corse- but I was trying to avoid them. I met some fun people and watched some crazy ones too. One new friend was Cassandra. We talked the whole time we were in line and decided to stick together for the auditions on Friday. She was super nice, and had an amazing voice.



One person I recognized there was Andrew Cook, David's brother. He's the one that got David to audition last year. The local Fox news team had him interviewing "Idol hopefuls". I kinda wanted to say Hi, I mean it's not like he (is) his brother, but it would still be cool. I only saw him with cameras around and I wasn't about to sing on the news, like lots of other people were. Once I finished my registration. Cassandra and I saw him walking away with a few friends. It was my friend Kristin's B-day and I had already called her & had random people in line sing her Happy Birthday. I joked with her that I would get Andrew Cook to do it next. She thought that would be SO COOL. "I'll never erase it from my answering machine" She teased. When I saw him with just a few friends and no cameras I though- Why not? He had been eating up the attention earlier. I was sure he wouldn't mind. Besides I'd already mad a dork of myself in front of his brother, "David Cook- High Five!" What's one more embarrassment for a Happy Birthday wish?

So I did it. Here is what we got off her answering machine-

We talked for just a quick minuet more and I said Thanks & Bye. It was pretty fun. That's what this whole idol thing was about for me- soak up every moment, Every silly opportunity! Yeah, I know I'm a total dork! :) Anyway back to the audition-

We were told to meet at 5:00 am on Friday morning outside the arena. They did cheesy group shots and chants for the camera till 7:30 when they finally started to get us into the arena. I met up with a friend Lindsay outside in the line. She was so fun to hang out with. I think people thought we were a little strange to be so friendly and excited at 6 in the morning. She had her cousin Jamie come with her for moral support and We met Ashley there too. She traveled from Oklahoma to audition. We waited there for 3 hours. Making friends, being dorks, yelling for the cameras.... It was a blast!



With 10,000 people auditioning, I had to do a little something to stand out. Plus, I hated the question they always ask, "Why are you the next American Idol"? So with some help from Glenn, I came up with a fun way to answer. " Well, Have you seen my shoes? They have American idol written all over them"!

Dorky maybe... okay yes, but I don't care, they were fun.
I used scrapbook stickers, so they come off easy. This picture is from the Fox news website. I figured a shoe shot couldn't hurt.

The crowd nearly filled the arena. The hallways were full of singers some good, some amazing, but most...... not so much.
It was so fun just for all the nice people I met. We all sang for each other to practice- I never would have thought I'd do that,
sing for random strangers, but it was fun pretending I wasn't too embarrassed. These two girls I sat by were AMAZING!! They sang a lot through the day and I truly thought they would make it to the next round. Neither one did though. In fact not one of the amazing voices I heard made it through. And some not so wonderful voices did make it. I have no idea what they were looking for that day.

So here's how it goes down. After we got into the arena @ 8 am, We did more group cheers and songs over & over for the cameras. We sang, "Singed, Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours" & "Get ready 'cuz here I come" like fifty times.
If I have to say,"Kansas City Rocks" one more time I think I might...... wait, Oh no... Here it comes.......

Finally about 11 am they brought out the tables & curtains to start the actual auditions. They stared to bring people down by seat sections and lined them up in groups of four. Then they would tell you what number booth to go to and you would wait till your group was the next to go.
We had waited forever to finally have the auditions start. Then about an hour into it they stop, break down the tables, clear everything out and they won't tell us why. We all guessed it by the time they announced that Ryan Seacrest was "In the building". I was a little bugged that they couldn't do this earlier. They had already gotten through 2 sections and our was coming soon. I didn't know how much more my nerves could take!
It was really cool to see him though. He is a really nice guy. He was talking pictures and hugging a lot. It would have been cool to be closer, oh well, I got Andrew Cook right?

Ryan Welcomes the crowd-

Finally, we finished the PR shots. It took like 6 hours of film that I'm sure will be cut down to like 90 secs. CRAZY!

It was almost our turn to audition. Once your group is up, they call you one by one to sing. You have about 25 secs to make an impression. I had gone through all sorts of emotions that day as I waited. I thought I had finally gotten them under control until I stepped forward. My heart was pounding. I was SO nervous!!! But I couldn't let it show. There were two producers sitting there waiting for me to sing... What was I doing there?
I sang George Harrisions, "Something". ( I have it at the bottom for those who don't know it. No it's not me singing- I'm still not brave enough to put that on here).

I was actually really happy with my "performance". For just jumping into it and not having a lot of formal experience I think I did a pretty good job. Thats all I had hoped for.

After everyone in your group sings they ask you all to step forward to give you your results. The producers were very nice and took the time to tell us that he thought we were good, but now with it being season 8 the bar has been raised and we're not quite at a Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood level..... REALLY?? What a shock!
He did suggest to come back next year after I work on my performing skills. But I don't know if I will. This was going to be my year to work on my nun-chuck skills or computer hacking skills.... We'll see.
Honestly, He may have just been being nice, but I don't care. I'll take it. Most of the other producers were not that kind.

So, off I went to stage left to get my wrist band cut off. Oh well, I'm not the next American idol, but I did it! I faced my fears, made new friends and just maybe you'll see an orange dot on the show that will be me!

We're not in Kansas Anymore....

I am SO behind.... Lots of catching up to do.



Last month we went to Utah to spend the Fourth of July with Mom & David. Thank heavens for DVD players in the car. It made the 17 hr drive much smoother.

While we were there we had lots of fun swimming, golfing, playing at the park, eating WAY too much and watching fireworks.
I never had taken the boys to see an "official" fireworks display before. It gets dark so late and I don't like the idea of messing with bed time, (Sleep is sacred to me). This year we were already off schedule because of the drive and I figured they were old enough to really appreciate the show. I still put them to bed about 8, then we woke them up when it was time to go see fireworks. They were pretty sleepy, Brody didn't wake up till I got them in the car, but they loved the fireworks. It was so cute to watch them enjoy it. Now I'm excited to take them again next year!

One day we went to the Hogel Zoo. I thought it was a great little zoo. Big enough to spend a morning and see some animals, but not too big that you have to stay the entire day.
We rode the train and played on their playground. My favorite was after the Zoo we got Jamba Juices! Jamba- Oh, How I miss you!



Riding the Train Whoo Whoo!




Brody riding on the trunk of an Elephant


The boys especially enjoyed the indoor exhibit that had all the desert animals. We all were scared by the GIgantic python, Eww- I get chills just thinking about it.

I love this picture of Tate. This is totally how he was in there, running around so crazy and excited.


Our last day in South Jordan was probably my favorite. First we went to an Alpaca farm that a friend of my Mom owns. They are such funny looking animals. They are raised for their fur which is super soft. There was one named Carlotta who took a liking to the boys. Alpaca aren't normally so friendly to humans, but this one was so sweet. She let the boys love on her and they thought she was so cuddly.

The funniest part was we weighed the boys on the farm scale there only to find out that Brody weighs 37 pound and Tate weighs 36!! They are almost two years apart, but only weigh one pound different! Honestly I was surprised Tate doesn't weigh more than Brody, he is so solid!
Then we drove up the canyon and had a picnic in the Mountains. Now I can be hard on Utah, It's not a place I'd like to live, but being so close to such beauty was amazing. It almost made me think I could live there, (Sorry Mom- It's not gonna happen).


After our picnic the boys played off road with their big trucks. They were so cute to watch. Then we took them on a little hike. It was Tate's first "real" hike. Both boys loved being out in nature like this. We could have stayed all day, an we mostly did. Brody was so brave. He didn't want any help climbing the boulders. He said if Daddy could do it, so could he.

After the hike we played by a little stream where the boys threw rocks into it. Who knew that could be so fun? They we entertained for almost an hour with that. Tate has a super strong arm, I know because one of his rocks hit me right on the shin, it hurt! It really was a fun day, so peaceful and relaxing. I think next year we'll go to the Mountain everyday!

The drive home was another long one. We were so tired when we finally rolled in at 1am, But we had a great time and lots of fun memories. Thanks Mom- Can't wait till next year!

*** Okay- Totally funny! As I am finally taking time to update the blog, Tate & Brody are watching Polar express, it's Sat. morning and they just woke up. Brody come up to tell me that Tate got into the cookie dough. What?.... I go check. Sure enought the fridge door is wide open and Tate in on the couch with the container of cookie dough, (purchased by Daddy- not me) and a spoon! TATE!!!!! As I take it away he grunts and says, "Hey, Mys!"
And you wonder why I'm not Blogging much lately?! Ah! :)