March Madness!

For Valentines Day I bought Darren tickets to go see some Sweet 16 games in Phoenix! Something we have both wanted to do for a long time! And it was perfectly scheduled for the weekend of our 17th Anniversary. It was a quick 4 day trip, but we always seem to find plenty of things to stuff in 4 days!

Our tickets included hospitality, at the Verve. A club that overlooked the court, where you can hang out before the game and be fed!! Loved the special treatment!
Thursday we were able to watch two games. Louisville vs. Michigan St., Florida vs. Marquette. Michigan who I was soooo excited to watch, ended up being the slowest game ever! And then to top it off they lost. Darn it!

Rubbed shoulders with some of the rich and famous....Magic Johnson at the Michigan St. game.


Steve Stith at the Verve.


And our very own Rich Marker and Shawn Hartley from our ward!

Aside from shopping, comedy club, and a stop at a casino -- basketball, basketball and more basketball. Is what we did. And I loved every minute of it! When we were not at a game we found the nearest sports bar to watch them. I love this time of year, and loved having the time with just me and my man!

Dan Majerle's Sports bar....

Our plane didn't leave until 8pm Saturday night, we found out the Florida vs. Louisville game was at 1:00! So after our Happy Anniversary Day Couples Massage. We got ready and searched for scalpers! The ONLY way to get tickets from here on out! We were able to get way better seats, with no shipping charge, for a CHEAPER price! Lesson learned!

What a fun little get away.....that should hold us up for another couple of months. :) Happy 17th, baby!

Jazz Game with the Fam

What is better than a Jazz game with the family? How about a FREE Jazz game with the family? The twins played Junior Jazz with Syracuse City again, and scored us some Jazz vs. Memphis Grizzlies game tickets!



.....and not forgetting to mention.....the Jazz won. Hooray! Fun, fun time.

McKennah's First Audition...

This little girl has found her niche! Ever since McKennah was little she has been a little ham. And as we watch her grow up, we realize this girl is really meant to be on a stage! It's been fun to venture into uncharted waters.

We signed her up with an agency and documented her first attempt!

What did we get ourselves into?

We were there from 12:00pm-7:00pm. She was first put into a group and filmed as a choir. Then there was a cut. McKennah passed.

Next, they were given some lines to practice, and were called in for some one on one line reading. And she had to sing 8 measures of a Christmas song from their list of 5. She chose "Angels We Have Heard on High" --Sitting in the room next door....she knocked it out of the park!

Fast made friends....

Well....to say the least, she did not make the movie. But what a fun/exciting experience. This girl has no fear! And, we felt it was just a matter of time for her to be found......

And were we EVER right?????

McKennah's.....second audition....second attempt. And they wanted to sign her the very next day! I, of course did not take pictures. The part was asking for a "Teenage 13-16 yr. old religious girl with a beautiful smile" So we of course thought, McKennah would be the perfect part. We rushed home/fax'd off her resume and headshot, and 1/2 hr. later they respond - saying they have scheduled us for an audition the very next evening in Ogden at 8pm! She was to come prepared with a monologue, resume, and 2 headshots. She also had to read with the director and producer, in a room full of 16 people, and 2 cameras. To which of course, she did awesome!

McKennah was asked to play the part of
Nadia Polk in the new web soap opera called Proper Manors.

It was a FEATURED/RECURRING SAG Role. The contract was for 3 yrs., 150 episodes. She would've been paid $100/day, $18.75 per hour overtime. And at her 50th episode, her contract would be renegotiated. It is mainly a teenage Soap, they said a 90210 meets the mafia. So filming for this would happen mainly on the weekends. 8 hrs. each shift. WOW!
As exciting as it was, we lost many nights of sleep. We couldn't help having this unsettled feeling in our gut, that this was not the role to take. Many phone calls between the director, producer, casting director, and our agent were made. And, needless to say, we did not accept this role. 3 years was a long time to sign....especially if they couldn't guarantee the direction this character would go.

My McKennah is at such a good place right now in her life, so innocent, and so sure where she would like to go in life. It was a hard decision to make, and how proud I am to feel she made the right one!

Proud of YOU, McKennah. Love you, love you more than you will ever know.

We will all stay tuned, because we know there are places you will go!

100th Day of School!

As I type this, McKennah is telling me there is only 7 more weeks of Traditional school left. Where does the time go?

And for my last two year rounders......their 100th day hit just a couple weeks ago. For Jaret's hat we used 100 strands of yarn to create this coveted work of art! Yuck!

And Ayden....anything to make the girl's at school squirm. His 100 pieces of gore!
Crazy, silly boys!

Hanging with my seester!

My Sweet sister Jen lives in San Francisco now, and it's not very often that I get to see her. She is in between jobs at this time, and was able to come and spend a couple of weeks with us out here in Utah! She celebrated her 42nd birthday March 13th, and what more of an excuse to schedule a couple of massages and day of pampering!

Here's her before pic, in her natural beauty:

And her after:

Fun day, and so far and few. Miss you, sweet sister! Grateful for any time I am able to spend with you!

McKennah' Sweet and 16....

Our little McKennah turned 16 on March 28th. So crazy, and sooo sad! We threw her a Glow in the Dark Surprise Party on the 17th. We took her out of school early for a hair appointment with Kara, and had her makeup done at the MAC counter in Macy's. She was pampered and beautiful!

McKennah surprised to see her "ride" for the night....Kenny, and his Limo

We had 12 of her friends meet at our house for a "pre-party" where we had a limo come pick them up and take them on a scavenger hunt around the city. I had given McKennah a prepaid credit card to fulfill the tasks....

Stop #1 - They each had to draw a Sock from a bag, then were told to go to Bluff Ridge Elementary to find the sock's match that was hidden on the playground

Stop #2 - Jamba juice to buy a Jamba Juice for everyone!

Stop #3- Target, they were told to go and buy Glow in the dark Nail Polish and paint each other's nails in the "food court"

Stop #4- Claire's in the mall, they had to buy a pair of Glow in the dark Earrings for everyone

Stop #5- Was to go to the Syracuse Smith's and to purchase Extra gum, the only type of gum that glows in the dark, of course!

Stop #6- Was the Pizza Factory, where pizza, and breadsticks were already ordered and waiting for them. Half way through the meal the waitress brought them a Notebook that told them to think back through all the clues, and unscramble the first letter of each thing they had used, or bought. To unscramble the name of the place where they were to go as their last stop. (S, J, N, E, E, N) which unscrambled spelled JENSEN. Meaning Jensen Park.

Where we had the Surprise Party waiting....DJ, Treats, dancing and games. It turned out well, McKennah had surprises throughout the day, all in all, a great day to celebrate a great kid. Love this little girl, and who she has become!