Fall Family Pictures

We all spent the afternoon taking family pictures with Lexi's camera! These are just a FEW! The ones of Lexi's family turned out SO GOOD, but they are using them for Christmas cards, so they won't be posted yet! Thanks, Lexi, for posting these!

"SKYDIVING" at iFLY UTAH!!

For Tori's 16th B-Day I gave her a gift certificate to take her and a friend to "iFLY UTAH" in Ogden! She chose her friend Danni, as they have known each other since Kindergarten (11 years) and have a pact to go skydiving when they graduate from high school! This first pic is sitting in the training video where they are taught hand signals, etc. The instructor (Devin) is placing the earplugs (it's noisy in that wind tunnel!) All suited up (Tori in blue, Danni in green) with their instructor. Learning to FLY! They had an absolute blast and ended up going back 2 weeks later where they got more minutes in the tunnel, and learned more tricks! Devin said they were naturals, and after watching some of the others who were there, I can see what he means! I think it's harder than it looks! What a BLAST! I HIGHLY recommend this place. It's in a complex called the Salomon Center (http://www.salomoncenter.com or click on the link at the right of my blog under "Cool Stuff") that has a Gold's Gym, a Fat Cat's, a few restaurants, an indoor wave, a rock climbing center, and the only wind tunnel in Utah! (I TRIED to get a video to post, but it wouldn't work ... maybe later!)

SWEET 16!!

Tori's friend, Jen, threw her a surprise party at our house! Tori's b/f, Travis, took her out while we got things ready at the house. Then, Jen and b/f Adam showed up at the door with this AMAZING cake they spent HOURS making, just customizing for Tori!




She was totally surprised to see her good friends and family (who all had "excuses" why they couldn't hang out with her that night! ;)



More friends ...



And ... Travis and Tori

50 YEARS OF FABULOUS!!!!

Well, it happened! I hit the half century mark! And you know what? I didn't feel a thing! I actually hit it in September, but I didn't "fully" celebrate until my good friend, Merilynn, surprised me with a ticket to Las Vegas for the week of Thanksgiving! IT WAS A BLAST! Merilynn, if you read this ... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for this most wonderful gift of FUN and FRIENDSHIP! She spoiled me rotten, as you will see by the pics! This might just have to become a tradition!



On the flight down to Vegas, the plane was almost empty, so one of the flight attendants (who was quite the flirt!) let me move to first class! It was AWESOME! I also got to go talk to the pilots and sit in the captain's chair before we left!
Merilynn also surprised me with tickets to "Thunder From Down Under" and we'll just let the pic speak for itself ...be still my heart!





We ate dinner one night at Margaritaville and their margaritas were FABULOUS! The band, Synergy, is probably one of the best I've heard! We went back the next night (after the TFDU show) just to get margaritas and listen to the band! They dedicated a few songs to me ... and yes, I am out on the dance floor by myself because they played "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard and I can't sit still for that!

The one pic of the mountain is Timpanogos and the beautiful valley I live in! It was so amazing from the air! Definitely a trip I will NEVER forget!!! THANKS MERILYNN!!!!!

CONGRATS, Tori ...you MADE IT!

The Junior High here keeps kids until 9th grade. They don't start High School until the 10th grade! So, Tori is FINALLY on her way to High School! She got through this year (and it was one of the toughest) with a 3.6 GPA (DESPITE her teachers, LOL!). She worked hard and I am SO PROUD of her for her efforts! She also had her first "formal ball" this year and bought her own dress! Now, she and her friends have jobs working at the local waterpark for the summer! So far, they are having a blast!

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3!!!

YES! We got to do a few days (basically a 30-hour weekend) working on HSM 3 at East High School in Salt Lake City! It was CRAZINESS ... over 1,000 "extras", but they had it SO WELL organized that it didn't feel like that many! The top pic, if you look very closely, shows what the "check-in" line still looked like after we were checked in and eating breakfast. It went all the way down the block of 1300 East in SLC!

The production company was ADAMANT that NO pictures be taken, so the only pics we have are sitting outside on the grass eating breakfast...and a few outside shots of the school! Tori got to bring some friends to this one, so it made the long days go by a little faster, although, we don't know what happened to Stacia ... she came the first day and we've never heard from her again. Being an "extra" is a TOUGH job and LONG hours!

Kenny Ortega, the director (look him up on his IMDb page ... he has AMAZING "credentials"), was so personable. Tori and her friends got to go talk to him and he seemed genuinely interested in their pursuit of "acting" and gave them some advice! They also got hugs from Corbin Bleu (wish I could have taken pictures, but they were literally confiscating anything that could send information ... and deleting the entire memory before giving them back). They were in heaven after their hugs!

We got to do a whole scene (for the opening of the show) where the girls are right by Vanessa Hudgens ...so we might catch a glimpse of them in the movie! Hopefully we will get to do some more on this show before it wraps in June!

Chelsea and the Real Salt Lake Game Dedication

Tori and I were invited to attend a Real Salt Lake soccer game on Saturday night, May 10th. They were honoring Tori's friend, Chelsea, who had been hit and killed by a car the night before Tori's 15th birthday. Chelsea was an avid soccer fan, and player ... and had dreams of becoming a professional when she grew up. Real Salt Lake heard about this and told her family they would like to dedicate Saturday night's game to Chelsea. Chelsea's mom, Stephanie, made personalized shirts for the few that got to go with the family down onto the soccer field for the dedication. Tori was one of them. We are honored.

Chelsea's picture was displayed on the jumbo tron.

Chelsea, here's hoping you are playing on that big soccer field in the sky! We love you and miss you!