WEEKENDS

I want to tell about the fun weekend we've had, but before that - I failed to mention the fun weekend we had last week. Well, my birthday was last week, so we celebrated on Saturday night with dinner at Cafe Rio. Then, we headed to Jester'z. A clean comedy club that's just HILARIOUS!! If you've never been their - you need to go! Here's their website if you want to check it out - Jester'z. Actually one of the director's of the Easter Pageant owns it & so he knew us well enough that he picked on my Dad. Good thing my Dad has a good sense of humor. Good side splitting fun that place is. If anyone wants to go & needs someone to go with - Erik & I are always game to go again!! Here's some pictures from that night:

I spy with my little eye - Mimi hiding in the background...

This weekend was all about Pageant. We actually had our first Saturday rehearsal last week, but we had a longer day today. Not to mention a rehearsal last night for the "Jesus & the Children" scene. OK - here's the lowdown on parts for this year - Erik is the "Blue Wise Man", Kylie is the "dead girl" & I am the "Mother of the dead girl". Jadyn is a "Multitude Child". So, basically this is how you find us: ERIK - during "Mary's Lullaby" (the birth scene of the Savior) look for a big guy in a blue costume. KYLIE - during the "Jesus & the Children" scene watch for a guy (Erik) to carry a dead girl (Kylie) up the ramp to the Savior. I follow behind. I won't tell you what happens beyond that in case you haven't scene the Pageant. I don't want to spoil the fun of that moment. Plus, you can probably guess what happens. Erik & I actually had these parts last year with a different girl. It was great, but it is so much more awesome for us to have Kylie be our daughter for this scene. She's doing a great job & we're so proud of her. She was really nervous before she tried it a couple of times & now she's ready to do it in front of 300 or even 400 people she says. Poor child - she has no idea the # of people that come. She'll do fine though. Here's a couple of pictures from today:

Here's Erik working on his lesson for tomorrow on our down time.

Here's Nanci (the director) receiving the Miss Arizona Easter Pageant award. I guess they joke around in their director's meetings that if their was ever a "Pageant" to crown a Miss Arizona Easter Pageant that Nanci would win it. So, the other directors presented her with a sash & a tiara today. One of those things where you probably had to be their, but it was funny. Nanci even did the elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist wave for us after her speech about world peace.
Here's where it pays off to be reading this long post .... a little hint of you want to see the Pageant, but don't necessarily like crowds. March 11th is a public invited dress rehearsal that starts at 7:00pm instead of the normal 8:00pm. Last year there was maybe 200 people at this. Then, they added a couple of extra performances this year on the 12th & 13th. I am betting that these will be way less crowded, especially since the following week is also spring break for a lot of schools. So, there's a little tip.

Now, if you get to go, go early for a decent seat & also to take the time to see the "Reflections of Christ" exhibit. It is truly phenomenal!! Words just can't describe the feeling when you walk into that room - the spirit is overwhelming when you see these beautiful photos. Here's a link to an article about it in the Beehive paper. Click HERE to see behind the scenes footage on youtube. I am particularly partial to the 10 virgins footage (can't imagine why?) & to the Manger scene footage. Although, I am a little partial to the Savior shown HERE - the man that plays the Savior now & is in these photos is truly remarkable. He has a remarkable spirit about him that is much needed to portray this very important role. And even though I tear up at the sight of him in his costume - it's still not the same as my awesome Dad who had that role for 11 years. (That's who was in the picture if you didn't know.) Anyway, in the spirit of the Pageant & my tremendous love for it I will be adding stories over the next few weeks that are dear to me. May not be interesting to some, but Pageant has always been such an important part of my life that I can't help but share the fun I've had. So, be ready...