Annie....DONE!!!

Holy Cow!!! We made it through our first broadway and what an AMAZING experience it was! Carlie LOVED LOVED LOVED every single minute of the rehearsals and performances. She was really sad at the end of it all. I was completely BLOWN away at how fantastic everything turned out. The entire show was just soo professional and soo well done and with soo many talented performers! They did a total of 4 shows--7 p.m. shows on Friday, Saturday, and Monday night and a 2:00 Saturday matinee. I watched the first two shows on TV in the Green Room (because I was a "kid wrangler") and watched the last 2 shows live. And every show I cried!!! UGH!!! I am such a dork I know!!! I was just soo proud of my little girl that I couldn't contain it! I made sure that Carlie didn't know--didn't want to embarrass the poor girl:) This is her in her orphan attire. Isn't she one of the prettiest orphans EVER?!



Opening night had 700 people in attendance! Since I was a "kid wrangler" I got to hang out with all the cute orphans and watch the show on a TV in the Green Room and make sure the orphans made it on stage at the right times. I had a blast with all these cute girls:

Here are the main orphans again in their Christmas Party dresses:


There were a total of 20 orphans--10 "Main Orphans" and 10 "Ensemble Orphans." I brought in lots of junk food and candy on Saturday for all the orphans because they were literally stuck at the theater all day--from noon to 11 p.m. And that earned me the status of "Mother of the Year." (Totally what I was going for;) I literally sat there with all of those amazing girls with a pen and notebook taking down notes. EVERY girl there had been in NUMEROUS productions. Many of the girls had actually been "Annie" in other shows. Many had acting and singing coaches. (2 of the girls were rumored to have agents:) I learned SOO much and now have a much better idea of what I need to do next.
Main and Ensemble Orphans:


Thinking back over our whole experience....I am soo glad that I didn't know how experienced and amazing the competition was. If I had ANY idea what we were up against, I am absolutely sure that I would NOT have let Carlie try out--to protect her. But Carlie is absolutely amazing and has shown me that she really can do anything she sets her mind to. We went into that audition with NO acting/singing coach and NO theater experience whatsoever so for her to have gotten the part she did, the judges must have seen something special in her too. Carlie Mae, I hope you always remember how amazing you are. I love you tons and tons.

Tatum...the FEARLESS (and injured:)

I am not shocked AT ALL by this girl and her fearless tendencies when it comes to the pool. After all....this 3 year old DID just ride the "Tower of Terror" at Disneyland a few weeks back. And yes, I know that her not being afraid of the pool is not necessarily a good thing but we are extremely careful with our kids and swimming. So here is Tatum in all her craziness:)




All fun and games UNTIL! BAM! She trips while running to the slide (Yes...we have told her MANY times NOT to run:). And this is the end result:



Nice big abrasion with a nice little split in her chin:) Well, we were in luck this weekend. We had someone here visiting who just HAPPENS to be a Nurse Practitioner and who just HAPPENED to have "Skin Glue" in her car!!! (And BTW, she is the #1 Nurse Practitioner--based on patient reviews--in all of NM). THANK YOU GRANDMA SHERRY!!! She saved us a trip to the urgent care!!! She glued her chin right up and before the glue was even dry, Tatum asks, "Can I go swimming now?!" (Umm NO! She was finished swimming for the day:)

The week of CARLIE!

As I said in my last post! CRAZINESS here but I want to focus on Carlie some this week--and THEN I'll focus on everything else! Carlie has absolutely LOVED EVERY minute of EVERY rehearsal she has been to these past couple of months! We may have found her "niche" in music.

She's already asking me, "What's the next play I can audition for?" So I have been researching like mad all the different youth theaters around and I've got some ideas. She literally spends hours every day at the piano playing and singing. She sounds pretty darn amazing to me so I wanted to record a few of my most favorite songs. So here she is singing my 2 MOST favorite songs from the broadway "Wicked." (And just for the record, I CANNOT sing AND play AND turn pages all by myself!!! Stinkin' girl makes me jealous:) Oh, and excuse the "background" noise. That's just how it goes around here:)

Carlie's 11th Birthday!!!

This summer has been INSANELY busy for us here! We had to have Carlie's birthday party early this year because:
1-Chris is gone all this next week--BIG event in DC
2-Carlie has had rehearsals EVERY night for 2 weeks now (out in Queen Creek)
3-Carlie has 4 shows this next weekend (and rehearsals every night this week too:)
4-Grandma Donna (who has breast cancer) has her double mastectomy this coming Tuesday.
5-Cousin Kursty is getting married on July 1st (and we have 12 people coming to stay at our home starting next week:)

I was feeling a little bad but we honestly did NOT have a spare moment to plan a fun birthday party for Carlie with all her friends this month. So she picked her two most favorite friends and I took them to see "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" and then home for pizza, ice cream cake, and swimming! They had a fantastic time and I am SOO grateful that Carlie was soo fine with toning it down a bit this year. So here are the girls--Tatum would NOT be left out:) Maya Koehnemann, Carlie, and Caitlin Brecker.

(Fun side note, Carlie and Maya have been friends their whole lives! I took an internship my senior year at ASU and I worked for Greta Koehnemann at Advanced Cardiac Specialists. I was just weeks pregnant, Greta had been trying to conceive for years. She was pregnant within the first month of me working there. We had girls within 8 weeks of each other and we have remained great friends ever since. I have taught Maya piano for about 4 years now so even though I don't work at the rehab anymore with Greta (which I LOVED), I still see her and Maya every week for piano:)





The girls spent the night and then we took took them home around 8:15 the next morning because yep...Carlie had 9 a.m. rehearsals that day too:)

We then went out to dinner that night to celebrate Carlie's birthday AND Father's Day. The kid's most favorite place to eat is T.G.I.Friday's (I am SOO glad we have moved on from McDonalds:) We made sure that Carlie was sung to and that she had her special birthday treat!


So happy birthday to my baby girl!!! You make me soo proud each and every day and I love you tons and tons!

P.S. Happy Blogging birthday to me too! I've now been blogging for 2 years!!! YAHOO!!!

Carlie's upcoming Show!!!

Hey everyone! No pressure here, just a lot of people have asked about Carlie's upcoming show and I didn't want to leave anyone out! ANNIE is playing on June 24th, 25th, & 27th at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center. Shows are at 7 p.m. and a 2 p.m. matinee show on Saturday as well. Click here (qcpac.com), wait for the Annie screen to pop up, click "Buy Tickets" then click "Apply Discount" and enter CTANNIE (in all caps) to get a cast member discount. Regular adult tickets are $12.75 but with the discount, they are $10.75 (cast kid tickets are $8.75). Carlie is NOT Annie but is a "main orphan" named "July" with lines and singing solos. She went through a grueling audition with over 200 girls in it to get this part and we are SUPER proud of her! So come if you'd like:)

My Sweet Ethan!

This boy just MELTS my heart! He is my most thoughtful kid hands-down and just LOVE that about him. Well, my mother-in-law has breast cancer again for the second time this year. The first time they caught it soo early (stage one) that they were able to just do a lumpectomy and then she underwent radiation. She JUST finished up her radiation in January but now has found another tumor in her other breast that was not there 6 months ago. It is larger and further along and a totally different type of cancer. So she will be going through the FULL cancer treatment this time of a double mastectomy AND chemo AND radiation.

So I was talking with my kids one night just preparing them for what to expect here at the end of this month (Donna goes into surgery on June 22). I explained that she would be very tired, sore, sick, and would most likely loose all of her hair. Well we of course are all very concerned about Donna and have been praying extra hard for her. Ethan has thought about it a lot. I was driving him to a birthday party last week when he said, "Mom, I've been thinking about when Grandma goes, you know....
B-A-L-D. (Apparently he doesn't want to SAY the word:) And I've been thinking about ALL of my grandmas (he has 3) without hair and well....I think Grandma Donna is going to look the BEST without hair. I would really like to make her breakfast in bed when she comes to stay with us after her surgery. Do you think she will like that?" "Of course" I say (doing my best NOT to cry:) This boy melts my heart like none other. Love you Ethan!!!

Another Maxism

This "Maxism" happened almost 2 weeks ago. I just had to write it down. Brother Hall from our ward came over to our home one night to give Carlie and I each a calling in our ward. Max was just excited to have a visitor I guess. Well, Brother Hall asks Carlie if she would be one of the organists in our ward and Carlie says, "Yes." Max was SOO excited for her! He said, "ALRIGHT CARLIE!!! YOU GET TO PLAY THE ORGAN!!! HIGH FIVE!!!" (She high-fived him:) Then Brother Hall asked me to be an assistant in the Bear Den in Cub Scouts. I almost fell over (because scouting is NOT my favorite things to do) but of course I said "Yes." And Max was excited for me too, "ALRIGHT MOM!!! YOU GET TO BE A BEAR!!! HIGH-FIVE!!!" (I high-fived him too:) Then Bro. Hall was about to leave but his first asks, "Do you guys have any more questions?" (Max ALWAYS has a question) "YES!!!" shouts Max. "What time do you eat lunch?" We all had a good laugh. He just cracks me up without even trying. BTW, Bro. Hall did inform him that he eats lunch around noon. So no one left the poor boy hanging tonight:)

Max Graduates & Chris is Star-Struck!

Yea for Maxwell!!! I can't believe this year is OVER!!! And Max has been an AMAZING student getting straight "E"s on his last report card! He only missed 2 days of school this entire year--and that was because of our Disneyland trip:) Such a smart and healthy boy!!! What more could a mom want?!?! Max, we are SOO proud of you!!!


Every month this year I have helped out in each of my kid's classrooms--just 1 time in each classroom (BIG commitment when there are 3 kids!!!) So I was very aware of all of the kids in Max's classroom and have worked with each one of them this year. Well...there was this one little girl with the last name "Urlacher." I remember hearing her name and thinking, "Hmmm...I've heard that name before." But then I never thought any more about it. So I'm sitting there with my hubby and kids at the Kindergarten graduation when my husband says, "Oh my gosh! That is BRIAN URLACHER straight across from us!!!' I said, "Oh! That must be Riley's dad in Max's class. Who is Brian Urlacher anyways?" My astounded husband says "WHAT?!?! He plays professional football for the Chicago Bears AND he's from New Mexico!!! Why didn't you tell me that his kid was in our kid's class?!"
ME: "I honestly didn't know. So go shake his hand!"
CHRIS: "NO WAY!!! I'm not going to bug him!"
ME: "Chris! If I can approach an American Gladiator at an airport for a picture, then you can shake Brian Urlacher's hand!!!"

Well, he wouldn't do it and while we were sitting there Chris about flips out again when he sees Junior Spivey--a former professional baseball player who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks--having to take out a younger son who was NOT enjoying being at the graduation. "WHAT kind of school is THIS?!?!" asks Chris again. "Well, MAYBE you should take my spot and volunteer more:)" I say. After the ceremony, we went to Max's classroom to watch the class video. Chris still didn't approach Brian BUT he stood RIGHT next to him in the crowded room. Way to go Chris!!! (You did look a little small compared to Brian:) Here is a pic of Brian Urlacher:


Here is Junior Spivey:


Side note: Carlie had Sophie Graham this year in her 5th grade class and her dad is Ben Graham who is the current kicker for the Arizona Cardinals. Here's a pic of Ben Graham:


Sorry babe...I need to learn my sports facts! Max's teacher was "Mrs. Lombardi" so for all I know, she's related to Vince Lombardi:)

Disneyland/Universal Studios!

We so rarely "plan" vacations in the Meeker home because they just seem to pop up a couple times a year. About 3 weeks ago my husband says, "Hey...I have a group going to L.A. the last weekend of May. I have to go, should we load up the kids and go?" I respond, "Well....I'm not sure yet. Let me see where I'm at in my piano/baseball/basketball/Annie rehearsals, etc..." I can be such a humbug sometimes:) Well, the next thing I know, a UPS envelope shows up at my home with Disneyland and Universal Studio tickets in it straight from Chris' AMAZING boss! That did it! We were going!!! And it actually worked out perfectly with all the schedules we have going on right now. So a HUGE "thank you" to Joel Biggs--this family really needed a break after another exhausting travel season for Chris (and the kids who endured a single/somewhat stressed out mom)!

So we left on Thursday morning (May 26th) at 5 a.m. and headed straight to L.A. We met up with Chris' group at Santa Monica Pier. We enjoyed beach time the rest of the day. The REAL fun began Friday morning. I loaded up the kids and we drove into Anaheim and arrived at Disneyland the moment it opened!!! Chris had to be with his group as they were touring other parts of the city so it was just me and the kids and we had A BLAST! Chris met up with us in the afternoon on Thursday and then late morning Friday. I was really nervous about driving all over California freeways but amazingly I never got lost--Carlie was my mapquest guide/reader.

The weather was PERFECT! It was 76 degrees both days at Disneyland and the longest we ever waited in a line was 25 minutes. It really our best Disney trip to date! We spent 10 hours at Disneyland on Friday and 12 hours on Saturday and not a single complaint about walking or waiting! I now know that Tatum is exactly 40 inches which pretty much got her on every ride possible. She is a ride/roller coaster MANIAC!!! She LOVED every single ride we took her on--Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Soaring over California, and yes.....she even LOVED Tower of Terror!!! I didn't want to take her on this ride but Tatum WOULD NOT miss it. I asked my husband, "What kind of parents take their 3 year old on Tower of Terror?!?!" Well, we did:) And she would have gone a second time too:) Here are some pics of our amazing time:









Ethan (our one child that does NOT share our enthusiasm for fast and furious rides) LOVED the Great Grizzly Rapids ride in California adventure. It was his favorite--they rode it 5 times total:)





Universal Studios!!!

So Universal Studios was our final destination of this trip. I hadn't been here in a LONG time and boy has it changed. We headed right for the new Simpson Ride which was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! And then we hit all the shows--Shrek, Special Effects, House of Horrors--funny side note: Max kept saying, "I can't wait to tell Mrs. Lombardi that I went to a 'Hore House!'" We made sure to work on that second syllable Horr--OR:) And of course the tour. As we were pretty darn exhausted at this point of our trip, we headed over to the theater there in Universal City and watched Kung Fu Panda 2. Fantastic movie!!! We finished up with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then over to the Simpson ride one more time--again, another 12 hour day and the kids were troopers!!!


Tatum was having NOTHING to do with this shark:)



The kids LOVED this movie when it came out!




The Tour:




Just having fun: