Seminary Centennial - starring Katie!

Katie submitted her information and headshot to LDS Motion Pictures earlier this year in the hopes of being  chosen to be in the new version of the Testaments film that is in the process of being filmed.  She gets emails almost weekly with new opportunities.  A lot of them are volunteer work for projects such as mormon messages for youtube or other things.  That is until the middle of November.  She got an email saying she had been chosen to be in a film for the Seminary Centennial broadcast which will be shown worldwide on January 22nd.  She was familiar with this because she was already going to be singing as part of the choir for that broadcast.  She was SO excited!  They wanted a commitment and her measurements for costuming.  This was also paid work in addition to being such a wonderful opportunity.  However, the day of filming was scheduled for 2 days before opening night of the play she had the lead role in and it would be into the final dress rehearsal days.  What would she do?  You can hardly pass up something like this but what to do about previous responsibilities?  It was an agonizing couple of days waiting until they finalized the filming schedule so she would know if she could be part of it.  Filming started at 7AM and they didn't know how long it would go but we decided that it would work.  Rehearsal was after school and if it went long she would just have to be a little late!  

 The day before filming she reported to fill out paperwork and to costuming.  Here she is with another girl as they are fitted for costumes.

 Her boots were so awesome!  Katie has been performing in stage productions for 7 years now and it was really amazing to see a professional organization in action.  They were so organized and had everything all figured out before she even got there.  There were a couple of buttons missing, things like that and the next day when we showed up all of it was repaired, ironed and looking its best.

 Tuesday morning we showed up early and got her in costume.  Then it was off to hair and make-up.  They had about 6 stations with big chairs and brights lights with ladies waiting to do their stuff.  They were to only wear foundation and cover up, no mascara, lip stuff or blush.  Here's a close-up of her hair.  It was so fun to watch it all happen.

 Katie loved her hair ribbon!

 Across the parking lot from the film stages and costume and props shop was where they would film.  They have a bunch of old looking buildings there to film things.  Among them, a Haun's Mill replica...

 ...from the other side.

 And an old Nauvoo hotel.  There were a bunch of other buildings and a horse in a corral, too.  They filmed  in the replica of the Whitney store.  Not that the first seminary class was held in the Whitney store but that's where they built the set.  I cannot express to you how cool it all was.  You walked in and it, well, looked just like a movie.  There were 14 kids in the class and a teacher.  The ceiling was gone and there was fabric draped over them with lighting coming from above.  The cameras, lights, dust blower, everything was crammed into the space next to the classroom set.  I bet there were 20 people there making it all happen.  What a treat that their director was Bruce Newbold.  If you don't know who he is, look him up on IMDB.  He is an actor whose most recent role was the traveler in 17 Miracles.  He is the nicest guy and it was cool to sit and listen to his voice all day.  

 During a little break I jumped in and took some pictures.  Here is the class.  It's hard to see out the window  since it's so bright but they had a scrim with different scenery, lighting, etc. 

 Katie is on the left, you can see her shoulder.  She's in the 2nd seat back.

 The teacher is a real seminary teacher from Springville who is also an actor/singer.  His name is Dallyn Bayles and he has a concert at the Scera in February.

 Their first real break.  It was a very cold day.  In the morning they had portable heaters all around so the kids didn't freeze too badly.  You could see your breath.  They had a big spread of hot chocolate, breads and cheese, fruit, candy bars, soda, crackers and more.

 When they got back inside, they had rearranged all of the cameras and were going to now shoot it from a different angle.  Katie said she was surprised that after every take the hair and make-up people came in and fixed and primped until the director was set to go again.  She thought that was fun since that's what happens when you see movies being made.  For one shot, they had the camera roll along the kids feet.  They had to have their feet just so and move this specific way at this specific time.  They rubbed some "dirt" on her shoes so they would look more realistic.

 The blond girl standing up with the shawl is really the star of the show although as Katie's mom I can still see her as the star.  She is playing President Eyring's mother who was a member of the first seminary class.  He didn't even know this until the 1990's sometime when he was the president of the seminary for the whole church when he was shown the roll from the first class.  This is significant because she came from a home that wasn't too active at church.  She was invited to go to seminary with a friend and that choice led to her life being forever changed.  We were told that this film would be shown when President Eyring tells this story at the broadcast.

 Here's all of the equipment outside the window.

 The motion picture studios is along the Provo river and here were a few deer also!

 Chatting outside during their second break.

Here they are, the first seminary class, January 1912.

They finished at 1PM and had lunch set up and waiting for us on one of the sound stages.  It was a super nice lunch, just a nice touch to finish the day.  Now let's hope every shot she was in doesn't end up on the cutting room floor.

Thanksgiving in St. George

This year for Thanksgiving we went to St. George with Nelson's family. It was decided that we would eat out, as in a restaurant, as in not cooking all of our traditional favorites, as in no leftovers.   Well, I wasn't so sure about this but it is difficult to cook the meal of all meals in a new kitchen that might not have everything you need/want, etc. so I was willing to give it a try.  We drove down Wednesday night and found a very comfortable and welcoming room with an adjoining bathroom.  Each family had a room but the kids just wanted to sleep on the recliners in the theater.  Katie had bronchitis so she got her own air mattress in the library, no one to bother her or visa versa.  The kids had an absolutely fabulous time.  They played xbox, risk, pool, watched movies, swam in the pool, hot tubbed, and ate a lot of treats they don't usually get at home.  Everything had been prepared before we got there.  Groceries were all bought and meals planned.  Thanks so much Oranee (and Lisa)!! 

 Thursday morning we went for a hike since, well, there was no food to prepare.  Already I was liking this.  

 This is the hike to Johnson's arch.  The trailhead is just before the entrance booth to Snow Canyon.  It was a new hike for us and very beautiful.

 We went back to the house and got dressed for dinner.  So weird to not be cooking, have I mentioned that?  We ate at the Entrada buffet, that's where Chuck and Oranee's house is.  Here we are in the buffet line with a couple of extra strangers posing in the back.  The food was great!  And a buffet!? I think I went back for shrimp a few times.  There was the traditional foods and a few other not so traditional ones.

 They put us in our own room which was nice.  It made it seem more like Thanksgiving since we weren't sitting with strangers.  

 The view from our room was spectacular!  It's hard to do it justice without a super wide angle to see it all.

 Trying to get a picture with my girls...

 ...ok, tickling maybe isn't working...

 ...love it!

The next day we tried another new hike.  Don't ask me where this one was... 

 The petroglyphs were really cool.

 This hike wasn't as beautiful on the way there and back but you can't have it all.

 Nelson in the famous I-think-I-might-fall-backwards-off-this-cliff photo.

After hiking, the boys went golfing and the girls all went shopping.  It was SO fun!  Shopping in a huge group of girls might seem like it would be difficult but not so.  How great to try something on and have lots of people to tell you how you look.  Oranee gave each girl (including moms) $25 to shop with since that's what they were spending on the boys golfing.  Woohoo, so great!  We went to Old Navy and the outlets.  The super deal of the day was won by Tara with a pair of jeans at Old Navy for 47 cents.  Yep, you heard me right, cents.  Caroline got a super cute wrap around chambray dress from Ralph Lauren for 90% off and some sunglasses for lifeguarding.  Katie and I got sweaters at Eddie Bauer.  Every night we sat in the hot tub, watched movies and ate too much, it was great.  It's not too often as a mom that you get to go somewhere and just feel like you are taken care of and you can just relax and not have anything to do.  It was just what I needed.

swim team dinner

We hosted the swim team for one of the spaghetti dinners this year.  It is always fun to have the team over and EAT!!!

The saga of the coonskin hat

This tale really begins here, at the Mountain Man Rendezvous, Fort Bridger, Wyoming in September 2007. The Schill family moved into our neighborhood in January of 2007 and Caroline and Brinnan became good friends. She was invited to join them for this fun weekend in September. Because I wasn't there, I can only imagine what happened but guess it went something like this...

Caroline was having such a wonderful time at the rendezvous. There were vendors with furs, wooden toys, buffalo moccasins, scones, homemade root beer, and other amazing things from another time. Some of the people were dressed as pioneers, others as fur trappers or Indians. Caroline must have seen a real raccoon fur hat and thought it was pretty cool. Brother Schill, being the mountain man that he is, told Caroline that if she ever found a raccoon at the side of the road within a few short hours of dying, he would help her skin it and make a hat of her own. Well, for an adventurous 11 year old girl that sounded like the offer of a lifetime.

Caroline didn't let me in on this amazing offer until a cold, dark night the next winter. We were driving home from Caroline's gymnastics lesson on Geneva Road in Orem. There was something in the road so I swerved to avoid hitting it. Caroline asked why I had just swerved and I said there was a dead raccoon in the middle of the road and I didn't want to hit it. She then launched into a very excited, loud, statement that we had to go back and get it! What?!? She told me how Brother Schill had made the offer of a lifetime (jumping up and down in her seat, hands clapping, face lit up, squeals of joy) and that we just had to turn around and go get it.

Now, any sane parent at this point would have just chalked it up to the foolish imaginings of a child and kept right on down the road. I hadn't seen Caroline this excited about ANYTHING in a long time. She was more than halfway through the 2nd year of a 2 year very demanding, stressful, time consuming, accelerated school program. Lately, she had been much more tired, worried, and overworked than any 6th grader should ever be. I had been wondering how I could help her look happy again, enjoy life more like she should be doing at such a young age.

With a disbelieving giggle, I turned the car around and went back. She was ecstatic! I was not sure at this point if Brother Schill was really serious about this or not. We pulled over so the headlights shone on the raccoon in the road. In the edge of the headlights' beam, I found a 2x4 at the side of the road and went to roll the carcass out of harm's way and to see whether or not this would be a potential taxidermy candidate. I explained that I was not going to put a dead, most likely diseased, animal in the back of the minivan, that we would need to call Brother Schill for the go ahead and instructions about how on earth I was to get a dead raccoon across town.

Caroline called as we drove towards home. He said that yes, he would love to help her! She was so excited, frequent squeals of joy and exclamations about how she just couldn't believe this could really be happening and how happy she was kept coming out of her mouth. Her whole person shouted with the energy that only comes from a long awaited break in monotony. I couldn't stop laughing, it was so fun to see her with so much enthusiasm and giddiness.

We went home and got leather gloves, a shovel, a cardboard box and garbage bags. We drove back to the spot on the road and to Caroline's relief it was still there, unharmed. I parked the car off the road. I imagine it looked like a scene from some B horror movie, headlights shining on the dead in the frozen darkness, the body being shoveled into a container. Could I really be doing this? I guess the Alaskan in me was truly stepping up. My mother would be so proud, no sissy girl here.

Caroline was still giddy as we drove back towards home. We went to the Schill's to re-tell the whole tale. Steve and his brother were there and we all had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard by the end. Steve and his brothers had had many similar adventures and were glad, I think, to have found kindred spirits. Unfortunately, Steve was leaving town soon so the raccoon had to be put in the freezer until a later date. Uhhhh, what was that? He now was suggesting I put the dead, most likely diseased, carcass in my freezer along with the frozen peas, juice and hamburger. Is this really true? Yes, I went home and wrapped the raccoon in 14 layers of plastic trash bags and put it in the freezer. Looking back, I am surprised I actually did this, aren't you? The things mothers will do for their children.

After a couple of months, we were instructed to thaw the beast so it could be skinned. This is done by leaving it on your roof for a few days in the hopes that the Spring weather will slowly but surely do the job. This made me laugh, too. How white trash is it to be thawing your road kill on the roof? I am imagining myself in the Ozarks with my overalls unhooked on one shoulder, barefoot in front of a tin shack with smoke coming from the chimney.

With the skinning done, the skin was put back in the freezer for a date in the future when we could get some tanning supplies. This time for some reason the skin went into the Schill's freezer. So sorry Jennifer! Occasionally she would mention that she would come across it while looking for a roast or something. Oh my. You are a true friend and must also love your husband a lot to allow such a thing.

A couple of rendezvous went by and we would forget until it was too late that we needed a certain amount of time to complete the project. So, Caroline went without her hat. Last Christmas Caroline got a tanning kit to finish the job. Can you see the giddiness and excitement? This was definitely the hit present last year.

Here are Caroline and Steve stretching the skin on a board in one of many steps in the tanning process.

Scraping the fat off the skin. There were a few more steps that I don't have pictures of. This took place just before we took off in our motorhome for California last May. More poor planning, but we had to take the hide with us on vacation and "work" it several times a day to make it nice and soft. It was now ready for hat construction. Steve got some rabbit fur for the body of the hat and they planned to finish it at Rendezvous, the place this story began.

The long awaited time had come. Here is Caroline modeling the raccoon skin on her head. Can you imagine what it will look like?

Here she is cutting our the rabbit fur.

Ta-Da!!! She reported that the hat was very warm and she loves it very much!

Caroline, you are so awesome! I love you!

Piano Festival

Katie and David participated in the National Federation of Music Duet Festival this year. Katie and her partner did a perfect job, literally. They scored a Superior with 3 stars. That is the highest score possible. The judges have score sheets that rate a 13, 14 or 15 as a superior. You get stars depending on how many of the judges give you which scores. This score means all three judges gave them a 15 on both pieces of music. I have never seen that score given before, awesome job!!

These aren't the best pictures because I didn't want to use the flash and distract them while playing! David and his partner earned a Superior rating as well, great job guys! I see gold cups in your future!

Halloween

David in his costume. Just had to try out what life on the other side would be like.

Katie as...can you guess?....It's hard without the sign we couldn't find to hang around her neck that says "speed bump". It looks like a street sign. Michael and I have worn this at one point also. It's gotta be the most comfortable Halloween costume we own.

Caroline rented this from the OHS costume shop. Isn't it great? The hair, smeared lipstick, and crazed eyes make it perfect. Love it.

On Halloween night, Katie went on a blind date. This is not her date but the friend that set her up on the date. He came to the door and Nelson answered in a Jason mask and bloody knife. Then in a hoarse, gravely voice grilled him about when and how Katie would be returned to us. Poor kid! The mask Katie is wearing was decorated by her date. They all wore them throughout trick-or-treating and then took them off finally when they went to eat burgers. She said it was pretty crazy to spend the evening with someone and not know what they looked like other than hair and tiny eye holes in the mask. She said he looked totally different without the mask. Nelson and I set up the projector and sheet/movie screen in the driveway and watched Something Wicked This Way Comes. We had the fire pit going also. The weather was great and it's nice to not have to get up from the couch when trick-or-treaters arrive. David and Caroline handed out most of the candy and said it was the most boring Halloween on record. They both decided they were too old to go trick-or-treating so stayed and watched the movie with us.