The Hunger Games Blood Bath

My children will never be pro-sport anything.  I know that.  They know that.  We are ok with that.  But if they are interested in a sport, I will let them try it out or pursue it.  Except, living in the Washington DC area is a freakin' nightmare when it comes to sports.
Most children in the area start at age three.  Then they are privately trained at summer camps for winter sports and winter camps for summer sports.  By the time you are eight, you are on a select team that only plays on Sundays and you have to travel every week.  I won't do it and I can't afford it!  I have so many families whose grandparents pay for all these special trainings, all these special uniforms, and extra classes.
When Xander was ten, he decided he wanted to play baseball.  So, I looked into it.  I was told it was too late.  He needed to attend a special camp to get his skills up.  He really wanted to play, and it was his first interest, so I signed him up for a several week camp.  He was miserable.  The boys were already players and the coach basically wrote him off.  I was told by the commissioner that he could join, but there was no guarantee what team he would be placed on, since ten year olds now are put into skill levels.  I was furious.  Can't he just play baseball?  Some friends of his encouraged him not to sign up because they said the other teammates might be rude and belittle him because he wasn't very good.  It was a heartbreaking situation. He never asked to play again. I swore I would never sign my children up for a special skills class either!
So, back to the insane schedules of sports around here.....
 I like family dinners at home. I am in the car enough that I don't need to give up more time to watch a game.  And Sunday is out.
So, this year they decide to do swim team.  They are all excited.  We all pass the swim test, which is the first round of competition.  Then we find out it is so competitive to get on the team, that there are special sign up times!  Yes, I became one of those crazy moms trying to sign my children up for swim team tonight.  The system kicked us off a minimum of three times and we ended up on a waiting list.
Seriously!?!?!  If they want to swim, can they just join?  My mom made my brother and I ride our bikes a mile into the community pool to join swim team.  We didn't have to have any special skills, we just swam.  And learned to swim better.  I personally did well in the butterfly and the backstroke.
So, tonight, I have disappointed children.  They did what they were supposed to do.  And now they can't even follow their interests.
It's like the opening ceremonies of the Hunger Games where there is basically a blood bath!
I'm just a little bit irritated, can you tell!?!?

One of the saddest days of my life.....

Jason and I got back from a business trip to Cincinnati late in the afternoon.  Brother Waters was insistent that he come see us that evening. He knew we were leaving for Hilton Head early the next morning.  So he came over at 11:45pm.  It was what I was dreading.  Six years of being the primary chorister, the best calling in the church.  The calling I NEVER wanted to be released from.  And it was time.
From the time I got the phone call and for days afterwards, I was in tears.  I have built that program.  I have taught the children how to sing, how to lead music, dynamics, hymns, rounds, harmony and various other things.  But, I have also taught them how to feel the spirit.  Something I never want them to forget.  Something I want them to be able to recognize forever.  Something that is so important to me that I bear my testimony to them every week about it.  I will miss that the most.  Music is fun, but helping the children recognize that their Heavenly Father loves them and he talks to them and they can talk to Him was my job for six years.
I am now in the Relief Society Presidency.  The Enrichment Counselor.  I will have to redefine myself. I will have to try hard not to lurk in the halls of primary.  I will cry when I sit in Relief Society for the first time and hear the children sing.  My heart is aching.  I am torn.  I am trying to have faith.  I am trying to embrace my new calling and be excited.
But, I will always secretly wish to have the primary chorister calling back.  I won't lie.

Our first Snow day - In March!

A snow day in March!  We had a ball!  Snow angels, snowmen, hot chocolate and just plain fun!  We needed one good snow day!  It was worth the wait!

The boys shoveled walkways for the neighbors.  And when questioned how much they were owed, they declined.  Love my boys!

Child labor at its finest.....

I just want you to know that I am wearing Garrett's snow pants and they fit!!!  Yep!

LOVE ME A GOOD SNOW DAY!

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

I sat on the couch in my living room waiting for Brother Dow to get to the point.  He was there to give me a calling and had promised I wouldn't be released as primary chorister.  So I let him in the house and I gave him the time of day.  It never occurred to me that he might just give me the second best calling in the church.....Roadshow Director!  I squealed with delight!  ROADSHOW!

I can still sing the songs and dane the dances.  I can still see the cactus moving across the stage or the chocolate chips or the golden door.  I can still see Paul Revere Riding and the kid on the stage in Nyssa, Oregon whose hair caught on fire...for real! I remember spending hours painting props, the many refrigerator boxes that we cut and painted and used.  The alley cats, the chocolate chips and the various characters that make it all happen.

Yes, I grew up doing roadshows and loved them.  My mom produced all of them I was in.  She is amazing when it comes to that.  She is the Roadshow Queen.  And all those years, I sat at the feet of the "Master" and soaked it all in!

So, when I was called, I immediately called my mom and told her and said, "Start thinking!"

The theme was "Oh, the Places You'll Go" from Dr. Seuss.  I had 17 young men and 5 young women to work with.  "Think Pirates, think aliens, think testosterone!" I told her!  But, think pirates and mermaids.  I need to use the girls!  And we did it!  She would call me almost daily and say, "What do you think?!?!?"  "I love that!  Here's what I was thinking..."

And so it came together.  The cowboys, the pirates, the indians, the savages, the mermaids, the aliens...they all started to come to life in my mind.  I spent every waking moment thinking and singing the songs, painting, cutting, sewing and preparing for the big night.

And the first night we started, it clicked.  The kids were amazing.  They exceeded my expectation.  They did such a great job!  The two women I asked to help me come up with dances did an amazing job.  The pianist could play anything at anytime.  I was blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people to help me.

It's called a Roadshow because back in the day, the different wards would put on a play and then take everything with them to the next building and put on the show again.  Literally, taking on the road.  Hence the name, Roadshow.  

Rehearsals were grueling, but so fun! I was organized to the minute so we could utilize every second we had to be able to memorize and prepare.  We only had a month to do everything.  

  Here are the cowboys and cowgirls getting ready to do their dance....

The show starts out with Thing 1 and Thing 2 being bored with their lives and imagining where they could go to make it more interesting.  The backdrop and props were all in Dr. Seuss style.

The final pose of the cowboys and cowgirls.....

The Indians dancing 'round a fire.....

An alien getting ready to do the alien dance to the song "Manha Manha"

Parker, my head alien.  He was amazing!!!

The stars and the moon dance.....

And the super cool alien dance!  

In the savage pot we had the Lorax pop up!

And at the end, the Dr. Seuss hat....both frontwards and backwards!!!

Oh, and Mel the bird.  He was a special guest appearance!

My cute Savannah holding the planet!

The fish they swim....

The night of the performance, we had a Dr. Seuss themed party for the cast.  It was awesome!  We had Lorax cake pops, red fish/blue fish jello and Cat in the hat fruit kabobs.

I made Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes.  Someone else made green eggs and ham.  Yes, it was awesome!

The kids watching the dress rehearsal from the night before.

We were last on the program, so Brother Mitchell entertained the kids for several hours!

The sexiest backstage crew you will ever meet!

Had to get a picture with Thing 1 and thing 2!

Warming up one last time before it was time to go on!

My darling cowgirls and indian!

Almost showtime!

I took my camera onstage and took some pictures.  They aren't the best, but they are still fun!

The savage dance!  Everyone LOVED it!

And the alien dance!  It was a huge hit!

And the pirates who stole the show with their enthusiasm!!1

Final curtain call....

More pictures of the props....

My cute mermaids!

Some more prop pictures......

The poster announcing the Roadshow for the Franklin Ward.....

It was a great experience.  I loved it.  I was so tired when I was done, but I had so much fun.  They kids were so fun to work with and I got to know them better.  I had people offering to buy my props afterwards,  I had compliment after compliment about how our show was the best.  I have had letters and emails about how great this roadshow was and how impressed they were with our ward.  I give all the credit to the kids.  They did an amazing job!  I hope someday they look back and smile when they can still sing the songs and remember the dances.  I hope they tell their kids how cool Roadshows are, because when I was called, I did.  

A big thank you to my mom for her support and love through the whole thing.  She is amazing and helped me out immensely.  I know she had fun helping me write it.

If I were more tech savvy I would post the link to watch it.  But you can go to YouTube and type in Franklin Ward Roadshow or Ralph Smith or Here, There and Anywhere and you can watch it.

Enjoy!