Grandpa Gary's 80th and a Star Wars Treasure Hunt

My Mom coordinated an amazing shin dig and got all my sibs and most of their kids in town to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday.

We had a huge girl sleepover out our house every night and the girls adored having all their cousins over to chat and laugh until all hours.

Jason and I went to a dinner for just the adults on the first night.  It was wonderful!  I have really smart and funny siblings, who all married equally smart and funny people, and am blessed to call them all friends!
 
We spent one great day down at 9 Mile Canyon all together.  It's so beautiful and fascinating!  It was hot, but neat to show off our unique state to the family from out of town.  We had car troubles (a lemon of a battery) but survived them and had a great time despite the troubles.
They combined the grandkids annual treasure hunt as part of the celebration up at the cabin.  Jason and I were in charge of this and we went with a Star Wars theme.  It was a huge amount of work, but it was really well received and we still see the kids wearing their shirts.
Jason and I had a great time coming up with themed clues and prizes with some of our favorites being Edible Ewoks (Gummy Bears), Princess Leia Buns (Honey Buns), Star Wars Pez, Hans Rolos, and many versions of Lightsabers (bubble wands and real telescoping ones).

The weekend ended with everyone going to dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory.  It was wonderful to catch up with the whole family, renew our bonds as cousins and siblings, and celebrate Dad.  We were exhausted, but I'd do it all again tomorrow if I could.

Mary Poppins at SCERA: Laura as Jane Banks

**Disclaimer: this post has way too many pictures, but I just couldn't help myself.

Laura got the amazing opportunity to be cast as Jane Banks in the SCERA Shell production of Mary Poppins.  It was the best play experience she has had.  I cried every night when I saw her onstage.  She made lifelong new friends and renewed friendships with others.  She was so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing and kind people.  Truly a life-changing experience.

The Banks family (Clockwise from Laura): Maxwell, Hannah, Hayden, Garrett, Bri

She was dressed adorably, and acted so beautifully, but you don't have to take my word for it.  Read a great review on her here or here.  Reviews also copied at the bottom for my memory book.

This experience helped her grow so much as an actress.  Her improv and ability to command the stage was great!

Rehearsals kept her busy and cold during her last weeks of elementary school, there was some rough weather in June, but she got to FLY!

There was so much color and the songs were  amazing.  The dancing was great and we loved watching Laura tap.  Then we all sang and danced for months.

There were tender moments, and lots of laughter and I could've watched it a million times!  She was so cute, and it was so fun!

We all saw her every night and I'm so grateful we did!  It was the best spoonful of sugar for our summer!

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to watch her.  She was supported by so so so many people and we felt so loved!

Review from Utah Theater Bloggers: "The children were terrific—I loved Laura Randall as Jane and Maxwell Rimington as Michael. They are so talented, and Rimington delivers some of the best lines of the play."

Review from Front Row Reviewers Utah:  "The children playing Jane and Michael Banks are phenomenal. These roles are double cast and we saw Laura Randall as Jane and Maxwell Rimington as Michael. These two had some of the best accents in the show, and some of the best acting. Randall was fun and graceful and Rimington has an amazing comedic timing for someone so young."

Father's Day 2015

How we love celebrating Jason.  The girls ended up giving him gifts to dress him head to toe.  He was the perfect Dad and wore it all for the rest of the day!  It was mellow and fun and all around, a great day!