We elfed ourselves!

There is Christmas stuff everywhere and yet I was unable to get in the holiday spirit until now!  Funny that it took getting "elfed" to do it! Ha ha!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

www.breakfast-with-alicia.blogspot.com

Mr. McGillicutty?

So, Coleman has now decided he wants to be involved in TV production. He wrote his first script two days ago and we told him that for Family Home Evening he could assign parts and we would record it.  So, without further adieu, here's "Kingdom in the Door." Apparently it's part of a series called Scary Place.  :)

Cast of characters:
Mr. McGillicutty, the teacher- Dad
Tommy- Cooper
Eric- Mom
New kid- Coleman
A kid outside- Coleman




Mr. McGillicutty- "Today's lunch menu is meatlarf.  Let's sing a song about it. Meatlarf, yummy, yummy,
                             yummy!"
Tommy (raising his hand)- "Mr. McGillicutty?"
Mr. McGillicutty- "Yes? Uh, not good. Not good."
Tommy (still raising his hand)- "Mr. McGillicutty?! Does 2+10=19?"
Mr. McGillicutty- "No."
Tommy- "Oh."
Mr. McGullicutty- "What's this?"
Eric- "Huh?"
Tommy- "Hi!"
Mr. McGillicutty- "A new student? I should have known."
Eric- "Who is he?"
Mr. McGillicutty- "I don't know."
[New kid walks in to classroom.]
New kid- "Hello!"
Mr. McGillicutty (angrily)- "You broke the door!!!"
New kid- "Sorry."
Mr. McGillicutty- "Why don't you sit..."
Tommy and Eric (bamming the desk next to them)- "Over here! Over here!"
Mr. McGillicutty (pointing)- "...with those two."
New kid- "Okay."
Tommy and Eric- "Tee, hee, hee."
Mr. McGillicutty (angrily)- "Boys!"
New kid- "Hi guys!"
Tommy and Eric- "Ha, hee!"
Mr. McGillicutty (angrily)- "What are you doin'?!"
All 3 boys- "HA!HA!HA!"
Mr. McGillicutty- "Now..."
Eric (looking at Mr. McGillicutty)- "Is he dead?"
Tommy- "No, why would he?"
Mr. McGillicutty- "...and..."
All 3 boys- "HA!HA!HA!HA!"
Mr. McGillicutty (angrily)- "STOP!!!"
New kid- "What? Hee, hee!"
Mr. McGillicutty- "...so..."
All 3 boys- "HA!HA!HA!"
Mr. McGillicutty- "What the heck?!"
New kid- "La-l-la!"
Tommy and Eric- "HA!HA!HA!"
[School bell rings.]
A kid outside- "Come on out!"
All 3 boys- "Hooray!"
[All 3 boys run over Mr. McGillicutty.]
Mr. McGillicutty- "Ow!"
[The boys are playing ball outside.]
Eric- "Downsy! Downsy!"
New kid- "Upsy-daisy!"
Mr. McGillicutty- "Oh come on!!! Man, man!!!"
THE END

Obviously, we didn't practice it much at all before recording but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have mattered. :) The important thing is- Coleman couldn't have been more excited to have it all acted out.  I'm sharing it here not because of our magnificent acting (although, it is!) but because Coleman wants everyone to see it. Hope you enjoy!

Coleman's big stage debut!

Coleman has been interested in movies for a long time.  He's like a walking calendar for movie premiere dates. A couple of months ago he began asking me how movies were made and what he needed to do to make his own movie. Sufficeth to say, I really had no idea what to tell him. I only got as far as telling him to write a screenplay. And he did write a couple "screenplays" and then when I told him that we could video he and his friends acting it out he asked, "Then they will play it at the movie theater?" Uh, not exactly, bub.  He's so not interested in making movies unless it's going to play at the local Cinemark. :)

So, in order for him to learn exactly how much work goes into a real production we signed him up for his first musical theater production.  We told him that he could learn things that will help him when he goes on to make movies- stuff about sets and stage direction, etc. He was all about it.

The local arts council does a couple of plays a year for 4-8 yr olds to star in.  This go round they were putting on 101 Dalmatians.  Coleman auditioned (every kid was awarded a role) and got the part of Chihuahua #4, perfect part for a first-timer! He continued to go to practice every Mon and Wed from 4-5pm for 7 weeks. He learned all the songs and dances and was ready for his debut performance last Thursday.  He was a little nervous the first night but it played to his advantage because it helped him to be more focused.  (Well, as focused as Coleman gets anyway.) Coleman did his very best that night and the two subsequent nights and we couldn't have been any more proud. Go Coleman! Our very own li'l actor.

Here's part of the song "Twilight Bark" where the Chihuahuas were center stage.  He may have been a bit off-beat but we think he stole the show! I say he just added his own flare to his character. :)

Here's Coleman posing by the truck on set.

Getting our photo-op with the star.

I also want to mention that Coleman had great support in the audience every night as well. June and the kids came on Thursday night. Jenn, Madi and Jackson came on Friday night and Jenny, La and Talon came to see him on Saturday night.  We love and appreciate all of our supportive friends and family. You guys are the best! Coleman is so lucky to have such wonderful people in his life.

Here's a bit of the final number.

By the way, Coleman says he never, ever wants to do another play. Too much practice, he says. Ha, ha! Next up for Coleman? He wants drawing and writing classes. That sounds about right.

Catch-up post!

Ok. Just taking a minute here (after midnight!) to catch-up a little on my blog. I've been posting about once a week on my other blog and I guess that's all I've really had in me to write lately.

First of all let's catch up a little on Coops. I just love this redhead so much. I just want to eat him up some days! He has been so affectionate lately always giving Mom and Dad lots of hugs and kisses and "I love you's." Will has really been appreciating this because Cooper has typically given Mom all the love and Dad all the kicks to the head. Oh, and he just finished up his very first season of soccer. The Purple People Eaters had a great fall season.  Cooper has gotten better each week and even scored a goal a couple of games back! Even so, I'm not entirely sure that soccer is his sport. While he enjoys playing, when they ask if anyone needs a break, he is always to first kid to volunteer. He really just likes sitting on Mom's lap, drinking some Gatorade and cheering for his team. We're thinking he may be more of a baseball guy, as he's been excited to watch games with Will and has begun asking lots of questions while he watches.  Since t-ball won't be until next summer, we've decided to sign Cooper up for some MMA (mixed martial arts) classes until then. Starting that in a couple weeks! He's a natural fighter so I'm sure he'll do really well.

Now Coleman. My sweet Coleman. He is such a great boy! He consistently does as he's told and always without complaining.  He loves to read and going to the library is the highlight of his week.  Lately, he's been obsessed with writing (and illustrating) chapter books of his own. He will work on them for hours at a time, breaking only to think about what his next book will be about. Sometimes, he'll go and pace around in the back yard "acting out" what he wrote. And yes, he does look a bit crazy walking around talking to himself but at least he's being creative, right?!  Coleman has also been enjoying a bit of fame this month from his appearance in the Friend.  It seems like everyone and their brother has seen it. Every day he comes home and says that someone else mentioned they saw him. I think he's really enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. He plans on extending his fame by appearing in the Lehi Arts Council's performance of the Kidz Musical 101 Dalmatians at the beginning of November.  Watch out because Chihuahua #4 just might steal the show! :)

As for Will, he's been busy working.  Being an asst. principal at a jr. high is no easy task!  He's so blessed to have a job that allows him so much time off, though. We really love having him home on the days that school is out.  Of course, work is not all he's been up to. He has been taking ukulele lessons for the past few weeks. Ukulele? Really?! Yes! He has always wanted to learn. He says he just loves how calming the music is.  He's determined to do some mean strumming at the beach next summer. I've been listening to him practice and he's getting quite good. He can now play the Happy Birthday song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Gotta' start somewhere!  Will is also training for the marathon along with me. He had a brief spell with a swollen ankle but all is well now and he's training at 100%. So proud of him!

As for me, it's same ol', same ol'.  I am keeping myself pretty busy lately shopping for the perfect new flooring for our downstairs. I've narrowed it down to either hardwood or laminate. Still trying to decide what will look best with our maple cabinets. I'm terrible at making these kinds of decisions. Too indecisive.  And absolutely no clue what looks good. I need some help! Other than the floors, I've been running (a lot!) and doing all the busy mommy stuff that I do everyday. Gotta love it!!