The 4th of July

The 4th of July was a very busy, but fun day. We arrived at the Theatre about 10:45 in costumes to get ready for the parade. Everyone enjoyed hanging out and taking pictures. I like this picture of Wes and I. Erica's mother took this photo.

Dallon (Gideon) posing for the camera.
Our wonderful gals who support us at the Theatre. What would we do without them?Wild Girls!

Erin Fair and Nathan Perry. Stephen (Adam) all ready to go!
Adam (Frank) rode on a 4 Wheeler with a cooler of water. What would we have done without him!
Curtis! What are you doing with your hair. Mary is to the right. She is our assistant director.
This is a very cute picture of Erica Jones!
A fun picture of Erica's sister and Mom.

Ahh cute! Porter and his wife Erin.
We all piled into a trailer and rode over to the beginning of the parade route. Our ride was short and we walked the whole parade route. Adelle actually got to ride on the 4 wheeler with Adam which she thought was so neat.
It was a hot day! Carianne finding creative ways to stay cool. Macall (Alice) in her bright costume. My handsome man in his Indiana Jones hat.
It was quite a walk, but we enjoyed being in the parade. We passed out fliers for the show and waved at everyone. Steve (Adam) and I actually danced some of the parade route. The crowd really cheered at that!

Later in the evening we had a small get together with Wes' family. We fired up the grill and had yummy summer foods! The girls were super excited to play with snaps. Adelle kept managing to hit my legs with them. Silly girls!
Dustin and Jeff hanging out. Dustin has a great camera and usually manages to get great firework photos. Don't you hate it when someone takes a silly photo of you. I love all of you! I just had to share. Wes' Dad sipping a soda.

Jeff and the super CHEESY Smile and Ellen hanging out!

Surprised Erica!

At Lydia's request we pulled out the new snow cone machine that Lydia had received from her Grandma Julie. They were so good especially on a hot night!


When it got dark enough we pulled out our fireworks and let the fun begin. Wes was our fireworks guy and put on the show for us.

Erica and the girls getting ready for the show.
I love doing the fireworks in front of our home. We avoid the crowds and get to have our own little party.

Poor Wes! He looks especially tired. After our fireworks show we watched what we could see of the Magna Fireworks.
Adelle just love the Fireworks and enjoyed staying up late. We ended up staying later than we expected. When we were putting away things for the night we saw a glowing fire off in the distance. It looked like it was coming from the Magna Park and it was HUGE. We got up on our roof (Wes and I) with our binoculars to see what was going on. We were very worried about people. We found out later that is was the tailings pond north of 21st South. Thank Heavens!

It was a great holiday, but boy were we tired by the time it was all over.

More Reharsal Pictures

Since Tad posted a link from the Empress Website Blog I thought I should add some more pictures besides just my family. Thanks again Erica and Erica's Mom :) Here you go! Our lovely towns ladies. Charlene Harmon (Preacher's Wife) and Peggy Scripter (Mrs. Bigsby)
Troy Larsen, Our Preacher.
One of our fabulous suitors.
Another fabulous suitor. This gentleman just barely joined us on the show and has quickly picked things up! I am super impressed!
Tyler (Caleb). Yes girls, he plays the violin too!

Practicing in the Lobby. We need all the time we can get.
With all the fabulous dances in the show there have been some injuries. This is Skye's (Martha's) ankle.
Erica (Ruth), Skye (Martha), and Michael (Suitor) hanging out.
Stephen plays Ephraim. A little known fact about Stephen, he is a writer as well.
Another one of our fabulous suitors! These guys are great.

Megan Sharp (female understudy) and Ralph Faneus (drummer) hanging out together.
Megan and another suitor. I think this picture is super cute!
Kevin (Mr. Bigsby) looks busy here.
Nathan Perry is our musical director. He recently wrote a musical with Erin Fair called the Sneetches! I heard it was a wonderful show!
Porter and Travis Clark. Porter looks super concerned here. Are we that bad?

Stephen Bradford (Ephraim) and Curtis Nash (Daniel). What are they up to now?
Erin Fair (Dorcas) doing her round of stretches.
Hands Up Stands Up!
Ohh.. and did I mention there is kissing in this show! He he he!

Adam McKinley (Frank) making sure our table is ready to go!
Steve Harmon (Adam) and Chaz Walgamott (Benjamin).
Oh... and did I mention there is fighting in this show!

Courtney Heywood (Sarah)

Well there you go everyone! I hope to see you all at the show!

Fun at Rehearsals

So Erica Jones (Ruth) and her Mother have been taking pictures at rehearsal and I just had to share some of them! Thanks Erica for letting me :) Porter Williams, our director. He looks very serious and focused here.
The brides and suitors dancing. There is a lot of great dancing in the show!
Even more dancing. Here is Tyler (Caleb) and Erica (Ruth). I think Erica's character is looking shocked because she just got kissed!The brothers at the end of "Goin' Courtin". Boys put your arms down so we can see your faces!

Here I am with Steve who plays Adam.
Here I am with all of the brides! They are my girls in the show! I love all of their different expressions!
Now when I saw this picture I just laughed. Is that what I really look like when I am upset? This is probably the part in the show when I find out that Adam has 7 brothers that I am expected to cook and care for.
My serious discussion with Adam at the Window "Did your really want to marry me?".

Me and my real Man! How I love him!
There he is putting the finishing touches on Erin's Belt for her dress! He received a wonderful compliment from the director last night. His work really has been appreciated.
Lydia and Adelle in the town social scene. Is it just me or does it look like Adelle really needs a hair cut! It really isn't as bad as it looks!
Happy little Adelle enjoying rehearsals. She likes to dance on stage when there is any kind of break.
Lydia occupying herself coloring. She also likes to bring her game boy to stay entertained.
Adelle loves hanging out with the brides, especially Erica Jones. Thanks Erica for not getting tired of her. Carianne is really cute in this picture as well.
This is the doll that Lydia carries around in the show. Her Aunt Becky made it a few years back.
So everything at rehearsals has been going pretty well. I am really looking forward to the opening! Tomorrow is going to be a fun day as well. We will be walking in the Magna 4th of July Parade. If you are looking for something to do, come on down. The parade starts at 12:30 on Magna Main Street. Bring some water, some shade for yourself and sunscreen. Oh, and if you haven't bought your tickets you may want to soon. We will be passing out fliers during the parade so other people will probably be buying their tickets soon.

Only 9 Days until we Open!

So rehearsals have been going well. Monday night Adam and I, and the Brides and Brothers learned a new dance. Adam and I actually just dance in the beginning which I can't argue with. The brides and brothers then do a pretty dance! What talent they have to pick up a brand new dance so quickly. I actually am feeling like I can do some dancing. I feel like I am getting it! Yeah!! I got a compliment last night from one of the brothers that Adam and I are looking graceful. He probably had no idea how much that meant to me! It is a big feat for me to look graceful.

Last night we ran most of the show. We didn't quite get to the end. Tonight we will be running just Act I. Last night was interesting because we had to really start kissing each other. I think everyone that has to do that was a little nervous. The first time Adam (Steve) kissed me he planted one right on my nose! He He! All of the brides were just laughing. One was even snorting in fact!! Everything else went smoothly from there. Wes seems to be doing okay with it. It must be really hard to see your spouse kissing someone else. Adam and Millie actually kiss more than anyone else in the whole entire show. It was cute to see some of the other brides and brothers having to kiss each other. Most of them were so nervous! The director was kind enough to bring us all mints!

I really am enjoying things again which is great (not because we have started kissing!). It is great to get into character! I think Wes is relieved to see me less stressed and more confident. The girls seem to be having a fun time. Lydia found out last night that she is going to be in pajamas for her "big scene" where she has her line. The main costumer for the show is going to modify some pajamas that the Empress already had. Thank heavens she is doing it because Wes really is so busy right now feverishly making the other costumes. He has to finish two over skirts (one is almost done), make belts for 3 of the skirts and then make bloomers for Adelle. I will be excited when he is done with the costumes so he can get back to starting up our business.

I am getting really excited for the show to open. There is nothing like performing in front of a live audience! It is great when I see familiar faces in the audience as well.

Great photo from the concert

So I just had to add this photo from the concert that Deborah Peterson's Dad took. I love it!! There is my dad on the piano and Lydia singing her solo! Great times!