perspective

Who knew leaves could turn into hours of fun? Where I see hours of hard work I really don't want to do, Taylor can see hours of fun and imagination.

One of my favorite things in the world growing up was jumping in piles of leaves. I remember raking them over and over again to keep the pile growing full before jumping in, rolling around, and digging through them. This core fun is something I've shared with Taylor - every year since we've had the house, we have made piles and jumped in them just for fun. Of course, after that, I have to stay and finish raking, and picking them up (with the help of J of course).

This year was a little different. Taylor and her friend got the jump on raking the leaves. One day they were hanging out and Tay came up and said, "Is it ok if we rake the leaves in the front yard?" Of course we let them, and here is what they came up with...

Round 2

Who knew Taylor could be cute even with a dirty face and a hump on her back?

Here are some other pics of her play...

Igor

Igor in deep thought

Mr. Hyde

Igor and Luna - the story tellers

Count Dracula

Vampire slayer crew - Dr. Van Helsing, Lucy (his daughter), Jonathan Renfield (his slayer in training), and Mina (Lucy's friend)

Dracula and his 3 brides

Dr. Jekyl and Mary - cutest on-stage couple ever!

The Director - Mr. Rob

Tay's Play

Who knew Igor could steal the show?

Once again, we are the parents of the star of the show...and it's kind of fun being that parent.  Taylor did an amazing job again this time as Igor - which was a tough part to play.  She did an wonderful job and we couldn't be more proud.  We survived through 5 shows in 3 days...pictures of the weekend below.

Thank you to all of the people that came to see the show - it always means a lot to Taylor to have people in the crowd watching her...and it means a lot to us as well.

Ann and Adam

Eddie, Kristina, and Abram

Wroxy, Tay and 'Luna' (Emma - who was the other main character in the show)

Cast Party Cake

Lake, Tate, and Laura took us out for dinner after the Saturday show - we went to Haabs

Not pictured, but showed up to watch were Nadia, Amy, and Emma (a different Emma than was in the show).

4 down...1 to go...

Who knew Taylor's play would be getting press coverage?

So it turns out YYT is getting more and more famous.  Ypsilanti Citizen sent a reporter out to the show on Friday.  You can see his short article and some pictures of the play at this link.  The pictures he took are also posted below in the video slide show.  Taylor is the one in all brown (looks like she's wearing a brown blanket).

Play is going well so far - and they are really coming together.  I would have to say this is the funniest play out of all of them so far.  Taylor is doing wonderfully and all of the other actors and actresses are also performing well.  It's great to see all of the hard work pay off.  I'll post pictures once I get some.

stoopid pelican

Who knew pelicans could cause millions of dollars of damage to one car?

Not sure if I feel sorry for this guy or not...just saw this on yahoo...

LA MARQUE, Texas – A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston. The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.

The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist. The motorist dropped his cell phone, reached to pick it up and veered off the road and into the salt marsh. The car was half-submerged in the brine about 20 feet from the road when police arrived.

Gilchrist said he doesn't know if the car was salvageable, but in his words, "Salt water isn't good for anything." He says the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured.

A 2006 Bugatti Veyron was recently offered for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., for $1.25 million.

ouch

Who knew Dilbert could be funny and make you cry at the same time?

This one hit a little too close to home...I think I'm the chump they are refering to as the 'others.'



After 2 nights of long practices, making costumes, and finalizing sets, Taylor's show starts at 10AM today and runs all weekend long. Even last night at the last rehearsal before the show opens, there were still at least 3-4 kids not there because they were sick. It was tough running through the show without key people there and I think they are going to try to find people to fill a few roles today...we'll see how it goes. The good news is that it's still a pretty funny show and I can't wait to see it. They always seem to pull it off in the end, so here's to hoping...

coolest aunt

Who knew having Nadia around would actually pay off? (Just kidding Nadia, you know I love you!)

Taylor has been sick since Sunday (she's getting better, phew) and Monday was the worst day by far. I think she ate an animal cracker, 1/4 of a push up and 1/3 of a vitamin water all day. She slept most of the day and was just generally wiped out. She was being a good sport about it though.

It turns out, Duff from the show Ace of Cakes was in town on Monday doing a book signing - and it was a popular signature to get - you actually had to have a wrist band to get in line and they only had a limited amount. Taylor (and all of us actually) really enjoy that show and she thinks Duff is hilarious...so we knew she would have loved the chance to meet him, but there was no way with her being so sick. This is the part of the story where we introduce the hero...Nadia.

I got a text page from Nadia Monday afternoon telling me that Duff was in town and she was going to try to get over there for a signature...but they only had 100 wrist bands left and she was still at work (see, I'm building suspense). She recruited her friend Jeremy to run down and get a wrist band (since he works downtown A2).

So...



"Hey Taylor" at the top and then he signed mid-page - the signature on the bottom is his brother who co-authored the book with him. How cool is that??? Nadia also told some great stories about Duff and she was able to see him for a while at Borders - even saw them filming for the show...

It was a very bright spot in a tough day for Taylor...way to come out swinging Aunt Nadia...

Twisted Tales of Terror

Who knew I'd be promoting theatre?

Taylor's latest play is this weekend - and she was cast as Igor (another big role for her). She has been working really hard to learn all of her lines and get the acting down as well. We are very proud indeed and looking forward to seeing her in her 4th play. All the info is below if anyone would like to come watch.

She actually got the flu this weekend and was home sick from school yesterday - of course it's the final week of practice so she had to miss last night and possibly tonight as well - I'm sure everyone is stressed to have her missing. She is starting to feel better today though so we are hoping she will be back in her role again soon.

losing sight

Who knew clichés really could get you through life?

Over the last few months, I think I've lost some of my mental vision. I'm having trouble seeing through the fog of life and it's really been bogging me down. During this time, my biggest pet peeve was when people would throw out a cliché to answer my problems, or make me feel better.

"Don't worry, it will all work out in the end."

"You know, the sun will come out tomorrow."

"It could always be worse."

My reactions were always a bit negative when I got that kind of feedback. Thinking to myself, "Yeah, I'm sure it will work out in the end – but when is the end????" "I'm sure the sun will come out tomorrow, but it will just be lighting another terrible and busy day." "I'm sure it could always be worse – but that doesn't mean this is any less painful."

The problem with my reactions above (so I'm starting to figure out) is that I've lost sight of the meaning – and I stopped believing. At church this weekend, they talked about having beliefs vs. believing in something. I think I've always had beliefs, but have not always believed in them.

It's easy to stand up and say you believe in something – going green, budgeting your money, loving your wife, etc – but it's something totally different to stand up and change your life to match your beliefs. How many of us believe in saving the earth? We would say it's a good idea to use less, to waste less, and stop harming the world. But how many times have I used a plastic bag anyway, or simply thrown away a battery, or used disposable things when I could have re-used something else? I'm starting to realize (and maybe I'm the only one on this train) that just having beliefs about something isn't enough – it needs to go deeper – it needs to change who you are to the core. If it doesn't, it's not worth believing in anyway.

I'm figuring out now that if I truly believed, those clichés people are throwing out should give me hope, should help me through my day and should actually make me feel better. If I truly believed it would all work out in the end, shouldn't that give me the strength to keep pushing through today knowing it would all work out eventually? I'm realizing now that the clichés are there to provide one thing – hope. I think I've truly been without hope for a long time. Deep down I had beliefs – I knew everything would work out in the end – but I didn't let it change me, and I didn't really hold onto it. When people are saying, "Don't worry, it will all work out in the end" – what they are really trying to tell me is, "Keep going, keep pushing through – have hope and be encouraged that your fight will not be for nothing." It's a much longer sentence though so I can see why that hasn't caught on yet.

At the end of the day, having hope is what keeps us getting up each day and pushing through life – hope of experiencing the simple things in life (like my morning cup of coffee), hope that some one will notice us and say hello (always nice to be noticed), hope that when we have completed another trip through whatever events we have scheduled we will be able to look back and see the good points in the day.

Hope is important and an ingredient in life that isn't optional. I think I've finally started to turn the corner like the picture at the beginning…I've gone from NO Hope to KNOW Hope…the K and the W make all the difference.

Go Vikings

Who knew just adding Brett Favre would make this season double the fun?

Not only are we winning a lot of games - we are also really throwing packer land into disarray (sorry to all the packer fans out there - it's nice to finally have MN beat you guys though). I though this picture from a fan at the Vikings vs. Packers game on Sunday was great...

I know why they are fired up and I don't blame them...but I also know why I'm soooo excited...I think it's cause we are 7-1.