Cast Party

Since Drama Teen was the lead, it only seemed fitting that we host the Cast party.....imagine about 100 teens...and a few parents, in your home all at one time, for a party that didn't even get to START until about 11:30 pm!!! Believe it or not, it really wasn't that bad. These are such a great group of kids, and I loved having them all there. I only hope they had a great time too, from the sounds of things they seemed to be. Hopefully my nieghbors aren't too miffed ..LOL

Haven't heard any complaints yet. ..LOL

Here we have Genious Boy ( still haven't shared his story yet, have I?) anyway here we have Genious Boy manning the 'massive' Bon fire...I have learned that Fire goes over VERY well at a teen party. If you build it ...they will come....

and here we have the two Rachel's ....the Co-ed and Drama Teens good friend who shall from now on be considered Apron Girl..LOL..

The Co-ed was quite Popular at this HS teen party....as you can see.. worst part is she HATES to be hugged and she's really not all that fond of High Schoolers...LOL On top of it all I can't seem to find one picture of Drama Teen at her own party!!

My Day in Winchester

Like I said I then spent a day in Winchester Virginia with my SIL and her family. What a neat town. I loved it. It's a very beautiful area. Her and her Husband live WAY out in the country down a few long and windy country roads. Their home sits on 13 wooded acres! Oh how I'd love to live there. And they are only about an hour or so from DC. The best fo both worlds!!

Here I am on the scary Dirt road that finally leads to her home...LOL

this small building is George Washington's Historic Office. How cool!!And I had no idea that White House Applesauce was manufactured here in Winchester. They even use mostly locally grown apples. Good to know!
It rained ealrier in the day, but we allowed the kids to play outside anyway ..needless to say it got VERY muddy!! Thank God they weren't MY kids..LOL....
These are a few scenes from the back yard. In the bottom pic you can see a path that leads down a hill to a creek and then back up again.

All State Chorus..

As if Spring Musical didn't keep her busy enough, Drama Teen also took part in the Virginia All State Chorus. She scored the highest in our district. The All State Chorus was the last weekend of April and took place in Harrisonburg this year. I was a chaperone driver. One the Commander's sisters lives in Winchester which is only aoobout an hour away so I was able to spend a day with her family. It was a really great visit..she has her hands full with four young children but it was such a blast spending the day with them..They are sooo adorable.

We stopped for Lunch at Cracker Barrel on the way. Here Drama Teen is helping her
Chorus Director with the intelligence puzzle.

Drama Teen and a friend waiting for the event to start.

Day of the concert , taking her place.

Afterwards with their Conductor, she said Drama Teen really stood out and had a beautiful voice.

The concert was incredible! Such talented kids!

Catching Up

Oh my, the last couple of weeks have been such a worldwind! So much has happened. First Drama Teens's show was such a great Success! I went to all three showings. I was able to video tape and take pics on the first night. I really wish her dad had been able to be there to see her. I'm so sad he had to miss it. Navy Life....These pics are from the dress rehearsal night.

Britt's Big Night

Well tonights the night that Britt has been working for all year. Sound of Music Opens tonight at her HS!!! I am sooooo excited!!! I leave to pick up my mom at the Air Port in a little bit....I've been to a few of the practices and she was awesome! I can't wait to see how the show comes together tonight!! I was able to take few pics at the dress rehearsal the other day. I'll try to post pics later! Have I said how excited I am!!!

Britt's excited too, although it is a little bittersweet for her, as it also means as of Saturday it's all over. She has enjoyed the process as much as she'll enjoy the outcome, I think.

Hilarious Site

I thought I'd share this site I found a while back called In the Motherhood...they have all these little motherhood videos acted out by Chelsea Handler, Jenny McCarthy and Leah Remini.
Check it out:

In the Motherhood

Sad News

Some of you may remember that a few months ago I was asking for Prayers for our Priest ,Father Richardson. He had been hospitalized with Pneumonia in February. Well I'm sad to say the he lost the battle this past Saturday. He'd been hospitalized since February and although they had been able to treat the pnuemonia and he appeared to be recovering I guess it all took too much of a toll on his body. From what I've heard he passed quietly. He had just turned 89 when he was hospitalized. We will miss him greatly . He was one of the lovliest people I've ever met and he was an inspiration to many. His funeral is Tuesday and there will probably be thousands attending. Mass on Sunday was difficult. I made it through most of the Mass with just a few tears, but when we came to his favorite hymn I totally lost it as did most of the congregation. We're not sure what the future holds for our congregation. We've had a visiting Priest saying Mass for us while Father was in the hospital. We are hoping he will be able to stay on. There is such a shortage of Catholic Chaplains in the Military..there just aren't enough to go around. The Priest we've had the last two months is a retired Chaplain. We are hoping they will keep him on. Otherwise we'll all have to find a new Catholic Church to attend, and we will probably all end up going in different directions.

What I Wore to Church Last Sunday

I just really loved this outfit so I had to share!

Whew

Things seem to be better for the Drama Teen...she broke up with her boyfriend last night...but in the light of day, it looks like they are at least going to be amicable about it all. They may even still go to Prom together, as friends.

Teen Drama in the House

There's a little bit if teen drama going on here this week. I don't really want to go into details..but I'm feeling so bad for the Drama Teen right now. High School life is just so hard sometimes. You couldn't pay me enough to ever go thru it again.

Busy Busy Busy

Whew what a WEEK !

In addition to Seeing the Pope on Wednesday the last week has just been one busy week. Last Friday the Drama Teen Auditioned for Nashville Star!



She didn't get chosen but that was Ok....although it would have been wonderful for her to have been picked we didn't necessarily expect it...to be honest it doesn't look like she really had a chance anyway....it seems they were really looking to pick an Active Duty Military person.( preferrably IN Uniform)

But it was a really fun experience for her. And they DID tell her she did REALLY well at her Audition. I figured maybe they say that to everyone, but then she said they went in 3 at a time, and they didn't say anything to the other two who were in there with her.

The film crew also took lots of video of her before the Audition, and interviewed her a few times....so who knows....she might still get on the show...even if it's just during the preliminary ones where they show contestants waiting to Audition and such.







Then On Saturday we went to DC to visit with Olga the Russian girl who stayed with us a few years ago. She had been chosen to come to DC with about 6 or 7 other students to attend some classes and meetings at University of Maryland, and they had the whole weekend to themselves..so the Drama Teen and the Recruit came with me to DC to see her. It was such a beautiful day. Perfect weather. We met her at her Hotel and then walked down to the Metro to go into DC and visit on the Mall at the Smithsonian...She wanted to check out the Air and Space Museum but the line to get in was horrible so she decided she wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial instead...she said it was her favorite. It was a really great day, I was sorry to have to say good bye again.

Seeing the Pope

As I mentioned earlier I was lucky enough to snag some tickets to see the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI this week. The Drama Teen and I went along with another Woman from our Church and it was the most amazing experience of my life...We were some of the first to arrive...we able to get almost to the front of the Baracades practically in front of the Basilica Steps. We were able to watch Pope Benedict come up in his PopeMobile, get out, and climb the steps to the Basilica. We chose to stay to watch his departure as well. The few people right in front of us chose not to, so we were able to have a front row view of his departure. Unfotunately my camera batteries started to die out right as he was departing so I wasn't able to get decent pictures of him then.

Here I got some video coverage of Benedict going up the stairs . I ahd a great shopt right over the shoulder of the man standing in front of me. Benedict got to the top and as he turned and spread his arms the guy decided to lift his arm to wave at the Pope , right in front of my Camera AACCKKK..oh well...

The whole day was just beautiful. We rode the Metro into DC. Stopped at Union Station for Lunch . Arrived at Catholic University around 2:00. Got into line to pass thru the gates. They were selling memorabilia. I bought some T-shirts and a couple hats( for the Drama Teen and I), and a Bumper Sticker.LOL.

Here the Bishops and Cardinals are arriving. This Bishop got his camera out to take pictures of us...LOL....everyone thought that was funny.
This Cardinal was the only one who actually came up to the Baracades to greet us. We all thought that was really cool of him.

The weather was Awesome. It was downright Hot. We all got a little burnt. It was soo great to see the HUGE crowds of people there..Mostly Catholics...it was Awesome to see so many people with a Common Faith.

Fashion Fiesta

I had hoped to particpate in Big Mama's Fashion Fiesta..It is probably too late to add myself to her linky . She said she was going to close it at midnight tonight. I was going to make the post earlier today...BEFORE the crash...never got the chance.

I figure I can still post my Fashion Fiesta piece here though....so here goes. I like to wear Sundresses in the Spring and Summer...Lately the weather goes back and forth..so some days I can wear them other days ( like today) it's too cold yet. I usually wear a tank top underneath or even a little t-shirt as I don't like being TOO exposed. The clothing in these first two photos are my new Spring Clothes...My Birthday was on the 9th so I treated myself to a few things. I decided to check out Rose's( A discount store in the area) I hardly ever shop there because well...most of the stuff there is 'cheap" and/or trashy. ( IMO) But I was shopping in another store nearby and figured what the heck...why not? LOL...and they had all these cute Sundresses REAL cheap..so I couldn't resist...yeah sure they are probably pretty cheaply made.....but they'll be great to lounge around in all summer. I really LOVE the little blue and beige peasant top in the second pic..I've already worn it a few times with jeans. Jeans tend to be a staple in my wardobe. I have a few pairs of Levi's and recently I found a cute pair of Trouser Jeans which are my new favorite.

Last year the knee length bermuda style shorts came back and I wore them all summer...I plan to wear them this summer as well with some cute tops.As for shoes I absolutely LOVE shoes of ALL kinds...this is just a small sampling....I wear Espadrilles a LOT in the Spring and Summer I was sooooo thrilled when they made a comeback...I wore these all the time in High School. I must have about 10-15 pairs at least. LOL!

I also like to wear ballet flats and flipflops.

These are my new Summer Sandals. I just got them last week but haven't had a chance to wear them yet. If you like them you can buy them here .

As for jewelry, this is what I've been wearing lately. Most of these can be bought here as well.

Here I am today. Getting ready to run a few errands.