Follow the Yellow Brick Road

A while back Kayla's dance teacher sent out an email about an "opportunity". If she could get enough people together they could audition to be munchkins in the National Tour of The Wizard of Oz when it came to Tulsa. The auditions required that the kids already be part of a dance or choir group. They had to audition as a group of 12, and either the whole group made it or none of them did. I misunderstood the original email. I did not realize it was a group thing - as far as everyone in the group was either chosen or not chosen. So, being the good mom that I am, I did not even mention it to Kayla.

That night at dance her teacher asked me if Kayla was going to audition. And of course Kayla was standing right there. So our name was then put on the list. Once the teacher had 12 girls that wanted to audition they were signed up. They had to learn to sing Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. The girls stayed after class 2 times to practice. Keep in mind that they are a dance group, NOT a singing group. So to be brutally honest I did not think they stood a chance...at all. I was pretty sure there would be musical theater groups auditioning that stood a much better chance.

March 7 arrived. Audition day. The auditions were held in Tulsa during the Baby Fest. Can you imagine having a booth at that festival and having to listen to the same song for 4 hours? There were 11 groups that auditioned. The Munchkin Coordinator said that the only audition that had more groups was for a show at Madison Square Garden in New York! The process started with the entire group reviewing the song. Then group by group they took the stage to sing. Each group got to sing the song two times with no choreography. Then they taught the kids a little bit of the choreography that is actually in the show. This took forever. She taught the first four groups, the next four groups, and finally the last three groups. Then it was time for the real audition. One by one the groups went of stage to show what they had learned. They got to practice is once and then it was time for the audition that counted. Here is our group. Kayla is in the front row, 3rd from the left. The footage is terrible...I was not actually looking in the camera. I was more or less just holding it up.



The judges then took about 5 minutes to discuss it. Our girls huddled together while waiting for the results.

Then it was time for the big announcement...




Not the best footage but it gets the point across. It was so exciting!

So...what does this mean? The tour comes to Tulsa June 15-20. Their first rehearsal with the cast is on the day of the first show. Her teacher has been given video footage of what she needs to teach the kids. They are to be "performance ready" when they show up for opening day. They have already started practicing. They are in 4 scenes. Their names and a picture of them will be in the Play Bill. They will be on the big stage at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center with a professional cast. They get to come out and bow at the end of the show. They are in 8 shows (1 on Tuesday, 1 on Wednesday, 1 on Thursday, 1 on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday). It will be exhausting but so much fun. There will most likely be local media events leading up to the show. It is such a big deal! The girls (and moms) are so excited.

I have more pictures that I wanted to post, but I can't get this to let me load them. If I get that worked out I will post the pictures later.

Contest Season Has Arrived!

OK. I really don't know where to start. I am so far behind on the blog. The good news is that we got a new laptop. It actually works! Amazing! I got some pictures put on it last night so I will just dive right in.

The next few posts may be really random and completely out of order. But you have to start somewhere.

Kayla has taken dance for several years. This year she decided she wanted to do a solo. She picked her music last summer and started learning her dance with her teacher. Once she learned the dance she started practicing with Grandma Sue. We are very lucky to have a dance teacher in the family. The weekend of February 12th was her first contest in Tulsa. It is questionable...I may have been more nervous than she was.

Here are some pictures that the photographer took during her dance. Her song is Sea Cruise.




After all the 8 and under solos performed they all piled on the stage. Awards time! Kayla is competing in the 7&8 age group. Each age group is divided into novice and competitive levels. She is a novice since this is her first year to compete. Each dancer gets a trophy. Kayla got an Elite Top First.

After all of the trophies have been passed out they do a top 10. Kayla won a medal, plaque, and a check for winning the Novice Level Champion. She placed first.

Her studio did really well in this age group. Here are the winners with their teacher (who was actually one of Grandma Sue's students).

However, I think the most exciting part of the day for Kayla was having a certain someone in the audience. Cousin Emily was so sweet to come and cheer Kayla on as she danced. Emily is a trooper. She also attended a performance at a retirement village the weekend before. Kayla really looks up to her, and it means a lot to Kayla to have her there.

What a wonderful first contest! Kayla did really well. She worked really hard for this. Lots and lots of practicing went into her performance. Finally...we can both breathe again!

Snow Day

This is for the family in Texas. It has been snowing here all day. My camera will not work with my computer. That is the reason for all of the video clips. This is just to give you a sample of the Oklahoma weather.

Andy went out to shovel snow (which I do not understand because it was still snowing), so I made him take my cool little Flip Video with him.




Kayla went down the street so Caroline had to also go outside. This was much nicer than the Christmas snow we had. It is more of a powder, and it is not nearly as cold outside. She had fun running around in it.





A rough measurement of the snow

Time to go inside. Caroline just looks like she is having to work so hard to run. I guess it is tough when your entire feet, in those giant snow boots, are completely buried in the snow with each step.

It is a very pretty snow. Hopefully the power will stay on and the snow won't stick around for too long!

Christmas Presents

This is my first attempt at posting a video taken with my new Flip Video (Thanks Jenny!). This is also the kids first attempt at using their new Christmas presents. Everyone is having a great time.




It has been a great Christmas. The girls and I went to Waco last Sunday. Jenny's boys were already there, and Jenny got there Monday afternoon. Andy flew to Dallas on Tuesday night and drove to Waco with Steve. There were lots of Christmas celebrations and fun with family. We drove back to Oklahoma on Christmas Eve day. We made it home just before the blizzard struck. We had a quiet Christmas day at home. Today we all bundled up and went over to my dad's for another Christmas celebration. The fun continues tomorrow when my sister and her family come to town.

Quick Update

Most of you already know what has gone on with my dad, but here is a shortened version. He had his surgery on Tuesday, September 8. The doctor ended up doing 5 bypasses and a maze procedure. A few hours after that surgery was over they had to take him back to surgery because he had lost too much blood. By Thursday he was having trouble breathing. His heart was not pumping hard enough to get blood to all of his vital organs. His kidneys were failing and his lungs were struggling. They took him back to the operating room to put in a balloon pump. He gained 68 pounds of fluid and had to be put on dialysis. He remained sedated and on the ventilator until Saturday, September 19. Fast forward to last night. He is now off of everything. He is out of ICU and in a private room. He actually walked for the first time!!!! That is amazing news. All of the doctors and nurses are calling him "The Miracle Man." There is definately power in prayer.

My Dad

Please say a prayer for my dad and his sugeon this morning. At 7 am my dad will be having quadruple bypass surgery. The doctor said he should be done by noon. As my dad said "The Club Med portion of my stay is over" They have been monitoring him at the hospital since Friday. Today the hard part begins.

Time Flies

I can't believe that it is already time to start planning my baby girl's 8th birthday party. I am not a big fan of putting birthday parties together. I did a few in the beginning that required a lot of work, but now my goal is no work. That is why I love parties at BounceU or Pump it Up. They do everything for you. But this year Kayla wants a sleepover. I just can't do it. First of all, I don't want to. Secondly, where would we put a bunch of little girls? We just don't have the space.



Kayla and I have talked, and I believe we have reached a compromise. She wants a skating party. I agreed to let her have one or two friends come spend the night. I think I can handle that, and more importantly she will enjoy it. Now if I could just get Andy to call me back so we could agree on a day and time. I need to get the ball rolling and put down a deposit on the skating rink. Let the fun begin!