Monday, October 10, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The New Testament Project
Almost a year ago, I saw an advertisement from the church asking for people to try out for the new New Testament films they were going to make. If you looked like you could be from Israel, they you could be the next big star... sort of. I actually sent it on to my friend who is an actor, then started thinking about it and said to myself, "Well, I am not an actress, but I am dramatic. And I look the part!" So, stardom or bust! I sent in my information and a photo of myself looking very israelitish--I used Barbara Brown's red scarf she bought in Israel, threw it over my head, and my husband snapped shots. Easy peasy. They confirmed they got my information and then they even chose me to be in a commercial to advertise about the call for actors/extras. They said it would show between conferences... it never did. Somewhere online it can be found, but you can't blink or you may miss me! It was my first taste of Hollywood (LDS style) and it was fine. Short. Nothing to write home about, yet there is some kind of a buzz about being seen on screen. I can see why people want to do it for a career.
They were supposed to start filming in the spring, but it got pushed to June, then July, then August... The waiting game is not fun! Finally I got an email that said, "Keep waiting..." Nice. Then one Thursday evening, I got a call asking if I could do a night shoot the next day. Finally! We set up for Scott to come home early, I got all the stuff together (there was quite a lot of info regarding how to be prepared to be an extra), and then I arrived on time for my "call time" of 4:30. No one really told me what to do once I got there, except wait... Which I did until 5:00 when the casting girl arrived. There were only a few of us extras there--three girls, plus two roman soldiers and two angels. The group of "righteous women"--Mary, Martha, and some other "main character" ladies were there, too. But, the main people were kept separate from us--they had their own little rooms, special snack food, etc. I found it slightly disturbing. They didn't really want to associate with us. Hmm...
We got our wardrobe, then got dressed and got hair and makeup done. I had been asked to grow my hair out long. Then they covered it all up. But it was a fun process. They dirtied my clothes with "fullers dirt" and made my hands and feet look dirty. We then sat around and guess what? Waited. One of the extras was rather talkative and fun, so it was an enjoyable time. Then we ate--divine food. They really fed us well each time (steak!). Finally they had us go in a van down to the scene--the tomb. We moved into place, then moved out of place, back to place, rehearsed, etc. We were given lamps and we carried them to the tomb. I was toward the back of the group of ladies (we were doing the scene where the righteous women were going to annoint the body of Christ, but found angels there instead). When they finally shot it, the group of ladies didn't go forward like before and I am not even seen by the camera. At all. They took another angle and perhaps I am in that. Who knows. Then we sat around from 11 til 2ish and we were all sleepy. They sent us back to the camp and while the main ladies got to sleep in their little beds, they told us we could have the hairdresser chairs. I "slept" for an hour or so, kind of. Then they came back--we thought we would be going back for another shot, instead they said we were through. So, I guess technically I would have been done and home by midnight. Instead I didn't get home til 5:00 am. Unfortunately it didn't make a great impression on me. I didn't feel like it was really worth it...
But, they had set me up to be in a shot the next week, so I went again. This time for the scene of the funeral procession. This time I am in the shot and it was pretty cool to shoot. It was a small group as well, but bigger than before, so I got to meet lots of fun people and of course we had plenty of time to talk and get to know one another. In this scene, we just walked toward the tomb in a procession with some of the apostles as they carried Jesus. Pretty amazing that that short scene took 12 hours...
I was sent more emails requesting me (really what it was is them emailing to see if I am available, but then they decide if they want me or not, so I am not really requested... I am not that special), but I was busy at times, or I was too tired. But then there were times when I would reply that I could, and supposedly they would then tell me yes or no, call time, etc. But, three times THEY DIDN'T! It was sooo frustrating. I had to get someone to watch the kids, but then had to call them and say, ... I don't know when or if I am going in... can you just wait...? I feel like they were very inconsiderate of my time and what an imposition it was! It made me feel very bleh about the whole thing. Fortunately, I did go back two more times, and those were good experiences. I met some great people and it was so neat to be a part of some of these scenes. You will be able to see me, or just parts of me (one shot is just of me walking by and it is just my waist down): when the baby Jesus is being presented to Simeon, the boy Jesus is at the temple (so cool!), and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (so cool!). So, because of the good experiences, the bad is outweighed and over all I loved it.
One of the highlights was meeting such great people, especially Olive Janet Hutchinson Michaelis! I started talking with her and asked where she lived. She said she lived in Holladay/Olympus area and I mentioned that my mother grew up there. She acted interested so I said she was Viriginia Newman--her father was Albert Newman. Her eyes grew wide and she said, "Are you Ginger's daughter?" I yelled yes, and we both kind of jumped around excitedly--she explained that her mother (Elizabeth) was Albert's sister--She is Omi's cousin! What a small world. It was fun to hear her talk about family and she asked about Mary Lou and Jean. I am so glad I took a moment to talk with her. I hope to get together with her and find out what family history she has.
I also met a family who knows my companion Cari Smith, and a few other people who had friends in common. I love making connections!
Hopefully you will be able to see me in portions of the film around Easter time and I'll let you know when the rest of it is available!
They were supposed to start filming in the spring, but it got pushed to June, then July, then August... The waiting game is not fun! Finally I got an email that said, "Keep waiting..." Nice. Then one Thursday evening, I got a call asking if I could do a night shoot the next day. Finally! We set up for Scott to come home early, I got all the stuff together (there was quite a lot of info regarding how to be prepared to be an extra), and then I arrived on time for my "call time" of 4:30. No one really told me what to do once I got there, except wait... Which I did until 5:00 when the casting girl arrived. There were only a few of us extras there--three girls, plus two roman soldiers and two angels. The group of "righteous women"--Mary, Martha, and some other "main character" ladies were there, too. But, the main people were kept separate from us--they had their own little rooms, special snack food, etc. I found it slightly disturbing. They didn't really want to associate with us. Hmm...
We got our wardrobe, then got dressed and got hair and makeup done. I had been asked to grow my hair out long. Then they covered it all up. But it was a fun process. They dirtied my clothes with "fullers dirt" and made my hands and feet look dirty. We then sat around and guess what? Waited. One of the extras was rather talkative and fun, so it was an enjoyable time. Then we ate--divine food. They really fed us well each time (steak!). Finally they had us go in a van down to the scene--the tomb. We moved into place, then moved out of place, back to place, rehearsed, etc. We were given lamps and we carried them to the tomb. I was toward the back of the group of ladies (we were doing the scene where the righteous women were going to annoint the body of Christ, but found angels there instead). When they finally shot it, the group of ladies didn't go forward like before and I am not even seen by the camera. At all. They took another angle and perhaps I am in that. Who knows. Then we sat around from 11 til 2ish and we were all sleepy. They sent us back to the camp and while the main ladies got to sleep in their little beds, they told us we could have the hairdresser chairs. I "slept" for an hour or so, kind of. Then they came back--we thought we would be going back for another shot, instead they said we were through. So, I guess technically I would have been done and home by midnight. Instead I didn't get home til 5:00 am. Unfortunately it didn't make a great impression on me. I didn't feel like it was really worth it...
But, they had set me up to be in a shot the next week, so I went again. This time for the scene of the funeral procession. This time I am in the shot and it was pretty cool to shoot. It was a small group as well, but bigger than before, so I got to meet lots of fun people and of course we had plenty of time to talk and get to know one another. In this scene, we just walked toward the tomb in a procession with some of the apostles as they carried Jesus. Pretty amazing that that short scene took 12 hours...
I was sent more emails requesting me (really what it was is them emailing to see if I am available, but then they decide if they want me or not, so I am not really requested... I am not that special), but I was busy at times, or I was too tired. But then there were times when I would reply that I could, and supposedly they would then tell me yes or no, call time, etc. But, three times THEY DIDN'T! It was sooo frustrating. I had to get someone to watch the kids, but then had to call them and say, ... I don't know when or if I am going in... can you just wait...? I feel like they were very inconsiderate of my time and what an imposition it was! It made me feel very bleh about the whole thing. Fortunately, I did go back two more times, and those were good experiences. I met some great people and it was so neat to be a part of some of these scenes. You will be able to see me, or just parts of me (one shot is just of me walking by and it is just my waist down): when the baby Jesus is being presented to Simeon, the boy Jesus is at the temple (so cool!), and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (so cool!). So, because of the good experiences, the bad is outweighed and over all I loved it.
One of the highlights was meeting such great people, especially Olive Janet Hutchinson Michaelis! I started talking with her and asked where she lived. She said she lived in Holladay/Olympus area and I mentioned that my mother grew up there. She acted interested so I said she was Viriginia Newman--her father was Albert Newman. Her eyes grew wide and she said, "Are you Ginger's daughter?" I yelled yes, and we both kind of jumped around excitedly--she explained that her mother (Elizabeth) was Albert's sister--She is Omi's cousin! What a small world. It was fun to hear her talk about family and she asked about Mary Lou and Jean. I am so glad I took a moment to talk with her. I hope to get together with her and find out what family history she has.
I also met a family who knows my companion Cari Smith, and a few other people who had friends in common. I love making connections!
Hopefully you will be able to see me in portions of the film around Easter time and I'll let you know when the rest of it is available!
September!
Not much but fundraising goes on September--we gave money to our elementary school (two different kids), Friends of Scouting, the local high school football team, the Food Bank, and various other places... We are out of donations!
I guess other things go on as well: Football season begins, harvesting time is in full swing, soccer games, and Brennan starts preschool. It has been great weather, so we have really been able to enjoy all of our September activities.
At the beginning of the month, we went up to Wasatch Mountain State Park and picked apples at Huber Grove. We are making this a yearly activity, we have so much fun! There are long poles with apple grabbing things on them and Scott and Weston go to town with them while Brennan, Aidan and I pick up the apples on the ground. Elise loved it this year, and ate her year supply of apples (core and all). She loved picking up EVERY SINGLE apple off the ground, regardless of its state of being...
Once we had all the apples we began the process of storing them all--we made applesauce, dried apples, and (frozen) pie filling. A few hours later, and one messy kitchen later, we decided to keep going and move on to our tomatoes. We made several batches of spaghetti sauce, dried some basil, and later made raspberry jam! Just last week, I decided to keep giving the kitchen a work out again and I canned 9 quarts of pears and made pear (and pear/raspberry) jam. Are we done yet? Yes! (please...)
Soccer games are in full swing--both boys are really improving. They have been practicing for the school Jog-A-Thon, which they just ran--Weston 2 miles and Aidan 1 mile. Both did marvelous!
Brennan has started in a little neighborhood preschool--very small, it just consists of three children, and we moms are the teachers! He loves that "mom" is his teacher. We had a fun lesson on apples (of course, what else could I do with all those extra apples?) and the letter A. He has also learned about N and O, oceans and animals. He is having lots of fun and seems like such a big boy. We bought him big boy school shoes (Lego shoes, they are so cute) and big boy jeans.
Scott is normal and so I am. We really are. Normal. Elise is funny and strange though. But we love her to bits and pieces, along with all our boys. We are a happy family!
I guess other things go on as well: Football season begins, harvesting time is in full swing, soccer games, and Brennan starts preschool. It has been great weather, so we have really been able to enjoy all of our September activities.
At the beginning of the month, we went up to Wasatch Mountain State Park and picked apples at Huber Grove. We are making this a yearly activity, we have so much fun! There are long poles with apple grabbing things on them and Scott and Weston go to town with them while Brennan, Aidan and I pick up the apples on the ground. Elise loved it this year, and ate her year supply of apples (core and all). She loved picking up EVERY SINGLE apple off the ground, regardless of its state of being...
Once we had all the apples we began the process of storing them all--we made applesauce, dried apples, and (frozen) pie filling. A few hours later, and one messy kitchen later, we decided to keep going and move on to our tomatoes. We made several batches of spaghetti sauce, dried some basil, and later made raspberry jam! Just last week, I decided to keep giving the kitchen a work out again and I canned 9 quarts of pears and made pear (and pear/raspberry) jam. Are we done yet? Yes! (please...)
Soccer games are in full swing--both boys are really improving. They have been practicing for the school Jog-A-Thon, which they just ran--Weston 2 miles and Aidan 1 mile. Both did marvelous!
Brennan has started in a little neighborhood preschool--very small, it just consists of three children, and we moms are the teachers! He loves that "mom" is his teacher. We had a fun lesson on apples (of course, what else could I do with all those extra apples?) and the letter A. He has also learned about N and O, oceans and animals. He is having lots of fun and seems like such a big boy. We bought him big boy school shoes (Lego shoes, they are so cute) and big boy jeans.
Scott is normal and so I am. We really are. Normal. Elise is funny and strange though. But we love her to bits and pieces, along with all our boys. We are a happy family!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Elise and Brennan
These two are such joys to me! Now that we are together all day with the big boys gone we get to spend lots of playing time together. Brennan always wants to put together puzzles and play games. He is getting to know the computer a little better and enjoys pbskids.org. He starts pre-school in a few weeks and we bought him new school shoes which look adorable on him! He has a backpack with supplies and his "book Max gave" him (his friend who he is doing preschool with--Just three of us ladies switching around our three kids; a little home preschool thing). He is very good about playing with Elise, even when she gets crazy and bites (poor boy--he has some nasty bruises). He is a good brother all together because he always makes treats for the brothers for when they come home from school.
Elise is silly. She is starting to become wary of strangers, so is rather clingy lately. Plus she has moved from two naps a day to one. She is much more interactive though and loves to sing and dance and point to various things (nose, toes, eyes, hair, and "bee-bo" --bellybutton). She loves putting on my shoes, but her favorite is to try and put them on me! She likes to put one on me and one on her and then she grabs my hand and we go for a walk. It is a great mother-daughter moment. We've been trying new and various things to improve her hair style... poor girl. (We did cut some bangs) But she is darling anyway!
School begins 2011
I was so excited for school to begin because I thought I'd have more time... I was mistaken. Just because two kids go to school all day, does not mean I have less to do! From after school til I go to bed there is NO resting--we are doing homework, music, soccer, scouts, dinner, reading, and chores! And while they are at school I am doing laundry, cleaning, playing with E and B, puzzles, games, we run errands, shopping, and so much more!
Aidan is in school all day for first grade and so far it isn't too hard for him. At first he was too scared to use the bathroom and he would come home in dire need... But, he is feeling more confident about things. He has made a lot of new friends, but feels discouraged that he can't play more--he is really busy with homework! He has spelling words, math activity and a page of homework each day, plus 20 minutes of reading. It is so much work for him--and ME!
Aidan has also started his music class back up--Green Turtle Shells is the name of this semester. He is learning about intervals, notes, and they start playing on the keyboard this year. He goes to class weekly and practices daily. I go with him to class monthly, so it keeps us busy, but I really love this program. During the summer Aidan would just sit at the piano playing for an hour a day. He has music bursting out of him!
Both boys have started soccer. They have practice once a week (at the same time which is really helpful to me!) and games once a week on the weekend. Weston is really talented. He is getting better and better. At the last game he played the goalie and did a marvelous job (and they were playing a really good team!). Aidan is loving it this year as well. He has a new team and coach, but he has jumped right in.
Weston is now in third grade! He has a male teacher --I am happy about that. I had Mr. Bowen and he was so much fun, I really hope Weston enjoys his teacher just as much as I did. I have just voluteered to be the room parent for the class and I am glad I'll be in there seeing what is happening. Weston doesn't share lots of info of what goes on at school, and this teacher (so far) does not have homework! But I know they are doing a lot--he is learning how to use Excel! By the end of the year he will be doing Power Point. I can't believe what they learn at such a young age. He is also doing multiplication and lots of reading and writing.
Aidan has also started his music class back up--Green Turtle Shells is the name of this semester. He is learning about intervals, notes, and they start playing on the keyboard this year. He goes to class weekly and practices daily. I go with him to class monthly, so it keeps us busy, but I really love this program. During the summer Aidan would just sit at the piano playing for an hour a day. He has music bursting out of him!
Both boys have started soccer. They have practice once a week (at the same time which is really helpful to me!) and games once a week on the weekend. Weston is really talented. He is getting better and better. At the last game he played the goalie and did a marvelous job (and they were playing a really good team!). Aidan is loving it this year as well. He has a new team and coach, but he has jumped right in.
Weston earned his Bobcat and received it at the last pack meeting. We are proud of all the work he is doing. He is very responsible. He has been reading his scriptures nightly--working on the Doctrine and Covenants. Aidan is also VERY good at wanting to read scriptures. He got a little calendar thing to mark off every day he has read the scriptures and he has done almost every day! He is now marking off a Book of Mormon booklet trying to read the entire book.
Other summer things
I don't know why, but I hardly took any photos of the millions of things we did this summer.
In the month of August, Thanksgiving Point has two dollar Tuesdays, so we take a yearly visit to the gardens. I love it. It is beautiful, easy, not crowded, and the kids enjoy it. We went with a few friends and walked for a few hours. There are other things to do as well (Dinosaur Museum, Farm Country, etc), but those usually are a lot more crowded. The last week of August, tradition school had begun, so I took the kids to the Dino Museum, hoping it wouldn't be as crowded. It wasn't, but it was still more crowded than I like. At least it was only two dollars! I only took Brennan and Elise (since W and A are already in shool) and we went with some friends and then after got some ice cream, too.
We decided to take a trip up to Idaho to visit the Barkers during the International Dance Festival. I have such fun memories of that as a child, and I wanted my kids to know what it was like for me. They had some fun little classes for the kids--learning about different countries and learning some of the dances as well. Then there was a performance and the kids got to be a part of it! We got to meet Heidi's dancers from Belgium--they were so nice! I wish we could do something like that here! What a great experience to have people from another country stay in your home! Then we went to Rexburg Rapids and floated around the lazy river 300 times... Although it was short, it was fun!
We have a little resevoir here that wasn't open at the beginning of the summer, so didn't get a lot of visits, but we did go once and play in the sand and water for a few hours. It is fun, but a lot of work to get stuff put together. The kids did take private swim lessons and that was a huge success. Weston is now knee diving off the side and Aidan (with little arm floaters) is all over the pool! We'll do it again next year for sure!
I think we did more lemonade stands than ever before. Once they even made cookies and sold them. We live on a great street with lots of fun friends--in fact, in Weston class at school there are three friends from up the street! The kids play almost daily on their bikes, playing soccer, or pokemon, etc.
During the summer the kids get to bowl free at the local bowling places, so we took an afternoon to throw down the ball. We also took part in the summer reading program at our local library. Weston finished the first Harry Potter books! Now he has started the 39 Clues series. We love visiting the library (especially because once we get home the kids sit and read for well over an hour!).
In the month of August, Thanksgiving Point has two dollar Tuesdays, so we take a yearly visit to the gardens. I love it. It is beautiful, easy, not crowded, and the kids enjoy it. We went with a few friends and walked for a few hours. There are other things to do as well (Dinosaur Museum, Farm Country, etc), but those usually are a lot more crowded. The last week of August, tradition school had begun, so I took the kids to the Dino Museum, hoping it wouldn't be as crowded. It wasn't, but it was still more crowded than I like. At least it was only two dollars! I only took Brennan and Elise (since W and A are already in shool) and we went with some friends and then after got some ice cream, too.
We decided to take a trip up to Idaho to visit the Barkers during the International Dance Festival. I have such fun memories of that as a child, and I wanted my kids to know what it was like for me. They had some fun little classes for the kids--learning about different countries and learning some of the dances as well. Then there was a performance and the kids got to be a part of it! We got to meet Heidi's dancers from Belgium--they were so nice! I wish we could do something like that here! What a great experience to have people from another country stay in your home! Then we went to Rexburg Rapids and floated around the lazy river 300 times... Although it was short, it was fun!
We have a little resevoir here that wasn't open at the beginning of the summer, so didn't get a lot of visits, but we did go once and play in the sand and water for a few hours. It is fun, but a lot of work to get stuff put together. The kids did take private swim lessons and that was a huge success. Weston is now knee diving off the side and Aidan (with little arm floaters) is all over the pool! We'll do it again next year for sure!
I think we did more lemonade stands than ever before. Once they even made cookies and sold them. We live on a great street with lots of fun friends--in fact, in Weston class at school there are three friends from up the street! The kids play almost daily on their bikes, playing soccer, or pokemon, etc.
During the summer the kids get to bowl free at the local bowling places, so we took an afternoon to throw down the ball. We also took part in the summer reading program at our local library. Weston finished the first Harry Potter books! Now he has started the 39 Clues series. We love visiting the library (especially because once we get home the kids sit and read for well over an hour!).
At the Cabin!
Some friends of ours have a family cabin up in the mountains (on 1,600 acres of land!) and they invited us up for a weekend. Our dream is to have our own cabin, so it was very fun, but also very tempting! The cabin was huge with lots of rooms--it could easily fit 50 people (mostly kids...). They had a big shed with several four wheelers which we rode for HOURS. Literally. Elaine took us out to see the mountainside--we had views of several different little valleys and tons of just green. Amazing how much land there is in the world. And how beautiful it all is. The boys were a little hesitant at first, but quickly realized how much fun it could be. Brennan and Aidan especially loved it. They wanted to go faster and faster. While Weston liked it, but he wanted to drive himself!
Elaine (above) is special friends with Elise. She is the nursery "singing lady" and is the only reason Elise will go to nursery. This is Norma (below). We love these ladies. They are wonderful! They sit near us at church and are always willing to help out, plus they give the kids treats and toys!
Here we are near Heber.
Elise took a few trips around the house with daddy.
Not at the cabin, but still on summer fun: We have tried to have a fun filled summer and I think we did a good job! We took an afternoon to make our own ice cream in zip lock bags. If you haven't done this before, you really should. It is easy and fun to do for kids.
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