Congratulations Amanda (and Bob too!!)

I have very exciting news. Amanda has received the leading role in this year’s production by the Applause Players called, “The Great Penelope” - another original zany script from Miss Laura West. Amanda is very honored and thrilled to receive such an exciting opportunity.

Penelope is a 12-year girl who thinks her life is dull and unfair. When she finds herself in a situation she doesn’t like, she uses her imagination to create the world she wants. But, when she does this, she makes the situation worse. There is quite the cast of characters in this play, including Penelope’s annoying little sister, Emily, and her average, unexciting, loving, yet annoying parents.

Speaking of Penelope’s parents, that leads me to my next exciting announcement. The role of Penelope’s father will played by Amanda’s real-life father… Bob Rice!!! He will be singing and dancing as well.

So, you can’t miss “The Great Penelope.” You are in for a big treat. This full-blown musical comedy production will be presented May 3rd & 4th at the Everett Historic Theater!

Tickets go on sale starting in March at $8.00 general admission, $5.00 for seniors, and are free for children 5 and under. General admission rates goes up in April to $10 and then $12 if purchased in May. I will send out another email in February as a reminder.

Triple Baby Shower

Cousin Susan hosted a triple baby shower at Alyson's home for Ashley (Due Oct. 25), Merri (Due Nov. 1), and Kylee (Due Nov. 15). We are triple blessed and eager for the arrival of these 3 bundles of joy. The mommies-to-be looked great! They put up with the family popparazi!! Congrats!!

Trip to Arizona at the end of August...

The Kids and I spent a week visiting grandma and grandpa in Arizona. Talk about hot, hot, hot!! We didn't have a single day under 110 degrees. So... we spents lots of time staying cool in the pool!!

August Happenings...

August was quite busy. We kicked off the month with a celebration for Jesse. He turned 18 this year!! Boy do I feel old - they grow up so fast. Then Bob did a fabulous job painting our house. It turned out really great. I managed to sneak in some garden time, although not as much as I'd have liked. We also had fun performing at the Taste of Edmonds and hanging with J.P. Patches.

Trip to the ocean in July

We spent a week at the Ocean this year. Our first stop was camping for 2 nights at Kalaloch. The weekend started off quite soggy, but we made the most of it until the sun finally broke through. After that, we headed to Moclipse for 5 nights. We rented a very nice cabin just off the ocean. It was quite windy a lot of the time but very fun. We are still finding sand in our coat pockets even now.

Lazy Street at the 2007 Bite of Seattle

Larry's Band, Lazy Street, Played at the Bite of Seattle. He, Mark, Anthony, Dave, Dennis, & Michael Rocked the Seattle Center. Their fan club did not disappoint. Many family members and friends came out to support the band. Click HERE to see all the photos!

Pesky Deer eating my roses

One of many sightings of deer in our back yard. They love to eat our flowers and even ate the hot peppers Bob was growing. We are not to pleased with these critters turning our back yard garden into a salad bar! But they sure are cute!!

Jasmine’s Birthday Celebration

We Celebrated Jasmine's birthday on July 10. Is was quite the fun filled party. It was a beautiful July day so we started with lunch on the back porch. Before we moved to the living room to open presents, sing happy birthday, and enjoy cake, we headed out to the basketball court to watch Austin and cousin Alex take on dad and grandpa for some 2:2. To see who won, click on the photo to the left to watch the photo show.

Mill Creek Festival 2007

This year's festival was a complete success. We (Applause Studio) sponsored the Family Stage. Bonus, our booth was set up right next to the stage. Our Performance and Dance Teams performed on Saturday and then our Theatre Group performed the Chocolate Factory (Amanda played many roles and I appeared as various living props). Enjoy the video montage I created below! To view all the photos, click HERE to access the online video show and from there, click on "Album!!"

We were in the Bothell 4th of July Parade

We showed our patriotic spirit this year and joined the Applause Studio gang for the Bothell 4th of July parade. It was quite the hot day and I was so impressed that the kids were able to boogie down the whole way. I was about ready to faint and all I did was hand out flyers and candy. Bob walked along side and captured it all on video. Austin helped hand out candy. I also captured some footage. Click HERE to view the video montage!