DIg It, Jack!

So Lily decided to audition for the spring musical this year.  It was a collaboration between 2 local schools and she got not one but 2 different roles.  I had no intention of getting involved because life is chaotic, but within a couple weeks of rehearsals Lily all but begged me to help so I dove in full force!

The musical is a production about ancient civilizations and it was a blast to put it together.  Even though it was entirely chaotic

In three weeks I went from not knowing one song to basically co directing. Not gonna lie, it was a bit stressful!  But we did it and successfully completed our 4 performances.

 

Lily crushed it as Cleopatra and Cleo's crew while also playing Romulus in the Rome scene.  Lily participated in every rehearsal and even the extra ones, took a leadership role, and really had a blast.  I was so proud of her.

Lily got the Glue Award because she was quite literally the glue that held many of the scenes together.  She was so committed and man can the girl project!  She had a bold competency up on that stage and I couldn't help but feel super responsible for it!

Memaw and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa Hill, the Hills, the Cheney's, and the Moody's all came to see her.  

I hope this will be the first of many theatre productions in our future.  Lily is already going through withdrawls from not rehearsing.

Meanwhile I am in full blown recovery mode.  (being around 40 kids for 3 weeks straight put me flat on my back!)  

2nd Annual Hawes Hall Half Marathon 2022

During COVID Bob put together an underground half marathon out on our trails.  Well this year he got asked to do it again and man alive did he make it hard!  We had several people who were super excited to do it and last minute bailed so our group was fairly small but mighty.

Bob truly enjoys the challenge of seeing how many vertical feet he can successfully put in the 13.1 mile distance.  This year was no different and he made the distance a heavy half (15 miles) with an elevation gain of over 3500 feet.  WOW.

There truly is not bad day on the trails out here and the desert is just spectacular.  Bob, Travis, and Kirk took off right out of the gate while Rafi, Katie, and I took up the rear.  They were cruising and the speed they can put down out in the desert is impressive!

The last 3 miles of the race was up the Chimney shoot of Usery Pass.  It is an insane climb that even has some rock scrambling in it.

The view from the top, however, is simply uncomparable and it was a blast to be counted amongst the group that finished!

Bob knows me so well, and even got us virtual run race medals.  I love this one and hung it with pride.  That 13.1 was for the record books! 

Spring Break 2022

Good Lord,  Its April 10th and I am still not past our Spring Break! YIKES.  As always life is busy, very busy and I find myself feeling very behind most of the days.  Oh to be on top of things again.

Spring Break was spent up in the mountains with Memaw and Papa.  We ended up spending nearly a full week with them and we had a great time!  Papa even skiied!

This was our first official road trip in the new van and let me tell you, its AMAZING!  Having come from the prius, our little family felt like we had all the space in the world.  We were really hoping that with more space Ellie wouldn't be such a nut in the car, but alas, that was not to be the case. Neurotic dog she still was, but at least we all had more space to put up with her!

We stopped at the rim on our way up to see some snow.  You know you are from Phoenix when you have shorts and flip flops in snow.

We decided to spend 2 back to back days skiing and I am so glad we did.  When they have snow, the Sunrise Resort in March is wonderful.  Its super affordable and has very few people.  It truly is a unique experience!

Both girls found their skiing legs very fast and we are all off to the races!  

It was really exciting because this year Papa joined us.  With a fused back, bionic hip, and bionic knee, we weren't sure we would ever get him back up on the slopes, but honestly?.......once he got his confidence he was skiing better than some of us!  

Evie never wants poles, but then relies on everyone else to get her places.  Smartie pants.  I am a snowboarder this year so absolutely no help to her so it falls to Bob and Lily (my plan to phase myselve out completely is nearly complete.

Our first day on the mountain was spectacular with very few people.  The sun was shining and the slopes were beautiful!

Bob and I toodled off on our own for a few runs and tackled the backside of the mountain.  If you get all the way up and over to this side you might run into 3 people....if its busy.  This is the beauty of this resort.

I mean, for reals, the mountain was ours on a couple of runs.

On day two we all got a little bit more adventurous and decided to up our game to some blue runs.  The first one was rough and I had to threaten to leave my screaming children on the side of the mountain if they didn't calm down and think......but we made it down and they realized that, oh yes, in fact, they are capable of navigating the steeper terrain.

Couldn't keep them off the blues after that!

Bob and I once again went off on our own for a hot second and discovered some other less travelled routes.  We even met a Ski Patrol guy who talked to us for a good 20  minutes about the park and the history.  The best part is that he knew of my Mom's family which was kind of cool. The Terrells were part of the founding members of this ski resort and my Mom can remember countless seasons on the slopes.

We had a great time and everyone finished with a smile on their face!

We spent the next couple of days hanging out, doing yoga, playing with Sadie, playing games.....and working on the "Tiny" House my parents are building.  Bob ended up putting the entire roof on while we were up there.....whew.

We girls played in the snow and tried to find some sledding.  The snow was slim pickin's so we made snow angels and had snowball fights.

Spring Break went by quick and we all had a blast.  We had to come home and sleep for a week!