Opening Night

Opening night was so much fun. This has been such a wonderful experience for the girls. The opportunity to be a part of a large scale production and work with such amazing talent has been truly a blessing. The cast includes Anthony Fedorov, American Idol season four finalist; Jennifer Paz, Broadway performer; James Rocco, Ivey Award winning Director/Choreographer and a whole host of other extremely talented actors and actresses.

(The girls with the lead dancer Bridget Noltimier)

The girls favorite part of the evening was the cast party. What a treat to mingle and talk with everyone. What amazed me was how beautiful and thin the actresses were in person and up close. The stage (and I'm sure this is also true of the camera) is so unforgiving. Don't get me wrong, the actresses were pretty on stage but in person they were stunning. It makes you wonder how an average person would look like.

(Balcony view of the cast party)

Anyway, if you are in town and have a chance to see the show you should absolutely do it. Kong and I were so pleasantly surprised at the funny twist of such a well known story. We laughed throughout the whole show. The music and choreography will make you want to jump to your feet and dance with the cast. The show felt more like a party than a theater production. It was so much fun!

(The girls and Anthony Fedorov)

(Taylor, Ayden and Jennifer Paz)

(Director James Rocco)

Skiing Season Officially Open

Kong took the girls skiing last night. Only the bunny hill and one run was open but they still had a blast. The highlight of the night, Ayden getting major air on a sizable jump. The girls have only skied for two season so it was quite impressive that Ayden felt she was ready to try something so daring. As Ayden approached the jump all eyes, of those on the lift and those near the jump site, were on Ayden. Kong could hear chattering from on lookers of whether this little girl was going to make the jump or turn away at the last minute. She surprised all tose who stopped to watch. Ayden was fearless, made the jump multiple times and never once wiped out. We are looking forward to an awesome season of skiing.

Scanner and Pat Down Haters

What do you think about the new scanner and pat down procedure at the airport? I'm sure no one cares about my opinion but I have to say, I am really sick of hearing people irate about it and the boycott initiatives being reported. It appears that it is people in the racial majority who are really against it (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/24/underpants-beat-airport-body-scanners). Welcome to the inconvenience that people of color endure on a daily basis.

Everyday people of color are profiled for any number of reasons, by police for suspicion of drugs, by airport security for suspicion of terrorism, by retailers for suspicion of shop lifting and the list goes on and on. People are all for profiling when it can help protect them from terrorist threat. That is as long as they are not the group that is being profiled. Now that everyone is being subjected to the same procedure people are whining at epic proportions.

I do not disagree that the pat down procedure is extremely invasive and there are legitimate health concerns for pilots but safety is the number one concern. Pilots aside, it is important for everyone to comply with the new procedure. Bombs are getting smaller and smaller making them harder to detect. Remember the Detroit bomber? Cries that not enough was being done to secure safety filled the airways. Now that more is being done people are complaining again. Is this maddening to anyone else but me?

Yes, yes, I know, terrorist will find a way around this, TSA needs more training, these new rules only create fear, there are more effective tools for bomb detection (ultrasound is one example), etc., etc., etc., we can keep making excuses, do nothing and continue to complain or we can get off our butt and make an effort. Even if we are one step behind the terrorist, isn't that better than being 100 steps behind? We want less intrusive procedures but we don't want the government to spend anymore money so what we want is something for nothing. God bless America.

Here is what I propose. There should always be two separate flights. One for people who do not want to go through the scanner or subject themselves to the pat down procedure and a separate for those who will. Then, if the flights of the scanner and pat down haters comes under terrorist attack then no one should complain, their families can not sue airport security or the airline or blame the government for poor homeland security. Problem solved!

Hardest Working Kids

Rare moments when the girls get to have unscheduled fun time.
(Ayden caught this large mouth bass with her Mickey Mouse fishing pole. Taylor caught all of these perch by herself. Kong and I got nothing on the same day she nabbed these fish.)

I'm sure every one's life is very similar but it just amazes me how busy kids are these days. My girls go non stop from the moment they wake up to the when they go to bed. A day in the life of my girls includes school, theater rehearsal, gymnastics, martial arts, band, brownie, and girl scouts. From 7:30am to 9:30pm they go, go, go, go, go. We are often late getting from one event to the other, the girls eat in the car, do homework whenever there is a spare moment and they rarely get to watch TV.

They love everything that they do and never complain. Well, at least not to me. I wonder if this is too much for them. I regularly remind them that if something they do ever becomes work and is no longer fun, they need to let me know so that we can reevaluate. Everything that they are involved in has been their decision. Taylor had to give up dance and swimming. If she could control time she would add those two activities back into her routine.

As a parent, what do you do? You want to give your children every opportunity yet you also want them to enjoy their childhood. Considering how busy they are, the girls never fall behind on their homework and they are excellent students. The answer doesn't seem to be clear now but I'm sure one day I'll know. That trickster Time, it always has a way of telling.

Wearing Dirndls their dad bought them from Germany.

Interesting Conversation

Last night the girls and I had a conversation about government. Yes, very odd in deed. I can't remember how we got on the subject but we talked about democracy, communism, dictatorships and what it might be like to live in countries with different governments. The girls were shocked that the basic freedom to choose your own thoughts, have your own opinions, choice of foods and goods available for consumption, access to different types entertainment and news, ability to practice religion, and a whole host of other stuff depends on government.

The conversation led the girls into a bunch of tangent questions. The rest of our conversation went was follows.

Taylor: "So...then...what are Republicans?
Kaohly: "They are one of the major political parties in the U.S."
Ayden: "I don't like Republicans."
Kaohly: "Why?"
Ayden: "Because they are bad and always try to scare people."
Kaohly: "Well, not all Republicans do that. We should judge people not by the party they are affiliated with but on their own character."
Ayden: "Are you are Republican?"
Kaohly: "No. I'm a democrat and daddy is an independent."
Ayden: "Then I don't want to me a Republican either!"
Kaohly: "Why don't you wait until you are older to decide what party you want to be affiliated with?"
Ayden: "Well, if you and daddy are not Republican then I will never be one either."
Taylor: "You know Adyen, not all Republicans are bad and not all Democrats are good."
Kaohly: "That's right."
Taylor: "We can't put everyone into the same group. We just need to look at what is important to us and choose based on that. I have a friend who is a Republican and she is really nice."
Kaohly: "That's right, because we don't want to be judged based on our party affiliation so we should not do that to others."

We pulled into the garage and the girls reverted back to their 7 and 11 year old self.

It was really hard not to interject my own bias towards Republicans. I had to remind myself that not all Republicans are on the far right and not all Democrats are far left. Easy to say, hard to do when all the media every does is report what's happening on the extremes of the spectrum.

On a lighter note, we had a wonderful Halloween. The girls really got into decorating the house and carving their pumpkins. I love it now that the girls get really into the holiday. Can't wait for Christmas.

Mid-term Elections

As our civic duty, Kong and I both voted on Tuesday. We tried something new this year. For elected positions that we knew nothing about, we wrote ourselves in as candidates. Kong and I both voted for me as Ramsey County Commissioner and we wrote Kong in as Sheriff. Although we were not surprised to see that we did not win, it was a fun moment on a dreadful day. God bless America! And who said only Republicans could be patriotic?

Continuously Amazed...

Chris (Freak Show) - Taylor is in the green shirt behind Chris during a group dance lesson. Not the best picture but it is the only one that she is in. I'm not allowed to take pictures on set.

My Taylor...I don't know what to say. Taylor has been in Atlanta for the past six days for a movie she is shooting. She has a supporting role and we have no idea if she'll have any lines but she's here and ready to do anything they ask of her. Her intensive dance lessons with Freak Show (Chris) from Royal Flush have been amazing!

In the short time we have been here she continues to amaze me! Taylor's hard work and dedication earned her a spot in the music video. Additionally, she made her opportunity to sing back up on the theme song. After hearing that three of the kids from the movie had been chosen to sing back up. Taylor was really bummed out that the Director didn't remember she could sing. Taylor decided that she would approach the Director to let her know of her desire and talent. I discouraged her from doing this because I wasn't sure she could handle the rejection. Low and behold, after feeling defeated by her own mother, she decided to move forward with her plan.

The next day she stopped the Director and I heard her give the most polite intro possible. Then on the spot the Director asked her to sing. The response...silence. The Director asked her to return to her dance group. An hour later the Director called me outside with Taylor and the Assistant Director. I thought for sure we were in trouble. Taylor was asked to sing for the Assistant who confirmed that Taylor had the right sound. On the spot they told her, "Taylor, apparently we have a spot open for singing back up. You want it?" Of course she said yes.

Sometimes I can't believe this is my child. Taylor is aggressive but in the most mature and polite way. I don't know if any of this will lead to anything. If not it doesn't matter. I'm so proud of her for her willingness to take risks, put her self out there and her perseverance.

If you want to check it out, the movie is on FB. Search for Show Kidz.

Next Project...

Just a quick update as I am scrambling for time. Taylor auditioned for a movie over Memorial weekend and got a part. Since then our lives have been crazy busy. I can see now why stage moms and dads drink and take all of their kid's money : ) Not that I would ever think to do such a thing.

Anyway, it's not as big of a deal as it seems. It's a low budget film called Show Kidz. The production company is shooting for the Camp Rock (Disney, straight to DVD) market. Apparently there is money to be made in this market. Taylor has a supporting role in the film. She will have to act, dance and sing. We will be flying down to Atlanta next Wednesday and staying on location until July 5. A whole month away from Kong and Ayden. Makes me sad just thinking about it.

The exciting part of this is that Taylor will be taking dance lessons and working with the crew of Royal Flush from MTV's ABDC. The dance crew members will also have roles in the movie. Additionally, she will have the chance to shoot the music video with an up and coming Disney star. Taylor has been extremely mature about this whole experience and looking to learn all she can from it.

That's it for now. More to come when we are down in Atlanta.

The run is almost over...

Opening Night!

Today is the last show of the King and I. The girls have had an amazing time. The cast and crew were so wonderful. What a great experience it has been. They are both wondering what their next project should be. I'm dreading it already : )

I don't think I've ever seen the girls so committed to doing something that has required so much of them. They've done a wonderful job keeping up their school work and other obligations. For as young as they are, both girls have showed great professionalism. Last night Ayden had a major nose bleed on stage. She didn't freak out or cry. This was during a scene where she has a spot light moment (Ayden and Mrs. Anna do a dance during "Getting to Know You"). The whole situation was handled so well I don't think the audience even knew what was happening. The entire cast never stopped singing or miss a beat.

I'm so proud of the girls. Here are a few pictures from the run. Enjoy!

Hanging out backstage

Taylor as Little Eva in the Ballet

Presentment of the Children to Mrs. Anna - This is Ayden and her twin, Natalie Tran.

Backstage with Chyanne, Ayden's King and I Mom.

Vegetarian

I recently found out that I have gout. I had my first official attack in the foot (big toe to be specific) on Saturday. Flip flops are my new best friends. I still have a small amount of pain in my foot but it is much better than it was on Sunday. Looking back I think I might have had minor attacks in my hand and my heal but brushed them off to Kuk Sool injuries.

To manage my gout I've gone vegetarian. I've been meat free for five days. So far so good. Unfortuneately there are a lot of non meat foods such as spinich, cauliflower, oats, etc...that are high in purines so I'm really limited on what I can eat. I have a headache but I'm not sure what's the cause. So much going wrong with my body. I'm just falling apart : )

Lutsen

Okay, this is old by now but wanted to post some pictures from our trip to Lutsen. It was a nice experience to be able to hop out of our door and ski down to the lifts.

With such a warm spring a lot of the snow had melted. The slopes were well groomed but early morning skiing was rough. The snow was completely ice in the morning and slushy in the afternoon. I worried a lot on this trip. The slopes are much longer and more challenging. Runs often time changed difficulty levels half way down. You think you are going down a green but once you get to the bottom it's a blue. Being unfamiliar with the runs made me nervous which in turn made the girls scared.

One time Adyen was headed off the run and right into the woods. Even though she was going pretty slow it scared me to death. I raced up to her and grabbed her in the nick of time. We both fell awkwardly right where the run dropped off and just missed the trees. I'm not exactly sure if Ayden was hurt but I was in pain. Am I already too old for this? I hope not.

All-in-all it was still fun. The view was beautiful. We’ll go back next year but during the heart of winter when the snow is best. After that…Taos here we come.

As you can see, there's not much snow.

Breezeway from outside of our door to the run below.
The girls trying to catch up with their dad

Going Up! Much steeper in real ife.

Riding the gondola back to the lodge.

First run of the day. The view was beautiful.

Moose Run. It's a long, smooth run which connects you to some more difficult runs. We did not know that when we decided to take the girls down this route. Where we are headed is mostly blue and black runs. Not a good idea.

I like this picture because you can see Lake Superior in the background.

There is a nice stream that runs through the resort.