Thanksgiving

Every Thanksgiving we head to South Dakota to visit Uncle Tim, Aunt Rebecca and their two dogs, Lola and Chance. We have lots of fun too!

We almost ALWAYS take in a hockey game.

We get a bit goofy...

Enjoy those dogs...(this is Chance)

Play at the park...

Enjoyed the Wii with Uncle Tim...

Hadleigh's First TV Commercial!

Hadleigh headed to the K.C. area to film her very first TV commerical!

All went well. We arrived on set at about 2:30 and the crew was on break from filming the mom and dad part all morning. They brought the 3 kids in the house for wardrobe and decked them out in winter coats, ear muffs, mittens, hats, etc. and sent them back outside to keep comfortable. Filming was ready to go at about 3:30 and they shot until about 5:30.

The storyline is a mom and dad shopping online. The dad walks to the window and sees the kids all sitting bundled on the bench in the snow (fake snow) and goes back to the mom to ask what they are doing. She mentions that she told them she was going shopping. They become absorbed w/ the online shopping and the kids come to the door knocking and ringing the doorbell. Hadleigh yells, “It’s really cold out here!”. The boys shout, “I thought we were going to the mall?!”, etc. There’s different scenes of the kids acting bored, sleeping, etc….they don’t know which scenes will make the commercial just yet. Originally the kids had no speaking parts but they were being so good that they decided to give it a try. Seemed like everyone was happy with their performance so it should make the commercial.

The commercial is for a grocery store chain (Giant Eagle) in the Ohio, Pennsylvania areas so we won’t be seeing it on our TV, however, we are supposed to get a link to a streaming feed so we can save to the computer.

This was a pretty big gig for her first round…it’s a union job with SAG (screen actor’s guild) and she’ll receive her base pay and then residuals on it. The producers had flown in from L.A. for the shoot so that was exciting. They set up “house” in a model home in Lee's Summit, blanketed the yard with white sheets and used a snow machine for the flurries. There were caterers with tables of food (kids liked the bowls of candy) and stylists who made sure the hair and makeup was in place and as a bonus we got to keep the wardrobe.

It was all pretty exciting! We can’t wait to see it all put together.

**All this happened about a week after she got "cut" for a Colgate web commercial. She was picked for the gig as the favorite (over 100 tried out) and then cut at the last minute because they changed the dad out and Hadleigh no longer matched. She was devastated so Giant Eagle saved the day in our eyes! She's off to meet Hallmark reps next week so we hope that all goes well.

Time Flies! Let's Start Back at Halloween

Where did we ever leave off? It's been a while....

Halloween was a fun time! Hadleigh dressed up as Dorothy (yes, we're STILL on the Wizard of Oz kick) and Ryker was Scarecrow. We even involved Mr. Higley this year and he received wonderful reviews as Toto!

The Wizard of Oz...Is OVER

Mom is very excited that she now has scheduling control back for our weekends. I'm a bit bummed that the shows are over and look forward to being part of OZ again next year.

'D' is for...

Every week for Kindergarten homework we get to cut out and find photos of items begnning with the letter of the week. Hadleigh really enjoys the challenge and tries really hard to make everything she wants to start with the letter needed.

DADDY

DOG

DESK

DRESS

DOLL

Children's Museum of Omaha

Dad tried out face painting...

Mom fixed it up a bit... Then we got a bit goofy...

Face Impressions of Mom, Dad & Hadleigh

There were lots of costumes to try out!
Performances to put on...
and Puppet Shows!

Farm Animals...probably not intended for riding. Even a kid sized grocery store.
What fun it was being in charge.
There was a cool light room that we spent gobs of time in. That's Hadleigh making angel wings.

It's PURPLE Season!

At Purple Power Play on Poyntz Hadleigh go to try out a real fireman hose, got her face painted, hair colored, played some games, got some goodies....all in 1 hour so she could rush home to her first Wizard of Oz practice. Whew!

Camping at Council Grove

Hadleigh pretends to be a "city" girl, but when it comes down to it she's not afraid to get dirty either. She offered to hand over her entire piggy bank so her daddy would go buy a camper. She LOVED her first camping experience (mom can't believe we waited 5 years for it).

The water was a blast!

Even hangin' out with mom and dad wasn't so bad.

Wearin' whatever I could layer on, uncombed hair & the dirty water were icing on the cake.

And OH the souveniers....a tree frog, big rock, feather, indian beads and seashells all made the trip home with us. She had you convinced she was a prissy thing didn't she?

Lillibelle Fashion Show

This past Monday Hadleigh and mom headed to The Plaza in Kansas City for Ladies Night at The Melting Pot. Hadleigh was invited to model with 2 other girls and boys for the event. It was a casual event which Hadleigh had never experienced...she modeled for the people at their tables while they had their fondue and drinks. It was a bit awkward to begin with but then she made friends with, Bishop (Lillibelle) and they had a good time showing off their digs. Check out the Lillibelle site. Their clothes are rockin'!

We Wish to Welcome You to Munchkin Land!

Tonight Hadleigh tried out for the Columbian Theatre's production of The Wizard of Oz. She really wanted to try out to be Dorothy but knew she was too small. She was content with trying for a munchkin part. Decked out in her Dorothy dress, Hadleigh was 'on' and did FANTASTIC! She was casted, on the spot, to be one of the very important Lullabye League munchkins. We are all so excited for her! Even more exciting is that The Columbian Theatre is the only theatre that features some of the 1939 MGM Munchkin actors in a cameo appearance, on stage, during the munchkin scene. This year Jerry Maren, the munchkin who handed the lollipop to Judy Garland, will be on hand for the first time and Hadleigh will get to be on stage with him (during the weekend of the Oztoberfest only). What a once in a lifetime experience!

Buy your tickets online...shows are selling out! There are 11 dates to choose from beginning September 26th and ending October 12th. Hope we see you there for Miss Hadleigh's debut.

First (and Second) Day of School

Well she did it! Hadleigh started Kindergarten this past Monday and did awesome. It was a bit hard for mommy the first day, but now that she knows Hadleigh is enjoying herself she's okay.





We first had to master bedtime. We're a family of night owls and rarely get to bed before 10:30 or 11:00. The bus arrives at 7:30 so that means we have to get up TOO early (Hadleigh and mommy usually sleep until 8 or 9). Hadleigh also had to attempt a healthy breakfast (she's not much on food first thing). She, again was great, and filled up on Fruit Loops (milk on the side) and a Peanut Butter sandwhich (gotta get that protein).

On the way to school, daddy drove the wrong way down the street. The "unwritten" rule that the Kindergarten parents haven't yet learned got the best of him.

At school, all the parents and kids found their teachers and lined up to wait for the bell to ring. There were tears and excitement all around, but not from Hadleigh. She nervously stretched and yawned and shivered and wouldn't say much of anything to anyone. She swore she wasn't a bit nervous. Mommy and daddy snuck into school to peek in on the class. At first glance all 3 girls (Ryleigh, Hadleigh and Logan) were all chewing their nails. It was dead silent too...bet that won't happen again this year.

Mommy picked her up at 11:20 and she was full of stories about how her day went. She had a blast and EVEN got chocolate milk!

On day #2 we tried the bus route which we hope will be our norm (if we can get up that is). Hadleigh thought the bus was cool and made mom a bit nervous when she got off the bus, saying "they got me all mixed up. my bus number says 6 but I'm really a 12." They put her on the wrong bus home but luckily figured it out before they had left the school. Whew!

Waiting (not so nervous today)

You can see the 'bounce' in her step.She even remembered to stop and look back for mommy's photo opp (what a good girl).And there she goes...on the BIG bus!

Hadleigh will go 1/2 days with no lunch for the next two weeks, then she'll get to stay a couple hours longer and have school lunch for the next two weeks. On week five she'll be a full time student for a very long time. Glad she's allowed to ease into it. We're so proud of her!

SCHOOL POST COMING SOON!

Tomorrow is Hadleigh's 1st day of Kindergarten. Check back soon for photos and thoughts of the day!