so you think you can wait

Last month Bret and I went up to Seattle. Shortly before we left I found out that So You Think You Can Dance tryouts happened to be there that weekend. I talked to a friend of mine (who actually is a professional dancer) that tried out last year and asked her if I should do it for fun, preferably without making a fool of myself. She emphatically suggested that I go, saying it was highly entertaining. So, what the heck? I did it.


Let me first say that I didn't make it. I knew all along that I wouldn't but according to my friend, trying out would be well worth it regardless of what happened. How right she was.

Yes, there was a lot of waiting involved. Two hours outside in the rain (Bret was sweet and waited with me until I got in the theater which he was not allowed to enter) and then another seven hours sitting in a seat in the theater auditorium waiting for my turn-- I must have heard Poker Face and Flo Rida's Right Round at least a million times. It was actually pretty awesome though cause I got to watch everyone in front of me try out on stage, which was well over half the people there. It was basically seven hours of quality entertainment with some of the most incredible (and in some cases, weird) dancing I'd ever seen. I kept wishing Bret had pretended to try out so he at least could have watched it all with me.

Here are some highlights:
- seeing the host, past dancers, judges and choreographers from the show.
- one girl fell on her face while trying out, knocking out a tooth. sad, but true.
- there was this girl who tried out that didn't have developed limbs, so basically she only had arms to her elbows and legs to her knees but she was honestly an incredible dancer. You'll have to watch for her.
- making friends with the edgy dancer-types (or at least pretending to fit in).
- for those of you who have watched past tryout episodes from this show, 'Sex' and his mom were there. He was behind me in line though so I unfortunately didn't get to see him try out. For those of you who don't watch the show, this picture may help.

I didn't take this picture, unfortunately cameras and phones were strictly forbidden, otherwise I would probably have taken some doozies. I did take this video while in line outside which should give you just a small taste of what my day was like, complete with obnoxious pink guy in the background. I was lucky enough to have him sit behind me all day. (please notice the falling on the face)

Although Bret doesn't believe me, I have no memory whatsoever of what I did during my 30 seconds of fame (/shame) except that it was quite the high being up there... and then suddenly I was shown the back alley door. All in all though it was an experience to remember.

I see it this way: one day I'll be playing that game "have you ever" with a group of people and someone will say "I've never tried out for a reality show"? At that point I can say, "Why yes, I have."

HANDS DOWN - BEST ALBUM ARTWORK EVER!

I just wanted to say that I love the itunes single of the week, "Walking On A Dream" by Empire of the Sun --- It's a breath of fresh air, I don't care if you hate it. And if you don't like the song, at least you will love the album artwork. I mean...it's absolutely incredible. These guys are geniuses.

easter

Easter was really great this year, even better than normal because everyone was in town for once. Here are some fun pictures I took of our egg hunt.

bubbles

(You probably noticed that all the kids were matching. That's typical Udall fashion).

do you cha cha?

So Bret and I were chatting late last night and he told me about this texting service called cha cha. I'm sure most of you have heard of this but I tend to be behind the times. I guess if you text any question to cha cha (242242, standard messaging rates apply) they'll respond promptly with an educated answer. Apparently it's great for those nagging questions you want answered quickly like when did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? or who starred in the movie Sixteen Candles?

We asked this question:

Who would win in a fight, a jack rabbit or a possum?

Six minutes later we received this reply:

A jack rabbit is faster, but the opossum can play dead therefore he'd probably win cause the jack rabbit would walk away.

Forget Google. I've found a new fount of knowledge.

talent in the family

I think I’ve already mentioned here once before that my talented sister Amy has a really great quilting blog. Well, this week she is the guest mom on the blog, Design Mom.

Go here to see all the fun posts she’s done on that blog and here to see her own blog. She has been and will be featured everyday this week so be sure to check out all of her posts. She’s got great taste in fabrics and wonderful ideas for both quilts and other fabric-using crafts. I continue to marvel at how she can do so much while being such a busy and effective mother.

conference weekend

We had a great conference weekend. Our friends, the Wilsons, needed to move their things into storage down at Caitlin's parent's ranch in Southern Utah so we and Scotts went to help. After unloading and packing everything safely away, we spent the rest of our time watching conference, four-wheeling, playing nerts and eating ourselves silly.




Bret got sprayed with mud. He looks cute with freckles.

This is how we spent most of our time, making and eating food.
This is good.


We stopped in St. George on our way home so the girls could soak up some sun and the boys could get their wiggles out.

waiting for the weekend

Do you have a bad case of the Friday afternoons? I do. I just want to go home and play with my little niece Norah who came to town today. Here’s some fun things to get you by until the weekend officially begins.

This game is tricky and highly addicting. It's called Escapa! (which reminded me of Finding Nemo). My highest score is 21 seconds but a girl in our customer service department got 32 seconds, so I hear. Play it here.

Those who know me well know how much I enjoy Art History. I took this quiz that I found on How about Orange to test my skills. I was pleased with the results.

a second chance

I’ve been fighting this for way too long and I don’t think I want to anymore. You see I never fully understood those country music lovers; never got why someone would be so excited about a Rascal Flatts or Keith Urban concert. Because it’s true that those that like country, love it. I’m just not one of those people. It would be unfair for me to say I never liked country music at all. There were always those days of idolizing the Dixie Chicks and who could pass up a Garth Brooks tune now and then? That I could handle—heck, I choreographed a dance to Alison Kraus in high school. It’s those ultra twangy songs that you listen to and wonder “who the heck sings about juice boxes?” that I have a hard time with.

Lately though I've decided to give country music a second chance. I don’t want to hate it. I mean people must love country music for a reason, right? So I’m not fighting it anymore, in fact I’m embracing it. I compare it to a time long ago when I trained myself to like V8 juice. I forced myself to drink glass after glass until I could tolerate it and eventually enjoy it. I’ve taken that same approach this time, forcing myself to listen to country music stations for my entire 40 minute commute to and from work. I guess you could say I’m swimming in it, soaking it all up. We’ll see how long it lasts before my fingers get all pruney and I can’t take it anymore.

I blame that Taylor Swift and her catchy ballads.

seattle

Bret and I spent our last week of March up in beautiful Seattle. He had a couple of interviews up there that week but his sister also lives in nearby Kirkland and we worked it out so that the rest of his siblings and their spouses could meet up with us for a few days, too. It turned into a great little trip. I feel bad that I didn't take many pictures of us with Bret's family while we there. I guess I just didn't feel like being that annoying person who needs to take pictures incessantly for the blog (I'm usually this person you see).

At the Seattle (Woodland Park) Zoo.



Kirkland. It's magical. Please notice the girl captured in mid-air and the couple looking into each others eyes.Some punk teens laughed at me for this. I was offended at the time but now that I see it myself I confess I would have done the same.While Bret was interviewing in downtown Seattle one day, I seized the opportunity to really explore the city. I walked all over town, visiting the typical sites like Pike's Market (where I tried some chocolate pasta-very good), the funky-looking glass library, the wharf and some of the best antique stores around. I also spent a good hour in the famous local bookstore, Elliott Bay Book Company.

I'm a fan of that show Cities of the Underworld on the history channel, so I indulged in my history-loving/Indiana Jones-wannabe side and went on an underground tour of Seattle.

I got to learn neat things from this guy like about the ghost who guards the old bank vault and why toilets are called crappers (I'd be happy to let you know if you're curious).

While walking around town I saw a tough looking guy wearing a kilt, I thought that was weird but then I saw this a couple blocks away. Apparently that's in?

We had a great trip, especially all the time we got to spend with Bret's family. A special thanks to Lynette for letting us stay with her! The more I saw of Seattle and particularly the surrounding cities, the more I grew to love it. I guess we'll see, huh?

celebrating bret's birth

For the past four years Bret has had a birthday prom celebration. Traditionally on this night we dress up in prom clothes from one generation or another (my first year was 80s) and eat at the Skybox. Although we stuck to the venue location we didn't require any dressing up this year (Bret and I did anyway). We did, however, take the customary prom pictures of the attendees...

Thanks to everyone who came, it was one of the best proms in history.
(get ready for a lot of pictures)

the exchanging of gifts

The Christensens
The Cramers. Great "do" Scott.
The Wilsons
Matt wanted me to take this picture quickly for some reason.

Caitlin and Meriel
Miss Molly. This girl has the funniest blog I know.

The ScottsUs. We were going for a twenties look. whatever.The Longs
BJ and Julia
The Vittoris
The boys ended the night with a few games of ball

An all-a-round great picture.