Wake Me Up Before you Go Go Back to the 80's!!

This Friday, Saturday and Monday my RHS Music, Dance, Theatre class is performing Back to the 80's: The Totally Awesome Musical at 7:00pm in the high school auditorium. This is a fun, high energy show that has the following songs:

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Footloose

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

You Give Love A Bad Name

I've Had the Time of My Life

and 20 more (including a megamix).

So, come out, wear your acid wash jeans and Michael Jackson glove and pay $6 (for students), $7 (for adults) at 7:00pm and we'll have a great time. See you there! (Seating is limited- doors open at 6:30pm).

Eaton Spring Break 09 Day #4

So Saturday morning was a late start because we were going to California Adventure and they didn't open until 10:00am. I got up early, ran to McDonald's and gave them a healthy McDonald's breakfast instead of our usual Pop-Tarts. Our bodies fortified with Hash Browns, we were off.

Jackie and the girls got in line at California Adventure around 9:15am while I ran over to Magic Kingdom to get a stroller for Millie so we wouldn't waste time in line at Cal. Ad.

When I got back, I found out they were letting us into the park! I told Jackie to run to Soarin with Millie while I run with Ellis to get FastPasses for Tower of Terror. Jackie and Millie took off while Ellis and I ran... and got stopped by a rope gate. The grounds open at 9:30am, but the only ride you can go on is Soarin'. Lame.

Jackie and Millie met up with us having successfully riding Soarin' so it was now off to Monster Inc. ride. With no wait in line, we rode (and it was really cool). The girls liked it so much, they rode a second time (Jackie thinks she rode with Kelly from Beverly Hills 90219 and her mohawked son) while I ran to get 3 FastPasses for Tower of Terror. Running back I passed Mr. Incredible and Goofy in a Hawaiian t-shirt.

We then headed for the Boardwalk and stood in our longest line of the day for Toy Story 4D- which was worth the wait. My score sucked- mainly because I was trying to keep Ellis from falling out and eating her 3-D glasses.

After that, Jackie and I both rode California Screamin using the single rider pass. We both got on and off quite quickly. Then it was off to the Disney Playhouse Live Show. While Jackie and the girls stood in line to watch a glorified puppet show with Handy Manny and Little Einsteins- I ran and got FastPasses for Grizzly River Run and then rode Tower of Terror twice.

After Disney Playhouse, we ate and then got in line to see Aladdin- the live show. Somehow we ended up with amazing seats- and the show was great- except at that point, Ellis lost all control and I had to leave the theatre with her with 10 minutes remaining. It was great though.

After that we went and looked at Flik's Fun Fair (didn't ride anything), the Little Bear playarea (which was kind of like a Disney Scout Camp- the girls loved it) while I bought a plastic poncho so I would not get drenched on Grizzly. After riding Grizzly by myself (with 6 fun strangers), Jackie rode it (using my poncho) and then we ran to Ariel's Grotto for Millie's special, really expensive dinner with the princesses.

Millie only had 2 melt-downs at the dinner and Ellis refused to sit still, but it was still fun. All of the princesses were really nice (Millie thought they were going to sit down and eat with us)- and the food was good. The best part was the poor actor to had to stand and sing and announce each princess as they entered. It's how and where I want to serve my Senior Mission.

After that it was all a blur of melt-downs and tired children- but it wasn't horrible and we would still do it again. We went on Tough to Be A Bug (we sat near the back in case the girls got scared but they were fine), Animation Studio (we wish we spent more time here- talking to Crush the Turtle was awesome and Millie loved The Beast's library) and Muppet's 3D. We had done most of the stuff so it was time to go home and crash- early this time. The next day (Easter Sunday) was our day of rest and we were going to use it.

Eaton Spring Break 09 Day #3

There was a grey sky over Anaheim as the Eaton family walked to the gates of the happiest land around. Since the park didn't open until 8:00am, we slept in a bit- but seeing as it was Millie's 4th birthday, I had to stand in line at the ticket booth while Jackie and the girls stood at the gate. I had to show Millie's birth certificate and her pass to get a voucher to get our birthday family FastPasses for the day.

After that, I met up with the girls in line (by 7:45am) with Millie already saying she wanted to go back to the hotel. So far a Happy Birthday!

The gates opened and in we ran. Jackie clutched the girls to her bosom and ran to the Information Desk to get the physical fast passes. I ran to the strollers. While Jackie handed out the birthday button to Millie, I ran to Space Mountain to get regular FastPasses for Jackie and myself. We met up at The Matterhorn and tried to convince Millie to ride but all she wanted was to go sleep some more. More Happy Birthday!

The Matterhorn attendant allowed us to do a child swap so I rode, then Jackie rode while I took the girls (twice!) on the Teacups. Thank heavens for this ride because it put the girls in a happy state of mind. After Teacups, we met up with Jackie and rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. we barely made it through before the ride broke down. After that, we rode Snow White (which is less Snow White and more lots of creepy forest). Then, because it was Millie's birthday, we rode Dumbo again (before the lines were awful) and, in tribute to Jackie's childhood memories, The Storybook Canals.

We popped into the Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique and Millie got to choose a Princess necklace for her birthday. She chose Sleeping Beauty- and declared that the boutique was her favorite ride.

After that, we needed a snack break so the girls sat by Indiana Jones while I rode using the first of Millie's birthday Fastpasses (thanks Millie!)- I was about to step into the Jeep, when the ride broke for 15 minutes. After I rode, Jackie rode while I took the girls into The Enchanted Tikki Room- where we watched birds, water and tikki idols sing nonsensical songs- but the indoor rain effect was cool.

After that, it was off to meet Winnie the Pooh and ride that ride again. Pooh was very friendly and gave Millie a big birthday hug. I then ran over to ride Big Thunder Mountain- which was great.

After that it was lunch. At 11:00am I had made reservations for the family to eat at Cafe Orleans at noon. I asked if they could add the special birthday princess cake and treasure chest for Millie's birthday and the hostess said they could- the princess cake was available at all sit down restaurants. At noon, tired and overwhelmed by tropical birds and water singing the songs of Polynesia to them, the girls were in near-meltdown mode- we needed food and birthday treats NOW.

We sat down and ordered drinks and fries- and I confirmed with out server that they could bring out the cake at the end of the meal. He informed me that they didn't have any. At that point, Ellis was standing up in her high chair waving her arms and Millie had finished her chocolate milk in one gulp and was saying "I want to go home." I politely but firmly told our server to get that cake NOW and that the hostess had confirmed they had it. We ordered our food and our server proceeded to wander the entire park to find the princess cake and treasure chest. After eating (I had the seafood crepes and Jackie had the Monte Cristo sandwich), Millie opened her special, magical Princess treasure chest to find... nothing (we told her it was filled with Disney magic). It was empty.

At this point, Ellis was seconds away from stripping off all of her clothes and pooping on the floor. Off we went to use our morning Fastpasses on Space Mountain (but right before, Jackie used a FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain). On the way, we stopped by the Carnation Cafe where a big birthday bash was going on- and I ran up to ask where we could get the treasure for the treasure chest. Not only did the host get Millie her treasure (a princess mirror), but he gave her 3 buttons and made her an honorary citizen of Disneyland.

We then went over to Space Mountain where Jackie rode (and Millie, Ellis and I played in the game center- Millie won a orange bear from the "claw machine") and then I rode. It was then home for naps.

After naps, we went back to the park to see the parade. We went back by Small World and watched Chip (or Dale) in drag (along with other Disney characters) gyrate to You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray (?). Everyone was happy because they had cotton candy and Diet Coke (I purchased the Coke from the angriest Disney employee- someone bought a souvenir straw and it didn't fit the drink. His answer? Tough).

After the parade, it was It's A Small World (Millie's birthday ride), Roger Rabbit (again, with Millie's FastPasses), and Autopia (with Millie's FastPasses). At 8:45pm, we ran over to California Adventure to use the final FastPass on Soarin Over California. I thought the park closed at 10:00pm, but it actually closed at 9:00pm so Millie and I were the last people admitted onto the ride (FastPass rocks). A Disney employee felt bad that Jackie couldn't child swap so he gave her a family FastPass for the ride valid the next day. Millie and I soared over California (she loved it- except the fireworks at the end- but at least Tinkerbell was in them).

As we dragged our carcasses home (at 9:30pm), the Disneyland fireworks went off. We told Millie they were her special birthday fireworks. She replied, "I don't like fireworks." Happy 4th Birthday Millie. (And though it looked like it would rain the entire day, it never happened).

Overheard at WICKED

A brief intermission in the Disney saga (which I WILL finish this week).

Overheard from a gentleman during intermission at the Wicked musical in Salt Lake City last night:

I think I would feel more connection to this if I had a vagina.

Discuss.

Eaton Spring Break 09 Day #2

5:00am. Amazingly, Jackie is the first one up (propelled by the spirit of Walt) and into the shower. While Jackie showers, I wake up the girls with the scent of strawberry Pop-Tarts. After a quick breakfast, we are out the door at 6:00am ready for the House the Mouse built.

The sun was just starting to come up as we walked, alone, into the ticketing area. No one was stationed at any bag check tables so we wandered around the plaza between California Adventure and the Magic Kingdom until an elderly couple came up to us and said we needed to wait outside the bag check area. The couple seemed like an elderly mission couple on Temple Square (and since I served in the Anaheim California Mission, I think it's a real possibility that some of our senior couples served at the Magic Kingdom). After waiting until 6:30am, the bag checkers checked our backpack (filled with animal crackers, Yogos, fruit snacks and water) we were off to wait for another 1/2 hour outside the admittance gate (#16). At this point, Millie announced that she was tired and wanted to go home.

After the countdown, in we raced to rent stroller for the day for Millie (Ellis was already in her umbrella stroller). The Eaton family ran through Sleeping Beauty's castle- Millie wanted to stop but we were on a mission. We were here for fun dammit!

So, in that early "magic hour" of 7:00am we rode:

Alice in Wonderland (first on the ride- I had never ridden it before. It was strange).

Dumbo (amazingly, this was also my first time riding. Pretty fun. I tried to get Jackie stuck in a elephant by herself, but she kept Ellis with her).

Peter Pan (the longest line- still kept moving though. Millie kept looking for Tinkerbell).

Pinocchio (fun because Millie just watched the movie with me).

Carousel (it's a Carousel- but it plays Disney tunes).

Casey Jr. (I thought we wouldn't make it on but they shoved us with another family into some sort of animal cage. I wish I had taken a picture).

So- 6 rides in a hour- not bad at all. It was a little overcast- but so far no rain. They then opened the rest of the park and we then went on:

Splash Mountain (because it was kind of cold, there was no line and they put me in a log by myself. I sat in the middle and didn't get wet at all. I also felt kind of like a sex offender riding this ride alone...and with empty logs in front of me and behind me...) While I rode, Jackie and the girls rode the Winnie the Pooh ride two times in a row. Then we switched and I rode Pooh (withe the girls again- that would have been Really weird to ride in a honey pot all by myself) and Jackie rode Splash (but not alone. She nobly acted as a shield for others on the ride).

Haunted Mansion (Everyone did fine. It was fun answering Millie's questions like: why does that person's head come off?)

Pirates of the Caribbean (Millie got wet and there were tears).

Jungle Cruise (Does the narration get worse over the years?)

After all that, we had a break and I went to check out Indiana Jones. This is when we ran into Spring Break crowds- the line was spilling out to the Tiki Room so I grabbed 3 Fast Passes for later.

We then headed on the train to Toontown- where we did:

Roger Rabbit (really fun- even when it broke down and we sat for 10 minutes waiting to be rescued. We then got to go again).

Goofy's House

Mickey's House (where Ellis fouled herself waiting in line for Mickey)

Donald's Boat

Chip N' Dale's Tree (I hit my head hard on a ceiling)

then it was off for:

Small World (really long- but the kids loved it and it was fun seeing the kid sized versions of Disney Characters).

We then caught the train to Tomorrowland where I got FastPasses for Autopia and we had lunch with 1/2 the park by the Jedi Knight Training Stage. By then the park was bursting so we went back to the hotel for naps. After naps we went back and did:

Finding Nemo (this was by far the longest wait- at least 60 min. but we tried to hit it when the parade was going. The ride is worth it if you bring: candy ring-pops for the girls and bubbles for the family behind you whose children are having melt-downs).

After Nemo it was FastPass Autopia (where Millie drove like an 80 year old drunk man- or a 3 year old) and then it was back over to Indiana. At that point, everyone was done and Millie kept screaming "I want to go home" and Ellis's eyes had pretty much rolled back in her head so I grabbed the Pineapple Tiki Room Ice Cream while Jackie pawned our Indiana Fastpasses to a family- who then told us the Fastpass line was really short. Oh well.

Jackie took the girls back while I went to Millie's (like a poor cousin to Marie Callendars) and got dinner. Of course when I got back, the girls had a second wind and were bouncing on the bed with joy and delight. The girls (Jackie included) ate their macaroni and cheese while I ate my steak followed by all of us passing out cold. Our first day at the park was done!

Eaton Spring Break 09 Day #1

So Wednesday afternoon, the girls came and picked me up at school and off we went to the airport. The Eaton's were off on our Spring Break Disneyland adventure. Of course, two days earlier we decided to put our house up for sale, Jackie closed All Shook Up, Jackie's parent's came out to stay at our house (where we quickly put them to work doing odd-jobs) to see Jackie in her show and Jackie painted and boxed up half the house. The packing was very simple for our trip- whatever Jackie hadn't already boxed up and put in storage, that's what we could take.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time anticipating horrible lines- but we made it through check-in and security with only 2 melt downs (#1- Millie saying goodbye to her Princess luggage and it went to be X-Rayed- or to the "suitcase doctor" #2- taking off her Crocs to walk through the security scanner).

At the gate, I quickly abandoned the girls to pick up necessities: bottled water, milk for Ellis (you can always count on Starbucks), Diet Coke for Jackie, Coke for me and People and US magazines- for everyone. While we waited at the gate, Millie and Ellis terrorized fellow travelers by running around with the stroller- and we didn't care.

On the plane trip to LAX, Jackie came well-prepared with a bag of tricks. Ellis liked looking out the window for 0.2 seconds- and after that she wanted whatever Millie had. My Ipod- fully loaded with episodes of Little Einsteins lasted 2 episodes- after which the battery croaked.

After the plane ride, we collected our baggage and we were off to board the Disneyland Express bus. On the bus (with luckily only about 8 other travelers), Ellis proceeded to have melt-downs #1,2,3 and 4 until I held her on my lap on the back of the bus until she fell asleep. Millie drained the Ipod of whatever life was left until we got to the Disneyland Hotel- not our final destination. It was at that point (1 minute away from our hotel) that I realized that I never received a confirmation number from my online reservation- all I had was my receipt. I quickly had Jackie call the company while the collector came down the row to collect the confirmation tickets (which I didn't have). Jackie got no help from the company so I tried to look as pitiful as possible (which was helped by a sleeping 1-year old on my lap) and the guy took my receipt and gave us a return confirmation ticket for our round-trip bus ride. Yay!

We arrived at the Howard Johnson Anaheim and got our room. Everyone was beyond tired but we trudged over to the Disneyland ticket booth to get our 3 Day Park Hopper Passes- the day before (so we didn't have to stand in line the next morning). We stopped at McDonald's walking back to the hotel (where Ellis's proceeded to only eat ketchup).
As we put the girls to bed, we realized that Ellis could not sleep in the same room with Millie. All Ellis would do is bounce up and down in her crib and make Millie laugh. So, we put put her in closet. The crib barely fit, (and Ellis could open and close the door if she chose to), but peace finally arrived when we put her in the closet and closed the door. The Eaton's were fast asleep at 8:30pm eagerly awaiting our 5:00am wake up call the next morning. Our Disney dreams were about to come true.

Things I Am...

LIKING:

• Rubio's Fish Tacos. When I eat them I can ignore the snow on the ground and pretend I'm at the beach.
• The fact that the Count is divorcing the Countess (RHWNYC). Maybe it'll take her down a peg or two. Doubtful.
• Beyond Glaze's Chocolate Peanut Butter doughnuts.
• The fact that Netflix delivered 3 brand new releases on Tuesday.
• This season of Lost.
• The new Fablehaven book.
• The last song of Act 1 in the Shrek musical. I also like the song Let Your Freak Flag Wave.
• Planning our Spring Break Disneyland trip. It's going to be crazy- but anything is possible when Jackie doesn't have a broken elbow.
• Webelos. It's not as scary as I thought. When they get crazy, you just take them into the cultural hall and have them run laps. You can tell them it's for their Athletic badge.
• My choreographers for my Back to the 80's musical. Janessa, Brooke and Kori rock. I am behind on blocking though.
• Jackie being in All Shook Up. Today is her final performance- she'll miss it because she rocked the socks off the role of Matilda (to quote Neal the director, Jackie is Matilda. My little Mamie Eisenhower).
• The fact that we have all of Leverage, Burn Notice and the final season of Battlestar Gallatica ready for viewing on our DVR.
• Kevin as the new receptionist on The Office- and the fact that all these actors from The Wire are showing up on tons of shows (including The Office).
• Miranda Sings. Badly. And it's hilarious.
• That we had almost everyone from Region Drama qualify for State. The most ever!

DISLIKING

• Ellis's obsession with Dan Zane's Jump Up song. We try others (the soundtrack to Annie), but it cannot replace Dan in her mind.
• All the stupid quizzes on Facebook. I know how to hide them, but they're still a pain.
• Our laundry room cabinet door handles. They take about 40 min. (10 swear words in Jackie-Time) each to put on. 1 more to go.
• PMS (not mine...)
• The fact that the father and son got kicked off The Amazing Race.
• Spackling.
• Peeps.
• Jackie hiding everything into nooks and crannies because we are putting our house up for sale.
• The fact that I can't buy episodes of Charlie and Lola to put on the Ipod for the plane flight to California.

Proper Vocal Technique

For all of you singers (or wannabe singers out there), you can now take lessons on Youtube with highly qualified professionals. The following is a teacher I highly recommend. I suggest you do not watch this around a lot of people unless you want them wondering what in the world you are watching.


This is actually an actress named Coleen Ballinger that has a vlog with this character named Miranda. Check out her Voice Lesson clip on Youtube. So many people take her seriously (because she is very similar to other "singers" on Youtube).