WHEW!!

Boy, today marks the end of a whirlwind couple of weeks since the show closed. Holy smokes! Working, talk show, headshots, meetings, casting workshops, sacrament meeting talks, YW lessons, a trip home to AZ, my head is still dizzy trying to process it all! It's been nuts!

Here's my best attempt at a recap:

This was pretty awesome. I was on The Bonnie Hunt show! Crazy, right? They needed a Muno (the tall red cucumber guy on Yo Gabba Gabba! Not familiar? Watch the show--your kids will love it. Not a prediction--scientifically proven) for the talk show's "Kids Day" taping and I fit the bill! Well, sort of. The costume is usually worn by a 6'0 man so the very kind costumers put these 2-inch foam lifts on the bottom of my tennies and boom! Muno Moffat!

Sounds pretty simple, right? Well being Muno took a bit of preparation, I'll have you know. This is the first time in my experience I have ever played a male. I had to masculinize all of my movements and study the tape from previous episodes to learn Muno's mannerisms and choreography. I went down to the Downey Studio the day before so I could practice walking, dancing, jumping, box-stepping in the costume and to get used to exaggerating all my movements in a fully-encased costume, all so I would hopefully not flip out when I had to add the kids, the cameras, the Bonnie Hunt/national television factor, and the actual choreography. That's right, folks. We didn't learn the choreography until we showed up the day of filming. No pressure!!

We taped two segments: The Name Game, which aired Nov. 4, and the Christmas segment which will air sometime in December. Set your TiVos people. Can't give you any more specifics than that for now. You'll just have to watch Bonnie every day in December. ;)

At the end of all of it, I can say it was SUPER, SUPER FUN! Everyone at Yo Gabba was super nice, everyone at The Bonnie Hunt show was super nice and I am still pinching myself for the opportunity. And they treat you like royalty! The show had Bonnie Hunt show sweaters for all of us in the dressings room, gave us goodie bags, and the thing I found the most impressive: Ms. Bonnie Hunt personally wrote each of us a "Thank You" note for being on the show. I knew if she was writing one for me, she was writing one for every single guest on her show. Talk about classy!



Whew, what else? We went home to AZ last weekend! Tomorrow I start rehearsals for Seussical which leave a break just for Thanksgiving Day, so we decided to visit the families when we caught a quick weekend. This is Evie and me, and the little blur in the front is Iris who has decided to start walking (and talking) since we left. Can't believe the nerve of that little miss thinking she can grow up so fast. I want to be able to hold them in my laps forever.


Of course, I do take some solace in the fact that I am becoming an increasingly prolific aunt, through no effort of my own. The nieces and nephews (that's right! Nephew is now plural thanks to Rich & Lo's little Parker born Oct. 28) keep rolling in! It's pretty flippin' awesome!



Check out those fabulous lips!! Sooo juicy! I just love 'em! She, Chantelle, was nice enough to let me hold her and feed her in the living room of the Moffats home for a good portion of the evening we were over there. I remember doing the same thing with her older sister McKenna and just treasuring that time with her. Gotta brain wash 'em early that I'm their favorite. I'm not there so often to plead my case in person. ;)








Devlin, being a crazy, loveable monkey as usual.









Maddi with her sexy new 'do, proud Papa Parker (and husband of 35 years--congrats!), and the little gem captivating all of us with her adorable consciousness, something I hear is evidently rare at the Moffat home. She must be appealing to her favorite aunt. What? It's only logical.

Perhaps it's the recent residue of sacrament talk duty, perhaps it's that November time of the year, and perhaps it's just because I feel it like saying it, but I am so, so grateful for all the wonderful blessings in my life. I can't believe how much has worked together for our good in the past couple of months. It is completely amazing to me. The outpouring of answers for the more-than-I'd-like-to-admit tear-stained prayers we've offered this year are almost overwhelming. I have learned so much about faith and trust in the Lord and his time table through the difficult challenges we've faced this year, more perhaps than through any other experience in my life. I'm so happy to be in a place where I am truly grateful that we both have one more month of work, and to be genuinely without worry for what happens in January, where I'm grateful to live in a 200 sq. ft. motel room because it meets our needs and we are together. I'm grateful to be in a place where I'm happy to only have dishes for two people because the tiny sink never piles up with overwhelming dirty dishes! I feel stronger. I feel a very real sense of greater personal strength through all of this. We've come a long way in one year. I am amazed, and pleasantly surprised, with what I can live without and be happy. Everything that is really important in life surrounds me in abundance. This adjusted and much-improved outlook is a recognized gift and I consider it a wonderful way to spend the Thanksgiving season.








That and my newly-purchased quarter-gallon of egg nog. YUM!!