Ice Cream, Le Miserables and Summer Fun!

What a fantistically fast paced summer we are having already! I can't believe it is nearly the 4th of July! We spent this weekend reaping the benefits of Jenner (and all the other cast mates) hard work in their diligence as aspiring actors/actresses...yes, we attended the debut of Le Miserables!! And it was PHENOMENAL! What a strong cast! Jenner was superb as a revolutionary and Joley. He had several small singing parts "....You look as though you've seen a ghost..some wine and say, what's going on?" among others. It was great to see him all miked up and running on stage and performing. He has some talent! His voice is strong and his acting is real (he makes a great drunkard!!~Master of the House song). The performances are every Friday, Saturday and Monday from 7p,-11pm until July 17th. I would recommend anyone heading to Utah to have us reserve your seats! Really worth the drive (yes, even from Maryland...but I would fly!) He heads off tomorrow morning for EFY, so he will miss the the next two performances, but will be back on stage on Saturday night.
I have always loved the message behind Le Mis, and really enjoy the 'fun' behind the Ternaridie's who portray the Inn Keeper couple. Their performance is exceptionally strong in this production, but my all time favorite seen is the end when Jean ValJean is dying and Fonteine comes forward to escort him to heaven and there are 3 actors on stage who sing a song that has the line in it of "To love another person is to see the face of God" and then the back curtains open and the entire cast walks slowly forward and they are all dressed in white (and these are all the people that have been killed) so it just hits you...mortality. Life after death. It is just done so well. They are all continuing to sing and it causes one to ponder, shed some tears, but more importantly, truly appreciate the time we have while here on the earth to be an impact for good in the life of another. Truly an amazing production.

ICE SCREAM YOU SCREAM WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM! Would you believe that the Bird family has won a neighborhood ice cream party sponsored by Dreher's Slow Churned Ice Cream!?! I entered a contest recommended by my friend Terrie in Oregon several months ago. I had to write an essay on why we needed to have a neighborhood block party. So I did. And we WON! I am not entirely sure of all the details, but I know it involves Dreher's Ice Cream and our neighbors, so it is bound to be a GREAT time. I just went to the website and found this news release which gives all the critical information...

PRNewswire/ -- Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream is dishing
up a sweet opportunity to be the coolest house on the block this summer.  With
four weeks left to enter the fourth annual Dreyer's Slow Churned Neighborhood
Salute(SM), ice cream fans can enter to win one of 1,500 ice cream socials
that Dreyer's will award to deserving neighborhoods.  Each Neighborhood Salute
party comes complete with a doorstep delivery of Dreyer's Slow Churned and
party supplies for up to 100 guests.  Interested neighbors can visit
SlowChurned.com by Friday, May 30 to nominate their blocks.
To enter the contest, entrants are invited to describe why their
neighborhood deserves to win.  Since Dreyer's Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute
debuted in 2005, Dreyer's has delivered ice cream socials to 4,500
neighborhoods and their 450,000 residents.
"We've heard from thousands of winning neighbors and they have shared
incredibly heartfelt stories about how their parties have brought their
communities closer together," said John Harrison, Official Taster for Dreyer's
Grand Ice Cream.  "We're happy to give people of all ages a fun way to get to
know each other better!"
How to enter Dreyer's Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute Contest:
Visit SlowChurned.com by Friday, May 30 and submit a paragraph (350 words
or less) explaining why your neighborhood deserves a Dreyer's Slow Churned
Neighborhood Salute.  The Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute website is also
available in Spanish via a direct link from SlowChurned.com.  Contestants must
be legal residents of the United States and at least 13 years of age as of
March 11, 2008.  Official contest rules and entry forms are available on
SlowChurned.com.  All entries must be received by May 30, 2008.  Dreyer's will
notify the winners in June and will salute each of the 1,500 winning
neighborhoods with a Dreyer's Slow Churned light ice cream prize package
during July, August and September.  Each Neighborhood Salute party comes
complete with a "Party in a Box" which includes 12 cartons of Dreyer's Slow
Churned(R) light ice cream in a variety of flavors, four boxes of Slow Churned
Light Ice Cream Bars, napkins, spoons, scoops, cups, bowls, a yard sign and
other supplies to host an ice cream gathering for up to 100 neighbors.

So it looks like you guys can either show up at my house for some amazing Dreyer Ice
Cream fun, or else go to the website and enter on your own for next years contest!

We will definetly be posting photos on that event! And EVERYONE is invited!
(I'll let
you know the date as soon as they let me know!)

SUMMER FUN~
Well, it isn't summer fun if it doesn't include water,
and I'm sure you can all tell
from our previous posts that we Birds know how to have fun in the water!!
And this weekend was no exception! We discovered TUBING...in our own backyard!
Mckenzie is still in Cali which means her camera is too, so we don't have any photos
of our daring adventure, but suffice it to say that me, Zach and Jerica
know how to tube a creek...in style! It only took two trips to the tire store,
one to purchase the tubes, and one 20 minutes later to repair the tubes!
Zach learned the hard way that tubes, when shoved against a
dead tree branch, POP. Mom learned the hard/wet/cold way that sitting on
the full end of the tube causes the tube to flip backwards...thus dousing the
entire mom in the creek! Jerica learned that if you crash into the bank of
the creek and overreact by standing up off the tube without looking to see how
deep the water might be, well, it just might be deep enough for a wee one to
not be able to touch! We tubed from the beginning of the creek
clear down to I-15 (we got out just prior to the viaducts that go under the freeway.
We have never had so much fun! Lots of laughter, lots of water, lots of giggling and
lots of joy! I could handle another dozen or so tubing outings!