ok so on tuesday night we did our show in gallup, new mexico. it definitley wasn't our best show. i'm not going to make excuses for it - there really wasn't any good ones. but oh well. we learned from it. ohhh kinda funny story from it though. so it was time for we'll be there - one of the solo i usually sing. so before the song a really nice video plays that uses the same music. so my cue to come out on stage is for the video music to stop for like 3 seconds and then it starts again - this time for the song. but on this night the track started right after the video. so i didn't know to walk out. and it was the lights cue too so the lights didn't come on. i thought that they were still playing the video music and i was all confused. but i decided to walk out onto the dark stage - mic in hand - just kind of standing there kinda freaking out on what to do. and then they turned the lights on. so there i was standing on the stage, with my mic, with no clue what was going on or what i should do. after probably only five seconds (but God was it a long five seconds), the wonderful brodie kinder saved my ass and came out and started singing. hahah we were right in the middle of the chorus, but we sang anyways and then we just kept going from there. i don't know if anyone in the audience knew that we messed up though cause i think we (well, brodie) pulled it off. haha it wasn;t until after that i figered out what had happened. and everyone thought that i had forgotten my lines or something . . . but oh well. man i was soooo frustrated afterwards!!!!!!! but i learned from it. and i'm definitley going to make sure it never happens again!!!!

anyways the next day we left for tucson. another long bus ride. we got there, at the univeristy of arizona (which - ps - has an amazingly beautiful campus) and there was our lovely cast b friends to welcome us. we had some free time so we went for a walk and jalee, libby and i went into american apparell and tried on spandex leggings and body suits. we looked hot. and then we went to jamba juice and did a wheat grass shot, which tasted exactally like the smell of fresh cut grass. but apparently its really good for you. anyways then we met our new host families. aofie (pronounced effia) from ireland and i stayed with a lady named judi. she lived on her own and was too cute. tucson is awesome . . . there was cacti everywhere. sooo cool. but actually not cool. on sunday it was 106! yipes! so i did vocal internship stuff on . . thursday. and spray painted some buckets with dave, kristen (vocal staff person), michael bowerman (head music guy) and eric (someone also important). haha it was kinda cool. and then . . . . . i don't remember. oh we went to the westin hotel where the alumni reunion was occuring.with about 1500 uppies (up with people'ers). sooo nuts! awesome though!!! so then the next day - friday - we had our show. this was nuts. the auditorium held 2600ish people, and all 1500 alumni went.it was sooooo awesome. we sold out. OH MY GOD!!!! i didn't have any solos in this show - as we combined the two casts AND thy wanted it to be an unreal show so a lot of the staff did th big parts cause they knew them better. but i got to play with the band for five songs. yeah! and it was just awesome. it was unreal when i walked out on the stage to get behind the keyboard at the first of the show an tnen look up to see like 2500 people sitting in front of you. agh!!!! afterwards we striked the stage and then went home. soo tired.

saturday we had some unreal talks. the belks, who are unreal!!! this guy is our founder and he honestly has some of the coolest stories, like after martin luther kings jrs 'i have a dream' speech belk went up to him and asked if he had dinner plans and he didn't so he was dinner with king after that speech. unreal eh?!?! agh!!! and oh my god i forgot!!! we met ghandi's grandson. he talked to us!!!! unreal to an extreme. wow. anyways and then carolin lee, and big uwp alumn talked to us too and it was awesome. and then we had free time kinda, we went to this place nearby and had a bbq and went swimming in a pool. and then after that we went back to the hotel and watch the era show. this is when all the different alunmi groups - determined by years - get up and do a show of the songs they remember from there year. hahaha sooo funny. loved it. and then again - home and sleep.

sunday we took it easy. i got to mass cause judi is catholic which was awesome - it had been too long! and then we just went home and were lazy. i took a nap. we went swimming in the pool. and then we went out to eat - this really good steak place!!! and that was sunday.
right now i'm on a bus to san diego, california. we're going to be there for two days, doing promotion for cast b's show here in a couple weeks. i'm hopeing that i'm going to be able to see christina (my cousin who now livres here), that'd be awesome. and then wednesday we leave for THAILAND!!!!! oh my GOD!!!!

ok thats it. caught up again. probably won't last too long. oh well. lovelovelove you all!!!!!

ok so i got behind. again.

saturday was our opening night!!!! unbeleiveable!!! it was so awesome! just everyone getting ready and then before the show we had 'green room' - which is basically everyone in the cast/staff coming together and getting pumped for the show together. but since it was the first one they made it all emotional and most of us were crying and hugging and it was just awesome. but also frustrating cause we were told to get ready before so we had all our stage makeup on and then cried it all messy. bah. haha but definitley worth it. sigh . . . . soooo good.

and then the show itself. obviously it wasn't perfect. but it was AWESOME! cause we were all soooo pumped and the engergy was soo high. and i love what i got to do. i'm in the band (keys) for the first two songs, and then dance/sing with the cast on the next three, then sing a solo, then go back to the band for four songs, sit out a couple cause i haven't learned the words/dances yet, and then sing another solo (the last big one) and then sing/dance the theme song with the cast. pretty awesome eh? i love it! i hope it stays pretty similar throughout the tour. the band to cast ratio that is.

oh and another thing for saturday!!! they give out six week internships - basically working for one of the staff members and learning more about that area. its really cool and it looks awesome on a resume and they write you up recommendation letters after. anyways i applied for one but they only have like 12 per round. there's three rounds. anyways i really really really wanted the vocal one cause well - you know me - love the singing. anyways so they announced on saturday morning who got what and i got the vocal one!!! YES!!!! soooooooo pumped. its going to be awesome!!!!

anyways then on sunday (last day with the stonesmiths for me - lauren ditched me in the morning. her cast went to tuscon early) i did laundry and packed and stuff and then matt told me that they were going to cirque du soile (spelling?!?!) and they wanted me to come too. and so obviously i did. it was awesome. unreal. i don't understand. hahaha the acts were just unbelieveable. and then we went home and ate and then i watched alladin with sienna. and then sleep.

monday morning. the tour begins. it was also sienna's birthday so we had cake and ice cream for breakfast before i left. too cute. and then sara's host family came and picked me up so that matt and cindy didn't have to drive there twice - as they drove lauren the day before. and we had to be a tekyio at 7:30. and it was like a 40 min drive. so i said my goodbyes and then we got to tekyio and my hometeam had to load the bus. so we packed as much luggage under the bus as we could - it was hardcore, not a inch left under there. and then we were off. so exciting! it was a nine hour bus ride roughly - but it was awesome. we all just hng out and it went by really fast.then we got to gallup, new mexico. we jumped out, unloaded the bus in the rain, and then changed into our number twos (business-casual) to meet our host familys. mine was unreal!!!!! there was six of us girls staying in one house!!! me, aimee, vanessa, vania, sophia, and alex. so fun. and the house was unreal! she was this artist and so it was just awesome. half of us slept in this cozy little loft thing with three matteresses on the floor and the other three slept in this seperate appartment down in the basement. the things about the basement was that if you wante to get to it from inside the house - you had to go into one of the bathrooms (there were an amazing four!), lift up this trapdoor under the shower an climb down a ladder. unreal eh?! best quote yet was from alex at breakfast. "i really had to pee and someone was using the bathroom in the basement - so i climbed up the ladder and through the trapdoor to use the bathroom." hahaha how often is that a serous sentence!?!? anyways i'm tired so thats it for tonight. i'll catch up some more tomorrow.

ps. lauren was incredible in the show. she rocks my socks. she is my roommate in case that slipped your mind. love her!!!!

okay so the last three days in a nutshell.

nuts.

wednesday cast b had their dress rehersal. awesome job guys!!

thursday we had ours. so0ooooooo much fun. loved it. basically the rest of that day was nuts getting ready for it.

friday. cast b's show!!!!! WOWOWOWOWOWOW! incredible. awesome. superb. magnificent. i'm out of good words. oh and andrew was a little sweetheart and got the band drinks. haha one of the highlights of the day. oh and we had a really good guest speaker. steve farber. look him up. i dare you. ummmmm yup so thats it.

MY SHOW IS TOMORROW!

in case you didn't realize.

i'm pumped

REALLY REALLY PUMPED!!!

i'm pretty sure my host sister cyanne and her friend daina think that i am losing my mind.

they might be right.

ok goin gto bed. goodnight loves

wow. i'm doing tuesday's on tuesday. this hasn't happened in awhile.

today was our fist 12 hour day. thats right. 8-8. not including commute which is 1.5 hours in the morning and 1 hour at night. holymoly. but it really wasn't that bad at all. i think thuirsday and friday will be the real test - cause till saturday (our SHOW!!!!) we have 12 hour days every day.

so the best thing about today was that we did a run though of the show on stage with everyone. band, mic groups, dance solos, singing solos, and the whole cast. WOW. chaos. we had to stop a lot. but that was to be expected. i only had to play three songs on the piano today, all in the second half, so i had to do all the cast dances. which i haven't learned cause i'm always in band. so that was an adventure. not too bad though. i just sat out at the hardcore ones. and then i got to sing two solos. 'one to one' and then the finale 'we'll be there'. one to one is a lot of fun and there a lot of singing so its cool - but we'll be there i go out onstage by myself and sing the first verse and then brodie somes out on the chorus and we sing together and then he sings and then the whole cast comes out and joins us. and then emilie does a solo too with us. but its just a lot of fun cause we get to play off each other and interact and stuff, whereas in one to one i just sing to the audience. anyways i'm crossing my fingers that i'll get to keep these two! it'd be preatty awesome. and so yeah long day. but a good day. i liked it.