Donny.com - Day #2

(Donny giving everyone a pep talk before we started ... look how happy Diane is to be near him.)



(This is Donny's son Brandon.  He was taking video all weekend ... so cute.)

On the second day of the Get Together Donny and Marie performed a matinee of their show at the Flamingo just for the Donny.com crowd. They are both really great entertainers and the show was awesome.  I can't believe they are both around my age and can get up and perform like they do show after show.

I mean, for heaven's sake.  Diane sent me a link from youtube of Donny doing a dance routine for "Yo Yo."  That was the song he wanted everyone to learn for his flash mob dance at the Forum Shops at Ceaser's Palace.  The second night of the event was when it was happening.  They closed down the mall, filed all of the Donny crowd across the street from the Flamingo, and away it went. Filming started around midnight.

Diane had been practicing the dance for about a month and I had about a week ... there was no way I was going to get this routine down.  Chloe (bless her little heart) said, "Mom, I will help you learn it.  We can work on it every night together.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you have to do it so I can live vicariously through you!"  (Now being a part of a flash mob dance would really be super cool - if you are familiar with a flash mob dance.  If you aren't, click here for one of my favorites. This, however, ended up being a MOB of people dancing along with Donny ... not so flash "mobbish" afterall.)

I did try.  And I tried a few more times in the hotel room once we got there, but it just wasn't happening.  I am old ... I haven't danced in 100 years so I told Diane that I would be happy to just document the event for her.  And that is what I did.  (I am telling you ...me and the paparazzi ... same.  I walked into that Forum Shop mall, noticed Donny's wife and son sitting in a roped off area and planted myself right there.)

Good stuff happening over in that little area:

(Donny with his wife, Debbie and their son, Josh.)

(Donny surveying the scene ... a daughter in law with her kids.)

(This is my favorite photo of the entire weekend!!!)

(Three different news anchors were there for an interview.)

(Uh oh. Pretty sure Donny noticed me ... since I was everywhere.)

AND THEN THE PARTY STARTED .....

It really was a blast to be a part of this.  Donny said he wants to do it every year and get bigger and bigger until his crowd fills Las Vegas Blvd.  Who's in?!??!?

Donny.com - Day #1.

This is Diane and I with cardboard Donny ....

And this is real Donny ...

About four years ago, Diane and I went to the Osmond's 50th Anniversary concert in Las Vegas.  It had been a really, really long time since that family had done a concert together and I think they were blown away by the fact that it sold out in about five minutes.  They added another concert and it sold out as well.  Fans came from all over the world (literally) and it was one of the best times E.V.E.R!!!  Diane and I felt like teenagers again and reconnected with faces we hadn't seen in years as well.  It was a whole weekend of different events where you got to interact with the brothers and take photos, etc.  All the brothers, that is, except for Donny.

But since then, Donny has put together a special weekend each year for his own fans (affectionately known as Donny.commers.)  Diane went with her husband last year, but this year she had a change of heart and decided that her good friend Polly would probably be a lot more fun (good thinking Di), so I got to use his ticket.

One of the reasons Diane was excited to have me join her was that Donny was going to hold an audition for anyone who wanted the chance to sing with him.  When she called me to tell me about it, she said, "Donny is picking three people to win!  You get to have dinner with him and make a recording with him and YOU WILL WIN so you have to come!!!!!"  Now. I do know how to sing, but I don't consider myself a singer. (Cee-lo Green said the same thing about himself on The Voice this season and I totally knew what he meant.) I can carry a tune, I can sing in church, I sing with my girls, but I am definitely NOT a solo artist.  But sweet Diane is one of my biggest fans, so I told her that if I won, since my chances were slim to none, she was welcome to take my place and she could have dinner with Donny instead.

The catch to the audition was, you couldn't choose your own song to tryout with.  Donny had written a song called "One Dream" and that was what you had to sing.  He wrote it, he sings it, and it is completely out of my range.  But I told Diane I would do it ... she decided that she would do it too ... so she signed us both up.  Her audition time was Thursday at 4:12 and mine was three minutes after that.

Diane came out of her audition all flustered and said she had done horribly, and was cracking up.  I came out of my audition all flustered, said I had done horribly, but I wasn't really laughing - because it was kind of embarrassing, actually. The song was so low that in a couple of places my voice just disappeared into a whisper that I doubt was audible from even two feet away.  Donny wasn't there.  It was his son, Brandon, the guy doing the filming, and John (Donny's right hand man for the weekend), who was walking us in and out of the room.  Donny was going to watch the video later and choose the three.  AH.BOY.

Shortly after that, on the first night of the get together, we went to a buffet where Donny makes an appearance.  He walks around to all of the tables and its a great opportunity to say hello, shake his hand (or hug him, pull at him, give him gifts - whatever your preference, depending on the kind of fan you might be), and take your picture with him. John stayed real close and scooted Donny right along since he is always on a tight time schedule.  Someone at our table did snap a picture of me with Donny, but it didn't flash and the picture was blurry, darn it.  I figured that I had missed my chance.  But then I thought again ....

I handed my camera to Diane and told her that I was going to walk in the vicinity of Donny.  "Just start taking pictures as soon as I get near him."  

I'm so glad I did.

Flamingos all around.

I am heading off to the sweltering heat of Las Vegas for a few days ... lots of Donny in store this weekend!

(He is "hosting" a flash mob dance Friday night at the Forum Shops in Ceasars Palace. My girlfriend sent me the link on youtube so I could try and learn it.  I only had a few days.  It isn't going to happen.  I guess I need to change my status on the paper work to be spectator instead.  I think it will still be tons of fun.)

A special delivery.

I got a special delivery to my office yesterday ... how sweet is that?!?!

"Thirst Has No Curfew."

 

McDonald's has a fairly new saying on their cups ... when I read it, I thought of my partner in "diet coke crime"  ... my sister Spring.  We love diet coke. And we especially love McDonald's diet coke.  And we love late nights and good times ... which reminded me of our last little vacay to New York.

.... where SO many beverages were consumed, we couldn't even begin to count how many (total).

(And it was also especially funny and fun when Spring made Leslie laugh so hard she lost some of her beverage.  Leslie isn't used to consuming mass quantities the same way Spring and I are.)

The four of us were on our daily jaunt to get some chocolate frozen custard with almonds.
Courtney and I were waiting outside the store wondering what in the world was taking Spring and Leslie so long to get out of the car.  Then the door opened up and we saw Leslie lean out ... oops.
We were kind of bummed we missed that good of a laugh though.

Draper Idol.

Every year at this time in July, our little city of Draper has a big celebration called "Draper Days."  There are tons of activities throughout the week: a Rodeo, neighborhood parties at different parks with food and entertainment, a big parade ... The biggest park is set up with vendors, games, rides, food and fun for Friday and Saturday with big stage entertainment and a huge fireworks show on Saturday night.

They also hold an annual "Draper Idol" which took place last night and three of my girls sang at that.  May I just say that this generation of youth can sometimes blow my mind with the talent?  At one point, while a previous winner was singing, I said to McCall, "I should get pictures of him because I bet he'll be famous one day." I thought the same thing about last year's winner, Ellee Duke ... she is a star.

It is always entertaining to go, especially when I am partial to certain performers!  ;)  We (I can say we since it's a family affair, right?) brought home one award, but if I had been on the judges panel it would have been a three way tie for first place ... 

Good times kiddos!

Sugar Cookie Fix.

Whenever I want to kick start any kind of weight loss, I always rely on my standard protein diet.  It has been good to me over the years, and I can lose a pound a day when I stick to it.  (I usually only stick to it about three days in a row because it is so super boring. Then I just watch what I eat.  I enjoy food waaaaaaaay too much to be restricted on what I am supposed to be putting in my mouth.)

The plan is to eat as much of these foods as you want during the course of the day and pretty much nothing else:  eggs (and even bacon if you want), grapefruit or grapefruit juice (I don't really like these so I drink Ruby Red even though I know that is SO not the same thing - but it does seem to suffice),  lean red meat, veggies/salad (totally limit the dressing) ... that's about it.

It has worked fabulously over the past 30 years or so. When I have done it, I have lost a pound a day ... Awesome.  Except,  I have done this the past two days and I didn't lose two pounds ... Bummer.   I decided not to do it today.  About mid-morning I really craved a Sweet Tooth Fairy cookie, so I got one.  It was way good.

I think it could pass for an egg ... just saying.

20/20.

I logged into my hotmail account this morning and noticed that I have 2020 unread messages in my inbox.  And then my mind started to wander about 20/20 in general ...

Like how hindsight is 20/20 and how I would give just about anything to be able to have a redo on several decisions in my life - but only if I could go back and redo with the 20/20 ...

And how I watched the show 20/20 a few weeks ago when Stephanie Nielson was on telling her story about her plane crash and her life now.  She lives on my sister's street.  I passed her the other day in her big black SUV and she waved to me.  That was cool.  (I like to think I have a connection.)  :)

And I do wish I had 20/20 vision ... I used to.  And then I got pregnant, and it has just never been the same.  I don't really like wearing glasses so I have been thinking about getting Lasik surgery.  It is still pretty expensive though.  One of the top Lasik corrections centers is right here in Utah - Hoopes Vision.  Phil Hoopes lives close to me and we go to the same ward (church).  I bet he would give me a deal.  Right now I see perfectly fine up close, I just need the glasses for seeing far away.  I think after my Lasik though I may have to start wearing reading glasses.  Sooooo, which is the lesser of two evils?  I am leaning toward reading glasses ....

I would love a new pair of sunglasses though.  I stopped liking mine a few years ago, but they are so expensive to replace.  Do I want to spend a few hundred dollars on new sunglasses if I am going to get Lasik?  Pretty sure I have been saying that for at least two years now ....

My favorite pair of sunglasses was the pair I got before McCall's wedding four years ago.  I loved the look, but not how they functioned.  Since I see perfectly fine up close, the glasses I wear don't have rims on the bottom so I can look down and see beneath my glasses which totally works well for me ... like bifocals function, except I don't need bifocals.  Those sunglasses had thick rims. I'm glad EyeMasters has a good return policy.

Ha ha ha ... that totally reminds me of when I was in Tennessee with my girls this last trip.  I was texting and they both laughed at me because I would put my head down to read the message and then have to lift it up to type on my phone.  Chloe said I looked like a bobble head. I bought my son-in-law a bobble head of Dwight from The Office .... he loves that show.

I can't believe it has been four years ago just last month that he and McCall got married.  And Libby is going to be two in a couple of months.  She is just the sweetest little thing.  Well ... to me she is, to McCall she is a little bit sassy.  But that's how two year olds can be.  Her little voice is so adorable.  I always thought my kids had the cutest little voices too.  Boy, it was a lifetime ago that my kids were little ....

 I probably had all of these thoughts in the course of a minute.  It amazes me how our minds function and what they are capable of.

Theeeeeen ... how come, on most days, I feel like mine doesn't function all that well anymore ..... ?

This tiny tot.

Yesterday was this little girl's daddy's birthday, so I got to tend her while he and her mom went out for the night.  Now, I have five children of my own, but I have never known a busier little toddler in my life ... and I mean that in a good way.

Some kids need to be entertained all day long, but not Libby ... she can entertain herself all day long.  Her favorite thing when she comes to my house is my purse and it has been for quite some time.  McCall knows that my purse is the first thing Libby will head towards (after me) as soon as she comes inside, so yesterday she put it up on the desk in the kitchen hoping that Libby wouldn't pay any attention to the fact that it wasn't in its usual place on the floor under the desk.

Libby and I were spending our time alone together - she was playing with the other toys I have for her in the family room, and then I got a phone call.  Before I knew it, that little girl came into the room with the biggest grin on her face and my purse dangling from her arm.  I just looked at her in awe and thought, How in the world did she get that down???  (And you can forget about taking it away from her once she has it too.)

She sat down and proceeded to busy herself with all the things that she loves in grammie's purse:  my wallet, my numerous chapsticks, my mints, my glasses, my phone ... and then she pretended to be the mommy to her little baby doll.  Sooooo stinkin' adorable.  It is so precious how little girls just have that instinct to be a mommy - I love it.

At one point in the evening, Libby was sitting on my lap and we were reading her favorite book, What Can I Dream About? and I sneezed.  She turned her head around, looked at me, and said, "Besh you."  I sneezed again and she said, "Besh you."

WHAT???

It blew me away.  It was the cutest thing I think I have ever heard.  How, what, when?  She isn't even 2 yet!

You know how you always think your baby is a genious?  Well I am pretty sure that Libby really is!  :)

And I am so in love with her.  She is definitely a HAPPY.LITTLE.THING in my life!

Festivities on the 4th.

The 4th of July has become one of my favorite holidays of the year.  Last year we discovered the celebration that the city of Sandy puts on .... 

 BEST.4th.EVER.  

We decided to try a repeat of last year.  SO much to enjoy.  Here is a taste of our day:

Lots of Beauty Queens ...

Lots of Fun Floats ...

Lots of Clowns ...

Adorable kids everywhere you looked ...

Really great entertainment ...

All day and night ...





Fun people watching ...

(These girls took tons of self pics, right in front of the whole crowd ... it was hilarious!)

(Oh, and this guy wasn't alone.  There was a grey and a black suit in front of him too.)

Fantastic Fireworks, set to music ...

Great company ...

It was a super fun day .... Happy Birthday America!