Donny

Most 4 year-old girls I know love princesses, Olivia included. She has every doll, every movie, and she is starting quite the dress collection. For a while her favorite was Cinderella. Then it was Aurora. Then Ariel. Then Jasmine. Then Snow White. And now she favors Mulan. I'd like to think it has something to do with the fact that I have been to where Mulan is from. I have seen the Forbidden City where Mulan defeats the Huns. I told Olivia all about it. She thinks it's awesome.

Olivia knows all the words to the princess movies. Our favorite song to sing lately has been "I'll Make A Man Out of You" from Mulan. It is very catchy. (If you didn't know, it is sung by Shang a.k.a Donny Osmond.) For some reason I love Donny's voice. I don't go all gaga for Donny. I have never been to a concert (though I did see him perform with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and I did watch his talk show with Marie occasionally). But I have never been a Donny fanatic. I just like his voice. Moving on....

Doug has many opportunities to meet famous people. He did Cindy Crawford's hair in her hotel room (that's a story for a different time). He worked behind stage at the Billboard Music Awards and did the hair of Rihanna, Carmen Electra and Joe Elliot. And we know John Paul DeJoria - the face behind Paul Mitchell and one of the founders. Here we are meeting him when he visited our school....

Because Doug has so many opportunities to mingle with celebrities, it was bound to happen. DOUG MET DONNY! Recently we went to California to a conference for all Paul Mitchell School owners. Paul Mitchell is committed to "Giving Back" - whether that is by being environmentally responsible, aiding local programs, or collaborating with recognized charities (like Children's Miracle Network which Donny and Marie represent). At this owner's conference Donny Osmond performed. Unfortunately, I was watching the kids and did not go. But the kids and I could hear him from our hotel room. It was amazing.

I was so excited that I said to Olivia, "Do you hear that? That is the same guy that sings on Mulan!"

Olivia nearly jumped out of her skin and exclaimed, "Shang!" After a couple moments of thought she questioned, "What is Shang doing in California? And where is Mulan?" Then, still further she asked, "Why would he sing here? How did he even get here? When is he going back? And why didn't he sing our favorite song?"

I couldn't bear to tell her the truth. I think she couldn't conceptualize it anyway. So I played along.

"Mulan is back in China. She had to stay with the Emperor. So Shang came on an airplane just to sing to the owners because they are so nice. He will probably leave right after the performance because Mulan misses him so much, and because China needs him."

"Holy crap! Daddy is so lucky he gets to meet Shang!" she said.

Here is Doug (and Grandma) with Shang...

Funny. I thought Shang would be taller....

Conversation With a Toddler #3

My kids love to play "Slug Bug" when we are driving. Here is an excerpt from a recent game:

Ethan: Slug Bug black.

Me: That's not a Slug Bug.

Ethan: What is it then?

Me: A Mini.

Ethan: A Mini Wheat?

Me: Almost as big. It is a Mini Cooper.

Ethan: A Mini Pooper!?! That is cool. Mini Pooper! Mini Pooper!

(Much laughter erupted from the peanut gallery. Even Ben can appreciate a good poop joke.)

Sacramento

Doug travels a lot. And when I say "a lot" I mean about three weeks out of every month. It hasn't always been that way. But when you're a rockstar, you have to go where the "fans" want you. As an educator for Paul Mitchell Advanced Education he travels across the nation training the instructors at Paul Mitchell cosmetology schools. In the last two months he has been to Houston, St. George, Spokane, Sacramento, Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa. He leaves Monday for New York for 4 days. Then he leaves Saturday for Alabama. He is home for a couple weeks before he goes to North Carolina, Utah, and back to Texas. You get the idea.

Sometimes we get to go with him. He is all for it. His dream is to get a giant RV and just go on the road. "We could be on a reality show. It would be great," he says. "You can home/RV school the kids. They would see America. No mortgage payments. Think of the adventure!" All I can ever muster is, "You've got to be kidding." Even though he thinks it would be the best thing since sliced bread, I am not so convinced. Being away from home for extended periods, in an unfamiliar place, with three kids under 5 is not as fun as it sounds. I have a routine. I like my routine. My routine makes me sane. Without it I would probably be in a corner rocking back and forth, speaking incoherently. So when Doug teaches somewhere close, we go too. We like to go to Sacramento. It is only 2 hours from Reno, and there is plenty to do.

The kids especially like The California State Train Museum, Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town. Here are some pictures of our most recent trip:

The trains are massive. It is such an amazing museum. You can even get in a couple of the trains. The best part is upstairs. There are Thomas sets the kids can play with. We usually see the bigs trains in about 20 minutes and then spend an hour playing with the Thomas trains. Whatever works.

The train museum is part of Old Sacramento. So when we finish at the museum we always walk around Old Sacramento. It is a little "town" (about two blocks) built up on platforms. There are shops and restaurants. It is right on the river with old steamboats.

(What is with their poses?)

Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale town are across the street from each other so we do those spots in one day...

We pack as much in as we can. The goal is to make them do this...

Unfortunately, the only time they are like this is in the car. I have been tempted to park somewhere and get some sleep myself. Would that be bad? I can see it now. All four of us, passed out, food all over their faces (who am I kidding, mine too), drool creeping out, when there is a knock on the window. "Everything alright, ma'am?" the officer would say. "Oh, yes. Everything is just great," I would say as I rolled up the window. "Thanks for asking."