The Garrett Gazette - Finally!

Dear Family and Friends,

Nice to see y'all again! I think the space between the last post and now is the longest one yet! Oops! So I guess I'll just write and see what people can understand!

Rebekah graduating from
Elementary School!

Since the last time I wrote we've gone through another year of school. This year was my junior year and it was great to meet people and make wonderful friendships. It was hard for me to say goodbye to those who graduated, but guess what?! That will be me in a year! Crazy, huh! Emily finished 8^th grade with flying colors!!! She got fantastic grades, and we are all so proud of her!! She was in Perfect Harmony this year and she did a great job. At her Christmas concert I was able to sing a duet with her. That was a lot of fun! At her final concert, she sang by herself for the first time. She sang “Orange Colored Sky” and she stole the show!! What an amazing jazz singer. (Dad will post the video as soon as he can get it to work). Emily has also developed her lower range extremely well. In ward choir she sang tenor. Holy cow!! Bekah Boo completed 6^th grade this year, and that means no more elementary school ever again! This year was a hard year for her, but she made it through and we're proud! She has learned many life lessons about friends, and she's very grateful to her teacher! Hannah finished 3^rd grade and she had a great time! She's so strange, but that's okay!

Me and my wonderful
Homecoming date!

I've had great fun dating this year! There's lots of drama involved with being 16, but mostly I really like it. I was privileged to go to all but one dance this year and it was fun. I was asked to Homecoming, El Cheapo, and Prom. I also took out two boys to Sadie Hawkins and Morp! I was also able to participate in Chamber Choir and Concert Choir this year! That was so fun! Choir tour was amazing. There was a lot of driving involved (being that we drove to California). We won a few awards at a festival, goofed off at Disneyland, almost froze at the beach, and had a wonderful Sunday singing at different churches. 

Me and my besties as we entered
Disneyland during Choir Tour!

This year our family got to take a look behind the scenes of a play. Normally us kids are on the stage performing our hearts out, but we kinda changed it up a little. Upstage did “Narnia” but none of us auditioned. We ended up being techies. Dad controlled the sound, and I was the mic lady! I got to run up and down and everywhere to make sure actors could be heard! Emily ran the spotlight! Dang she's a pro! We have all gained more respect for what happens backstage. I now understand how important the techies are, how much we need to appreciate them! What a good lesson to learn!

"Somewhere that's green"

Speaking of acting...I was in Little Shop of Horrors this year! I got to play Audrey and holy cow, that was sooooo fun! I got to speak in a whiny new york accent and it was great fun! I also had a black eye and a broken arm, and I got to die! :D 

Mommy tried out for Jekyll and Hyde! She is in the play and it'll be totally epic!!! They perform around Labor Day, so we'll keep y'all updated on that just in case you wanna come see it! It's a tiny cast of 30 people and mom is so good that she gets to be in it! She will be in the ensemble, but with a play like that, any part is amazing. The songs are fantastic and she'll do so well!! She got to sing for a fundraiser for the Springville American Legion with her friend Carey and all the old guys loved her!

Daddy is back on his graveyard shift. Yay!! He likes it a lot better than going to work at 7:30 in the evening. He has also decided to take the summer off of school! What a relief. No more school for anyone!

Emily and her excellent grades!

As I've already mentioned, Emily was in Perfect Harmony this year! Because she is so amazing, she got to be in the Honor's Choir, where they select a few amazing students from each junior high school to sing in a big concert. She had a lot of fun doing that, and the choir sounded amazing! Emily has started to read Les Miserables. Ya know...that big fat book that no one understands? Well she's reading it, and it's awesome!! In her talent show this year at the Junior High, she played “River Flows in You” by Yiruma. She's just amazing!

Speaking of “River Flows in You,” my friend Adam plays the cello and so we got together and played that song with me on the piano and him on the cello! Oh my goodness it was beautiful!!! When we get it down way good we will perform it (whether you like it or not, Adam) and I would love to record it too! It's so beautiful! And like Em, I got to go to All State (a high school version of Honor Choir) and sing at the tabernacle in Salt Lake! Oh what a good experience!

Bekah Boo loves to draw! She is becoming a wonderful artist and she draws everything! You should see her fairies, they are so adorable!! We're all getting used to fish coming and going, but she has been able to have baby fish! She had fun taking care of them and she ended up giving two of them to our neighbors and the rest ended up dying. She has been learning the ukelele this year and she wants one to own so bad!! She's almost twelve and she's SO looking forward to girl's camp!

It's Hannah...need I say more?

Hannah is insane! She has lost tons and tons of teeth and she says the strangest things! The other night, I came home from a stomp singing one of the songs they played and she sang her own version, with actions to go with it! “I threw my sandwich at the subway guy, sayin' 'Hey-o, I want my Mayo.'” She's crazy! Her and Rebekah also created a little theater for me and Emily. They popped popcorn, made cookies, and had different sizes of water for us to choose from. We had tickets that they made, and Hannah decided we needed to pay for the food somehow. She took our tickets and then thought about how to go about this task, then held the little bar code that Bekah drew, up to her eyes and said “Scan, Scan.” Oh that was hilarious!! She did the simple machine fair this year and she's such a genius that she won the Math Olympics!

I think that's about it for now! I'll try and be a better journalist this summer and keep y'all updated!! Love you all!!!!

Love,

Kirk, Dawn, Me, Emily, Bekah, and Hannah

PS-I always have pics on facebook if you want to see more!! :D 

Sadie Hawkins Update!

The following video is from Cameron, to answer Meg's invitation! And yes, we were all gethered around the T.V. to watch it with her, we always seek maximum embarassing in these situations.

Sadie Hawkin's invite

This is a copy of a video that Meg gave to one of her friends, to ask him to go to Sadie Hawkins. She decided on the fly, and left it to Dawn and I.(Hey I'm a poet) If you want details, she'll be updating the blog soon.

6 July 2010

The Garrett Gazette
6 July 2010

Dear Family & Friends,

Oh my heavens how time flies. Last time I wrote was the end of February....4 whole months ago! Well I have no clue where to start, so I'll just type what I think of first! (Probably not in chronological order)

As you may have noticed, we performed “Doo Wop” We had a blast with that play! The performances went very well and lots of great memories were made. We were sad to be done with the play, but at the cast party, Chad and Tina always give “awards.” With “Aladdin” it was disney characters, in “Willy Wonka” it was candy, and now with “Doo Wop” they did Fairytales (and all stories related to that.) I was awarded Glinda from “Wicked.” Emily was Jill (Jack and Jill). Bekah was Raggedy Ann, and Hannah was a Gummy Bear!

About a month after “Doo Wop” I was asked to work with Chad and Tina again for the preshow of our fundraiser, “Of Sound Dreams.” We did a 20 minute show with songs from multiple upstage plays like “Wizard of Oz”,”Aladdin”,”Doo Wop” and I sang a solo in “You're never fully dressed without a smile,” from “Annie.” I had so much fun with that song. I got to wear a long lime green and yellow dress with a top hat! That whole preshow was a mess of crazy costume changes! I had to switch from a body suit to a flowing dress, etc. For the actual fundraiser Chad Hymas and Jason Hewlett came. Chad is a motivational speaker and he did a very good job. Jason is an entertainer. He impersonates different singers and stuff like that! He was absolutely hilarious! We had such a fun night being able to see those two.

Since then we haven't done any more musicals. We had the chance to be in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat” but as a family, we decided that we could use a break for the summer. So as of right now we are not doing anything. Occasionally we get sad that we're not doing anything, but then we realize that we've had a great summer not having to worry about lines, dancing, acting, costumes, etc. We just watch lots of movies and have fun together.

Jakie is married now! He's been married for a little over a month now. The wedding worked out very well. The actual wedding took place in Grandma Clayton's backyard, but it got too cold, so the reception was at the church next to her house. There were lots of people, and lots of pictures taken. I was a bridesmaid so I stood in the line....it took forever! The day after the wedding, our the Garrett family was still at our house, so Jake and Jessica came over to open all their wedding presents before they left to Seattle.

We celebrated Jake's birthday on the 4th of July. We had a delicious meal, and I made Chocolate Eclair bars for desert! We had a fun time, and now that it's his real birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKIE!!! We love you!

Emily and I went to girls camp at the end of June. We went to Heber Valley and it's beautiful up there! Our theme was “We Can Do It” and we did! Physically, this was probably the hardest camp. Everywhere we went, we hiked! We went on a challenge course and did a zip line! That was SO much fun. Em and I got sun burned quite a lot, and ever since then, my nose, and ears having been peeling.

Hannah's baptism was a few weeks before the wedding, so we had relatives down a lot during May. She looked adorable in her white dress. We had almost all our relatives there, and It was great to see everyone.

The day of Hannah's baptism, it was also Jessica's birthday! We were able to get her a cake, some presents, and sing happy birthday many many times! That was a fun day!

Emily's teeth are straightening out beautifully! She's having fun choosing different colors for her braces! Last week she got some glasses and she looks so cute with them on! Now she is getting ready to go to Oregon and visit the Garrett side of the family. She is leaving this Saturday, and she is so excited to see all her cousins, aunts and uncles, and especially Grandma and Grandpa.

I noticed I haven't said much about Bekah! She just finished the fifth grade, and she finished with good grades. Ever since Christmas she's been on a fish frenzy. She's been able to buy a few fish, and Mom and Dad even bought her a little frog. Unfortunately the poor frog (we named it Bobby) died while I was at Girls Camp. They buried Bobby in the backyard and poor Bekah had a hard time with that! She has proved to be very responsible with keeping her fish healthy, besides the frog.

Daddy has had to deal with his stupid job because they changed his schedule. He had to go in a little earlier, and then work on the weekends. Luckily his schedule is changing again, and he'll be able to get saturday and sunday off.

We love you all and miss you all!

Love,
Kirk, Dawn, Me, Emily, Bekah, Hannah.

Last day of Performances

I thought that I would give Meg a break, and write the blog. Tonight is the last performance of "Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood." I love watching all my girls perform. Meg has done an outstanding job as the forgotten middle daughter who is a brainiac. My favorite part is her little snort at the end. Emily and Bekah are in the ensemble. I loved making them smile. My favorite scene with Emily is her sitting on the stage, smiling and being beautiful. Bekah dances up and down the aisles. Hannah is a real stinker.

I have to take a moment to wish my sister Misty a happy birthday!

Feb. 26th, 2010

The Garrett Gazette

2/26/10

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Valentines Day and St. Patty's day!!!! Wow! Lots of stuff is going right now, so I've had no time to write, but it's a Friday and I love Friday's, so I decided to update a little bit!

As many of you know, our whole family is involved in Upstage's “Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood” We start performing soon, and those who can, we'd love it if you could come! We start performances on March 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26, and 27th. If you'd like to come see the play, please contact someone from our family, and we can definitely tell you the prices and get you tickets! The play is so much fun, and the whole cast is having a blast. There's lots of dancing and singing and our cast is just amazing!

Jakie doesn't work for our neighbor anymore, he works for a bigger company and makes more per hour. We're all proud of him! He also got his Wisdom Teeth pulled on February 15th. I know his pain, so I feel bad for him, but I hear it's getting a little bit better!

I finally got my learners permit for driving just a few weeks ago. Now dad makes me drive all over the place and all my siblings freak out when I drive. They all shout, “Put your seatbelt on so she doesn't kill us!” It's kind of obnoxious!!

Emily got braces just after my last post!! She got them on January 12 and she looks great! She's only had them for a couple months, but her teeth are already moving all over the place. She can't eat normally yet because it hurts, but she'll get over it eventually!

Bekah gets to do the “wax museum” since she's in 5th grade and she is Marilyn Monroe. She's had loads of fun researching Marilyn and she's super excited to be done with the assignment. She'll do a great Job.

Hannah burned herself on Monday, and it's not just a little burn. It goes all the way from her wrist to her elbow. She got way too close to the fireplace and it was a rough night for her. She's been taking medicine though, and she feels much better now.

Daddy is doing well in school! He's done a very good job at working, schooling and spending lots of time with us all at once! I know he's probably stressed, but he's always willing to help us with all our homework and comfort us! I love my daddy!!!!

Mommy is ultra busy too. She works all day and then does play stuff at rehearsals. She's the producer again so she works a lot on helping the show run smoothly! I'm glad that she does this for us!!!!

Well that's all I've got for now!!!!

We love you all very much!!!!

Love,
Kirk, Dawn, Jake, Me, Emily, Bekah and Hannah

Jan 10, 2010

The Garrett Gazette
1/10/10

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Late Christmas and Happy New Year!!!! I know that I'm very late, but that's okay right?! We had a lot of stuff going on, but I don't remember it all, so I'll do my best.

Everyone of us kids had a Christmas concert type of thing. Hannah sang some songs with her class and mom went to see that. The Monday before Christmas, Bekah's grade did “Grandma got ran over by a reindeer” and Rebekah played the “Grandpa” She had a lot of fun doing that, and according to Grandma and Mommy, she was hilarious! Emily had a choir concert on the 15th of December where she and I sang a duet of “Santa Baby.” We did super good, although we had some technical difficulties and the rest of the concert was cute too. I had a concert on the 16th where I sang three songs with my class and as a whole choir, we invited the Alumni to come up and sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” with us. That was a lot of fun, and it sounded so cool. The whole auditorium was decorated with Poinsettias so it looked beautiful.

We had a great Christmas break. I was able to go sledding with a few friends, and I haven't done that since I was little, so that was an adventure.

Christmas Eve went great! We had a typical dinner of Ham and Christmas potatoes and then we opened presents! We all had fun opening everything, but as you probably know, the last present of the night was Jessica's. Jakie gave Jessica a box of sees candy with an engagement ring in it and he proposed. The ring is uber pretty and the date is now set for May 21st, 2010.

Christmas was a good day too! I was the first kid awake, (that hasn't happened for 3 or 4 years) and we were all surprised by what Santa left us! I got a rockin awesome camera that the whole Garrett family has already seen. Bekah got an aquarium and a fish named Leo. She loves that fish. Emily got a cute outfit and a really pretty calendar holder, and Hannah got an adorable dress and some Barbie and the Three Musketeers stuff.

The day after Christmas we went up to Idaho to spend some time with Daddy's side of the family. We stayed in a Hotel and we had loads of fun with all our cousins. I took a jillion pictures and we all ate TONS of food!

On New Years Eve, Bekah went to a party and I went to a multi stake dance until about 10:30. We, of course, drank sparkling cider, and counted down to midnight!

On the day that we started school again, Daddy also went to school. He started college over at UVU and he is still overwhelmed with everything, so I'll give you more info later. We also started rehearsals for “Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood” that me, Emily, Bekah, and Hannah are all in. We are so excited to be in this show. It'll be a blast!

The start of this new year has brought some realization with it. I noticed that this year is going to be a year of changes for our family. 1St, daddy started school so that's a big change! Hannah is turning 8 and will get baptized this year and Jakie is getting married. I am turning 16, so I'll be getting my permit, and my liscense this year along with being able to date. SCARY! So this year will be super different than last year, but it'll be good.

Happy Birthday to Ava and Alea! We love you two soooo much and I can't wait to see you again!

Also....Happy Birthday Aunt Amelia!!!! You're a rockin awesome aunt, and thanks for the Christmas presents you gave us!!!

Happy Birthday Keith and Kacey!! (hopefully I spelled that right) We love you and can't wait to see you again.

And Happy Birthday Grandma Clayton!! We're still a couple weeks off, but still, hope you have a great one!!!

Love,
Kirk, Dawn, Jakie, Me, Emily, Bekah and Hannah