Almost famous...

A couple of months ago, I got a random call from the Spokane WIC (Women, Infants and Children) director.  She said the people in our North Spokane WIC office had seen our family at our WIC appointments and thought of us when asked who they should have on a WIC commercial.  The enrollment for WIC is down, and 75% of the children who qualify for the program are not participating.  If they do not get their numbers up, they will lose funding.  So, Spokane WIC and the Spokane Regional Health District launched a WIC education campaign, and they wanted us to be a part of it.  I said that would be fine, thinking it would be fun to see some behind the scenes and let the kids have the opportunity to see how things get on TV.  So we went in one day to meet the crew at North by Northwest Productions, and the WIC/SRHD people, and to let the kids get familiar with the camera, and for them to get to know us.  Then, we went in one morning bright and early to film the commercial.  We had to be on the South Hill at 8 a.m., which is quite a drive from our house.  That was super early for our kids, conidering they usually don't wake up until a lot later (except for Lucy, she's an early bird like me!).  But we arrived on scene and went downstairs, where catering had breakfast set up for everyone.  They had fruit kabobs and banana bread, breakfast burritos, yogurt, cereals, drinks of all kind, and coffee, of course.  We then went through wardrobe and creative service people, everyone was really nice.  Then we all had makeup and hair done.  Then, it was time for my belly makeover.  Ha ha!  They wanted me to be pregnant in the commercial, emphasizing that WIC is for pregnant or nursing women, too.  So, we put on a beer belly and ace bandaged it up until I looked pregnant.  They were having a hard time because I have such a short upper-body, we really had to squeeze in the stuffing!  Then we went upstairs to get filming.  They had several cameras, sound people, lighting people, the director, the producer, and more.  It was quite the experience!  We had to film each shot over and over, so they could get just the right angles, just the right lighting, just the right feel for the commercial.  We were filming until about 12 noon.  It took 4 hours to film a 30-second commercial!  The kids were so tired, but did so well doing what they were instructed!  It was a good experience for us all. 

"And action!"  (again....)

Miss Lucy hanging out on the floor.  The crew all loved her and had a great time holding her and playing with her.  She was really good.  She wasn't used in this commercial.  ):  Since I was "prego" for the commercial, they thought that might be too close in age to be that pregnant with an 8-month old.

Cutting the peppers.  I think I went through two peppers, slicing and slicing them. 

 We had to get the lighting just right and were having a rough time getting the right light needed for the time of day they wanted for the commercial. 

We were also interviewed about the WIC program, so they could use these clips on future media projects.  There were also still-photographers there taking pictures.  We had to sign a picture release, because they said they were probably going to buy up space for bus ads and billboards, so our pictures might be around town.  I haven't seen any yet...

It was a long day, but the commercial turned out really well!  NXNW Productions & The SRHD/WIC staff did awesome!  It was kind of fun to do.  The kids were getting tired near the end, and we couldn't get Cal to smile at the end when he was eating the {cold} spaghetti.  /:  He was just ready to run around!

Here's the final product.  You can see it from this webpage below.  The commercial is going to air on three major networks during local news commercial time.  We still haven't seen it yet, but then again, we don't watch TV very much.  Enjoy!

http://www.spokanewic.org/interact


Also, this past week on Monday, we had a news reporter and camera man from the Spokesman Review come interview our family and the WIC PR Director and SRHD Director.  They interviewed us, and then the photographer took pictures while we were making dinner (ribs, broccoli salad, rice and corn).  Our next door neighbor came over the nerxt day and showed us the paper and told us we made the front page news!  It must have been a slow news day... 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/nov/22/filling-a-family-need/

We also had KHQ, the local NBC affiliate do a news story that same day about the WIC program, the kids and Dave and I were on that one.  It was kind of a cheesy one.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=205768206166487&set=vb.123574424380445&type=2&theater

Here are some of the still pictures from the commercial shoot. 

Family and friends have been joking around with us lately about being famous.  Famous?  Ha ha ha hardly!  But we do feel like the WIC poster family now.  I am grateful for the program, which has helped us learn more about nutrition, breast-feeding and all-around wellness, and has helped supplement our family's food budget each month by  providing nutritious food for our family while attending school.  I like what my friend Calena said when talking with her a while back, when we were talking about the commercial and their slogan.  She said one that really made me laugh out loud: "Beans and rice and everything nice!"  Yep, that's WIC!  (:  And that's a wrap!

Hi, I'm Melanie. I'm a Mormon.

In Spokane, a media campaign has been going on to try to get people more familiar and comfortable with the church and its members. There are commercials running on prime-time television, and billboards on the main roads. We had training on the new Mormon.org website, and also are doing a pilot program up here with church tours. Our family already went on one church tour, and it should be a great way to do missionary work! We had training on the new missionary efforts a few weeks ago, and were all encouraged to do a profile. So I finally did it. You can view my profile (as well as many others on the website) here:

http://mormon.org/me/72XQ/

I hope I can do a better job opening my mouth and sharing the Gospel, because I want everyone to feel the same things I feel and know the same things I know because of it! That's what's been coming to my mind lately "open your mouth"! I also keep thinking of one of my favorite quotes by President Hinckley: "This work requires sacrifice, it requires effort, it means courage to speak out and faith to try. This cause does not need critics; it does not need doubters. It needs men and women of solemn purpose. As Paul wrote to Timothy: " . . . God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. . . ." (2 Tim. 1:7-8.) I would that every member of this church, and every good man throughout the world, would put those words where he might see them every morning as he begins his day. They would give him the courage to speak up, they would give him the faith to try, they would strengthen his conviction of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that miracles would begin to happen over the earth."

HH11 (Happy Halloween 2011)!

I just love Halloween, especially with kids! I don't know if I or they enjoy it more! Here they are on Halloween morning! We had a fun morning eating pumpkin donuts for breakfast, reading Halloween books, and watching Mr. Boogedy ("Boogedy Boogedy Boogedy!"). Then we got ready to take Emma to school. I was able to go help at her school for her Spider Party! It was a lot of fun and the kiddos in her class are darling, and Mrs. C is just fantastic! I helped at the Spider Counting booth and Oreo spider making booth. She had a blast!

Since we wouldn't be home during dinner time, we had white chicken chili and witches broomsticks for lunch. Yummy!

After school, we went to Washington State for their Trick-or-Treat family activity. Here's baby Maggie! (Suck suck...suck suck) Again, everyone loved our costumes and we loved making people smile and laugh!

At the WSU family event, we even got to meet Butch, the WSU mascot! Dave and I have always thought Butch needs a makeover, he looks kind of ghetto! Oh well! Go Cougs!

Emma and Cal do another cake walk! And they both won cupcakes, which they thoroughly enjoyed!

We went around to all of the offices at the Riverpoint campus and trick-or-treated! We liked this pumpkin that was out, but still think Daddy's was better! (;

Cal playing the bean bag toss. We love that the graduate programs of WSU is very family-oriented.

Emma having a fun Halloween!

Sugar rush!

The Simpsons! None of our pictures turned out very well, DOH!

After the WSU thing, we went to grab some dinner at Wendys, got to talk to Aunt Amy, Grandma Di, and Grandma and Grandpa Ryerse. Then went to the Shiloh Hills Christian Fellowship Trunk-or-treat, which was a fun thing! Then we just went to a couple of our neighbor's homes. It was a nice night! The kids got more candy than they could handle! We traded all of Cal's peanut candy for other things Emma had. They had fun negotiating over candy. I remember that. "I'll trade you 20 smarties for 1 Snicker's bar..." Ha ha!

"Bart!"

Emma kept singing or "playing" Careless Whisper by George Michael, made familiar to her by the Sexy Sax Man (go check it out on YouTube if you have no idea what I'm talking about). Silly Lisa!

Marge in the kitchen.

Trick-or-treat!

Until next year...muwah ha ha ha! We're already talking about what to be next year, of course. Now it's time to hit the Halloween clearance sales, which means time to get some basic supplies for next year's Halloween!

Halloween Tricks and Treats!

Halloween! It's truly one of my favorite holidays, and we've had a great Halloseason! A few weeks ago, we got a package from Grandma Di! The kids are so excited, like always! Cal got a 3D Monster truck book, which he loves and reads over and over! They also got a cute set of Halloween pop-up books we read at least a couple of times a day.

Emma got a jingly bells Halloween bracelet, which is so cute, and some prizes for her good piano practicing!

The package also had lots of little Halloween treats, a Halloween cookbook, decoration for mom, and more! A big thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! Also, another big thanks to everyone else! Dave went to Utah on a recruiting trip to some of the universities a few weeks ago, and was sent home with goodies and fun from everyone! Coloring books and candy from Tayla and Kaison, foam swords, trick-or-treat buckets, shirts, and candy from Grandma Sue, and jerky, cookies, gum, and a pink belt buckle for Emma from Amy. Wow! The kids were way excited! I couldn't find my camera that night so I couldn't take pictures! We are so lucky to have people who care about us and think of us, thanks again! We love you all!

One of my favorite parts about Halloween is making all of the fun goodies to give to neighbors and strangers! We made these skeleton cupcakes, that were pretty fun, but the picture turned out not so well. Also, Emma had the idea to dip Scooby snacks in white chocolate to make skeleton bones. They were way cute and super easy! We made monster feet out of Nutter Butters, by dipping them in chocolate and using cashews as toenails.

The weekend before Halloween, we had a party with a couple of our friends, the Collier's and the Bennett's. We made homeade individual pizzas, had games for the kids, decorated some sugar cookies, and played some fun games with the adults. Thanks for coming, guys! We have so much fun with you! I only took a few pictures...

Cruz, Abby, and Emma playing the eyeball game!

Lilly and Callahan helping each other with the ball toss, with Aaron and Dave visiting in the background.

The Saturday before Halloween, we went to the Halloween Carnival at Emma's school. It was a trial run with the costumes to see what worked and what didn't, and we weren't quite dressed up, we didn't wear any makeup or have our glasses! I think they turned out pretty well! I had a fun time sewing everything and putting everything together! Most common questions were about how I made the costumes, particularly the Marge hair. The answer is: posterboard, cotton balls, and LOTS of blue spray paint. Yep, everything is homeade, except for Dave and Cal's shirts and pants. I love having costumes that no one else has, they're unique since we put them together. And it is so much fun to see people's reactions! On Halloween, we feel like celebrities. Everyone was getting their cameras and cell phones out to take pictures, or asking to take pictures with us. Lots of people say we should win a costume contest or something. Seeing the smiles on everyones faces is worth it!

There were the typical carnival games, like the fish pond, which the kids love!

We had some yummy food like nachos, cupcakes, and cotton candy. The cotton candy machine kept setting off the smoke alarm, so they moved it outside. We had to wait a long time for it, but it was worth it. Mmmm... The cotton candy matched Lucy's outfit.

Lucy had her first taste of sugar....she grabbed off a piece and knew exactly what to do with it!

Lucy's first experience with sugar! She would get a little taste, and smile. It was pretty cute, we couldn't prevent her from eating it.

Hope you enjoyed that, little lady, because there will be no more for you until your first birthday! (:

I think Cal likes cotton candy because he likes all things messy!

Sticky, sweet!

The cake walk - Cal and Emma both won!

Playing ghosty golf! At all of the booths where balls were involved, all of the workers mentioned that he has a nice arm and good aim. Cal likes throwing, kicking, passing, rolling balls of any kind!
Cute Lisa Simpson. She was excited to see some friends there all dressed up!

Emma is always very nice and helpful with Callahan. It was a fun thing, thew PTSO did a great job!
Saturday night was our ward Chili Cookoff contest. I brought a white chili, and it was good. There were so many yummy chili's there! It was tasty. Even better though, was the cornbread, it was the bets cornbread Dave said he's ever had! We sat by the Bate's, a couple I visit teach and Dave home teaches. They During dinner, Cal fell asleep! I guess he had had enough fun that day.

After dinner, there was dancing and music. It was a lot of fun! We really like our ward! My favorite costume there was "Cloudy with a chance of rain". A sister had a blue jogging suit, and she attached cotton balls all over that, painted her face blue, and made a cap with cotton balls. Then she went around with a spray bottle misting people. Cute! The kids just raided the dress up box. Emma wore the new wings and skirt Grandma Sue sent her and was a fairy for the night, Cal went for the Cowboy look.
I love the great family traditions and activities associated with Halloween! Sunday was the day we carved pumpkins. Dave is the master pumpkin carver, and Emma had a great time doing it this year too, and is getting pretty good!

Emma even did well with the knife (we were right there helping her, of course)! Cal kept picking up the knives and tried to stab the pumpkins all over....uhhhh...yikes!

Cal decorated his pumpkin with foam stickers, then called it good and ran around the house and read books.

Lucy, our little pumpkin!

Dave's was the champ, like always! He did a Wazzu pumpkin, it looked great! Even better in person, of course!

Here's the all-star pumpkin line-up! Dave's WSU pumpkin, I did the Simpson's logo, Cal's race car pumpkin (and he had Emma draw Napoleon Dynamite (his recent favorite) on the back, Emma's witch hat pumpkin, and Lucy's pumpkin in disguise.

After the pumpkin carving, comes the pumpkin seeds! I love them! This year we used butter instead of canola or olive oil. It was so tasty! You use 1 Tbsp. butter per cup of seeds, and salt to taste. Bake at 250 until a little browned around edges and crunchy.

And now, check out the most recent posts to see Halloween day happenings!