We're Moving to Scotland!!!

So, a little over a year ago I posted a blog about Steven's upcoming Grad School Auditions. Obviously since I didn't post anything after, they were not extremely successful. He had one school that said they liked him, but they still had a lot of auditions to go and they eventually found someone they liked a little more. Lets just say, it was a slightly dark time at the Grawrock house. Things did cheer us up though when we heard that a lot of people need to audition for Grad schools several times before getting in. That was the light at the end of the tunnel!

After much prayer and talking, Steven and I decided that we were going to give Grad School auditions one more shot before throwing in the towel. But, this time we were going to limit our options a little more and not apply to quite so many schools. He did, however, apply through URTAS which is a program that lets you apply to about 40 different schools at one time. Not too shabby. Steven's dream school (The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama or RSAMD) were the ones that told him they liked him, so that was the one school he specifically wanted to audition for again. Having the wonderful parents that he does, they decided they wanted to fly him to Scotland so he could actually audition in person this time. I'm not sure if it actually helped his chances or not, but I know that it gave him a little more confidence. So, in early February Steven auditioned for URTAS and The University of Birmingham School for Acting because they were having open auditions in San Francisco and he figured, WHY not? Well, we found out on Feb. 21 that Steven was accepted into the only URTA school there from England. East 15 in Essex, England. As you can imagine, we were THRILLED. He not only got into Grad School, but Steven had always wanted to study abroad. Steven then flew to Scotland for his Audition knowing that he had already been accepted into Grad School, which I think relieved some of the pressure. He had a WONDERFUL audition in Scotland. One of the best he's ever had and he felt really good about it. When he came home he had an e-mail from them telling him that they were putting him on the list of people they were considering, but that they wouldn't know for sure until they finished all their auditions. This alone was exciting. But while we were trying to decide if we should accept East 15's offer while we waited to hear from Scotland we got word that Steven was accepted into the Birmingham School for Acting that he had randomly auditioned for. So, Grad school number 2 accepted him. YAY!

At this point we were just trying to decide between East 15 and Birmingham since we hadn't found out about Scotland yet. We both felt strongly that Birmingham was the better choice, even though we hadn't heard of either school before. So, we turned down East 15 and asked Birmingham for an extension while we waited. They were so nice and went ahead and told us they would wait.

We ended up waiting 2 months, but we FINALLY heard from Scotland and he Got in!! We can't believe it. Steven has wanted to go there for 4 years now and we're still in shock that he got in. The Alumni list is amazing and since we've accepted we found out that its ranked number 4 in the world for Theatre Schools. Steven laughs at me, but I like to brag that we also found out that Birmingham is rated number 8 in the world, so he was accepted into 2 of the top 10. That's just incredible to me and I am SO proud of him. Now we're just trying to get things ready to move at the end of August. (Aug. 30 to be exact, since we now have the plane tickets) I'm excited to keep this blog up and to keep everyone informed on the progress of this move. Its an extremely exciting and nerve racking time. So, keep tuned for more updates on the Grawrock Family adventure!

I want the Give-a-way

Okay, so I haven't posted in a REALLY long time and this is giving me incentive to do so. However in order to get more points for a Give-a-way that my Brother-in-law is doing on his blog, I need to post this. So here goes.

My Brother-in-law Josh writes this hilarious blog. It is so funny that you are seriously missing out if you don't read it. Here's the link.

http://www.joshweed.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=5

But, he finally reached 100 followers and so to celebrate he's doing a give-away and the prize is a White elephant gift he received along with a Giftcard to the Cheesecake factory. The White Elephant is A Little Thumper massager. Yes.. that kind of Massager. I think its hilarious, and while most of the people commenting to win really only want the Giftcard, I'm thinking both would be kind of fun. =) So, here's hoping that we win! Oh... and read the blog. SOOOO funny!

Headshots

Steven will be graduating this May and so we have been getting him ready to apply to Grad schools. There are 5 schools that he is applying for: University of California San Diego, University of California Irvine, Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Yale School of Drama, and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Since he is an acting major he actually has to audition for all of these schools, and have his resume and Headshot. Steven's most current headshot that he had was 2 years old so it wasn't a very current picture of him. So, at the beginning of December we had his retaken. There were SO many good ones to choose from that we had a hard time picking, but we eventually decided on this one. Its one of the few pictures Steven actually likes of himself, so I am hoping that it gives him the confidence to do well at his auditions.
His first audition for RSAMD was this weekend in New York and they actually told him that he is definitely in their Talent pool of people that they're looking for. They should let him know in about 7-10 days if he got in. He also has 2 auditions scheduled on Feb. 6 in San Fransisco and 2 more on Feb. 12Th and 13Th in San Diego so he is really busy right now.
We are very excited to find out which schools he gets into and to make that decision which will affect our little family for the next few years. Its both exciting and scary, but we're looking forward to this new change in our lives. Plus, its really nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We will keep everyone updated about which ones accept him as we get more information.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we weren't able to go anywhere because Steven was required to work on Black Friday. That just didn't leave a whole lot of traveling time so we decided to have our own Thanksgiving at home. Steven's brother Evan and his wife Leslie along with our friends Tasha and Eric weren't able to go anywhere either, so we invited them to have dinner with us.
We had all the trimmings, including the Turkey that Evan made, and the meat pastries that Eric made. It was all delicious but my favorite food this year was Steven's Sweet Potatoes that he made using his Mom's recipe. So Yummy!
This was the first year that I went into the Holiday determined not to gain any weight, so I took the time to measure out my food. It was a process but it was totally worth it because I got to enjoy all of my favorite foods and I ended up LOSING a pound and a half. Is it too corny to say "Yay me" right now? Oh well.. corny or not.. YAY ME! =)
After dinner we played the new Mario Bros for the Wii that Tasha brought over. It is so much fun to play, and since 4 people can play it at the same time everybody got to join in. Rhys even got to take a turn at it and he was pretty good for a 3 year old.
So, we're sad that we didn't get to see the rest of our families on Thanksgiving, but really happy that we got to be with so many people that we love.

Christmas Show

Every year Salt Lake has a "Christmas Show" which is just a huge center filled with hundreds of booths. Each booth has all sorts of different things like different foods and treats to buy, cooking supplies, toys for kids, make-up, jewelry, games, clothes, anything you can think of. It goes on for 3 full days. The idea is to give you ideas for Christmas presents. My Aunts and Grandma go every year and it has been a new tradition for my Mom to fly down and go with them. They make a huge thing out of it. They show up first thing in the morning and stay until it closes both on Friday and on Saturday. This year Kati and I were able to make it up and go with them. It was SO much fun. I enjoyed looking at everything, but I enjoyed getting to see my Mom the most.
I had Rhys and Gavin with me that first day, but the second day my sweet cousin Jake watched Rhys for me. Gavin was a little angel the entire time which of course makes the whole experience a lot more fun. I was really sad when the weekend was over. I didn't actually buy anything for myself this year because we really didn't have the money for it, but I got lots of ideas for next year and hopefully I'll be able to go again and actually spend money this time. (Oh, I'm sure Steven loves that thought) =)

Halloween

We decided to carve our pumpkin the day before Halloween because Steven was going to be able to do it with us if we waited until Halloween day. It was very important that Steven be there since its his job to scoop out all the gooey insides of the pumpkin. =) Rhys went on a field trip with his preschool class to the pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkin himself, so we let him pick the design for us to use to carve the pumpkin. He had so much fun helping Daddy and was very intrigued with the whole process. I'm excited for when he's old enough to carve one himself.

Gavin sat with me while we watched the carving being done.

As you can see, Rhys chose the Ghosts

That night we went to the Institute Trunk or Treat with my sister Kati and her friends. It was so fun for Rhys to walk around showing off his costume, and all the College kids thought that both him and Gavin were adorable. There was even a dance and Rhys got some of Kati's friends to take him on the Dance floor. He had a really fun time.

Halloween Morning I set up an appointment to get my haircut. It had been bothering me for a while, so I asked Steven to pick out a new style for me. I was really surprised when he chose the A-line cut, but he was really excited about it. So, I chopped all my hair off. I LOVE it and am actually wondering what took me so long to do it in the first place. =)

This year for Halloween Rhys went as a Vampire. He wasn't a specific Vampire, however, Steven was adament that people not think he is Edward from Twilight. (Steven is NOT a Twilight fan) So, I told people he was Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead. =) Gavin was too little to fit into the Dinosaur costume that Rhys wore his first Halloween, so we got him a new Frog costume to wear. He was adorable also and everybody thought they both were adorable.

Its a tradition for my Sister Kati to come with us Trick or Treating since she has come every year since she was in school. But, this is the first year that Steven has gotten to come too, so it was a real treat. Our friends Kaitlin and Matt were also able to join us so we had quite the fun time this year.

Gavin only made it part of the night before he fell asleep.

Our Town

Right after MacBeth was finished, Steven started rehearsing for "Our Town." He had a really small walk on role as Professor Willard, but he got quite the reaction from the crowd. He got a clapping exit 4 of the 6 nights they performed it. (Not that he was counting) =) Steven and I have started calling it his "cameo" role because it was such a funny thing for him to do.
Now, if you're wondering why I'm even bothering posting a blog about this since it wasn't that big of a part... well I just really like the picture of him as the Professor and wanted an excuse to post it. So sue me. =)