The Pioneer Pageant with Annabelle

Gorgeous Pioneer

With Paige pre-show

Sporting our red, white and blue!

Our big, toothy grins

The Brotherson family. Mindi was my best friend growing up. We LOVE them :) They have 2 kids in the show.

Cute and spunky Addison--I have a feeling she and Stocky are 2 peas in a pod! ;)

This was actually a really neat part of the pre-show! As he drops to the ground, a team of men rush in to pick up the flag--the flag never even touched the ground! I just loved it, made my heart swell.

Gotta have a hot dog and nachos! I think I ate the nachos :)

This was really fun! Merrill Osmond actually sky dived on the closing night! He didn't hit his mark, and actually landed in a nearby field, where they picked him up and transported him to the show :) I Love Merrill; he is a wonderful man in every way. Because of him, I have so many wonderful memories of dancing!

Watching the sky divers!

Girls hanging out after the show. Next year we hope they will all be participants :)

Annabelle was so excited to get to Paige

Playing around on the stage

Our big group of has-beens! Haha. This is me with my previous studio directors/clogging family! I gew up very close to all of these people, and I still get to judge competitions for them in the springtime.  From Left: Mindi, Chareese, Brittany, Lisa, Karen, Me, Misty, and Gary. Gary actually sang at our wedding :) He was also Brother Brigham in our pageant.

It was so great to finally be able to take Annabelle to the pageant! It was a very surreal occasion for me, and a bit hard to believe! There were many previous cast members who attended this night, and it was trippy to watch all of the kids up there dancing, taking over our places :)  We keep telling Karen and Merrill to let us dance in it! I think a decision has yet to be made. I'm ready to put my bonnett on and hoedown my heart out, if only my feet could move as fast as they used to--it's definitely not like riding a bike! :) Nevertheless, I would make it happen if we got the go-ahead! It would be amazing to be with Annabelle and do it together. She's probably still young enough to think that's cool :)



The 24th of July Parade!

 

Stocky preferred Annabelle's princess chair over his Buzz chair--weird! :)

It's a good thing Josh works out right? :)

 

Sitting on the playground eating her slushie--such a great summer photo!

We had a great morning attending the 24th of July parade! Papa, Angie and little Rusty joined us on the route, and the kids loved it! Annabelle is obsessing over everything Pioneer, and Stockton is starting to pick up on it too: "I-oneer! I-oneer!" :) We finished off the afternoon with ice cold slushies and playtime at nearby Liberty Park. The kids snoozed the whole way home, and I think I may have too!



The Pioneer Pageant

Years ago my sister and I had the opportunity to perform in Merrill Osmond's Youth Pioneer Pageant. Our studio often joined up with Merrill Osmond, The Osmond Brothers, and the Osmond Boys (2nd Generation) for song and dance productions here in the valley and throughout the U.S. I feel so grateful to have had so many amazing performing opportunities, largely due to being in the right place at the right time, and having parents who chose to sacrifice in order to make those opportunities a reality for us. The pioneer pageant holds a super special place in my heart--I LOVED it! I never went to a Young Women's rough camp, or Oakcrest while growing up because I was always committed to pageant rehearsals during those months. I hope I can serve one day in the Young Womens so I can experience camp, but I would never change those summers during the pageant years! My studio was my extended family. My best friends were on my dance teams (not at my schools). My parents' best friends were the moms and dads of our best friends, and we had amazing times and travels together! Because of the pioneer pageant, I was able to learn at a young age the story, the emotions, and the sacrifices of those early saints. There's nothing that will teach you better than actually pretending as though you're one of them :) Seeing Annabelle and little Paige developing those same emotions, and getting to have similar experiences makes my heart happy :) I am forever grateful for all the wonderful memories, and I was beyond excited when I heard Merrill was bringing the pageant back after about 15 years. I hope Annabelle and Paige will choose to participate as long as they can! 

This year I went on 2 different nights. I loved watching Paige and how adorable she was up there! Seriously, she did SO well and knew all of her parts perfectly. And though there were a few new changes and additions to the show, I still thought it was fantastic :) 

The Scene. Nathan Osmond was the pre-show (I met Nathan when we performed in Branson in 1993). He was in the pageant that year with us.

White hair. White beard. Can you pick out Merrill :)

Pre-show

Brittany and Paige

Adorable!

Grandma is so proud!

Pictures from Branson, MO in 1993

Our 1st year in Draper, UT

Scerra Shell. Orem, UT

The girl on the left was Josh's next door neighbor growing up! Small world :)

Mindi (2nd from left) was my best friend, and Misty (4th from left) was my teacher

My best friend Mindi was in love with Gary (Brother Brigham)! They are now married! :)

The mob scene

Awesome memories!