A growing family means a bigger vacation location

I just realized I have yet again neglected this blog. :( So, I figured I'd blog a bit about this year's Hadfam staycation: a few highlights and what was determined for next summer's family gathering as a result.

Just in case we have some confused readers at this point... staycation (stey-key-shuhn - noun) a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, but no long distance travel. Instead, one stays local to conserve financially: The Hadleys chose to stay in Olympia and enjoy a family staycation this summer.

Yes, it's true. We all got off work and out of other responsibilities to make our way (some from Colorado, Oregon, and Grays Harbor) to my parents' house in Olympia for a long weekend of fellowship. During our 5 days of family time, we went on two day trips. First, to see the wild animals at NW Trek. My nephews (Ben 5; Aaron 3) really enjoyed this activity. The second trip we took was a day up at Tee Lake near Belfair, WA. It was a little bit overcast but I didn't let that hold me back from taking a swim. We also roasted hot dogs, fixed some perfect s'mores, and took turns exploring the lake on our one paddle boat. The other days we spend recovering from the full day trips sprinkled throughout our time together. Truly, with little kiddos involved... it's just a totally different way of living. Can you tell I'm not a mom?

There were a lot of Hadfam staycation attendees this year due to our growing family and some special out-of-town guests. We had my cousin Scott, his wife Meredith, and there 1 1/2 year old son Markus join us for staycation. They were a delight and it had been a long time since most of my family had seen Scott and his family since they live in Ohio. I really enjoyed finding out that Meredith was a fellow running enthusiast, so we got out of the house to go jogging several times. Also, there were so many of us because our family is growing! We now have Kevin - my older sister Suzanne's husband. Though he was the only added person to our family this year, Matt (my brother) and Anna's kids are getting older... and louder... and rowdier... so the three of them felt more like 6 of them! I love them to pieces, but my parents' house didn't provide the space us adults quickly realized we needed with those little rascals on board.

The sleeping arrangements were... well, different (for me anyway) almost every night. My parents' have two guest bedrooms with double beds so the two families with kids took over the upstairs. That left my younger sister Bekah and her husband Ezra and Suzanne & Kevin. The neighbors had offered up their house nearby while they were on vacation so the two couples trekked that way for sleeping. As it turned out, the sleeping arrangements in the neighboring house were not conducive for two couples... only one, so Suzanne and Kevin stayed in a hotel. I ended up staying at my parents house... in the office on an air mattress... and then in the living room on the couch. One night we ended up having all 15 of us crammed in that house. I think everyone slept well... maybe some better than others. Ah, but that is what memories are made of.

Though we had a famously good time, we all realized that it's time to bring the era of Hadley STAYcations to a close and embark on an old - but new to us - adventure of a vacation next time. We have decided on a location and are currently putting money aside for a 2011 Hadley vacation to Sunriver, OR. We've been there before and have really enjoyed renting a house and enjoying all of the accommodations provided such as a hot tub, bicycles, tennis courts, swimming pools, shopping center, and more. Even though we will have two more additions to our family (Suzanne's due in December and Anna is due in January) we still hope to stay in one house, but with WAY more square footage than my parents' place. Also, we're hoping to find time for a white water rafting trip for some of us thrill-seeking adults. It should be fun!

I really do enjoy spending time with my whole family. It doesn't happen as much anymore now that we're all grown up and my siblings are in new chapters of live with marriage and/or raising kids. It's so fun to see though. I love seeing my brother play with his three kids, I love seeing my sisters cuddle with their respective hubbies, I love seeing my mom using her mad cooking skills for our eating enjoyment, and I love talking with my dad about how much we love the little kiddos - Ben (5) Aaron (3), and Grace (1). I also love my added siblings - Anna, Ezra, and Kevin. They are all perfect matches for my siblings and am so thankful they are a part of my family. I love them all and trust that God plans to do great things through their marriages and families.

Spring 2010

Wow, so much life has happened since the last time I blogged. Being busy is a lame excuse for neglecting the up-keep of this blog, but it's true. I guess I'll just give an update on what I've been up to this year so far.

42nd Street
My Dad, my sister Bekah, and I were in a musical at the community college. We all had speaking roles - Dad was Abner Dillon, Bekah was Phillys Dale, and I was Peggy Sawyer. Bekah and I were a part of the tap chorus so we put in hours and hours of dance practices. Neither of us had done much tapping prior to this show, so it was an awesome learning opportunity! The show ran for two weekends in March. I had so many friends come up from Portland to see the show, which meant SO much to me! Thank you, dear friends!

Little Women
The day after our closing show for 42nd Street, auditions were held for Little Women at another community theater in town. I went for it and was thrilled to be cast as Jo March. It was such a fun experience! Being in a non-musical theater production was pretty new to me. I discovered a lot about myself and what I have to offer as an actress as opposed to just a dancer. I made new friends. :) And I also had the chance to work with a handful of people that had just been in 42nd street with me. Little Women performances ran for four weekends in May. I was so honored to have my sister Suzanne and her husband Kevin come visit from Colorado to see me as Jo. Again, I had plenty of out-of-town guests/dear friends come support me in this fun adventure. Thank you, thank you for making the effort to come to Aberdeen!

Babies on the way!!!
In family news, some exciting announcements were made this spring. Both my sister Suzanne and my sister-in-law Anna are expecting. Suzanne and Kevin are due with their first December 17th and Matt and Anna are having their fourth around January 22nd! The Hadleys hit a baby-booming season. I can't wait!! I just love being an Auntie!

Swing it!!
Now that I'm done with the back-to-back plays, I've been able to go out swing dancing about twice a week in Olympia. I just love it! It's hard to describe just how much and why I love to Lindy-Hop (the style of swing dancing I do). I think it's a combination of my deep love and appreciation for jazz music and soloists of the 30's and 40's, my great intrigue with how it works - how I can follow every step the guy leads solely by non-verbal cues, and my love for stylizing and improving steps (and personality!) here and there when the opportunity arises, which is absolutely a blast! I'm looking forward to attending the Seattle Lindy Exchange in August. There will be swing dancers and jazz musicians coming from all over the nation for three days of serious dancing! We're talking dances each night from 9PM-5AM!!! I CAN'T WAIT!

Running
I've also taken up running this spring. My new year's resolution was to run a 10k sometime this year. Well, I'm already running that distance on a regular basis, so I guess I'll keep increasing my distance and go for a half marathon!! I haven't found a race yet, but that's what I'm training for this summer.

So those are the Sarah Hadley highlights of the past 6 months. Ha! Here are a few pictures of 42nd Street and Little Women.

New Blog!

Hey everyone! In case you didn't know, I have a new blog especially for capturing my thoughts and experiences as I rehearse for 42nd Street. Come check out my new blog at: http://42ndstreetghc.blogspot.com/

Come and meet those dancin' feet.

I just auditioned for this year's community theater musical at Grays Harbor College - 42nd Street.  What a fun week of auditions and callbacks.  I'm not gonna lie; I was super nervous and definitely had my little bobbles along the way, but I received a callback and even read for the lead role of the show, Peggy Sawyer.  I realized that though I've been working in theater, I haven't done any cold reading for at least 5 years!  Participating in auditions and evaluating auditioners are COMPLETELY two different things!  Well, I'm delighted to announce that I was cast as Peggy Sawyer!!!  Rehearsals will start next month and the performances will be held at the Bishop Center for Performing Arts on the Grays Harbor College campus in Aberdeen, WA.  My sister, Bekah and my dad both auditioned and also received speaking roles.  Come see the Hadfam tap, sing, and act... if you want.  Performances will run the first two weekends of March.  Tickets are on sale here!

Japan!!

Summer feels so far away now that the relentless Aberdeen rains have set in.  I love the rain though.  Especially when I can listen to it from indoors.  Before summer becomes too much of a distant memory, I want to share about my summer trip to Japan.

I went to Japan to visit my roommate from college and dear friend, Amy.  It's been several years since our good old college days and it was time for me to see her home, family, friends, beautiful country, and experience life with her in Japan.  Life in Japan is quite different!  Some of my favorite experiences: 1) Riding the trains everywhere!  It got pretty crowded at times, but Amy said it wasn't nearly as bad as it can be.  I guess when you can count 12 other bodies touching yours, then you can say it's crowded.  2) Using Japanese currency.  Way tricky for me - I felt so helpless and Amy helped me a lot by helping me pay for things I wanted to purchase.  3) Meeting Lucy, Amy's cute little dog!  She's so adorable.  4) Going to Disneyland Japan - all the familiar Disney characters on the rides and in the parades spoke Japanese!  Did you know that Whiney the Pooh speaks fluent Japanese?!?!  That was a new one for me - ya learn something new everyday.  5) Swimming in the Pacific ocean... on the other side of course.  6) And just hanging out and visiting with Amy and her parents.

Other experiences that didn't make my favorite list yet were memorable: 1) Surviving the HUGE spiders at camp.  I'm SO SCARED of spiders and these guys were the size of my palm and bigger.  One really freaked me out by crawling out of the toilet bowl right before I sat down!!!  2) Losing my luggage on my way there and even when I got back.  I was able to recover my belongings both times, but inconvenient for sure!  Experiencing ofura - a traditional bath house in Japan.  All us girls showered together at camp... let's just say I stood out as the big, white one.  3) Being exposed to the swing flu while counseling at a high school camp.  We had to all go home early because of a swing flu outbreak among some of the campers and counselors.  The good news is that Amy and I stayed healthy!!

Amy was a wonderful host.  We spent a week as counselors for a camp, a weekend in quarantine at her house, and then Amy had the rest of our days together planned out full of all kinds of adventures.  We went city sight-seeing as well as venturing into the countryside with her parents.  We went shopping, ate sushi, and talked a lot.  It was a perfect visit!  I definitely want to go back.  I'm just sad I didn't visit her sooner.  My first overseas experience was good even though my luggage was lost and I was expose to the swine flu.  Oh well.  All of that made for some great memories.  Here are a few pictures from my time in Japan.

Happy October 15th everyone!  It's that time of year again!!!  This is the day that I start listening to Christmas music. :)  This tradition started two years ago when I lived with Kristi Foster.  In casual conversation, we both discovered that the other had the same love for the Christmas season, especially for Christmas music.  Kristi, being a voice teacher has to work with students on preparing for Christmas recital each year so her tradition has been to start the Christmas music search on October 15th.  I loved it so much; I immediately adopted this tradition.  It's nice to have a particular date to look forward to.  Otherwise, the jolly tunes might sneak into my life even earlier.  You never know!  Anyway, after that conversation we decided that on October 14th, we would stay up until midnight and ring in the holiday season with a song dedication of sorts.  Well, we couldn't decide what song to play so at the last minute we went scrambling to her studio, pulled out the caroling books, and had our very own Christmas carol sing-along at her piano.  SUCH good memories.  

   This year was no different.  Even though Kristi and I now live 3 hours away from one another, we both stayed up until midnight, played a few Christmas tunes on our computers and wished each other a happy holiday season. :)  What a dear friend.  The Lord did a really good job when He arranged for the two of us to be friends.  I am truly blessed to know her. :)

  Even if you're not the type to pull out the Christmas music in October, I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy of Chris Rice's Christmas album.  It's all instrumental - just him on the piano.  It's called The Living Room Sessions: Christmas.  SO GOOD!!  It's the first CD I listen to each year.  Happy Christmas music listening to all and to all a good night!

I'm a blogging loser

So, I've failed to blog in FOREVER!!  For that, I apologize to my blog audience of... mmm, probably 3 or 4 people.  There is so much that has happened!

• I went to Japan to visit my college roommate (was exposed to the swine flu)
  
• I left my job at Starbucks and now work for Quigg Brothers Construction as an office assistant (with normal hours and weekends off!)
  
• My new job has moved me to Aberdeen where I live with my sister Bekah and her husband Ezra
  
• My older sister, Suzanne got married on September 12th!
• I'm filling my extra time with ballet, tap, and voice lessons (I'm LOVING it!)
  
• Oh, and we got the cutest kitten ever!  She's a long-haired orange kitty and her name is Tigris.
  

These are all things I need to blog about... and I will... soon.  Isn't the suspense just killin' ya?