Live on NBC

"We're live in 20 seconds!!"

That's what we heard as we rushed into the studio where the live filming of America's Got Talent, Week 8, Night 1 was taking place. With only 15 more seconds left, the stage crew hollered at Jeremy and me to get to our seats.

A few weeks before, I found the show on hulu.com (since we don't have real TV) and soon became an avid viewer. When I found out that the finals would be filmed in Hollywood, I went online to get tickets. They were free! All we had to do was show up no later than 4:00 pm and wear "hip" clothing (yes, that was in the instructions, mentioning that we could get turned away if our wardrobe wasn't cool enough).

Not sure if our clothes were up to par, we panicked when we were still on the highway at 4:30. LA traffic sucks. When we finally got to the studio, we were shocked that they still let us in, but it was standing room only. I guess they figured our clothes were more of the second-class type.

As we were led into the studio, a stage manager kept waving her arms for us to come up closer to the stage. The director counted down from 10 over the loud speaker as we climbed over bodies in the center isle to our new places. Before we new it, the show was in full swing and we were watching it from the VIP balcony with a family that was related to one of the producers!

Above: Train is playing on stage. Judges Sharon Osborne, Howie Mandel and the other guy on the right. Me and Jeremy are smack dab in the middle of the screen. Can you see our silhouettes on the center of the lowest balcony?

Below: A cheer squad performing. My head is just to the right of the cheer leader's bum and shoulder. Jeremy is to the right of me, directly under that blue light in the balcony room.

We could see everything perfectly--the performers, the judge's faces, the cameras, even the words on the teleprompter screens for the host. We could also see how that danger guy did his stupid tricks (he shouldn't have made it to the next round), the tech crew prepare for each number, and the make-up consultants assist Sharon Osborne and Howie Mandel during commercial breaks. The only annoying part of the show was the fidgety kids next to us who did not seem to realize the magnificence of where we were seated! (that's rich kids for you).

After the show, they told us to stick around for the pre-filming of the next night's feature. The band Train would be playing for us, and we would be on another night of NBC TV!!

The whole experience was awesome. I was really intrigued how the "theatre" was just a bunch of platforms hanging from metal lattices in a giant room. How amazing that they can turn a giant empty room into an auditorium, or city, or school, or outdoor set! Hollywood is pretty cool like that.

Feeling famous after the show, we decided to do what famous people do. We went to the Grove. (it's a really fancy mall that actors shop at). We pretended to be rich by eating at Magianno's Grill (luckily, we had gift cards) and then played Train during our car ride home!

Wild Animal Park

Highlights included:

• Three itty-bitty baby elephants, 4 older baby elephants
• Watching the elephants for a LONG time, splashing, walking, nursing, taking mud baths, creating mud-sunscreen, beautifying their bodies with mud, eating grass, shaking the dirt off of their grass heaps, chomping, pooping, bellowing, trumpeting, and more.
• The "journey into Africa" ride
• The steel band performance
• Being hot (it hasn't really gotten hot yet in HB, so it was nice to feel some heat!)
• Drumming with the African acrobats. Jeremy and I actually gained a little audience as we jammed out with one of the African drummers. And I learned a few new patterns!
• Nature Walk
• Making clay figurines
• Watching all the kids' different reactions to the animals, performers, plants etc.
• Critiqueing the variety of parental strategies displayed throughout the park- something very easy to do when you don't have your own kids :-)
• Not rushing

Psalms

In Sunday school, we studied Psalms in the Bible and then we were given time to write our own psalm. Mine ended up rhyming:

Psalm of Independence Day

By SarahLynn Zavoral

Land of freedom, land of choice,

For thy sake I sing and rejoice.

Constituted with wisdom from God,

By thy beauty I am awed.

Jeremy is not one to write lovey-dovey stuff, but his psalm ended up that way! He will KILL me if I post it and he will swear never to write anything from the heart again. So that's why it's here, too. Please don't say anything to him about it in person or on facebook/email, and I might get away with it:

Psalm of Gratitude

By Jeremy Zavoral

Praise the Lord for blessing me with a wife who is as pure on the inside as she is beautiful on the outside. And how grateful I am for the opportunities the Lord has opened for me in my career and education. Amen.

Our Fifth 4th of July

Fourth of July is by far my favorite holiday! (Easter is also a favorite, but I think I love the 4th even more).

It's the holiday of pancake breakfasts, concerts in the park, red white and blue parades, summer sweat, national anthems, historical reverence, BBQ's, watermellon, fireworks, homemade ice cream, family and cousins, and that intangible thrill in the air of pure summer joy and American pride...never to be squelched by the falsehood of a fictitious character or pagan tradition. So forgive me if I get a little nostalgic.

Our first 4th (2006) was spent in Utah shortly after we were engaged. We ate pancakes in the street, watched the parade with Jeremy's family, strolled around the craft fair on main street, and took a nap in a park near my apt. We also introduced both of our parents to each other! That was a big moment, very successful. Our families played football together and we watched fireworks from Squaw Peak. (no making out though, cuz our parents were there). We also went to Great-Grandma June's 90th B-day hosted by Uncle Jim's family. Perhaps one of my favorite 4ths ever.

The second 4th (2007) was spent in Austin, Minnesota, cuz we were living there while Jeremy did his internship for Hormel Foods. We entertained all the kids in our ward by collecting fireflies at the town party. The firework show was accompanied by the city band playing on the park stage. For sure one of my favorite 4ths ever.

Our third 4th (2008) took place in Huntington Beach. It too, was perhaps one of my favorite 4th's ever. You can read more details here.

Our fourth 4th (2009) was also in Huntington Beach. We took Ashlea to the parade on our new bikes. We ate lunch at Wahoo Tacos, spent the day on Main Street and the beach. We watched fireworks at the pier again. The bike ride home in the dark with all of the bonfires was really cool. I was having too much fun to take pictures. This was one of my favorite 4th's ever.

How weird to think that it's now our fifth 4th of July together (2010)!! This year, we drove up to Sacramento for the Great-Grandma June Family Reunion hosted by Grandpa Bob. WOW!! This was FOR SURE one of my favorite 4ths ever! (can you tell that I love the 4th of July?!)

On Friday, we went golfing with 9 people from the family. I was the only girl and I rocked!! We played "best ball" and competed as teams. It's now my favorite way to play golf. Matt entertained us the rest of the day with guitar hero, pool basketball and Godfather's pizza. Then, we all cuddled outside with the cousins for an outdoor movie night.

Saturday was filled with really fun get-to-know-you games and competitions that MomZ organized. Highlights included relays and egg toss. We visited, ate, visited, and played more games. Dinner was at the church with a special night of Davidson Family Feud and Aunt Sheri's famous "Great-Grand Mom" song that I've had stuck in my head since the first time we heard it 4 years ago. Then we had a special firework show with homemade ice cream in Suzie's back yard. We only got attacked by the fireworks 3 times!

Sunday, we went to church and visited with family. We drove back home and made it in time for our third year in a row of watching the Huntington Beach firework show from the pier. It was a perfect way to end the BEST weekend of the year!