The Past Week in Tehachapi

This past week the kids and I have been staying with my parents up in T-town. Andy started shooting Phase Two last Tuesday so he's been busy on set everyday and living with all the cast and crew in the Mojave desert. The kids and I miss Andy's SO SO SO much but for the most part we are managing to enjoy life without him. My parents have been so great to let us stay with them and it's been really nice enjoying their company and getting a MUCH needed break.

Every day the kids begged me to take them outside to play on the play set. My dad and brothers built this really nice play set in their backyard and it's been a huge hit with the kids.

Preston is pretty partial to the swings. You gotta love that smile:)

He totally rocked it on the ropes and made it all the way to the top. I am so proud!

One day I took the kids into town for a picnic lunch at the new Railroad Park. We waited a good long while to see the train but unfortunately we had just missed it.

Evelyn insisted on carrying her baby in her sweater. It was pretty cute.

We drove around and saw some of the new murals that have been painted in downtown Tehachapi. This one in particular is called "People of the Mountains" and depicts Tehachapi's Native American Nuooah or Kawaiisu.

I took the kids to Philip Marx Central Park and let them run around the playground for a while and then we went over to Kmart to enjoy some yummy slushies. My very first job was a cashier at that Kmart so it was interesting being back.

On the way home we drove by Brite Lake and saw the faces cut out in the trees. Evelyn thought they were funny and really seemed to enjoy discovering each new face.

The next day I took the kids to the lake to feed the ducks. They were draining the lake so the poor ducks were all wading in the mud and it was a little gross but the kids had a good time.

Preston climbed up on a rock and was content just sitting and eating the ducks bread.

Saturday my dad watched the kids for me and Mom and I took a trip out to Mojave to check out the movie site. It was so awesome seeing Andy at work! I really enjoyed watching some scenes being shot and getting to meet all the cast and crew. Everyone was so friendly and everything seemed to be going well. I'm very proud of Andy and am really grateful for the person he is and the hard work that he does for his family. I saw a few short clips which were AWESOME and can't wait to see the finished product. It's going to be a great movie! I didn't get any pictures that day but if your interested make sure and check out the movies Website and Facebook Page.

I came home for the weekend but I'll be going back to Tehachapi first thing in the morning. The movie shoot goes for another week and a half at which time I plan on spending every minute with Andy because I miss him SO much.

Climbing Mt. Whitney

I am proud to say that I got to check off another of my life-long to do's this past month.  I've been talking about it all year.  I think I've even mention it in a post or two but on July 31st my mom, myself and my two best friends, the Biglers, all hiked the 11 miles to the summit of Mt. Whitney and the 11 miles back down in 1 day.  Crazy I know, especially for my very first climb but I DID IT!  In fact we all made it.  The whole experience is still totally unreal to me. 

Mom and I the afternoon before at the Lone Pine Visitor Center.  Mt. Whitney is behind us although oddly enough it's not the tallest one in the picture.

To give you a more detailed break down on the trip our planning actually started at the very beginning of the year.  My dad and brothers have gone up the past few years as a ward thing and before this year I had never even contemplated going because I was either pregnant or at home with a little one.  But this year with two toddlers I finally figured they were old enough to be away from me for a few days and I just decided to go for it.  Turns out my mom always wanted to go also so me going was a good motivation for her as well.  Our two best buddies who are particularly outgoing asked if they could join in as well and I couldn't have been more ecstatic that they came because they were a huge help.  It turns out we had the perfect little team and I don't think I could have done it without each one of them.  My brother was missed, he had to work, but I'm hoping to get him out there with us next year.  Apparently in previous years he's climbed to the summit and back in 8 hours, which is insane.  

There's a lottery process you have to go through in order to get the permits otherwise you have to just go up and hope there's an opening.  So I sent our paperwork in the beginning of February and managed to get my first pick of days which just happened to be July 31st.  Our date turned out pretty much perfect, the weather was beautiful with just the slightest hint of flurries at the summit which was actually pretty cool.  I did manage to do some training.  I ran almost every day for several months and switched to the P90X workout program the last few months.  In hind sight I probably should have trained a little different, more time on the stair stepper and some practice hikes would have helped a lot.  About a week before the trip we booked reservations for a campsite but that turned out to be kind of a bust.  We didn't know until we got up there but there are actually walk-in only campsites right at the base of the trail so we took one of those instead.  We went up the night before in order to get acclimated which is a definite must for anyone thinking about doing it themselves especially if your like me and your coming from only about 350 ft.

This beautiful waterfall was just outside our campsite.  It made me have to pee all night.

"The folks"- Dad's cleaning up after our delicious foil packet dinners he made and cooked for us.  The pizza ones are his specialty.  That lovely green tent in the background was my home away from home.

Our traveling companions and two of my most favorite people, Stephanie & Nathan.

This picture is from our campsite.  The sheer size of the cliffs around us were amazing.  And to think Whitney is at least 4x the height of the one in the picture.

That night we happened upon a bear which was pretty sweet and completely terrifying at the same time.  My mom and I had just finished brushing our teeth at this faucet just outside the campground when all of a sudden I saw something move about maybe 30 yards away.  I took a closer look and realized it was a 6 or 7 foot black bear.  I quickly pointed it out to my mom as every muscle in my body froze and all my "survival skills" completely left my head.  We watched him walk within feet of this totally oblivious guy on his laptop until the guy noticed and started yelling at the bear.  The bear at that point was in between laptop guy and us so of course when the bear got scared he started running away from him inevitably charging straight at us.  Luckily my dad stepped in and started clapping which made him immediately change direction but yeah.. It was quite an experience.

The morning of the hike we got up around 3:15 and got on the trail by 4:00.  Hiking in the dark was an experience in itself.  We got to wear head lamps and for the first time ever I got to use hiking sticks.

Lone Pine Lake- 2.8 miles from the portal just as the sun is rising.

Elevation: 10,000 ft.

We got to see lots of wildlife.  These deer practically walked right up to us.

"The Team"- Stephanie, Nathan & Tammy (my mom)

The first sign of snow.  On the way back this stream was really flowing because the ice on the mountain was melting.

Taking a rest at Trail Camp- 6 miles in

Elevation: 12,000 ft.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.  It's the first real good shot I got of Mt. Whitney.  It's the highest peak in the picture.  It's taken from about midway up the 99 switchbacks.  You can see how far we still had to go.

Mom tackling the grueling 99 Switchbacks.  This woman is seriously amazing!

This was my favorite view.  It's from the Trail Crest 8.2 miles from the Portal at 13,600 ft.  It's the East side of the mountain looking back.  The smaller lake at the bottom left is the lake we're standing in front of 3 pictures up. 

This picture is also taken from the Trail Crest.  It's the West Side.

This is the trail on the other side.  It was nothing but a cliff and a narrow rocky path.

At one point almost to the summit we got to walk through a patch of snow.  It looked about 2-3 ft. deep and totally packed.

Hallelujah!  This was when I finally knew we were almost there.  That shelter is at the very top and was just about the best thing I had seen that day.

The official sign at the summit

Mom at the Summit

Mom and I at the Mt. Whitney summit- 11 miles from the Portal

Elevation: 14,505 ft.

Mt. Whitney is the tallest point in the contiguous US so for a few minutes I could actually say I was the highest person in the lower 48 states.  One of the coolest things was getting to add my name to the big book at the top.

The view from the summit.  This picture really doesn't do it any justice.  You really have to see it in person.  It took us 10 hours to get to the top and 8 hours back totaling 18 hours.  We got back to camp at 10 PM that same night.

All in all I am SO glad I went and I am really glad I didn't give up.  I'm proud of my whole group.  Everyone did so well!  I seriously couldn't have done it without them.  I also couldn't have done it without a little help at home.  Thanks to the people who watched my children and thanks to my dad who came on the trip with us.  You're all amazing and I owe you big time!  If you've ever contemplated climbing Whitney DO IT! and don't give up.  It was a lot harder than I ever imagined but all that much more rewarding.  And you WILL be sore, I most certainly was, but it does go away after a couple of day.  Next year we're talking about climbing Half Dome so I'm already getting excited for that.

Movie Date

I took Evelyn back to the doctors office on Monday and with a little finagling the doctor managed to get the intrusion out of Evelyn's ear.  It turned out being a little plastic bead from a beanie baby.  Who would have guessed?  I still don't know how long it had been in there or even what prompted her to put it in there in the first place.  I'm just glad we got it out.  I was really worried for a while there.

A couple days later I took the kids out on a date to see their very first movie, Monsters vs. Aliens at the Starplex Cinema theater.  The kids were both super great!  They sat quietly and watched the movie the entire time.  It went so well I think this is going to be the first of many movie dates for us.

Phase Two in the news!

  

an independent bakersfield news source | July 28th, 2009

Local Film Crew Lands Big Budget To Make Zombie Film

Just when Bakersfield film fans thought Hectic Films was no more, comes the huge film project “Phase Two,” which promises more explosions, crazier zombies and even better acting with Hollywood talent in the cast. Only, this film is in association with Higher Definition Media and will be mostly shot outside of Bakersfield.

“I’m not allowed to disclose our budget,” Rickey Bird of Hectic Films said. While the budget is rumored as sizable, that doesn’t mean it’s of Hollywood blockbuster scale. It does mean that film crews will be shooting on a camera fit for Blue Ray disks.

Jason Sanders, who started Higher Definition Media with colleague Andrew Waite, added that the budget is good enough where they can hire actors, have catering, pyrotechnics, props and vehicles.

Either way, after landing an investor, Hectic films name is still associated with the movie, and is even shooting on an actual film lot. George the Giant, who was in “Big Fish,” was associated with an earlier rendition of the film. But he, like other actors, weren’t paid, but donated their time. Their big cast member is up-and-coming actress Jessica Erin Sylvia. While she is most well-known for her Italian lingerie and Playboy modeling, she is a promising talent that the project is banking on.

“We went casting in LA. It was her look. The way she looked more Latino. And that’s what I had going with the character,” Bird said. He added he also wanted the main character to be both beautiful and tough looking.

Shaun Paul Piccinino, who plays a soldier in the film, is already well known for his Hollywood expertise. According to Sanders, Piccinino edits as well as does visual effects for the popular stop-motion animated show “Robot Chicken,” which is produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. He has also directed more than one episode of “The Deadliest Warrior,” an original series for Spike TV.

According to a press release sent out on Tuesday, the indie film company Higher Definition Media will begin principal photography of the sci-fi thriller “Phase Two” in film lots located at California City Studios on Aug. 4.

Film crews will also be shooting on location in and around Bakersfield.

Many people came out as extras for an earlier version of the film to be in the unreleased zombie-slasher movie, “Wretched Flesh.” But that film was only partially made due to budget issues. “Money and time, but mostly money was the issue,” Bird said. Footage from the film will hopefully be added as bonus material on the DVD release of the movie.

Watch: Footage of Hectic Films and zombies. Motocross scenes are cool:

Local talent and crew around Bakersfield have already helped out. Bryce Hatch of Inspiration Studios is a production manager on “Phase Two.” Hatch directed and wrote the film, “Stamped!” which premiered at the Fox Theater in Bakersfield. He also adapted “Phase Two” for film production. The film was written by both Bird and Sanders.

As “Phase Two” production begins, cast and crew will head out to the high desert for on-location shooting. Jason Sanders is director, while Andrew Waite is director of photography. Bird, of Hectic Films, is slated as the assistant director.

So what does it mean to be a director duo? “Kind of makes things easier,” Bird said. “Jason is more of a technical person and I’m more of a people person, which is what the assistant director does. I deal with the people.”

“Phase Two” is set in a post-apocalyptic future. Survivors of a deadly virus are faced with an undead-filled environment of zombie-infected humans. John Ross Clark plays a high strung professor, while Jessica Erin Sylvia portrays his tough-minded assistant. Both are on a quest to find a cure for the infection. The film also stars Tattie Grace, Matt Thompson, Robin Steffen and Luke Bishop. 

Rickey Bird, Andrew Waite, Jason Sanders, and Travis Yoder

Scene from earlier rendition of “Phase Two”
Images and video by Nick Belardes

Here's the link to this article.

http://www.facenews.org/local-film-crew-lands-big-budget-to-make-zombie-film/

Kid Update

Hey, it's Frankenstein Head here!  I forgot to mention that I have a new nickname.  Not exactly flattering but certainly fitting.  I very briefly considered attempting to walk through a metal detector today but... I opted out at the last minute.  I am doing much better though in case you're wondering.  The whiplash is gone, the wound is a little itchy but doesn't hurt, I'm taking my meds so no infection and the staples come out in just a few days.

  

And speaking of wellness, the kids each had their well visit to the doctor recently.  Other than Preston's constant runny nose from his allergies they are both doing well and growing perfectly according the the growth chart.  Preston is now 33 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds 5 ounces.  Evelyn is 37.3 inches and weighs 31 pounds.  The only bad news to report is that Evelyn has a tiny plastic bead stuck in her right ear so unfortunately I have to make another appointment on Monday to get it out.  Kids... man!  But it does explain a few things.  The past couple weeks she's been asking me over and over to repeat things and when I tell her something she'll say it back to me completely wrong.  So, hopefully it's no trouble getting it out and things can return back to normal.  But other than that the kids are growing and changing much too quickly.  

 

One new thing about Evelyn is that she has finally mastered coloring in the lines.  One day I was coloring with her and I was watching her scribble all over the paper with no regard to the picture at all.  Then I picked up a crayon and started coloring along with her and I guess in that short amount of time something clicked.  After a few minutes I started to make dinner and to my amazement I returned to find her coloring in the lines and she's been doing it ever since.  

A funny story with Evelyn happened a few weeks back.  Some of you may have heard this already but I thought it was funny enough to keep in my records.  So, the story goes;  One day Evelyn sees a picture of a lion and starts asking about it.  So with my limited amount of knowledge I went on to describe to her what a lion does, what it eats, what sound it makes and that it has a mane.  And I taught her that a mane is the hair all around it's neck.  Well, a few days later we're at church and Evelyn is sitting on Andy's lap feeling his beard and all of a sudden out of the blue she says to him "Daddy, I like your mane".  After that I had the hardest time making it all the way through sacrament keeping a straight face.

Other things about Evelyn are that she is obsessed with the color red.  She enjoys having her picture taken and has the cheesiest smile.  Every night when she goes to bed she tells me "Good night sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs and the alligators bite".  She detests anything even remotely spicy and she is terrified of loud noises.  I've been teaching her the ABC's and colors and she's catching on very fast.  Her very best friends are Eliza, Brayden, and Preston.  And... in case your wondering (which I know you are, don't lie) she is STILL crazy about her Baby.  I know, what can I say, she's had it since she was a year old and she's attached.

As for Preston, he's done a good deal of growing lately.  He talks about a million words per minute, only about half of which actually make sense.  He looks dang cute in his little swimsuit and he's a pretty good little swimmer to boot.  For the longest time he would say "Thank you, Dadda" to EVERYONE.  He has a fear of lizards.  The other day I took the kids around to the front of my in laws house and we saw a ginormous lizard that was almost close enough to touch.  Evelyn reached out to pet it and Preston screamed.  I don't think he realized until it moved that it was actually alive.  Now when we go out there he tells me, "I scary" and he keeps a very watchful eye out for any lizards.  He's mastered all the major body parts and facial features.  One of my favorite things to hear him try to say is glasses.  It comes out "glathes", his little tongue sticking out trying to make the "s" sound.  The other day I was pretty proud of myself when I deciphered one of his sentences.  Turns out "iwannaitpadely" is his way of saying I want a peanut butter and jelly (sandwich).  Who knew?  But now that's almost all I hear when I ask him what he wants to eat.  I guess it is his favorite.  One thing I should mention about Preston is his constant need to use the bathroom stool.  It drives me crazy!  It's almost never where it should be because he's always picking it up and moving it around with him.  He played his first video game the other day, the fish arcade game on the Xbox.  He's such a cute kid.  He puts up with his bigger (sometimes bully) of a sister but he manages to hold his own.  And for the most part they're pretty good playmates.

They're both great kids and I love them a lot!  I love watching them grow and become the little people that they are.

Las Vegas '09: Part III

One night we bought tickets to see Nathan Burton at the Flamingo.  I had never heard of him before but decided to give him a shot anyway and I was surprisingly amazed.  He was pretty good and he had special guests that were hilarious.  That very same night after we got back I was watching America's Got Talent and guess who shows up, that's right, none other than Nathan Burton and of course he made it through.

For my second night out without the kids I got to see tons more stuff.  Some of which where the Bellagio,

Paris,

and my personal favorite, the Luxor, which was a trip.  We snuck into the "key card required" elevator and rode up to the 27th floor.  The elevator goes diagonally!  And the whole inside looks unreal.

The last night we took the kids to see the aquarium at the Silverton.  Its a 117,000- gallon reef aquarium with beautiful tropical fish, sharks, sting rays and a live mermaid!  Every half hour a mermaid swims around and interacts with all the people watching.

Lastly we took the kids to see the water show at the Bellagio.  They were initially startled by the noise but after the first show Preston looked over to me and said, "again!".  So we stayed for the next show.  I loved seeing the excitement on their faces.

And just for the heck of it...  On the way home we had to stop and get gas in Baker, which as most people know, is the home of the Worlds Largest Thermometer.  Honestly, I can't tell you how many times I've driven by this place and I always told myself that one day I'm going to stop and take a picture.  So here it is.  And in case you're wondering, the temperature was 107.