Viva Las Vegas

This last weekend held a very quick trip to Las Vegas for me with a stopover in St. George. It was quick but enjoyable! My dad needed to drive down on Sunday to meet with his oncologist on Monday and my mom couldn't go with him (it was a somewhat spur-of-the-moment appointment). I thought, I can miss work on Monday...I'll go! So I did. It was very nice to be able to switch off driving and I had a great time just chatting with my dad the whole way there and most of the way back. Plus, I got to meet Dr. Vogelzang and see where my dad has been going for his appointments and treatments for the last long while (two years now?) Even though it was a super short trip and the driving was tiring, I'm really really glad I was able to go.

I don't know what exactly I was expecting from the treatment center but this wasn't it. I think I was picturing something smaller because my dad has gotten such great one-on-one attention from his doctor and the nurses there. When we walked in the building, I was very surprised at how big it was and how crowded. I also had a small moment of shock as I realized that every person there was there because of cancer. It was only a short moment though, and in the next moment I realized that that meant I had a kinship with them all. It was a little surreal that way.


As a side note, this trip was to get my dad set up for a new clinical trial for a radioactive pharmaceutical drug that's actually really interesting. It mimics the shape of calcium so the bones suck it in to help repair the cancer damage, then the drug emits a strong but short radioactive wave (so it doesn't do damage to the healthy bone) that both fights the cancer and helps with pain. Kinda cool, right?


The other cool thing about this trip is that I got to see firsthand my dad's extensive knowledge of the road between here and Las Vegas. He knew where all the gas stations with the best bathrooms were and knew exactly where they were, which exits, which side of the road, etc. I kept telling him he needs to write it all out - this is invaluable information! 

Go see The Secret Garden

The Hale Center Theater in Orem always puts on amazing productions so maybe you are not going to be impressed with what I say next, but I think their current production of The Secret Garden is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Like, ever ever. Remember when I raved about The Drowsy Chaperone? Well now I'm going to rave about this show!

If you've never seen the musical version of The Secret Garden, you're missing out. The music is absolutely gorgeous and the adaptation of the story is haunting. The musical focuses a little more attention on the adults in the story, including the many spirits who haunt the living characters until they find some rest and resolution. As Uncle Archie puts it, "They're not gone, only dead. They're only ghosts if someone alive is still holding on to them." One of the fabulous things about the Hale's show is that they really use the spirits to further the story and take part in guiding the action of the play.


The most amazing thing about this production, though, is the talent - to collect that many talented people on one stage is beyond impressive. I saw the T/Th/S cast and I really highly recommend choosing one of those nights, if you go. Our good friend Dave Burton plays the "mean doctor" (as his three-year-old daughter puts it) and he is absolutely worth seeing. But then you add in the incredible Dallyn Bayles and believe me when I say I couldn't breathe through their duet together. I've been a long-time fan of Dallyn and seeing him perform as Archibald Craven only solidified my esteem for his voice and his range as both a singer and an actor. He's just amazing, and the last duet between him and Lily (played by Korianne Johnson on the night we went) has been following me for days now.


I have a feeling the show is quickly selling out, if it hasn't already, but if you get a chance to go see this play, take it! It is everything a musical should be - deeply touching, well-produced and performed, and beautiful in a way that will leave you thinking about it for days. It's worth it - go see it.

Community genius

We love the TV show Community. Love. It. And last night's episode was pretty much completely brilliant - a spot-on parody of Law and Order. Everyone needs to watch it so you can fully appreciate some of these more hilarious quotes:


(Troy and Abed as the cops, trying to end the scene)
Troy: “Looks like it’s going to be a long night. How did we manage to pull the short straw?”
Abed: “It’s not a short straw. It’s a hot potato.”
Troy: “Yeah, well. It looks pretty cold to me.”
Abed: “Cold? Or dead?”
Troy: “Survey says…”
Abed: “We can't both do the zinger.”


Starburns: "Kiss me.”
Random girl: “No!”
Starburns: “I’ll explain later!”
Random girl: “No!”
Starburns: “I’ll explain later!”
Random girl: “The explanation isn’t the issue!”


Troy: “Todd Jacobson, you have the right to do whatever you want. Nothing you say or do could be used against you by anyone, but we’d really like it if you came with us. Please and thank you.”


Professor Kane: "You may proceed, Ms. Edison. But do so with caution. Need I remind you: this is NOT a courtroom!"

Book Review x 2

Two memoirs this month, both ones I would highly highly recommend:


Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected by Kelle Hampton. Kelle is a blogger whose incredibly honest post about the birth of her second daughter who was unexpectedly born with Down Syndrome quickly spread around the internet about two years ago and brought thousands of readers to her blog. I was one of the thousands and I've really enjoyed reading Kelle's posts ever since. I was super excited to read this memoir of hers that focuses on the journey she's undertaken since the day of Nella's birth, as well as the journey that brought her to that point. Kelle is so passionate about living, about family, about being a mother,about photography, about creating beautiful things that I was not surprised (though very pleased) to find that her memoir included color photos on almost every page. It  is a gorgeous book just to look at, but the writing inside is just as beautiful. Kelle writes honestly, which means she gets at emotions and struggles that are usually easier to bury, but she shares them anyway. I think being on the verge of parenthood made it especially meaningful to me to read about a mother facing some extra challenges. There were several parts I read aloud to Tim that made us cry and laugh together. I've never met Kelle but I feel like I know her and I'd love to be her friend. Three and a half stars from me!


P.S. Can I just say that I love how bloggers have been publishing books lately? It gives blogging a level of credibility that really tickles me. That's all.




The Year My Son and I Were Born: A Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery by Kathryn Lynard Soper. I heard Kathy share a portion of this book at a Mormon women writers reading at UVU and I very much wanted to read the whole book, not only because I am always on the lookout for Mormon memoirs, but because it seemed like a powerful story from just the snippet I got. This is another memoir from a mother who had a child unexpectedly born with Down Syndrome and while there were a lot of similarities between this book and Bloom, they were very different stories. I think Kathy's experience was much harder in some ways - Thomas was born prematurely in addition to having Down Syndrome, so there were all kinds of complications they had to deal with for a long time after his birth because of that. Thomas was also Kathy's seventh child, so she didn't have the luxury of worrying about just him. Plus there was the religious aspect, which added a layer of guilt and pressure to what Kathy experienced. But over the course of the year described in the book, Kathy learns and grows as a mother and as a person, and it was beautiful to read. Three stars at least!


As a side note, even though these books are both ostensibly about Down Syndrome, really they were both about motherhood and facing down your fears and challenges as a woman and a mother. I don't expect to have these same challenges, but it was heartening to me to know that I don't have to be the perfect mom at the outset - I can grow and learn and give myself time to become someone better, and that growing process will bring its own very rich rewards.

Word(s) of the Day, Part 7

I felt like my Word of the Day emails were trying to tell me something last week... First there was this:

pyknic \PIK-nik\, adjective:
1. Having a rounded build or body structure.
2. noun. A person of the pyknic type.

So, in other words, a pregnant woman is pyknic. Who knew?

Then I got this the very next day:

grouse \grous\, verb:
1. To grumble; complain.
2. noun. A complaint.

I felt like maybe it was being hinted that I should stop grousing about feeling sick. Point taken, random Word of the Day emails, point taken.

Also, these are funny words:

pettifog \PET-ee-fog\, verb:
1. To bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
2. To carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
3. To practice chicanery of any sort.

hircine \HUR-sahyn\, adjective:
1. of, pertaining to, or resembling a goat.
2. Having a goatish odor.

Or, used together, don't pettifog over who is more hircine, okay?

Was it really only a week?

For some reason, last week felt like two weeks or something. I started counting all the things we did and I couldn't believe it was only one week of our lives! And of course I didn't take pictures of anything. I'm very lame like that lately.

First there was General Conference last weekend which was, as always, wonderful. We helped my friend Jen move into a new apartment that weekend and ended up watching a lot of Conference at her place, then we spent half of Sunday at my parents' house. Pretty good weekend!

Then last Wednesday, we went to my next baby appointment. I switched from my regular doctor to working with a group of midwives so I can deliver at the hospital I want to deliver at and we're good with the switch so far! This was the first appointment where we got to hear the baby's heartbeat (my old doctor was all fancy and used a mini-ultrasound machine instead of a Doppler) and it was so awesome. It took a minute to find the heartbeat because, in Sue's words, she was chasing a moving target. We even got to hear the baby give a kick (it was a bigger whoosh than the heartbeat).

Then the weekend came around again and we partied hard. We went out for a real date on Friday night (first one in two months!), celebrated my grandpa's 87th birthday on Saturday night, and celebrated Easter and my sister Rachel's birthday on Sunday. It was a very full weekend!

The most amazing part of that crazy week was that I actually started to feel like a normal person instead of a constantly sick and tired pregnant woman. I have some of my energy back and food is staying down (knock on wood), so life has become much more enjoyable. Don't know why it took sixteen weeks to get to this point but I'm glad we finally made it here!