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.

Go see The Drowsy Chaperone

I just have one thing to say: go see The Drowsy Chaperone at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. That's the whole message: go see it. Now. It only has a week before it closes and there aren't very many tickets left, but go. Drop whatever you're doing next week to make it happen. Even if you have to sit in a single seat and your husband/wife/best friend/significant other/parent/sibling has to sit on the other side of the theater in a far away single seat, go. It's worth it.

Okay really, all exaggeration aside, I'm completely serious. Tim surprised me with tickets tonight and I've really wanted to see the show because I've heard good things about it, but it completely surpassed all my expectations. It was the best musical comedy I've seen in...possibly ever. Perfectly performed, brilliantly scripted, and absolutely hilarious. I wish that we had seen it much earlier so that we could have told people about it sooner, because it's the kind of hilarity that you just have to share with everyone you know.

And I'm also serious about there not being many seats left. Tim and I had to buy single seats that were near each other (a very nice lady and her daughter offered to switch us so we could sit together) but even if we'd been far apart, we still would have enjoyed it as much as we did. And we may or may not be considering buying tickets again for next week, so you should too. The Drowsy Chaperone is amazing - go see it!

Birthday

Four years ago today, I came home from England.

Two years ago today, I went through the temple for the first time.

Today, it's my Tim's 26th birthday.

I love June 20th.

There are a couple of days of the year that hold special significance for me, aside from the traditional reasons to celebrate, and this is one of them. It's a birthday of sorts for me and it's my best excuse to spoil my husband (which he only allows when I have a good excuse). Sometimes it's Father's Day too and then we just go all out.

This year, we had a rockin' birthday party for Tim on Friday - by far the best party we've ever thrown (success!!).





Saturday we made lots and lots of cookies for Father's Day, and though exhausted, we made our deadline (success!!).



After church, we went up to my parents' house for combined Father's Day/Tim's birthday celebration. I did a good job of coordinating with my parents to get Timmy some gifts he was way excited for (success!!).



And then on Monday, we went to the Hale Center Theater to see The Hit, which was really funny and I'd definitely recommend it. Didn't take any photos (fail), but here's Tim talking on the phone to his family during dinner.



Between making a thousand cookies and making food for a party and throwing the party and going to barbecues and then going to another party and then having an actual birthday day with presents and a play AND getting ready to go on vacation in a few days, I'm exhausted but completely satisfied. I truly believe in making a big deal out of life's anniversaries, whatever events they mark. All of my June 20th celebrations are for life-changing days, and I'm so glad that we took the time and made the effort to celebrate them fully.

Love, Wally

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Yes, it's a silly, made-up holiday that causes stress and disillusionment, but happy day all the same. I've always tried to make it a point of having a good day on Valentine's Day, regardless of my relationship status and you know, I've never had a particularly bad one yet.

This year, Tim and I used Valentine's Day as an opportunity of doing some special things together, rather than as a pressure-filled, overly romantic holiday. The Saturday before, we went to see The Foreigner at the Hale (Have I raved about this show yet? SO GOOD!) and went out to eat at a real restaurant, quite the luxury around here. The day itself was just a normal day with a few more chocolates than normal and the end of the North and South miniseries, a twenty hour-long soap opera-style drama set during the Civil War. Classic. Mostly, Valentine's Day was just a day. Tim gave me new shoes, I gave him kitchen utensils. I could say something cheesy about every day being Valentine's Day, but really, every day I love my husband and he loves me and I appreciate having days that let us make it something special.

I also think that Valentine's Day isn't just about your spouse/boyfriend/etc., it's about all the people in your life. And I got thinking back to high school, when my best friends and I were none of us dating anyone, though we all wished we were, and we invented a fictitious boyfriend named Wally. I don't remember why we picked Wally (there was a semi-logical reason, I just don't remember) but he was the perfect man (hence being fictitious). We wouldn't tell any of our guy friends who this mysterious Wally was, but we made sure they knew we were in love with him.

And then on Valentine's Day, there was a flower from Wally on my desk in my first class. Later in the day, I got chocolate and a card from him, signed in one of my best friend's handwriting. The four of us had given each other Valentine's Day gifts in Wally's name. It was fun and silly, but as I remember now, I am amazed at how truly sweet that day was. We each wanted to make sure the day didn't go by without our best friends feeling special and loved, because they were. Maybe not by a boyfriend, but by several best friends, and truly, that is what this day is about.

So Happy Valentine's Day. Know that you are loved, you are special, and a new pair of shoes and some chocolate make for a good day anytime.

Giving thanks for the weekend

This not having a camera thing is very annoying, especially when it comes to awesome things like Thanksgiving and game nights and shopping and the-blizzard-that-wasn't (okay, I guess there wasn't much to take pictures of there). Ah well. I will still "post" pictures and I encourage everyone to use their imagination.

Ready? Here we go!

Thanksgiving weekend was lovely, except for some rather expensive car repairs (as car repairs tend to be). Thankfully, we had only one car to repair, and that is something worth putting on the gratitude list. Thanksgiving day was spent with my parents and my dad's extended family. I realized that I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my own family for three years so I really enjoyed being here with them. It was very strange not to my have little brother with us, but we managed.

[Insert mental picture of a long counter filled to the brim with good food, and another of Tim and I playing Uno with my cousins, including Hazel who is four and very nearly beat us all... She is sharp, that one.]

Friday I did the almost unthinkable--I got up early for Black Friday sales. I know, I know, what was I thinking? Well, there were a couple of amazing deals on things I wanted to get Tim for Christmas and a really amazing deal on an external hard drive (which are generally quite expensive), so off I went. And...drumroll...I succeeded! I got a great deal at Kohl's on Tim's gifts, stopped by Jo-Ann's for a few things I've been wanting to get for a while, and then I swung by Best Buy on the off-chance that the hard drive might still be in stock, and it was! I was amazed and incredibly pleased with myself. I spent a total of an hour and a half out and about, hardly spend any time in a check-out line, and then I was back in bed to sleep a little longer and be exhausted the rest of the day. It was kind of exhilarating to get such good deals, though I'm not sure I'll ever do it again.

[Insert mental picture of me holding three shopping bags with a triumphant smile, then insert a picture of Tim hugging his new external hard drive. Yes, he was that happy to get it.]

Later Friday, Tim and I went to see The Scarlet Pimpernel at the Hale Center Theater again, and though we didn't get to see that cast we wanted, it's still an amazing show. And the best part? Now Tim is familiar enough with the music that we can listen to the CD in the car!

[Insert mental picture of a scarlet pimpernel...no, of a guillotine...no, of Tim and I singing along to the soundtrack in my car. Yeah, that one.]

And last but not least, Friday night we had a game night with some of my mom's extended family, and it was hilarious. I have the funniest family in the world, I'm pretty sure. Let it be known that my team should have won Cranium Turbo even though we technically came in last.

[Insert picture of the family sitting around my parents' dining table with cards in front of them, then insert a picture of Jase and Rachel doing a "sideshow" challenge for Cranium, then insert the picture of all of us laughing so hard we could barely breathe. That one's my favorite.]

"They seek him here, they seek him there..."

Monday night, Tim and I sat entranced at the Hale Center Theater while The Scarlet Pimpernel unfolded around us. It was enchanting. It was wonderful. It was breathtaking--literally. There were several times that I realized I had been holding my breath during the songs. If you've never seen this play, please do. Soon, if possible. It's easily one of my top three favorite musicals of all time. It's got everything--daring adventures, passionate romance, hilarious disguises, life and death, and the most incredibly awesome costumes you've ever seen. Seriously. I would considering doing something illegal to obtain just one of those dresses--just one, mind you!

The Scarlet Pimpernel has been a favorite story of mine for many years now. I can't remember if I saw the movie first (probable) or read the book first (less likely), but I fell in love with it. I distinctly remember sitting in the car somewhere in Salt Lake, oblivious to my family around me, barely breathing as I raced through the novel completely enraptured. I finished what I still consider to be one of the most romantic chapters in all literature, put the book down, and sighed with my whole heart all aflutter. If you've never read this book, read it. Have patience with the descriptive paragraphs and enjoy being surprised by the original story.

I'll put in a plug for the movie too. The 1982 adaptation starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, as she is better known), and Ian McKellen (Gandalf in his much younger years) is the best version, so far as I'm concerned. I haven't seen it in a long time, but I could still probably quote the better part of the movie to you right now. ("Oh, the English and their stupid sense of fair play...")

I absolutely love this play/movie/book. And I love sharing things I love with the people I love. (It's very lucky for Tim that he enjoyed the play almost as much as I did, because we ARE going to see it a second time.) So go ahead. Pick up the book. Listen to the music. See the play. Rent the movie. You're gonna love it, I promise.