"Wicked" Deal

"Wicked" is in Utah! Having said that, I have been regularly looking for good deals on tickets. Lets just say that I never found a good deal. I was not willing to pay over $100 a ticket for the worst seats in the house. Luckily for me, my Mom looked into getting tickets for cheap which is how we ended up going. Each night of the show, there is a raffle that you can enter your name in to win highly discounted tickets. They usually give away 10 tickets for $25 a piece which is an unbeatable deal. 

My Mom, Jessica, Andrew, and I set off quite early (at 4:15 for the 7:30 show) to put our names in the drawing for the tickets. My Mom and Jess previously had purchased tickets, but they put their names in hopes of getting the two tickets for me and Andrew. Let me just say that the way the employees at Hale Theater treated this process made me feel like I was a part of the Hunger Games. You can start putting your name in the cauldron at 5:00pm and they announce the winners at 5:30pm. I was unusually sweaty and nervous during this time. One reason may have been the fact that they said you had to show I.D if you won the tickets and I did not have any. Apparently having my mother and husband there to vouch for me wasn't enough. Luckily it didn't matter-- I didn't win... Let me also point out that you had to have cash for the tickets.

We had made all types of pacts with "friends" my mother had made in the short few minutes waiting in line. "If both your names get drawn, we get your tickets." etc.. The people that were standing both in front and behind us in line to put their names in the cauldron both got called. Lucky them. After the dramatic experience of not hearing my name (which would have been devastating anyway), my Mom's, Andrew's, or Jessica's the announcer who had the loudest, most suspenseful voice told us that there were some tickets still available for the night and we could get them for $40 a piece. Not bad if you ask me. We were able to get them, even with all the shoving going on around us. Andrew and I even got seats together which was really fortunate because they only had a few. 

After those dramatic and tear-jerking few minutes, we went to Macaroni Grill to celebrate the fact that we had tickets at all. Here is a picture of us waiting to be seated. We were all smiles at this point... (note that we took dozens of pictures during the stressful time waiting for the drawing, but NONE of them turned out) 

After dinner we raced back to the theater, but not before taking more pictures. 

There was definitely a line to take a pic in front of this poster and we may or may not have started this trend... 

Andrew and I had seats in the back row, but I'm not complaining. We didn't have to sit up in the balcony seats and we also had one aisle seat which is prime for us long-legged humans.

The play was worth every penny. My family had previously seen "Wicked" in San-Diego nearly 6 years ago and I realized quickly that I forgotten many major plot details. Andrew had never seen "Wicked" though and he absolutely loved it. Elphaba was by far my favorite because she had an amazing voice. Glinda was really good at acting and could sing very very high. The ending of the play was a little different this time, but it didn't disappoint. "Defying Gravity" was definitely the highlight of the play and probably always will be for me. It was hard for me because I know almost every word to every song and I really wanted to sing-along.

Good thing we own the "Wicked" piano music. Bad news... I can't find it. I have searched EVERYWHERE multiple times. Here's to searching once more....

"Volunteered"

My Mother is the Relief Society President. That being said, she is a very busy woman. In fact, I feel like it's her full-time job. She does an excellent job. For every lady who has a baby, my Mom makes a blanket. (Now you see where I learned to crotchet.) Now that I'm in the same ward as my Mom, I tend to get volunteered to do things by her which is fine. The latest and greatest thing I "volunteered" (thanks to my mother) to do is hold F.H.E once a month for all of the newly married couples in the ward. It has actually been pretty fun. I try to keep things pretty low-key so that people will actually come. I even hold it the same Monday night each month, so people know (are forced) to keep that night open.

Last month for our first activity everyone came to my house. I prepared a short lesson (10 minutes) and we ate yummy treats and played games. When Telestrations is involved, you are bound to have fun. I am about the worst artist out there though and can't even seem to comprehend how to draw a chicken. Andrew naturally sits by me each time we play, but instantly regrets it. We also played Bocchi Ball outside which is always a hit. We did boys vs. girls which started out well, but we won't talk about how it ended. I will say that we didn't even have to pull out a belt out this time to measure which ball was closer. There was a pretty good turn-out and I was happy. 

Tonight is round 2 of F.H.E. and it isn't at my house this time! We are actually having a BBQ which should be delicious. Because I'm in charge of this group, I made all of the food assignments. Lets just say that there will be PLENTY of food. Today I bought 16 hamburger patties as well as 16 hot dogs just to be sure. I also made cupcakes, and am bringing chips and dip. This is on-top of what I have assigned everyone else. I would much rather have too much food than too little. I think this is a "Denning" thing. My Mom is quite good at cooking for an army, even when there are just a small amount of us eating. I'm just hoping people show up and are grateful for the $40 I invested into this baby. Wish me luck!

Following in my Mother's footsteps, check out the latest blankie I sent to my new nephew, Lincoln. 

I may or may not have finished another blanket today for a baby that is due in December. You're right in thinking that my sister-n-law having the baby doesn't even know the gender yet, but don't worry, I chose a neutral color. :) Pictures to come in December!

Boise for the Win!

After hearing that my parents and sisters were spending the fourth on the beach watching one of the greatest firework shows, I had doubts that my fourth of July would ever be as good as theirs in Boise, Idaho.

Boise is the place to be on the fourth! Andrew and I decided to drive up to Caldwell for our nieces baby blessing. Her name is Eliza and she is absolutely adorable. We ended up leaving Friday morning at 5:30am on the dot. I think I still sometimes surprise Andrew by my early morningness. One of the greatest perks about being married is the fact that Andrew drives the majority of the time. I did not have to drive the nearly 6 hours to Boise-- he did. :) 

We arrived in Caldwell right in the middle of a parade which was problematic because every road was blocked off. We spent the afternoon swimming with our nieces and nephews. Lots of diving was going on, and I was tempted to try until I realized that I might lose my bottoms. After doing a summersault contest underwater, I learned my lesson. 

We had a huge meal to top the night off and I made some mean deviled eggs. We enjoyed the Caldwell firework show from Tavia's backyard which was nice. My family isn't one that gets into the fourth of July like at all. In fact, I have vivid memories of my parents telling us to go look on the back porch at the fireworks and after one minute excusing us to bed. That being said, I don't think my parents have ever purchased a firework. The people we were with on the fourth did purchase fireworks and it was fun to see how excited the kids were. There was one firework that went ballistic and nearly started a neighbors house on fire which made the show much more entertaining. 

Saturday was spent at the man-made lake near Boise. Call me a wimp, but I didn't go in. I was quite comfortable in the shade. The water was really cold from what I hear. Good thing I didn't test it myself. Pizza was definitely a highlight of the day. I could eat pizza for every meal and not get sick of it. Andrew knows that when I'm upset or angry pizza is what makes things better. Good thing he likes it almost as much as I do. The night was topped off with my favorite dessert, "Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars." They are quite peanut-buttery, but I'm glad they were a hit with this crowd. 

I love Sundays and always hate to see them end. After the baby blessing, we spent a couple hours making food like crazy. There were over 30 people that came to dinner! We had homemade Cafe Rio which really hit the spot. Unfortunately we had to dash home pretty quickly after dinner, but the Cafe Rio was definitely worth waiting for. 

Another highlight from the weekend was singing with my nieces. I brought my "Frozen" piano music and words and they absolutely loved it. I think in the short time I was there, we sang through the book at least 3 times. In other news, Andrew finished his book while we were there which I'm thrilled about. Maybe I'll finally get to see and talk to him again...

I told Andrew that Boise is one of the few cities I wouldn't mind living in if we are going to live in Idaho, so maybe this fourth of July in Boise will become a reality. (Just so you know, Rexburg is not on this list...)