Twilight Trilogy

I love "Twilight!" The third installment of the series came out in theaters on June 30th. Now, for the previous two releases, I went with friends and waited in line for several hours and we got to see the midnight release. This time, the Woodinville theaters were showing a "Twilight Trilogy" where they let us purchase tickets for all three movies, admitted us to the theater, we started with "Twilight," then on to "New Moon," and finished with the midnight showing of "Eclipse."

What was so fantastic about this trilogy is that they gave us these lanyards to wear, they were essentially our in and out privileges to the theater, that had a $10 gift card attached, you know, for the snack bar! It was really well coordinated and we would likely go back to that theater based on our experience with what could have been a very out of control release.

I have to say, the movies, both directing and acting, are getting better with each new release. It was almost comical to look back at "Twilight." The acting was bad, the lines were bad, the directing was bad...yet I love the movie because it's "Twilight." Things improved in "New Moon," but again, "Eclipse" is by far the best of the trilogy.

I can't wait for "Breaking Dawn." A little irritated that they've decided to milk their fans for 2 tickets by splitting it into part I and part II... not sure I'll go to the midnight showing... oh who am I kidding? I love "Twilight" so you know, I'll be there in line for the midnight showing! ;)

Wallet, Watch, Phone, Keys, Badge

Whenever we're leaving the house, Eddie and I have this "list" that we verbally run down to verify we're not leaving anything important behind. This list is typically modified depending on where we're going.

For example:

• When we go to church, I run through the list for Eddie as, "wallet, watch, keys."
• When Eddie is headed out to a photo shoot, it's, "wallet, watch, phone, keys, camera."
• When we're headed out shopping or just out in general, it's, "wallet, watch, phone, keys."

Well, one list I've really missed is, "wallet, watch, phone, keys, badge." (When we say it, it kinda comes out as all one word... :) As of today though, I am happy to report that the list can now be said once again in its entirety. See, Eddie was laid off of work last year and after many months of looking for just the right opportunity, coupled with fasting and many, many prayers, we have truly been blessed and he is now back to work full-time! Yesterday was his first day which meant that this morning, we are back on routine...

Wallet, watch, phone, keys, badge - it's kinda catchy!

Ohanapecosh

Gesundheit!

No, I didn't just sneeze...Ohanapecosh is the name of a campground (and river) at Mt. Rainier. Eddie and I went camping there over Memorial Day weekend with 3 other families. In total, I think we had 20 people there! Aside from the weather, it was a lot of fun. Ok, the weather wasn't that bad, it was a tad cold and a little too much moisture for my taste...especially at the end of May!!

We spent our time hiking...

Did a lot of cooking, including trying out a new camping oven. That's right, we had fresh bread, brownies, cookies, all sorts of baked goods this time around - yummy!! ...




The rest of the time we all were warming up around the campfire, playing games (kind of), and...warming up around the campfire. :)

We even splurged and bought a new double-tall air matress to keep comfy. It did the trick - the down side, it took up pretty much the entire tent!

We had so much fun spending time with friends...

And enjoying the beautiful area in which we live!

Marvin Hamlisch and "The Music Man"

My mom has season tickets to the Seattle Pops series at Benaroya Hall and last night, she invited me and Missi to go with her. We were also accompanied by my aunt Lois and a friend of hers.


We started the evening going out to dinner (Stuart Anderson's Black Angus...I don't recommend it). Dinner took a little longer than planned so we ended up racing down the freeway to get to Seattle from Lynnwood, parked, and in the theatre in 25 minutes. Ok, so we were a tad late, missed part of the opening number. Of course, it didn't help that when we arrived, someone was in my mom's seats, so we had to wait for the end of the opening number and the usher went over and straightened things out for us.



Ok, so we got all settled in and finally able to enjoy guest conductor and composer Marvin Hamlisch. He's a very talented and funny guy! We enjoyed the orchestra playing the overature from, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," and Hamlisch on the piano with an original composition. He then welcomed out guest artist, Ashley Brown. Most recently, she originated the part of Mary Poppins in the musical by the same name on Broadway. She has performed other parts on Broadway as well, including Belle from, "Beauty and the Beast," as well as performed several concerts across the country. Brown sang, "Somewhere," "Feed the Birds," "Speak Low," and Marvin Hamlisch's, "The Way We Were."




Following intermission, a Readers Digest version of "The Music Man" was presented. So many talented people in the Seattle area took the stage playing parts in the chorus and the mens quartet. The lead roles were played by actors brought in from other parts of the country, including some who had performed on Broadway and in television and movies. Of course, Ashley Brown played the role of Marian Paroo and did a fantastic job.


Now, if I didn't know the story of The Music Man, the shortened version may have been a bit confusing, but in general, they really did very well in shortening the story but still keeping the storyline flowing. Many of my favorite songs from the movie were performed including, "Ya Got Trouble," "Til There Was You," "Marian the Librarian," "Goodnight, My Someone," and, of course, "76 Trombones." My mom was a bit disappointed that she didn't get to hear, "Shipoopi," and "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little."


If you're interested, there are still tickets for sale for this performance going through this weekend. It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours!!

Published!

Since last Fall, Eddie and I have been privileged to work with NorthWest Sports News and NorthWest Theatre News. Eddie has been able to hone his photography skills in attending and photographing local High School sports, and both he and I have enjoyed several High School drama productions, the latest at Everett High School.

When we attend these High School plays, Eddie does the photography and I write the reviews. It's really fun to get to experience these dramatic productions and see the talented kids in the area up on stage. Of course, it's also really exciting to be published on a web site for doing something so fun!

Check us out at http://www.nwtnews.org/.

Wedding Planning

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to plan a wedding. As I've mentioned before, Melissa is finally engaged, so she and I have spent some time recently doing wedding "stuff." Last week, we went to a dress shop and she found the perfect dress. Simple, elegant, truly the perfect dress for her!

Then over the weekend, there was a "wedding expo" of sorts in Snohomish where various venues were staged and featuring several wedding vendors from Snohomish.

Now Ryan would be content with a reception in the gymnasium of one of our church buildings. BUT, Missi is a princess (shouldn't he know this by now?) so having a reception in a gym with basketball hoops overhead and court lines on the floor is not her style. Convenient, large enough, kitchen access, and the right price, yes - but a gym is no place for a reception for this princess!

So, the hunt is still on for the perfect place for the reception. Of course the wedding location is not an issue - that will happen at the Seattle LDS Temple. It's just a matter of figuring out where to send people after the wedding! :) Luckily, they have an appointment at another place this week and we're all keeping our fingers crossed that that price, resources, size, and availability will be right!

Dress - check!
Photographer - check!
Wedding favors - check (well, in theory)!
Caterer - check!
Venue - almost there...
Wedding cake - pretty darn close...

Now there are just the small matters of registering, bridal showers, invitations, tuxes, flowers, food decisions, bridesmaid dresses, and the list goes on and on! Wow, so many things to do...so little time! The timer is set and ticking away on the preparation for this September wedding!!