Things to Read

A few friends have asked recently for book recommendations, so I thought I'd make a list and post it here. Most of these are YA books, because those are especially good for summer, somehow. Click on the title of each book to learn more about it. For more recommendations, feel free to check out my Goodreads account. Happy reading!

For giggles
The Whistling Toilets by Randy Powell
Pink by Lili Wilkinson
Purity by Jackson Pearce
Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker

For thinks
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Two Moons in August by Martha Brooks
Fault Line by Janet Tashjian
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Alexie Sherman
Feed by M.T. Anderson

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen

Uglies series by Scott Westerfield

Week 7, or "On a more personal note," or "Why don't you blog about it, Liz?"*

To start, here is an amazing picture of Eliza. It captures the spirit of my goals and life lessons from the last week. Plus, it's an AWESOME picture.

To get a little more personal than usual, this has been a week of learning to love more. I've spent a lot of time here at the Playmill being scared...scared of saying or doing the wrong thing, scared of making friends, scared of not making friends, scared of not being needed, scared of being needed too much. Just scared. But I finally got tired of being ruled by my fears, so I decided to re-teach myself a few lessons about courage. I was making myself (and probably the people close to me) miserable, so I decided to let go of my need for things to be a certain way. I decided to reach out to other people, to be content in my circumstances, and to trust that everything is going the way it's supposed to. And as soon as I did, my life was filled with love. I suddenly became closer friends with people in the cast that I had never really connected to before, and I found myself filled with even deeper love for the friends I had made earlier in the summer. There are still rough days (or rough moments), but I feel much more at peace about whatever happens, or will happen.

This has also been a week of learning to live more fully. Sometimes I get too "tired" to go out and do things...and then I hear about them later and wish I had gone. There is a time to rest and stay home, but often, that time isn't any better spent at home than with people I love. Sometimes I stay home because of the fear mentioned above, and I don't want to live that way anymore. So here's to living more fully.

On a less personal note, here are some of the other highlights of this week:

Opening Fiddler on the Roof! It was the longest opening night in Playmill history, each show running roughly 2 and a half hours, so we've since cut it down a bit. It's a powerful show, and now that it's shorter, it's really awesome.

Mason pretending to get his mission call and telling everyone about it. Eliza believed him, and when she found out he was lying, she was real mad. Getting dressed in the girl's dressing room that afternoon, we could hear her yelling and Mason laughing downstairs for about five minutes.

When a handful of the cast rehearsed a hip hop dance in "Fiddler on the Roof" costumes. It was awesome watching all these people dressed like poor Jews from 1905 breaking it down.

Dave Walker's scientific explanation of "pee shivers."
Us: "What causes pee shivers?"
Dave: "Peeing."
Us: "Yeah, but why?"
Dave: "Because you're peeing, and then you're done."

The little kid who, after the wedding destruction scene in "Fiddler", let out a sad "oh no!"

Mason ACTUALLY getting his mission call! (Brazil.) We've got 2 future missionaries in our cast...Taylor got her call to South Carolina.

Eliza accidentally giving someone a half-eaten jar of Nutella as a gift, instead of the new one she had purchased.

Horseback riding on Sunday, with Tanner, husband Jacob, Laura and her friend Megan. I love horseback riding so very much. (I'm going again this Sunday.) My favorite parts of that trip, aside from just being out there, were Tanner saying "Yip Yip!" to get his horse to go, and the relationship Jacob developed with his horse Watermelon ("My life is in your hands, Watermelon. I love you, Watermelon.")

Bonfire at Hebgen Lake on Monday night. (There was one on Sunday night that I didn't go to, but people enjoyed it so much, we decided to do it again.) The night involved almost getting lost while trying to find the same bit of shore from the night previous, a game of "Truth or Dare," Joe performing "poetry," Misha making cookies over the fire with a muffin tin, and the occasional scare from jumping spiders.


Aaaaaand to conclude, here is a picture I've had for a while, but just haven't posted yet. It's super-blurry, but it's one of my favorites from the summer. This is from one of those late-night dance parties we occasionally have. This cast has got the moves.

* "Why don't you blog about it, Liz?" is something Sydney said to me this week. I made some comment about something I really liked, and she said, "Why don't you blog about it, Liz?" We both paused for a moment, and then she said, "I didn't mean that snarky. It came out snarky, but I didn't mean it that way." Sydney seems to have a habit of saying things that sound snarky even when she doesn't mean them that way. Which is fun.

The morning the lights went out in Rexburg

Found this in the archives today. We had a power outtage one morning last winter, so I told my students I'd give them extra credit if they wrote a 250-word composition about their experience...poem, song, journal entry, personal essay, etc. I did the assignment myself, and it's not my best writing, but it's pretty fun. Enjoy!

(Also, on a completely unrelated note, I now have 400 followers! Thanks for reading, guys!)



6:30 am. This time yesterday, it was fifteen below zero outside. I rolled out of my warm bed, scurrying towards the shower…that shower that whispers to me every morning, “It’s all right. You’re safe. You’ll be warm again soon.” I flipped the light switch…nothing.

I checked the fuse-box. In an apartment one hundred years old, the electricity has been known to be faulty. Everything was fine. I walked to the window and pulled aside the curtain. Dark everywhere.

Yes. Yes yes yes, thank you, sweet loving powers that be. I crawled back into bed and snuggled up to my husband. “The power’s out,” I whispered.

He wrapped his arms around me. “What are you going to do?”

“Not have class, I think,” I replied.

It’s not that I don’t like teaching. In fact, I really love it. It’s just that I was so tired. And cold. And heck, I’m pretty sure those 26 freshmen would love to not have to go to a 7:45 class. I decided to wait until 7:15. If the power wasn’t on by then, I’d drive to campus and stick a note on the door. “Sister Chapman’s 7:45 class cancelled. Check e-mail for updates.” And then I would go back to bed again.

And okay, here’s my confession. I laid there in bed from 6:30 to 7:15, alternately sleeping and fervently praying that the power wouldn’t come back on. It was just so WARM in that bed. And cuddling is so AWESOME. And it was Monday, and I was so tired.

7:15 arrived. No power. Shout hallelujah.

As I got dressed, it occurred to me that I probably couldn’t cancel both the 7:45 AND the 9:00 class. That meant the classes would be off from each other. Maybe we’d have a zombie preparedness day or something in the other class—we joked about that on the first day. Just to catch everyone up. Or maybe I could just cancel it anyway. I was the TEACHER.

My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number…one of those short 5-digit ones that send you coupons for Great Harvest and Costa Vida.

BYUI POWER OUTAGE - CLASSES WILL NOT START UNTIL 10:15. IF YOU ARE COLD IN YOUR APARTMENTS COME TO CAMPUS FOR SHELTER. POWER OUTAGE. IF COMING TO CAMPUS FOR SHELTER PLEASE GO TO THE BYU- IDAHO CENTER.

Shout hallelujah again. BOTH classes cancelled, and I didn’t even have to put a note on the door!

I began to climb back into bed, whispering prayers of gratitude to the higher powers, while my husband sleepily began dressing.

“Are you going to move the car?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “I need to go to campus. I have to do homework.”

Lame. Cuddle-buddy gone. But I was staying in that bed. “Are you going to the BYU-I Center? Other buildings might not have power.”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by the Snow building first. Can I take the car?”

“Yeah, I don’t need it until later.”

I laid back in bed, throwing a quilt over the comforter as my husband left. I looked at my text messages again. “Come to campus for shelter.” I wondered how many people were over there. I had these images in my head of some post-apocalyptic crisis center being run on campus—people in layers of sweatshirts, wrapped in blankets, playing card games and drinking bottled water. I might be willing to get up to go hang out there, just to, you know, be a part of it. Unite with my fellow human beings over our crisis. Waiting to hear the news—good or bad, just tell me honestly.

Thinking about bottled water made me thirsty, so I hopped out of bed to get a drink. The water came out of the tap in uneven bursts, but I figured it’s too cold for any bacteria to live in and drank it anyway. Drink this, Chapman, I think. You must keep hydrated. Keep up your strength.

As I crawled back into bed, it occured to me that my husband and I are completely unprepared for any kind of emergency. As far as supplies go, at least. I think Jacob has a 72-hour kit that’s been sitting untouched in a storage closet for a year or so. We have a lantern. My rationale has always been that we’re poor college students in a 400 square-foot-apartment, but we could probably make room for some granola bars or something.

I made a note to add “granola bars” to my grocery list for later that day and slept for an hour more.

Around 8:30, Jacob called. His parents house had power, so he had gone there, and wanted to know if he should come get me too. I thought for a moment about the lack of breakfast foods in our house, and said yes.

It turned out school had been cancelled for everyone from here to Idaho Falls, so his sisters were home too. We spent the morning in our pajamas, singing show tunes while Jacob accompanied on the guitar. I ate my fill of eggs and toast and corn flakes. The power was back by 11 am or so.

It sounds silly. It probably even sounds a little selfish, but I can’t really write how grateful I am for this morning. I know hospitals and restaurants and other public places run some big risks during power outages. The power went out once while I was working at a Barnes & Noble in California, and there was this odd heightened awareness of everything that could go wrong without electricity. But sitting in my pajamas this morning, singing with my sisters and husband and brother-in-law, I was glad the power was out. Glad school was cancelled. Glad to have a place to go.

Playmill Week 6, or "Things are beginning to feel familiar now"

I don't have many specific stories about life at the Playmill from week 6. It's been a good week, a rough week, a crazy week, a beautiful week, a slow week, a fast week, etc. I also have no real sense of time while up here. But there are certain sights that are becoming familiar as we continue to perform Beauty & the Beast...Mason ripping his pants (which he's done like, 3 times this summer), Joe Galati ringing the desk bell in the box office every time he passes by, baby Charlie growing up faster than we can notice, Jacob C's shoes/wig/mic coming off at some point in the show. Putting on Jacob S's wig at call every night. Me eating a small Dole Whip after every intermission.

There was one highlight this week worth writing about specifically: variety show auditions. So good. Before each actual performance at the Playmill, there's a brief variety show--skits, songs, dances, jokes, etc. We don't have one for "Beauty" because there isn't time, but we are planning one for "Fiddler." Everyone put together ideas, and on Thursday night after the show, we all stayed late and auditioned them. Normally, variety show auditions can get a little awkward...not every idea is well-developed, and not every idea is funny. But Thursday night's auditions were BRILLIANT. There really wasn't a single act that was no good.

This has also been a week when I've been really grateful for nature. I discovered a hiking trail less than 100 steps from our front door, and with the weather getting nicer, that little trail has filled me with so much peace during the last few days.

The last few weeks of rehearsal can be tough...you're at the theatre all day and all night, and you have been for a month and a half. You do shows at night and rehearse during the day. All of it is fulfilling, but it can also be hard. You don't really get a day off except Sunday (if you don't have to get groceries), and sometimes it's hard to choose sleep over having fun with the cast.  It's a pretty taxing schedule. But for this flower-child, trees and sky can do wonders in healing the taxed soul. My mom once said, "I am so grateful for the Earth! I feel like I dump so much stress and negative crap on Her during my walks, and in return I get peace and joy. I like to think that gravity is Her telling me, 'I got you, dear! I won't let you go!'" I kept thinking of that statement this last week. I feel closest to my Heavenly Father when I'm out in nature, and whether you believe in Mother Goddess Earth or a Heavenly Father (or a little bit of both), there's peace to be had out in the woods. I'm glad this little theatre is near some.

We've been here for a month? What?

This is my favorite picture of this last week. Possibly of the whole summer.

Is it just me or are the weeks getting shorter? I feel like I JUST posted about Week 4, and now it's the end of Week 5. What? What?

Here are the Highlights of Week 5:

Playing volleyball as a cast on Monday night. I was only there for a short while, but during that time, Kenzie took down the net with her feet because she was doing a celebratory can-can.

Dress rehearsal for "Beauty and the Beast" when David ripped his pants from front to back during the fight with Gaston. The dialogue and song with Belle right before he "died" was more about his pants and the beast's "manhood" than anything in the script.

How Dave Walker's presence is always announced by the entrance of Nantucket, Dave's adorable little teacup Maltese poodle. Nan has become the cast buddy, and is cuddled and handed around throughout rehearsal most days. (Her and baby Charlie both.) One day while rehearsing "Tradition," Jerry was holding her. He's supposed to give Jacob S a "kopek" (a coin), but since he was holding Nan, she just became the "kopek." Jerry handed her to Jacob S, and Jacob just held her up in the air with one hand while doing the rest of the choreography.

OPENING WEEKEND!!! It was so awesome. There were several short moments of panic, but it was a strong opening. There were also several moments of AWESOME.

1. When Joe was dressed as a wolf (which is terrifying...red glowing eyes and glow-in-the-dark painted teeth and claws), and remembered that it was the birthday of a 5-year-old girl in the audience. So at the end of the wolf chase scene, he went right up to her and whispered in a low, growly voice, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" (Her psychologist will call us in a few years, I'm sure...)

2. When Jacob S almost dropped Jacob C as he was carrying him out of the theatre during an exit. They barely made it out to the lobby before collapsing into a heap. Jacob C said later, "It was in that moment that I knew it was going to be a good show."

3. When Mason's accidentally turned into a Chip N Dale dancer during a musical number. During "Be Our Guest," a lot of the guys just wear these shirt fronts that tie around their waists and velcro around their necks, with jackets over them--it's faster for their costume changes, cheaper, cooler, etc. During the song, the velcro around Mason's neck came apart, and his shirt front fell open to reveal his bare chest beneath his jacket. He did his best to put it back, but it's hard to do while dancing, and wearing gloves.



In other news, we're rehearsing "Fiddler" this week! In less than one month, all three shows will be open. WHAT? Awesome. Here's to another week!

Playmill week 4

So it occurred to me, dear readers, that these posts might not really be interesting to anyone but those at the Playmill. Someone pointed out recently that these posts are essentially just a list of inside jokes. For which I apologize. I want to be inclusive in my blogging.

HOWEVER, my fellow Playmill folks have enjoyed these posts, and I enjoy writing them and having a record, so I was kinda stumped for awhile about whether or not to continue with them.

So here's my conclusion: I will continue these posts, but...I guess, just don't feel obligated to read them if you're not interested? I know that sounds kind of obvious, but sometimes there's this strange sense of obligation in the blog-world...like, "I HAVE to read and comment on this person's blog or they'll think I don't like them." So I'll just clear things up for you and tell you that my feelings won't be hurt if you don't read/comment on these Playmill posts. Or really anything, for that matter. I'll continue to do other blogs as well about other things that might be interesting. (But no guarantees...I don't wanna put that kind of pressure on myself.)

So with that caveat, here are the Highlights of Week Four!

The first rehearsal with Beauty and the Beast costumes. Nobody knew how to move, and there was one memorable moment when we noticed Justin, who plays Cogsworth, with an expression of grim helplessness on his face. His sweatpants had fallen down around his ankles, and because of the nature of his costume, he couldn't do anything about it.

Staying after rehearsal most nights to help with flats. We've got a lot of them to cover before we open next week, so we've developed a system (kind of). The system seems to involve singing and dancing, as well as using glue and staple guns. And there was also a short dance party afterwards most of the time.

Jacob S doing the bottle-dance in "Fiddler"! It's gonna be so awesome. There will actually be a total of three guys bottle-dancing, but Jacob's been practicing with the greatest determination, and he's getting pretty darn good.

Re-arranging our rehearsal schedule so that we could go see "Iron Man 3" at the movie theatre in town. They only show 1 movie at a time, once per day. I enjoyed the movie more than I though I would.

Sunday afternoon at Luke's cabin! Our sound guy, Luke, invited us all over for a BBQ, so we all headed over to eat, talk, cuddle, play, and nap. Luke gave an awesome devotional about music's power to change lives, and the Merrills told us some of the stories about the Playmill changing lives. Afterwards, we headed down to a river where we fed fish some leftover hamburger buns, then we went to a place where we caught (or attempted to catch) fish with our bare hands. Also, Hannah fell on her butt while trying to jump onto a dock.

Mason tearing a hole in the crotch of his pants, and Heidi fixing it. She accidentally left the needle in, which he discovered an hour or so later. While we were out "fishing" (with our bare hands; see above), Mason walked past Stacey and Jacob S and me with his pants COMPLETELY undone, yelling, "Heidi! She left the freaking needle in the crotch! And it's been poking me in the junk! HEIDI!"

Me mishearing what Jacob said he had to go to the store to buy. He sort of mumbled "condiments," but I definitely heard "condoms." Tanner was present for the miscommunication, and the three of us have been joking about it ever since.

How Tanner is our son. He's been sick this last week, so Jacob and I have been extra parental lately. One of these days we're going to wake up to find him in between us in the bed.

This conversation:
Jacob S - "I can't sleep unless I'm on my stomach."
Jerry - "That's funny, because I can't sleep unless I'm your stomach."

Joe G found a giant teddy bear at Luke's cabin, wearing a moose-themed shirt. A few minutes later, we noticed the teddy bear was wearing a different shirt...Joe had switched his own shirt for the moose-themed one.

Mason's prayer at the BBQ. It was a heartfelt and sincere prayer, and he ended it with, "But most of all, Lord, we just want to thank you for Texas. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." And we all had no choice but to say "amen," which he reminded us of for the next half hour or so.

Also, "Beauty and the Beast" opens on Friday. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

Mini-Library

Last night, I happened to glance over at our bookshelf, and it occurred to me that our current selection of books is a fairly good glimpse into our lives right now. We couldn't bring ALL of our books to West Yellowstone, so Jacob grabbed a handful. Here's what we've got on the shelf:

A Yellowstone National Park guidebook
Audition by Micheal Shurtleff
True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor by David Mamet
No Acting Please by Eric Morris and Joan Hotchkis
Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out by Mick Napier
Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess
Beginning Chess Play
The Green Book
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
A book on Hume
18th Century Philosophy
a copy of The Koran
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
The Oedipus Cycle
Lamp at Midnight by Barrie Stavis
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Dubliners by James Joyce
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Christopher Hitchins' autobiography, Hitch-22
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman



We're liberal theatre and English majors who like philosophy, religion, and feminism. And chess.

The Haves and Have Nots

Things You Are Not Allowed to Have During a Summerstock Theatre Season
Illness of any kind, especially if it gives you a lingering cough/headache
A husband with an illness of any kind (Remember how I can't handle it when my husband is sick because it breaks my heart so much?)

Things You Are Allowed to Have During a Summerstock Theatre Season
A sense of humor
Bruises
Sore muscles
Vitamins
Breakdown(s), if necessary (You gotta get the bad outta your system to let the good back in)

Lots of drinking water

Rainstorms that smell like Oregon

Friends and family

Good Chinese food around the corner

A lot of fun

Playmill highlights o' week 3

Okay, so some of these things are retro...active? I'm not sure what the right term is, but some of the things on this list haven't necessarily happened during week 3. I just remembered them this week.

Also, I think this is going to become a regular feature on the blog this summer. Maybe not a weekly feature (things can get busy), but definitely a regular feature.

HIGHLIGHTS, WEEK 3

Dinner with Jerry, Jacob Squire, and Jacob husband at Wild West Pizza, after wandering around West Yellowstone for 10 minutes looking for someplace warm and open. The meal involved playing table soccer with my bottle of lactose pills, drawing all over our to-go box, and one long moment of transcendent bliss when we each took our first bite of pizza. (My lactose pills were reduced to crumbs and powder, but I smile every time I open the bottle.)

Mason's reaction to Squire performing "Me" in Beauty and The Beast. The first time he saw it, he threw a water bottle around and kicked a few things while shouting, "You're a freaking MAN! A freaking MAN! Seriously! If I was a girl..."

How Kenzie, our choreographer, uses her legs to express emotion. Or wave.

Jerry saying this: "Forget about the shirt off your back, how about the poop off your floor?!"

Joe Galati accidentally "drinking" 2 pounds of applesauce.

Misha arriving and adding the high soprano parts to all the songs, so that all of us go, "Oh! That's what this song is supposed to sound like!"

Driving to Rigby for baby Charlie's blessing with Mason and Tanner. And that moment when we were passing a semi, and Mason saw another semi in the distance, coming towards us in the opposite lane, and yelled "Ooooohhh shiz!" at the top of his lungs, freaking Tanner out and making Jacob and I laugh.

How Tanner makes car noises when he's speeding up to pass someone.

Taylor snapping a towel onto Justin D's leg so hard that it left a welt, and the noise of the "crack" of towel against leg left our ears ringing for a moment. This was especially impressive because Taylor just learned to snap towels a few minutes previously.

Justin D's insane Korean "chicken fight" game, which involved holding one ankle and hopping around trying to knock each other over. Like this:

And here's another story about Mason not being self-conscious. Jacob and I were at the boys' apartment, and Mason walked out in a towel, saying, "Time to shower." When we reacted with surprise and laughter, he said, "Don't worry, I'm wearing underwear underneath." I laughingly said, "Prove it!" And he did.

Joe Galati saying, "I've always wanted to learn how to juggle, but I've just never had the balls to do it."

The unofficial tradition we've started of Thursday night girl's night. The boys usually go play basketball at the church with the Elder's Quorum, so we girls get together at one of our apartments and talk about everything from what marriage means to addiction recovery.

The night that a moth attacked Taylor, and instead of freaking out like a normal human being, she reacted like a Disney princess. She just smiled at the moth and said, "Well, hello!"

How I saw a fox wandering through town on two separate occasions.

The night that a handful of cast members stayed after rehearsal to help Boyd with flats. It involved successfully aligning two sides of a picture on two separate flats, and also "finger dueling" for the last chicken wrap. Jacob Squire beat everyone, but gave the prize to Jacob Chapman, who ate it "while praising Jacob's name with every bite."

And finally, I sprained my thumb this week. Not too badly, but I've been wearing a splint off and on while it heals. The inconvenience of it was made up for by the fact that I did it because I was laughing and fell off the dressing room counter. I'm still not exactly sure how it all happened...all I know is that I landed on my thumb.

But sprained thumb or no sprained thumb, I'm so glad to be here. I get to do what I love, surrounded by people that I love, in a place that I love. What more could anyone ask for?

In defense of Mean Girls

The movie, not actual girls who are mean.

My friend Carrie calls Mean Girls a “laundry movie”—a movie that her husband’s not crazy about, but that she can watch over and over again. A lot of husbands aren’t crazy about the movie, but there’s a lot of substance underneath those quotable one-liners. I recently watched it with a group of friends, and it got mixed reviews, which is a common reaction, it seems.

And I’m going to defend this movie.

If it’s just not your sense of humor, or you just don’t connect with it, that’s fine. But if you think it’s one of those fluffy teen movies that lacks substance, I will have to disagree with you.

First of all, it’s based on a non-fiction book called Queen Bees and Wannabes, written about female teenage relationships. And guys may not realize this, but everything in Mean Girls is incredibly accurate. Every one of us girls knew a Regina George. She went to our high schools and she personally victimized us. So Mean Girls gets points for accuracy.

Second of all, seeing these complex and insane relationships in film allows us to see them for what they really are—totally messed up. It gives us a guide for what our friendships and relationships should and shouldn’t look like. Sometimes when we’re in them, we’re not sure. But when see them on screen, it gives us a little objectivity.

Third of all, it teaches valuable lessons about identity, friendship, honesty, and kindness. We get to witness Kady’s identity go through several twists and turns. As Kady learns the importance of thinking before she speaks, we do too. As Kady learns that making fun of others won’t stop them from winning, we do too. As Kady learns to speak in kindness and honesty, instead of manipulating them, we do too. As Kady learns that being herself is simpler and more powerful than trying to be popular, we do too.

Disguised beneath Tina Fey’s wit in the script of Mean Girls are the same lessons we learned from Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, and Lambchop’s Sing-Along. But sometimes we forget those lessons in the chaos of teenage-hood. So it’s nice to get a reminder that accounts for the complexity of growing up.

Fourth of all, Mean Girls is funny. But I guess that’s subjective.

Salad Days

Have I mentioned that for this summer, singing, dancing, and acting is my JOB? This is only scratching the surface, but here are some of the highlights from the first two weeks of Jacob and I's summer as Playmill Players. 

When we had a "girl's night" while the boys played basketball, and instead of watching movies and painting our nails, we talked about feral children and serial killers. 

When we were playing a game, and someone got out, and Hannah said, "Out like a LIGHT!" and then the lightbulb almost above her head fell out of the socket and crashed onto the ground. 

How almost everyone in the cast is learning to juggle (for no particular reason). 

How Mason left rehearsal last night with a slightly rolled ankle, a bruised shoulder, a cold sore, and a bloody nose. And kept smiling and doing enthusiastic hitch kicks. 

Watching Jacob learn awesome dances. And watching him be awesome at them. 

Getting to know everyone--strengthening old friendships and building new ones. 

Making baby Charlie smile his 2-month-old gummy little smile. 

Going to Old Faithful at 11 pm, which included almost freezing to death, watching the geyser go off, star gazing, watching an enormous full moon rise, talking about conversion, and in Jacob's case, peeing off the boardwalk surrounding the geyser. 

Half of the cast scraping the paint off the girl's bathroom stalls for hours and hours and hours while the other half of the cast learned music. This process also involved talking, singing, and finally mastering that rhyming game that Brooklyn tried to teach us that we sucked at. 

How Mason TOTALLY peed in front of me and Jacob Squire without a second thought. (Or, as he said at the time, "Squeezed the lemon.")

How I fell onto the ground twice in one day...once on the gravel outside the theatre in an attempt to run after and attack Jerry's car, and once in the theatre in an attempt to run up the stairs. 

The way that at least once a day, I can't stop smiling at the fact that I get to be here with these incredible, talented, hilarious, wonderful people (including my husband), doing what I love.