I LOVE the summer time. No matter who you are or what you do, Summer time represents something. I think for most people it means sunshine, relaxation, family vacations, outdoor adventure, water sports, etc. Summer always brings me back to the care free days of childhood when school was out and we spent endless time playing red rover on the lawn between my house and my friend Lindsey's house. When the neighborhood kids would all come over and jump on the trampoline and eat Otter Pops. When my brothers would convince me to put on roller blades and hold a sheet as a sail and try to roll down the street or put me in a box on the trampoline and jump me as high as I could go or strap a milk crate to their skateboard and put me in that crate for a ride down the street. Summers were spent outside being free and slightly reckless. It feels as though those memories were dipped in sunshine.
This is my 5th summer since finishing my school days. Summer doesn't mean freedom from work anymore (dang it!) but it still represents adventure and memories.
In mid June we discovered a leak in our basement. Just before heading out on a weekend road trip (more on that below). We decided that the problem was bad enough that we should go ahead and tear down the dry wall ourselves. That night we had Airbnb guests staying in the room just down the hall but lucky for us, those guests were two young guys that were just in between houses and locals to Salt Lake so they were comfortable with our late night demolition. We had to wait until Patrick was asleep to take care of the demo as we didn't want him to come into the room and chance inhaling anything dangerous. It was actually rather fun to hammer away at the soggy drywall and yank large pieces of wood away from the studs and into pieces. Scott and I were a little overwhelmed to uncover more problems than we began with (of course) and our house seems to be falling apart slowly. Weekend projects and home improvement...I guess this is what we signed up for. We knew it was coming and here we are. We now have big renovation plans for the basement and plan to make it into a more comfortable living space. It will be expensive but SO worth it to have a play room (YES YES YES) and some extra space to entertain/ host Airbnb people.
In spite of that fiasco, we have had such an excellent summer thus far. Just after tearing our basement apart, Scott and I travelled to Montana for a Salty Dinner Theater charity event. This year, they put us up in a hotel rather than the college dorms. We travelled out with Ricky and had quite the eventful journey. We headed out around 5:00. I drove a leg and then Ricky drove the next leg. We stopped for gas and dinner between the two diving shifts and Ricky used the gas card provided to us by the charity to fill up the tank. Too bad he didn't realize how much fuel he put in the tank because as we were driving down the highway, Ricky was stopped for speeding. It was then that he realized we were almost on an empty tank and we were a good distance from the closest fuel station. We mentioned our problem to the highway patrol guy and he basically said, "good luck" and sent us on our way. Well, shortly after that, the car did indeed die. Luckily, Patrick was asleep by this point. We were sitting there for about 2 hours trying to come up with a plan. Scott hitch hiked to the next stop with a truck driver and brought my credit card to purchase fuel in the hopes of hitch hiking back to us. We called our Salty friends who were already there in Helena to see if they had any way to send a rescue party out to us (we were about an hour and a half away from Helena by that point). We called Geico (our insurance provider) to see if we could get coverage for a tow truck to come out. I did not come prepared to sit in the car in the middle of the night and was rather chilly. Patrick was all snuggled up under a blanket and I just hoped that he would stay asleep during this whole fiasco and he pretty much did. Well, $160 and 2 hours later the tow truck came, filled up the tank with the most expensive gas I've ever seen, and we were on our way. We spent two days in Helena and had a blast performing a "revival" of "Altos", our mafia murder mystery show. There were a handful of things that were better this time around. 1: my finger waves were WAY better 2: my dress was way more comfortable 3: Scott was involved in the show by helping drum up funds through the raffle and such. As compared to the last time we performed in Montana, there were improvements too...namely the venue. We performed in this gorgeous church that had a fun little playground that Patrick played on before sound check on the first night. This church was so amazing. They had the most awesome nursery room I've ever seen. Books and toys and plush carpet. That's where I hung out during the last act as I was the one "killed" in the show so, I just hung out there. I wish LDS churches still built cry rooms into their chapels. Why did they stop doing that???
While in Montana, I was able to hit the town one night and do some karaoke at a bar in Helena with some friends from the show. It was such a fun night. We ordered sodas and played pool and of course we sang. I brought the house down with "Don't Stop Believin" and then of course Tony closed out our group's performances with "Somebody to Love" and really blew everyone away. He definitely vocally outshined most of the other performers. We had a blast watching the other performers. Some were really...special. Since we went to this place right after our performance on Friday night, I was still in my costume makeup and hair. I forgot to put my wedding rings back on (seriously....forgot...honest mistake) and there was this young guy who was a pretty decent singer who got friendly with our group. Joseph teased me that he was coming on to me but, I think he was just being nice and making friends. We headed out at about 1:30 AM...or at least it seemed like it was 1:30. It was totally worth the lack of sleep.
The day we returned to Salt Lake I started feeling symptoms of a cold and came down with the worst cold I've ever had in my life. It lasted for 15 days and I felt like crap. It was horrible. I always felt better when I would pick Patrick up and then we'd spend some time outside in the yard. I let him play with the hose while I pulled weeds. Or I would fill up his little baby pool with water and we would splash around together for a few minutes and have some apricots for a snack from the tree whose branches hang into our yard. Patrick has made a habit of walking over to that tree, pointing up, and grunting at it as if to say "I want some Mom. Get me one". My boy knows what's good in life.
At the end of June we were able to make it to Taylorsville days. Neither of us had rehearsal and conditions were perfect. It wasn't too hot and they had the Abba tribute band again which I LOVED. Patrick has recently started pointing to things in the sky like the moon, planes, birds, etc. He was very excited to point out the skydivers at Tville Dayz. It was just such fun, the whole night.
When my parents are in town we always enjoy doing "try-tip Sundays" where we get together with extended family and have a meal outside in the common area at my parent's home in Shadowbrook (in Provo). It's been so fun to revive that tradition. A few weeks ago, we were at that event and Patrick and Mason decided to play with Patch's Thomas the Train toy. It's one of those little scooter things for babies/ toddlers and they were having a ball. Mason was riding and Patrick was pushing him and they were both LOVING it. Then my mom brought out this awesome bubble making set and we made gigantic bubbles for the kids.
For two years in a row now, we've spent the 4th of July at Bear Lake. We rented a skidoo this year and it was so much fun. I'm glad we sprung for it. Split 3 ways, it wasn't that bad of a price. The beach was windy on the 4th but that made for the best sailing I've ever done on Sweet Bananas, my father in law's Hobie catamaran. There was a moment when we were sailing Steve, Kait, and myself and we nearly flipped over. What a thrill.
That Friday, Scott's opening night of Little Mermaid, we went to see the new movie "The Secret Life of Pets" at the drive in theater. We got some of the Warren cousins to join us and it was SO MUCH FUN. The movie was ok but the company was superb. We loaded the truck up with blankets and pillows and snacks. Kathie was there with her family and some friends too and she had goodie bags made up for the kids. She's the world's best nanny and we're so lucky to have her. She's always organizing fun events like that.
On Saturday night we saw Scott perform as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid and he did SUCH an excellent job. I'm lucky enough to hear him sing around the house all the time so, I know he has a beautiful solo voice. Many of our family and friends who went to see the show didn't realize what a good solo singing voice he has so, I know that made Scott proud to hear all the compliments he was getting. The show was a delight and Patrick was glued to the stage almost the whole time. He loved pointing to his daddy on stage and was nice and quiet in the audience.
My show opened on Monday and it was lucky that my parents were in town for the week we had performances that overlapped. Scott had a show every night and I had either a show or a rehearsal every night except Tuesday. That day was fun. We went to Bruges for dinner and then took Patrick to Fairview park right next door. He loved climbing up the stairs and sliding down the slide all by himself like a big boy. He kept landing at the end of the slide on his bum but didn't seem to mind. What a cutie.
During the first week of Tarzan performances I left parts of my costumes at Joe Morleys on Friday night and didn't realize it until Saturday night when I needed them at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Orem. Lucky, I was able to find a dress in the mall VERY quickly and it worked perfectly. $60 later and I'm hoping I can actually return it. I thought I would love it on me and it turns out that I don't. It has an empire waist and I just don't love that design on my frame.
On July 22, I didn't have a performance or rehearsal so Scott and I were able to see the Pioneer Day concert presented by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and guest artists, The King's Singers. It was lovely with the exception of these new special lighting effects that they're using at the conference center. They've placed these LED lights all along the banisters that surround the choir space and they were blinking all these bright colors in time with the music. Not on every song but certainly on the real flashy numbers...pun intended. I hated it. It seemed too contrived. Outside of that, the concert was lovely.
We celebrated Pioneer Day with a BBQ in our back yard. Taylor, our Airbnb roommate, invited her brother and his girlfriend over and we had a truly lovely time.
This past week has been full of rehearsal and performances for me. We've gone back to the schedule where I start working at 7:30 and Scott takes Patrick to Kathie. I feel that if we must get Patch at 3, this schedule really is best. This means that I have a few hours with him at home at the end of my work day where we can play outside together, have a snack, tidy up the house, prepare dinner, play on the piano, take a walk with Dinah, play with blocks, read stories, etc. One day this week, to escape the heat but also to avoid having to lather up sunblock and fill up the kiddie pool, Patrick and I just took a bath together. It was actually really fun and I could tell that he was all jazzed about being able to play with Mommy in the bath.
For Tarzan's second weekend of performances, we were at the Pizza Factory in Orem. It's a brand new venue for us and we got to try out brand new mics too. It was fun to perform in a new place that seemed to bring in new crowds. Since I have a few costume changes, it was also pretty exciting to try and find a place to make those costume changes happen quickly and discreetly. I also had a good idea for the "mingling" time where we go out, in character, before the show starts and greet all the tables. I wanted to get some real good laughter from this one large party. I decided to have them play along with me and fake laugh on the count of three to make all the other actors and other tables jealous. It worked perfectly and everyone did get a hearty laugh out of that.
The following Monday, our show manager didn't show up until late and Mary, in a panic, asked Scott to show manage. It was chaos and Scott didn't really get to see the show but, nevertheless, it was nice to have him there. The remainder of the shows went well. No major costume mishaps. Lots of good laughs. It was probably one of my better performances with Salty. I think I got to play my most comical character thus far and really enjoyed it.
We are also now in full swing with Shrek rehearsals. Surprisingly, I didn't have to miss too many even with the Tarzan performances conflicting with Wednesday rehearsals. It worked out rather swimmingly.
On Friday, Scott headed out for the Saints to Sinners race with the cycling team of England Logistics. I made him some food for the journey and sent him on his way knowing that I was going to fly solo for the closing weekend of Tarzan. Luckily, I had some help from family and friends. Lauren watched Patrick for me on Friday night during my performance. Afterwords, I drove down to Lehi and stayed the night at their house. The next morning, Patch slept in past 8 AM!!! It was a miracle. Finally, at about 8:30, I had to go wake him up so we could head to rehearsal in Draper. I packed a bunch of snacks at Lauren's and got to chat with Dave about being a business owner as we munched on cold cereal. My rehearsal with Patch was really fun. It was a full day at the theater but, again, I had lots of cast mates and my friend Karin from BYU to help me keep him happy. Most of the time, when I went on stage, Patch was a trooper. He made friends with all the kids rather easily and during lunch break he charmed his way into mooching from several people's plates. He got pretty cranky around his nap time and luckily, I was able to take him for a drive where he was able to fall asleep. I got back into the theater and put him in the green room. I sat right outside the door and memorized lines. Making. It. Work.
Rehearsal was done at 3:30 and I headed home to get some costume pieces ready and then drop Patch off at Dan and Mary's for Dan to look after him. Dan sent me pics of him playing with Scarlett and Lucy and their new bounce house. ADORABLE. I'm so glad that he gets along with other kids. Our final performance was a good one. Here's to hoping I don't have to strip down to my bra and undies in restaurants for a while. ;)
I found out during that performance that Scott's truck was having transmission problems and that he was going to have to stay in Cedar City. Major bummer. His cell phone was also running low on battery and he didn't have his charger so, he didn't want to talk too much. He called me in the morning and we formulated a plan to have his Mom, who was already in Southern Utah, bring him back home until the truck could be looked at. He had a rehearsal in Lehi for Consortium and I decided, after dinner with Logan and Aubri, to rehearse with Karin for our broadway review number for the Shrek fundraiser. We were both sleeping in the same bed by Sunday at about midnight. It was a crazy weekend.
Lucky for us, we've had last night and tonight home together. No rehearsals, no performances, no plans. Just chilling, getting stuff done around the house, harvesting veggies from the garden, and enjoying time together at home before August picks up again.
We will be taking a break from shows for the rest of the year. We have to get a lot of projects done at the house and it's time to take it easy for a bit, once again. As tough as it is to say no, Scott and I are holding strong so that we can really make some dramatic changes to our home and yard. Stay tuned.
