The Outsiders Musical!

 

Last week Noah and I saw The Outsiders musical and it was well done! I'm old school and was looking forward to having it be similar to the movie but they changed a few scenes. It was interesting how they added songs to certain scenes but it was done very tastefully. Noah saw the movie for the first time earlier that day to prepare to see how they would make it into a musical and he was very pleased. We both were. I loved it so much and my 14 year young heart was so happy to see it. It brought back memories from my youth as a kid and how much I felt Ponyboy and Johnny's pain. I still feel it to this day when I see the movie and I felt it that night when I watched the show. Although our lives were similar to a certain extent I am grateful for my outcome to still be here today in my 50's and to have introduced my 14.5 yr old boy to the movie and show.  So if you're ever in NYC...go see it!

An Afternoon At The Washington D.C. Temple.

 

As long as I'm living in the east coast near one of my favorite temples in Washington D.C. I will always be feeling nostalgic. When we first moved here this was the one temple where we the most active in attending and the one temple where we always dragged our kids along since they were single digit ages. I love looking back at old photos and blog posts and having one kid left to take to this temple is bittersweet. Whether Noah fakes it or not or pretends to like coming here to make me happy doesn't matter. Although I believe he really does like coming because of the little pool and the cool auditorium which remind me of a mini conference center. He always has new questions to ask us about the church and the temple and I appreciate his curiosity. He eventually will make his own choice as to continue to attend the temple as he gets older, but whatever his choices are we love him no matter what he thinks of it.  I love that we always have a fun time here. Sure it's a spiritual place but we can always make our own fun by not being so serious all the time. Like President Gordon B. Hinckley one said, "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

Indulge!

 

 

Meeting Valerie Bertinelli was so fun! I grew up watching "One Day At A Time" and thought she was the funniest. I sure do miss 70's and 80's shows. The fact that I grew up liking the same shows as my mom proves all too well that she raised me to watch good prime time television. I miss those simple days of watching tv. Even with the interruption of commercials. I didn't mind that one bit and now we can watch a whole series in one sitting without any interruptions! Those were the days and meeting Ms. Bertinelli brought back all the nostalgia. I'm so excited to try her new cookbook recipes too. Since my husband loves to cook and is the main cook in the home I got it for him as a fathers day gift. I already have a few recipes in mind to try and reading her essays in between are inspiring too! So if you're in the market for a healthy and inspiring cookbook go get Indulge! 

A Special Temple Morning.

 

I hadn't been feeling well all week both mentally and physically. I blame it on the rain that continues to make my bones ache, and joints stiff. I call in stiff aching "boints." But then I look at these two lovely sisters of mine who are in their 70's and think to myself, "if they can wake up with aching knees and drive 45 minutes to Philly to attend the temple, then so can I. I literally just wanted to lay in bed after dropping off my son at school, but said a prayer and just like that...I felt better.

Our Easter.

 

Our Easter Sunday this year was extremely chill. We went to sacrament meeting and listened to talks about the Savior. We came home and since we had leftover cascarones from last year we sneakingly cracked a few on each others heads. It was still fun, but we all felt that it would have been more fun if we had the girls with us. Oh, those were the days when we cracked confetti eggs on our heads, had a big bbq easter dinner and go for a walk in the park! This time we took a drive to the temple in Maryland to take in the spirit of the Lord and reflect on his resurrection. Holy Week is something we always appreciate and try to reflect on those days where he went through so much. I feel that future easters will be very different from now on. Different as in not having huge gatherings, and just focusing on what's important which is Jesus. Especially during Holy Week. Who knows, maybe our gatherings will be big again when we have grandkids! 

Happy Earth Day!

 

Not only is it a week of service but it's also earth day today. Spring is absolutely stunning right now with the tulips in bloom. We went to the D.C. during conference weekend and the blossoms and cherry trees are all in bloom right now. It's too bad it doesn't last very long. The water is still a bit nippy in the mornings and it warms up during the day. We have had quite a bit of rain showers and are expecting more. Luckily the flowers hang on and are still in bloom. I hope that we find the time to serve in the temple and if you can't enter in the temple smiling at a stranger is good enough. And of course-to keep the earth clean and as healthy as possible. I mean, we do what we can to keep the earth alive right? Whether it's cleaning up trash at parks, or picking up someone else's trash on their property or the side of the road. It's pretty simple to keep our earth looking beautiful and I hope it continues to thrive! 

New York In Bloom!

Spring has officially popped up in the city and the blooms are stunning! After watching this show we headed toward Central Park to see if the blossoms have bloomed and they have! It was still a bit chilly over the weekend so we didn't walk for too long but I did capture a few shots of a blossom tree with Noah standing near it. Noah also captured a photo of me with these tulips before crossing the street to the park. Aren't these tulips stunning! So glad spring has arrived so we can enjoy the outdoors instead of being cooped up inside!

The Play That Goes Wrong.

 

After years of hearing Noah talking about the play that goes wrong we finally went to go see it! It was everything I thought it was going to be. British humor and boy do we love a murder mystery! We had so much fun laughing our tushes off. It's always nice to see Noah happy and laughing after a long year of school. Spring break was fun with all the shows we went to and I'm glad that I am able to do this with him. I'm so lucky to still have one kid left at home at my age! I look forward to more dates with my boy before he grows to old and has a girlfriend!

The Who's TOMMY!

 

There's something about the rain that brings us outside and when I saw cheap tickets to go see The Who's Tommy I snagged them. Noah had no idea what the show was about and I figured since he's into rock music and plays the guitar that he would like songs from The Who. And he did! He is familiar with a few and didn't know who the artist was. We loved the show and it was well done! I never saw the one back in the 90's but I'm sure it would have been interesting to see it so I can compare the two. The LED lights and the special effects were amazing! They didn't have those kinds of lights back then. It was a fun and rainy day in the city and I'm so glad I introduced Noah to The Who and saw Tommy! 

Ghostbusters HQ In A Deep Freeze!

We saw the new Ghostbusters movie and it really good. It seemed like a short movie but we enjoyed it. We went to the HQ in the city and saw it all decked out in a deep freeze. It was the coolest installation and so glad we came before they tore it all down. Go and see the movie while it's still in theaters. I love New York and seeing parts of the city where they filmed the movies was pretty cool! 

The Eclipse 2024.

I don't think I've ever been so excited to see a solar eclipse than the one this year. Maybe it's because I'm older. Maybe it's because I have a boy who enjoys science and loves everything about space. Or maybe, just maybe it's because this might be the last eclipse I'll witness in my life. Nah, I don't think so. I'll be 72 and hope that I'm still alive to be able to see the next one with Jon and maybe my future posterity! It was really cool to have experienced this with my son in our backyard and he was really into it. He was taking lots of photos and even did a little tiktok which he won't post. I did capture a photo of us on my Be.Real (another favorite app) as well as a selfie so here you go...