Theater!

I have quite a few pictures I'd like to share but I don't want to put them all in one blogpost. So I decided to make themed blogposts.

THEATER

I love the theater! I go when I can and it makes me happy!

My sister, Lara, texted me one Monday in December and said that BYU Vocal Point was going to be at the Kennedy Center that night and that admission was free. We decided to go, although we couldn't find any other information about the concert.

The concert ended up being a farewell/happy retirement concert for Senator Orrin Hatch and it was amazing! It was a private public event, meaning it was a private event, but if you happened to have heard about it and you did not have an invitation, they would not turn you away.

BYU Vocal Point, Lee Greenwood, an award winning choir and orchestra from Houston, Mac Powell, and other musicians that I don't remember were all at the concert. It was seriously so cool to have so many different types of musicians at one concert!

 Lara and I after the Orrin Hatch concert!

Those of us that went to the Orrin Hatch concert minus Lara because she's taking the picture.

Back in November, I saw Anastasia at the Kennedy Center with two of my friends, Cat and Shari! The staging and production were beautiful and magical and the singing and dancing was awesome!

In January, we saw the Cinderella Ballet at the Kennedy Center. I'd never been to a ballet before. The dancing was beautiful but it was modern ballet so the dancers weren't en pointe as much as I thought they would be. But overall I loved the dancing by the performers and the music by Prokofiev!

This was definitely a different version of Cinderella than I was used to. It was darker and had more adult themes. (It took place during the London Blitz during World War 2.) But it was interesting and the dancing was beautiful!

One of my friends told me about this free concert on Martin Luther King Jr Day at the Kennedy Center with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald. I love Brian Stokes Mitchell, so I convinced two of my nieces to join me and we braved the crowds at the Kennedy Center!

With two high profile Broadway people performing at a free concert, you can bet there were a lot of people. We got there five minutes after they started handing out tickets and we were in Line 8 and got tickets for the top tier.

The concert was so cool! At first there was a lot of talking and then Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald took over and they were awesome!

Last month, I went to School of Rock at the National Theater. Lara, Glen, Emma, Adam and Ellie were there too. Although we bought our tickets separately and we did not get to choose our seats, I ended up being in the row right behind Lara and Glen. Yay!

The show was fun and I was impressed by the talent of the children and all of the cast members!

I've heard the music to The Music Man a lot but I've never seen a production of it. So I was excited when my friend told me that a concert version was coming to the Kennedy Center. It did not disappoint. It was awesome! Seeing a production of it made me realize it's a pretty funny show!

I love theater and I'm thankful that I live in an area with a good theater scene!

Nature!

I have quite a few pictures I'd like to share but I don't want to put them all in one blogpost. So I decided to make themed blogposts.

 NATURE

Burke Lake! One Sunday afternoon last summer, I needed a change of scenery from my normal walking trails. I decided to go to Burke Lake which is about a 5-mile walk around.

Burke Lake! It was hot that day but the scenery sure was beautiful!

Burke Lake!

There are some decent walking trails near my house which I like to use when it's nice outside. When I walk in the mornings sometimes the lighting is beautiful. This was one of those days!

Look at that sky and the lake, beautiful!

At the small lake from the two pictures above!

One day at work I looked outside and this is what I saw, the sun was shining bright but it was pouring rain! It was really cool.. this picture does not do it justice.

Fall colors near my house!

The first snow of the season in the middle of November!

The second snow of the season in the middle of January. Work from home day!

The snow is kind of magical at night time!

Food!

I have quite a few pictures I'd like to share but I don't want to put them all in one blogpost. So I decided to make themed blogposts.

FOOD

I love Rita's Italian Ice! I usually get a mix of Rita's Italian Ice and custard. I love this place. I'm sad it's closed in the winter time.

I love making cookies! These are M & M pudding cookies. I found the recipe online a few years ago trying to find a good Independence Day cookie. (You can get Independence Day themed M & Ms and sprinkles to make it patriotic.) :)

I found a really good freezer breakfast burrito recipe that I like to make and have made multiple times now!
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/freezer-breakfast-burritos/#more-35074

In December I went to a cookie exchange. There were a lot of people and cookies there. :) I made Lemon Drop Cookies for the exchange.

For our work Christmas lunch we went to a fancy Italian restaurant in Georgetown. The food was delicious!

At the Italian restaurant this was the canoli. It's not the typical style of canoli but it was still delicious!

My birthday!

My birthday was on a Saturday this year and it was a lovely day! I decided to drive 2-1/2 hours one-way to the Green Valley Book Fair near Harrisonburg, Virginia. It's a beautiful drive and I love having any excuse to buy books. :)

After the book fair it was time for lunch. I decided to eat at an Amish market just outside Harrisonburg. I don't remember what I ate but I remember liking it!

Inside of the Amish market they have different stores where you can buy different types of things. I bought what is in the picture above. The chips and popcorn I snacked on on my way home.

 Delicious fudge from the Amish market!

On the drive home, I decided to drive on a two lane road that parallels I-81 and goes through small towns and the speed limit is slower.

I'm glad I drove on the two lane road because I could enjoy the scenery more!

The scenery was beautiful!

 It was a really nice day that Saturday!

I've driven passed this ruin multiple times and have always wanted to find it and walk around it. This was as close as I could get to it. I tried to find a road to lead me to it, but there wasn't one that I felt comfortable going on by myself. So being stopped across the freeway from it had to suffice.

My friend, Diana, baked a cake and invited some of my friends over to her house for a birthday celebration for me. This is the cake she made.

Overall it was a lovely day of books, delicious food, beautiful scenery, and good friends!

Cruise- Day 6 and 7 (Costa Maya, Mexico and At Sea)

In the evening of the fifth day and into the early morning of the sixth day, the ship was rocking a bit more than usual because of stormy weather. It wasn't horrible but you could definitely feel it. It was quite windy too and the door to our balcony whistled in the wind because part of the seal to the door had come loose. Then in the middle of the night the air conditioner stopped working in our room and it got hot quickly with four of us in that small room. 

We called the customer service desk and they sent someone in the middle of the night to fix our air conditioner. They did fix it but since it took awhile and since our door was whistling in the wind, they gave us another room. They let us keep both rooms. So Dad and Mom stayed in that room and Heather and I went to the other room. Since we were up half of the night, I was exhausted on our excursion the next day. 

After only a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Costa Maya, Mexico. Mom, Dad, Heather and I went on a tour to the Chacchoben Pyramids.  It was about an hour bus ride to the pyramids. Even though I was trying really hard to stay awake to see the scenery and listen to our tour guide, I was nodding off because I was so tired. 

We arrived at our destination and I really liked the pyramids! 

 The area had cool trees!

While on this tour, I learned that one of the ladies in our tour group spoke Russian. At first I didn't want to talk to her, because my Russian is really rusty. But Heather kept on encouraging me to and so I eventually struck up a conversation with the Russian lady. I struggled with my Russian but I think we understood each other. :)

 The pyramids were in a beautiful area!

It was really hot and humid, but we had a lovely time at the pyramids!

 The trees were really cool!

 They make chewing gum out of the sap of this tree!

On our way back to the port from the pyramids, our bus broke down...

Since it was so hot and humid outside and there was no air circulation on the bus, most of us got off the bus until the new bus came to get us. It probably took about 30-40 minutes for our new bus to get there. While we were waiting we talked with some of the other passengers and met some fascinating people.

Eventually the new bus arrived and it was time to get on the road again. Yay! What an adventure!

We arrived back at port. I liked this place!

 We found dolphins.

 And flamingos!

The pyramids and Costa Maya were beautiful and it was a lovely day!

Day 7, we had another day at sea. I read a lot. I did laps around the ship. I packed my bags in preparation for getting off the ship the next day. Heather and I went swimming in the beautiful salt water pool on the ship. We ate at a Brazilian restaurant that night. (Because our air conditioner went out the night before, the ship gave us a complimentary meal to one of the nicer restaurants on board.) It was delicious. :)

We arrived back in Miami on the morning of the eighth day. We had some awesome adventures on our cruise and I had a lovely time with my family! Thanks for letting me join you on the cruise Dad, Mom, and Heather!