THE Audra McDonald

Will and Audra (center) with of few of

our friends from the cast and audience)

Last Friday night we had the amazing opportunity to see Audra McDonald perform live in '110 in the Shade' at Hale Center Theater in Orem. What a treat. We actually went to see our good friend Will Swenson (Audra's boyfriend and he played opposite her), but are so glad we didn't miss the opportunity to see Audra. Hale is a very intimate little theater... only 7 or so rows, 'in the round' and there are no bad seats. Audra McDonald is a 4 time Tony Award Winner (one for the role she was playing in this show), 2 time Grammy Award Winner and she even has an Emmy Award. She is truly an amazing performer. I have been to broadway shows and seen many great performances, but in this setting, where you are so close, it was truly unforgettable. She is such an honest and beautiful actress. I was truly touched and inspired. And the rest of the cast was fabulous. I'm sure the idea of performing along side Audra brought out this all star cast... the ensemble was jam packed with performers you would usually see in starring roles. It was fun to see so many friends on stage together and they all did wonderful. Marvin Payne, Tim Threlfall, Jared Young, Korianne Johnson, Rachel Woodward, Kevin Geortzen, Lita Giddons... all were fabulous. We were sad to miss Emily Castleton, Hailey Smith and Melissa Lindsey who were in the other cast (they ensemble switches nights). I'm sure I forgot someone... but you were all wonderful. Then... there was the audience. The draw of Audra and Will brought out many old theater friends. It was a reunion all around and we saw people we haven't seen in many, many years... and some we see a lot too! Truly a memorable evening!! I wish I could do it again. If you live in Utah Valley and have a chance be sure to go see this show!! Audra and Will perform through this Saturday... you don't want to miss it!! But if you do, try to catch it after that... different leads but same show and sure to please.

To blog or not to blog?

THAT is the question.

When I first started my blog a few years ago I thought long and hard about wether or not to do it. I really liked the idea of having an instant way to share my pictures and stories of my family that is much easier and more accessible than scrapbooking. I'm not a great journal keeper but I could do this. I also like that it was a great way to keep extended family, especially grandparents, and far away friends in the loop. Another plus was that it is creative outlet for me because it is so hard to spend hours scrapbooking with little kids around. So, why not, it all sounds great, right?

Well, the drawback for me was that I didn't really want one more thing to be "behind on". One more thing to feel guilty about. One more obligation.

That's how I have felt the past year while I have gotten more and more behind.

Why can't I have a blog and just post when I feel like and what I feel like?

Because I am slightly OCD. For reals. It runs in the family. It's not so bad that I can't leave the house, but it is bad enough to make a simple thing like a blog challenging. You see, I have this need to post chronologically and to not miss any events. There is one event from 2 summers ago that I skipped and meant to go back to that still floats around in the back of my head. There is a cute video of my kids skiing I've been meaning to add to the skiing post for a year in a half that I have written on my to do list every week... for the last 18 months. I have a list of about 5 tags that I feel guilty about not responding to. I also need to send my gifts and post about my pay it forward thing that is waaaay overdue. It's like I can't post anything new unless I go back and do all the post that I missed.

I have friends with brilliant blogs that are completely random, often with pictures that don't match the post, that are heartwarming, funny, entertaining and perfect. I often wonder why I can't blog like that. Mostly because there is so much freedom in them, but also because they are so honest in their writing. They preserve thoughts, feelings, true stories, emotions. My blog has been more of a travelog... "this is where we went" "this is what we did"... blah, blah, blah.

So, in answer to the question, I have decided TO BLOG. I am not going to set any unreachable goal about getting "caught up" (although it literally makes me sick to my stomach to think of all the fun things that may never make it to the blog), I am just going to start. I am going to try to write more freely about who we are, how we feel and our relationships with each other and less about where we go and what we do (although that will still be here, I'm sure). And, of course, lots of pictures. I'll try to get to a few of the big things I missed if and when I feel like it... no pressure. Right?

So there you have it. I've missed my blog and have enjoyed staying caught up on all of yours. I'm excited to have this outlet again and hope you will all follow along and leave me some comment love =)

(PS. When Max saw that I was posting he said I should apologize to you all for not blogging for an entire year... funny!)