Take Five...Actually On Stage

During the great waste in the wilderness that we call "at-home learning," aka school in 2021, East High's production of Take-5 tried to happen. It really did. But it so didn't. Another victim sucked into the covid trash heap. The kids did write plays and monologues - Romney even wrote one of them. They picked directors and cast the shows. And then they the kids all had to record their parts on camera and send them to their directors. Or I guess some of the shows were recorded together on zoom. And then someone was supposed to edit it and send it out or play it online or something, I'm not quite clear. All I'm clear on is that it didn't happen. And now that a year has gone by, I'm pretty sure it isn't going to. So Romney was pretty excited that Take-5 did happen in person this year. Now, it had some down-sides. For one thing, it was performed in the big auditorium upstairs at the high school instead of downstairs in the small black box theater. Student-written plays can sometimes be a little...um...unpolished and hard to understand anyway, but putting them on a really big stage far away from the audience makes it a little harder. Plus, the rehearsals got started just as the Omicron variant was blowing up and we had another week of this "at-home learning." (We were all traumatized and were terrified that the break would extend past the one week they started with. Luckily it was just the one week.) But that of course shut down rehearsals for a while. So it was a rush getting the shows ready to perform.

Romney was very happy to get a part she really enjoyed - she was in the final play of the evening, written by her good friend Anna. I really feel like it was the best-written play of the group, though we all also enjoyed the one about the tree in the park getting to know its neighboring shrubbery. Cute show. Romney's was a dating game show where none of the contestants knew they were in a contest. Romney played one of the show hosts and was really funny. I thought they did a great job. All the pictures of her with makeup streaming down her face are due to the fact that at one point in the show she flees from the stage in tears, and returns with mascara pouring down her face. She has great energy and comedic timing. 

The show wrapped up on Monday the 7th, and it was only two days later that she was auditioning for the spring musical, Beauty and the Beast, as well as a one-act play meant for a spring competition. She got great parts in both. In Beauty and the Beast, she will be playing LeFou, another great comedic part. And so there was about one day to take a breath before leaping back into action. Ah, the theater life! I love how much she loves it, and worry about her stress level at the same time. I guess that's high school, though, right?

A Very Good Day

One of the most special places in our church is the temple. This is a place where we go to make covenants with our Heavenly Father and also perform ordinances like marriage. It's a really special place to be. Here's some information about it: About Temples  

I myself went to the temple for the first time before I served a mission in Seoul, South Korea. Lots of people go for the first time before serving a mission, or before getting married. Some people, however, just feel ready to go. Chase is sort of in between those situations. He is preparing for a mission, but also isn't quite there yet. When he found out that his mission was going to be delayed for a few months, he let us know that going to the temple was still something he really wanted to do soon anyway.

Chase pondered over this decision and let us know that he'd like to go early in February. We studied together about the temple in the fall and over Christmas, and we made the appointment to go on February 5th. What a special day.

It's hard to know what to say about this amazing day - the temple is a very sacred place and we don't talk casually about it. So how do I express what this was like, to take our son there? I only have one memory of the family I grew up in being all together in the temple. It was just after Peter got his mission call to Mexico, and Adam was just home from his mission to Belgium. We had one wonderful time together before Peter left. I have a hope that someday I'll be able to attend with my husband and all three kids. And on Saturday we were able to take the first step.

I was very grateful to those people who could attend with us. None of my siblings were able to come, but one of Troy's brothers was there. Sam and Kathleen and their son Noah joined us. Also, our dear dear friends the Moores were there. Bryan is currently serving as our ward's bishop and has done such a great job supporting and mentoring Chase. They have been a huge part of our lives for more than 15 years now and their sons have all been great friends of Chase's. The only other people in our group were all his friends from Aspen Grove. I am so thrilled that they were able to be there and support Chase. I think that having his friends there made all the difference in him having a great experience.

Because we were hoping to make the commute as easy as possible for the BYU kids, Chase picked the Provo temple as the place he wanted to go. This is definitely farther away from us than several other choices, but we were happy to do that. It was actually pretty fun to go there - when I went on my mission, I spent several weeks at the Missionary Training Center, which is across the street from that temple. We were able to attend the temple about once a week during that time, and I hadn't been back to that temple since. It was really great to revisit it, although I thought the inside would feel more familiar than it did. 

After our temple session and a quick photo shoot outside, we headed to the extremely crowded mall to get some dinner at P.F. Changs. Luckily we had made a reservation. It was only 5pm when we got there and it was completely packed. Can you imagine it on a Saturday night at 6 or 7? 

I was so glad we did this - to be able to get more time together and enjoy talking and laughing and eating absolutely delicious food together. It made the celebration even better, though getting home without falling asleep after eating way too much was a bit tricky.

I just want to say that I have a testimony of temples. The feeling inside is different from any place on earth. Families are so important, and making covenants with Heavenly Father is crucial to our progression and to becoming a part of His family. I'm so grateful Chase wanted to attend and take those sacred steps. It's a day I'll never forget.