The Story of 3 Cakes

I just turned 34.

It was a really nice birthday.

I got 3 different birthday cakes. That's how wonderful it was.

The Story of the 1st Cake: I was with two close friends. We shared a chocolate raspberry torte and shared our deepest secrets. We laughed and cried. It was magical. The cake was unexpected. A lovely surprise that showed me that my friend was thinking of me.

The 2nd Cake: I was at rehearsal. I knew something was happening during our break because the cast wouldn't let me into the lobby and I wanted to use the bathroom. When I finally walked through the doors, the whole cast and everyone in the theatre gathered around a large pink and brown cake. They sang the most beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday!" It was overwhelming. So much love. And such a wonderful surprise. Once again, I was overwhelmed at the thoughtfulness of my friends.

The 3rd Cake: I made Thai food for one of my favorite girlfriends. We enjoyed great food and great conversation. And she brought a beautiful chocolate cake. We didn't have time to eat it. We were too full from dinner.

Later that night, I tried something new. I decided that on this third and final cake I would light my own candles, sing "Happy Birthday" to myself and blow out my candles alone.

It felt like I was jumping off a cliff.

I wondered if it might feel lonely or pathetic or if some other negative emotion might come over me. But nothing like that happened. It felt oddly empowering. I could feel a smile growing inside my heart. (I know... corney...) I felt the most genuine happiness overwhelm me. I just felt peace. I like where I am right now. I am gloriously alone. I am joyfully comfortable in my own company.

After sharing cake with friends old and new, I loved that I got the chance to celebrate my birthday with one of my favorite people--ME!

The Many Faces of Kannon Roscoe

 This baby cracks me up. 

This is my little nephew. Look at those big eyes!

He just turned 5 months old in these pictures.

Oh! He's so sad! Life is a tragedy! 

"Why?! WHY?! Life is so tragic!"

"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog!"

"Really? Is that really the choice you wanna make? What would your mother think?"

"The more I think about it, the more I must conclude that fingers really are the tastiest things in the world."

Nick's Growin up!

Last night I took Nick's pictures at the theatre. He's growing up so fast!!  Look how tall he is now!

This is a picture of him at our sister Kim's wedding back in 2005. He had decided at the beginning of the summer to not cut his hair at all that summer. And then he got transition lenses. We call this his John Lennon look-a-like phase.

He's in college now at BYU studying International Relations. He decided to live in the German house so he could nail down his German. He will have just a year of college left to go when he comes back from his LDS mission. He will put his papers in soon.

I think he will make a happy ambassador for Jesus! But in looking at these pictures, a mystery presents itself.

How did his teeth get so purty? Interesting...Also--please note that he is wearing the same tie.

Phillip the Acting Dog

I'm directing To Kill a Mockingbird at Midvale Main Street Theatre. The show goes up Feb 16th. Come and see it!

These are the talented kids playing Dill (the future Truman Capote), Scout (young Harper Lee) and Jem... (who is someone wonderful too, I'm sure.)  The kids playing Scout and Jem are brother and sister in real life. I have funny stories about these three, but I'll save those for later.

 This is a picture of some of the gentlemen in the cast. The guy playing Atticus is a rhetoric professor at UVU. Bob Ewell is played by Tom Drury, a great old actor and banjo player!

But this entry is about a dog.

One of the guys in the cast, Joe Puente, has a little dog that is 13 years old. The dog's name is Phil. Phil is old, wise, and near deaf. Joe brings him to rehearsal every night. The dog wanders across the stage at will, which I frankly love! The play is about a little southern town and most of the scenes take place outside, so watching a dog walk across the stage at random moments just cracks me up. 

There's a scene where the kids tell Calpurnia about a mad dog coming down the street. Calpurnia goes up to the Boo Radley house and says, "Mad dog! Mad dog's coming!"

And like clockwork, Phil comes trotting onto the stage EVERY TIME she says this line. He enters from the right entrance and everything. It cracks me up! And the kids and Calpurnia all react appropriately running from the dog and screaming "Mad dog!" and so Phil, who is generally perfectly quiet, picks up his head and barks.

It's a riot.

And that is generally how rehearsals go.

There are serious moments, but most of the time, we're just having a wonderful time laughing and working.

If you can make it, I'd love to have you see this show!