Our Wicked Weekend!

We finally did it! After hearing about how wonderful the show was from family and friends for nearly 4 years, we decided to find out for ourselves. Kristine Stevenson was the first person I had heard about it from, what a trendsetter. We were visiting teaching in Spokane and I thought, "What is this Wicked?" Then Mom and Dad started talking about it and saw it in New York and L.A., then my kids started singing it, and soon everyone was talking about it or going to see it....so we decided to give it a whirl. We LOVED it! So much, in fact, that Joseph kept repeating over and over the entire trip, "We have to see that again." He told my mom when we arrived home that he could have gone to dinner and headed back in for the next show.

The play was very rich in meaning, thought provoking, and humorous, with carefully woven messages throughout. Joseph's eyes and cheeks were wet after the first half, and we were both tearful and choked up by the end. It really made us feel alot. We've been enjoying the music even more now than we did before. It's hard to choose a favorite song, but a few we really enjoyed were, What is this Feeling?, I'm Not That Girl, Defying Gravity, As Long As Your Mine, For Good to name a few. (Okay, we liked them all!)

Our Glinda was hilarious, her voice wasn't as strong as Kristin Chenoweth's (the one we're used to listening to) but she really played up the part and made it fun. I'm not a great critic because let's be real, they all sound a million times better than I would. We had a newer Elpheba that we thought was remarkable. I've had to rack my brain to figure out who the Elpheba is in the original cast recording....her voice has sounded so familiar. The other night it came to me while we were listening and I said, "Joe, that's Nancy from Enchanted! Sure enough, I looked online and Idina Menzel is Nancy. I knew I recognized that voice. We also found a cool link on youtube about the trick behind the Defying Gravity scene. It's amazing and completely different than I imagined the special effect to be.

We have the songs running through our heads constantly. Not a bad thing. We've both been thoughtful about the messages we felt. I love the twists and connections that Gregory Macguire concocted in this backstory. This angle of the classic story was very interesting, thoughtprovoking, and entertaining.

The story really made me think about lots of things.... the outward facade and appearances that too often we get caught up in....are people born wicked? or is wickedness thrust upon them?...unlikely friendships....things aren't always as black and white as we think...the injustices people suffer because they are different....my own set of racial, ethnic, and religious biases I grew up with... I hope my life's experiences are changing me, and I really hope/believe the experiences we are having as a family are allowing my children to avoid these biases....is my greatest motivation for doing good simply to be seen by others?....we're still thinking.....but on we go....


We saw the Kodak Theater, Home of the Academy Awards. I can't wait to watch them next year, only because it's fun to see spots you've visited... on television. I didn't realize the Kodak Theater was a shopping district. It was funny to see the variety on Hollywood Boulevard. Everything from very posh to right down dingy and dirty.
Of course, we had to take a picture of the famous Hollywood sign. Joseph posed the question, "Why did they name it Hollywood?" I've learned there are a few different theories, but I'm not sure any have been totally confirmed.One of our favorite "stars" along the walk of fame. If I were a star, I would want my "star" to be located in front of one of the cleaner areas of the Boulevard. There I go, it's so easy to get caught up in the appearance of things :) I was under the impression that Hollywood Boulevard was very fancy. Boy was I wrong!

After the play we met up with our friends Paul and Amy Frandsen (aka the California Residents) to see a few more Hollywood sights and then to dinner at Buca di Beppo at the Universal Studios Citywalk. This next picture was taken in front of the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. We should have taken pictures of all the crazy characters we saw there. Oh my! For those who haven't been there before, all sorts of wannabe actors and actresses dress up as characters from movies and pose for pictures with those who gawk at them....and of course they hold their hands out for tips after. We also had a good laugh watching the street performers. Crazy people out there!

Amy is also expecting her fourth baby! She's due in a few weeks and is the cutest thing ever. She looks like she has a little volleyball under her shirt. Amy introduced me to the H&M clothing store there on the Boulevard. I'd never heard of it, I'm excited to check out the one in San Fran.

We had a great time visiting over a yummy dinner at this place. The decor was very "authentic," right down to the statues and photos near and in the bathrooms. Thanks Paul and Amy, it was great to see you guys again! Joseph left the evening with a new resolve to start blogging for the sake of journaling. Thanks for helping me convince him you two!

We went on an ice cream run and headed back to our hotel which I had to take a picture of hecause it was so sweet! I have a bad record when it comes to booking hotels online. Once I accidentally chose a smoking floor of a hotel (we left for a new hotel), another time I booked a hotel where the pool was closed down because something was growing in it, another time, I booked a hotel for the kids and me in Bakersfield on the same street as all the topless bars...just to name a few. This one looked and sounded too good to be true, and for a great price, so I was really worried, but it was a home run this time! We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn-Downtown Burbank. I would recommend it to anyone! Each room is a mini-suite and there is a nice breakfast buffet each morning.

Burbank has a fun restored downtown district. It was a nice part of town, and a quick drive to everywhere we went.

The decor was very modern in the entire hotel. The clerk said it was only 7 months old. It smelled new and clean, a great place to be and in a very safe area.

Joseph loved that he could turn the flat screen and watch from anywhere in the room. He kept pointing that out to me. :)
On Sunday we went to church with our friends Ryan and Taryn and their handsome little guy Nate! This boy should seriously be a baby model, he is so cute...oh and his cheeks...his eyes...his creases...the way babies were meant to look...all squeezable and kissable. I thought Joseph might ask to take him home with us. Ryan and Joe work for the same company and they did their AIT training together. Ryan runs a rehab center in Southern California. It was great to tour his building and meet some of his sweet and funny residents. They attend church in a really old building and Ryan told us all about some of the funny movie characters who have come to their ward or who are in their stake. Apparently, they get aspiring LDS movie actors in their ward once in a while trying to make a go of things. We thought we were going to get to hear one of the stars from Napoleon Dynamite speak during sacrament meeting (he's on the high council in the stake), but we missed our brush with fame because it was someone else.
We took a drive to see some of the mansions in Beverly Hills....fancy, elaborate and ornate, wow! We drove down the famous Rodeo drive. It was everything we thought it would be. Lots of glitter and glam and fancy cars driving around everywhere. Our Enterprise-rent-a-car KIA fit in very well with all of the Mercedes', BMW's Bentley's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Masserati's, Aston Martin's, and Porsche's that we saw within a 5 minute period! The disparity in the different parts of L.A. is so apparent and real, it's absurd.

Some stores we'd heard of......

....and others we had not! Some names we recognized because we've owned that particular brand (of course we purchased ours from stores like The Rack, TJMAXX and Marshalls). That's about as Rodeo as we get....

We loved seeing the Los Angeles Temple. The last time I visited was with family after my brother Scott returned home from his mission to Los Angeles. He lived on the temple grounds in the mission home when he served as AP.
We loved these purple jacaranda trees we saw all over LA. Beautiful!
This picture doesn't do it justice, but we stopped at the LA Veteran's Memorial to see all the flags they had set up for Memorial Day. I think there were about 85,000 flags. They start to blur under the trees, but they go on for as far as you can see.

3rd Street Promenade was a fun place to visit with lots going on. Lots of street performers and action everywhere. We found this funny English Market where Joseph was in heaven with all of the English foods and supplies.

Some of the favorite treats he was served on his mission. World Market is also a great place to find stuff like this. He recognized quite a few of the beer and wine company's for someone who doesn't drink the stuff!
On our way to the Santa Monica Pier Joseph was amazed at the road cut out between the beach and the city. So here it is........ beautiful.
More memorials for fallen soldiers. They looked very cool set up on the beach. Each had the name of an individual soldier. It's always sobering for me to think that each represents and individual life and loved one that was lost.

The wind was blowing my hair in my face and the sun was making my eyes water. Joseph kept teasing me because I couldn't keep my eyes opened. I didn't know he was taking pictures of me as he laughed.
Finally I just gave up....my eyes were dripping and my hair was in my mouth. and then Joe stood in front of me to block the sun.....we noticed later, it shaded half of my face. We ate way to much good food and had a fabulous time on our trip. We're both starting to get chubbier chops! It's a good thing I'll be in "stretchy paunts" for the next few months. We even caught a late night showing of Indiana Jones 4. It was a typical IJ movie with lots of action and adventure, and over the top-ness, I got a kick out of the evil villain played by Cate Blanchett, maybe it was because I was really tired, but her long lanky legs and high waisted pants, just made me smile. She was mighty fierce though. When my heart would start to race a little, I would remind myself, "This is Indiana Jones, you know he's going to be just fine." We liked it.
Joseph is already starting to formulate a plan to go down and see Wicked again, and to stay in the sweet hotel we discovered. So many wonderful people and places to see and so many things to do.

Thanks Mom for making this trip possible by watching our little ones! It's always nice to know they are receiving such wonderful love and care!

To sum up the weekend's experiences, Who can say I've been changed for the better?...I have been changed for good. At the very least, I'm trying a little harder to be changed for good. So many good things to think about.