"You're a Monkey!"

Whenever James is climbing on something I call him a monkey, and he answers by saying "ah, ah." Lately though, he has started making the sound without me saying it. So, if I hear the tell-tale "ah, ah," coming from the other room, I know he is up to something. This is where I found him last time. He pulls the stuffed animals down every day. Not to play with them, mind you; he just thinks they look better there. I guess he saw the big empty shelf there, and decided he would look better there. Sometimes it is just too tempting to let out your inner monkey.

The Incredible Disappearing Belly-Button

So my belly button has been performing a magic trick the last few months, it has just been in extreme slow motion. It doesn't pop like some pregnant women, instead it just spreads out until all that is left is a weird looking swirl on my belly.

The Phantom of the Opera

So my wonderful husband made sure that I met my need for culture this last weekend by taking us to Phantom. It was an anniversary present, and it was wonderful. I put on my nicest stretchy pants, actually did my hair and makeup, sent James off to grandma’s for the whole night (yea for grandparents), and Kendal and I headed off to get a bite to eat before the show. I am already waddling enough that on the way into the restaurant Kendal made the comment “ I wish we could have left that one with your mom too,” while pointing to my stomach. Oh, how nice that would be! Someone want to carry my fetus for a while? We then had a great meal with the perfect balance of novelty and cheapness.

We only almost got lost once thanks to me not knowing the exit I wanted didn’t exist going southbound. We just quickly locked the doors and found our way back to the freeway again. Thanks to my over-anxious desire to be on time, we got to the theater an hour before the show. But, it was Kendal’s first time, so thankfully he was fine to wander around and take in the atmosphere. So, after making our way through the cocktail drinking crowd, looking at some interesting pictures, almost getting conned into a ten dollar rose, and riding the elevator a few times, we made our way to our seats.

They were awesome! We didn’t even need binoculars to see the actors’ facial expressions. The live music was incredible. I was blown away from the beginning at the orchestra, and the vocal ability of the actors. Kendal said, “they make American Idol look ridiculous,” and he was right. Especially the phantom (who is the only person to have played Phantom and Val Jean on Broadway…amazing) was particularly impressive. I had to adjust to the over dramatic motions. I am used to the subtlety of the movie where the actors aren’t performing for people 100 yards away. But, the costumes and sets were all you could ask for, and there were even some cool special effects. Who new you had to have a magician on staff to put on a play these days? The “falling chandelier” was more like “a rapid descent ending when some men in black catch it at the bottom.” But, it is just so hard to impress when there has been years of expectation. Anyway, part of the fun of these things is to critique it all and act like you know what you’re talking about.

Overall the night was incredible. Kendal and I had a blast, and I definitely got my culture dose for a bit.