Penn & Teller on Broadway

My good friend Matthew Murray invited me to go and see Penn and Teller on Broadway; short notice but so glad I was able to make it! These two have kind of been everywhere over the course of their 40 year career together, and they didn't disappoint. They actually pulled a rabbit out of a hat, made an "elephant" disappear, sawed a woman in half...a whole bag of really entertaining tricks with great narration from Penn.

At the beginning of the show, they invited everyone on stage while their jazz pianist, Mike Jones, played a very lively set (Penn, who plays upright bass, actually joined him for a while). They had us inspect the box Teller popped out of right at the beginning and sign our names on an envelope that was used for a trick later.

I think my favorite trick though, was their demonstration of how to get anything through a metal detector, capstoned by one of the items being a miniaturized Bill of Rights printed on metal (they're both libertarians). The thought of being stopped by the TSA by the Bill of Rights was highly entertaining.

It was a really fun, memorable night!

Ward 4th of July Campout

Every time a ward campout comes up, Marcus always wants to go, and finally I couldn't come up with a decent excuse not to go.  This year they planned it for the 4th of July weekend.  That wasn't my favorite idea at first, but it was nice that most people had the Friday off work.  That made the idea of getting up and back seem easier since we had more time.  I also knew Marcus would obviously enjoy camping, but I was certain Chase would love it too.  Chase was so excited talking about seeing bugs and sleeping in a tent -- it really was cute.  So we decided to go.  Not sure it was the smartest decision I've made as I was 36 weeks pregnant, but I lived to tell the tale.  However, we rented a car, so honestly, if something had happened, it would have been easier to get medical help than normally :)  

We decided to rent a car with some friends, the De Leons.  It was pretty tight in the car with 2 dads, 2 pregnant moms, 3 little boys, and our camping gear.  And due to where carseats needed to be installed and rental car insurance, I ended up in the back corner of the car.  Melissa was next to me.  Dads were up front, and the boys were in all the other spots.

My view (blurry since we were driving)

Luckily the ride didn't last forever.  It took awhile to get out of the city, but it was nice to finally reach some trees and fresh air.  The campsite was beautiful.  It was up in the Catskills -- an area of NY we've never visited before.   

Chase was really excited to get his tent set up

He was a great supervisor while Marcus worked

Yeah, we all slept in the little tent...

Chase could hardly wait to get inside

There was a lake just behind the campsite, so of course, that's the first place all the kids wanted to go.  We didn't have time to even switch Chase into his water clothes, but what would camping be without unexpected dirt, bugs, water, etc.?!

Chase loved throwing rocks in the water

We grilled hot dogs for dinner on the fire.  Of course Chase wouldn't eat one, that little turkey, but he did try it!  Progress ;)

Alexander, Javier, and Chase having dinner

He enjoyed every second being outside and dirty

It was my friend Angela's birthday, so her husband brought Sprinkles cupcakes to share.  Definitely my kind of camping -- delicious cupcakes for dessert!

Yum yum yum

Chase's favorite thing to do right now is give flowers to his friends.  He was happy to see some flowers that he could pick and take to Angela and Harper, two of his most favorite people.

By the time the sun went down, we were all exhausted.  Chase and I got in bed first, took all the room, and fell asleep.  Marcus squeezed in a little later.  We definitely weren't cold.

Two fit easily.  Three was just a little close :)
Mainly because Marcus insisted I needed an air mattress.  Probably smart!

In the morning, Chase was excited to explore more.  He quickly let us put shoes on him, and he was out the tent door, in his PJs.

Looking for more flowers

Enjoying the morning fire

Alex and Chase playing with water squirters

What a goober!

This cracked me up -- indigestion, Pledge of Allegiance?  :)

We did end up leaving a little earlier than planned because it started raining.  We stopped at a huge mall on the way home to get lunch at Chili's (I wish we had one in the city!!!), and had no issues with traffic at all.  Amazing for NYC on a holiday.  We were all excited not to be squished as long as the ride up to the campout.

The car didn't have to be back to the rental company until late Saturday night, so Marcus ran a few errands to the church and store.  We finally put the rest of the bins in our hallway in storage!  Be impressed -- they'd been there for probably a couple weeks.  Marcus got home after the Macy's firework show had ended but just in time for the replay on TV.  While Chase snored away, we enjoyed our traditional 4th of July firework show on our television.  It's funny knowing how close the real show is (you could see the show from our favorite Gantry Park), but this is definitely the better view.  Plus we can hear the music that accompanies the fireworks.

MOTAB Tour

Marcus has the unique opportunity to be the Woodside Stake Director of Public Affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Yes, definitely a mouthful.  But so is the group that he meets with as part of this calling: NYMMPAC - The New York Metro Multi-stake Public Affairs Council.  It tends to be a very busy and involved calling, and it does have some very exciting moments.  Marcus has been a part of the preparations for the Carnegie Hall concerts during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's East Coast Tour.  There have been many, many meetings and at least weekly conference calls planning out how to use this event to create some great relationships with local leaders all across the New York Metro area.  VIPs were selected and invited to a reception and the concert, and Marcus was asked to attend the concert on Thursday night as one of the hosts.  And by a lucky break, there was also a ticket for me!  We were both really looking forward to the evening.

Carnegie Hall, finally without all the scaffolding

The reception was on the Weill Terrace, which was on the 9th Floor.  There was a big, open reception room and a nice terrace with a beautiful view.

The Weill Terrace

Looking down from the terrace at the street

Looking across the terrace

Before the event started, we were able to grab a picture outside

Check out the view!

Not only did we get to attend the reception out on the terrace, but we had amazing tickets.  They were in the first tier where the seats are basically private boxes.  It was incredible.  I could easily see all the cellists, and Marcus enjoyed his view of the percussionists.  The VIPs Marcus invited who were able to accept were with us in our fancy box: Marcus' good friend Commander Barker from the Navy and a local Queens police captain and his wife.  Also, Heidi, our Stake Relief Society President, and her husband were with us.  We had a really nice time.

Our view of the stage

Looking up from our box to the rest of the hall

The Orchestra at Temple Square warming up

There are probably 300 bodies on the stage!  Including a friend from college named Kevin, the genius conductor Mack Wilberg, and a few more familiar faces.  It was extra exciting knowing a few people on the stage.

Commander Barker and Marcus

Heidi and her husband

OTS and Motab
Man, the church likes acronyms :)

A standing ovation from a very full hall

It was a beautiful concert.  You can watch a few clips from it on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Blog.  One of our favorite parts was the guest soloist, Alex Boye.  If you haven't heard him perform, look him up!  He's amazing!  Basically he adds an African twist to modern pop songs.  It's so unique, and he does it extremely well.

Apparently the choir has a tradition of inviting a guest conductor to lead an encore selection.  Santino Fontana conducted the final piece of the concert.  He was part of the Motab Christmas concert, was the voice of Hans in Frozen, and starred as Prince Topher in Cinderella on Broadway when Marcus and I saw it!

Santino Fontana

It really was an incredible evening.  Obviously we knew the concert was going to be amazing, but having such great seats really enhanced the experience.  Plus it was really interesting and exciting to be part of the public affairs outreach and be hosts for the evening.

Picnic at the Park

I've been really looking forward to going on a picnic at Gantry Park ever since Christmas.  We were given a really pretty woven basket and a blanket as gifts, and I couldn't wait to use them.  There have been two issues stopping us from going.  First, I usually have to work on Saturdays, and second, it keeps raining on the weekends.  Well, I finally had a weekend where I didn't have to work, and the weather report only said like a 30% chance of rain.  I insisted we try for a picnic.

Chase is always happy to take the 7 Train with me :)

It was a nice, cool day at the park.  It would sprinkle on and off a little, but that didn't stop Chase and Marcus from playing in the grass.  Gotta take advantage of grass when you see some :)

Playing with the frisbee

Frisbee and Airplane Watching

Chase wanted to take off his shoes and let the grass "tickle [his] toes."  He'd run full speed all over the place just to keep touching the grass.

Chase tried a little bit of baseball too, but he was too quick to snap a picture.

And then of course, our snack break.

He's obviously a picnic pro.

*chomp*chomp*chomp*

I know I've said this before, and I will probably say it again, but I love Gantry Park.  It's so pretty.  Seriously, the best location in NYC.

Our set up -- don't you love the basket and blanket?!

And the view

On our way back to the train, we came across the Glass Posse Long Island City Yarn Bomb.  This was a project a bunch of our friends participated in back in probably February.  Kristy Glass led a project where they basically used fiber arts projects to graffiti an abandoned playground.  I had seen the video, which is the link above, but I hadn't seen it in person.

Glass Posse Yarn Bomb In LIC

After a few hours out and about, we were all ready to get back home and rest... just in time for some more rain.  It's been a weird summer out here with a couple crazy hot and humid days, followed by nice, cool, rainy days.  Seriously bizarre.  But it's keep us all from going too crazy in the heat.

One tired dad

And one tired boy

Definitely a successful picnic :)