Grandpa's Work

Today we were driving to pick Ali up from dancing and saw Grandpa in his car. He didn't see us, so we honked, waved, and drove past. I thought we were going on our merry way. The conversation that followed went something like this:

Jessi: Is Grandpa working today?

Me: Well, his office is closed on Saturdays but he still might be working. I don't really know.

Jessi: What does Grandpa do for work?

Me: He's a lawyer.

Jessi: What does that mean?

At this point, I am frantically searching my brain for a way to explain in 5 year old terms what exactly a lawyer does.

Me: Well, when a person breaks the law, Grandpa helps them go to the judge so he can decide whether the person goes home or to jail.

Simple enough, right? Wrong.

Jessi: What?

Me: You see, when someone steals something or drives faster than the speed limit the police catch them and they have to go see a judge at the court and Grandpa comes and...

Jessi (interrupting): Can we be done now?

I guess she really didn't want to know after all.

Jessi and her Amazing Magic Wand!

DISCLAIMER:  Yes, we love Harry Potter. No, we do not teach our children witchcraft and wizardry. Yes, Jessi has an extremely healthy imagination. 

Last week, Jessi found this "magic wand" in our basement family room. And for convenience sake, it also doubles as a pen. Since then, she has been practicing her magic wand skills on any willing/unwilling victim who may be in the area. What you may be surprised to know is that this magic wand actually works! So far she has turned all of us into humans multiple times! Here's what happened when she tried to use her magic on Ali:

Jessi (pointing her wand at Ali): I'm going to turn you into a human!

Ali: I'm already a human.

Jessi: Then I'm going to turn you into another human!

And POOF! Ali was suddenly a human. This morning, she turned the TV into a.......TV! Unfortunately, she couldn't stop the rain on Sunday afternoon. I've decided since this wand seems to have such a high success rate, we should start investigating witchcraft and wizardry. After all, if Jessi could learn to control the weather, the possibilities are endless. Maybe while we're at it, I'll discover a magic potion to freeze Jessi and keep her exactly the way she is.

Wicked the Blog Post

I really, truly wasn't going to post anything about our family's jaunt to see Wicked the Musical, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt I needed to post something. After all, our blog is titled Defying Gravity. And in case you just crawled out from under a rock, the blog title comes from my love of Wicked, though until last week, I had never seen it.

I can't remember how long ago I heard the soundtrack, but from the moment I did, I was hooked. Before long, our family had learned the songs inside and out and become familiar with the storyline. I checked the Broadway Across America touring schedule for SLC each year in hopes Wicked would be coming our way. Then I started stalking the website for ticket sale date information but with no success.

So, when Sean called me last June to tell me he got tickets for our family, I cried. We kept the tickets a secret for 6 months and on Christmas morning when my kids opened their tickets, I cried. And at the actual show, I cried--which really isn't surprising considering I cry at about every theater performance I go to including the stake musical production of Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Yes, I am a huge geek.

All geekieness aside, the musical was absolutely amazing! But I always knew it would be. We all loved it. Katie Rose Clarke was hilarious as Glinda and Donna Vivino was fabulous as Elphaba. I couldn't imagine anyone but the original Broadway cast since they were all we'd ever heard. In fact, Jessi leaned over to me during "For Good" and asked if one of those girls was Kristin Chenoweth. When I said no, she wanted to know where she was and why she wasn't there. Hooray! I have a little theater friend!

Next season: The Lion King

And after that I'm especially hoping for Mary Poppins and a list that is really too long to mention and would probably put you all to sleep.

P.S. To the mom in the restroom line who was overheard at intermission telling her young girls that now they know the Wicked Witch of the West is wicked because she "chose to be", please go see Wicked again and actually watch it this time...