It was weird to see Tyler play the part of the cruel, bad-a Chuck.  I've known him since I was a baby in Boston!

Since Footloose, I've hung out a ton with some of the Bomont teens. In the front row from left to right, you can see Jessie (Ariel), Lois (Urleen), Adyson (Rusty), Jessica (Wendy-Jo), Kale (Ren) and Dallin (Willard); you can also see our CD rapper friend Joey J in the white shirt in the picture above this and Dale on the top second-to-left of the first picture.   Whether we're in a group-message swapping our most disturbing action-shot stage photos or chillaxing in the hot tub, these people know how to make anything enjoyable.

On the left: I must brag that Kale is National Youth Actor of the Year and  Jessie Jo has also won statewide awards.  Man, was it great to work with such a phenomenal cast!

  We took a spontaneous trip to Sedona, unaware that it had snowed more than in fourteen years that morning.  My my was it just a winter wonderland, and how enchanting was the stark contrast between the white of snow and the red of rock.  I was reminded once again how terribly unadapted my body is to cold, but it was still such a fun memory with the family.

during that much-too-brief period in time when the ends of my hair were dyed red.

  Well, has life been crazy or what.  It's 15 years into this millennia and I say it's off to a good start.  Since Footloose performances/pending illnesses/second semester school have gotten me a little behind, here's a few highlights from this lovely winter:

      I'm in love with Christmas.  All of it.  While my mom was gone one evening I convinced Eric and Livy to help put up the tree because, no matter how busy we were, there was no way we were gonna forgo decorating.  I became positively guilty of sipping too much hot chocolate and peppermint, and I attended ugly sweater parties and the temple lights.

 This year the majority of my paternal family moved down here from Utah, so we celebrated Christmas Eve with the traditional dinner and Luke 2.  That night I stayed up listening to beautiful variations of songs {some of my favorites being O Come O Come Emmanuel, What Child Is This, and Joy Williams' 2000 Decembers Ago and Here With Us}.  The next morning we got up early for presents, but that wasn't even my favorite part of the day.
My favorite moment of any Christmas ever was showing up to my grandparents' house.  They were surprised enough to see us at their home early in the morning, but their surprise only furthered when they unwrapped the box we'd given them.  My grandpa went silent in the middle of his story when they saw the stuffed monkey and the tiny knit sweater.  They could only feign excitement as they, in bewilderment, asked if the sweater was to put on the monkey.  Finally we motioned to Adam and he pulled an adorable live schnauzer from his sweatshirt.  "Marilyn, LOOK!" Grandpa exclaimed.  As they wrapped the pup in their arms, Grandma just started bawling.  They were so happy that they bought Lucy's sister, Lily, the next day. 
  There's never an end to the parties in December, because following Christmas we have two birthdays, New Years, and this year we had a wedding reception at our house for my mom's friend/our music director Karli.  For Rachel's 17th birthday, Dale, Katie, Dallin, Adyson, Tyler, Tyler's cousin and I kidnapped her and took her to Golfland, Riverview Park {where we climbed to the very-wiggly top of the 60-foot spiderweb}, Bass Pro Shop and then Unbroken {one of the most devastating movies I've ever seen}.     
   I spent New Years dancing beneath a throbbing beat and dark lights and following it up with a waffle party at Dallin's house.  Man, do I have a blast with that guy.    Other times during this past month we attended an open gym to tumble, went for a hay/horse-ride, watched 17 Again on a projector, and chillaxed with twenty other people in his jacuzzi while the rest of the world froze.

my dining room at the wedding reception.  we made 100 filled cupcakes.

at the Sun's game with our cousins and their Australian exchange student.

  In the past I've had a bad habit of saying, "Oh, I just can't wait till this happens or that happens.  Now, well, I only have a few months before I leave behind everything I've ever known.  It's an exciting/terrifying time, but for now I realize that I need to cherish every moment I can because nothing will ever be the same again.

For our last day we woke early and took the train and subway to Naples and then to Pompeii.  It was definitely a long, terrifying, expensive excursion, but it was absolutely worth it.  I'd recommend definitely leaving really early, though, because the transportation system in this area is not marked well and we nearly missed our train when the ticket machine wouldn't cooperate with our credit card.   Also, watch you stuff.

There was a lump in my throat the entire time I was in the city of Pompeii.  Yes-- it was absolutely incredible, walking among the ancient world's most well preserved city, but the thought of the tragedy  was enough to make me almost sick.  The only reason this city still exists is because it was destroyed, buried for a millennia and seven centuries.Today the once-triangle shaped Mt. Vesuvius now lacks its tip after the fateful explosion in 79  A.D.  I was surprised to find out that 18,000 of the cities 20,000 had managed to evacuate on the first day, and the only reason the others died is because they stayed behind and were killed by the ash.  Still, 2000 people.



The Forum.  In the very back you can see Vesuvius, which is due to blow not too long from now.
Walking here I could only imagine how horrific it must've been for the beloved city to suddenly be plunged in darkness, in heat, in the cries of those who had no idea the mountain was a volcano.
Although it would've been neat to see an even more realistic view of how Pompeii once looked, they've taken away all furniture, pottery, statues, and other artifacts to protect from further destruction.  Unfortunately, although kept safe by the ash for such a long time, it's rediscovery in the 1700's has brought terrible disintegration of the town by looting and utter lack of management.    
I was utterly disturbed to find plaster molds of bodies among these shelves.  There was only two humans and one dog, and yet seeing the contorted forms of the dying frozen for eternity... this was enough to make one really think about their own mortality. 
Maybe it was just me, but it was so eerie.  And I swear to you there was a point when I was walking through one of the buildings and I just got this knot in my stomach, this feeling that someone died in the spot right behind you.
The front of this home reads "Beware of Dog" in Latin.
Inside the men's bathhouse.  The Pompeians were so clever that they designed the floor with mosaic tiles that would stay warm!  With an impressive plumbing system, they could supply themselves with all the water they needed for fountains, baths, etc.  Below you can see the giant stones in the middle of the road.  This is because the streets would be flooded in the morning to stay clean, and the citizens could simply cross by stepping stone.



 So just for kicks... I had this dream about a year ago that I was in Pompeii.  Usually the only dreams I remember are nightmares, all of which are largely based on emotion-- and let me tell you, this dream was emotional.  But when it started out, the catastrophe had yet to begin.  It was nighttime and there was a party going on, and I was sitting in the windowsill of one of the main buildings of the town square.  Call me a weirdo, but it was this windowsill. 



    After Pompeii, we headed back to Rome for one last night in the beautiful continent of Europe.  We walked around the Christmasy city with our gelato, soaking up the charm and the history but knowing that it certainly would not be our last time there.  It can't be.  It's too incredible.
It was a long twenty-four hour journey home {made better by the Amsterdam airport and the delicious food served by the Netherlands airline}, and it took me probably a week and a half to shake off the jet lag and go bed in the PMs.  But it was an adventure I will never forget.  I will forever look back on this trip as some of my favorite memories and greatest learning opportunities I've ever had.  

  Vatican City-- a magnificent center of history in the middle of Rome but separate from Italy itself.  Speak of grandeur, of significance.   These old marble palaces house relics from Egyptian mummies to Greek statues to Renaissance masterpieces.  I was dazzled by the bouquet of creativity on every painted arch ceiling,  the ideas of ancient minds living on through their work.
  The Catholics sure do know how to portray their love of religion through art.  The beautiful depictions of such beloved stories was reverencing {we thought it was interested because a majority of the painters throughout the ages pictured Mary as a blonde}.  But when I entered the Sistine Chapel, there was no words.   Amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring-- what word could possibly be chosen to describe such talent.  Every inch of space is utilized for meticulous detail depicting countless scenes.  The Garden of Eden.  The Crucifixion.  Stories of saints at work and of soldiers at war.  Not only that, but he even painted false columns and frames!   All I could do was stare until my neck ached and my contacts dried out.  {No pictures allowed.
         






  Our last visit was to St. Peter's Basilica.  The centuries-old temple was so ginormous as to make one feel completely insignificant.  I can only imagine how difficult a feat it must have been to construct-- but it was worth it for a memoir to the great Apostle Peter.   When we visited his tomb below, I couldn't help but tear up.  How moving to realize that I was within feet of one the servants, of one of the personal friends of our very own Lord.