Our Year So Far: Opera, Basketball, and More!

 So far, 2026 has kind of kicked my butt. We've been so endlessly busy and so constantly sick, it's a bad combo. I'm going to focus here on some of the cool stuff we've been up to. Arthur won a drawing for the "no cavities club" and got a cool prize at the dentist: 

I got to perform with the Utah Opera for the first time this January, it was really a lot of fun! I got to sing in the chorus for Beethoven's Fidelio. It was a total of 8 minutes of stage time, and they needed some kids to be supernumeraries so I got to bring Paul and George along for this little adventure.

The design and conceit of the show the director went for was heavily influenced by Andor, big sci-fi energy, so we look like gorgeously dirty space urchins.

The kids got to stay up way too late for, they got to eat a lot of snacks and play card games and video games with the other kids, it was really a fun time for them.

dovetailing with Fidelio, George also did Jr. Jazz. His basketball team was surprisingly good and so much fun to watch. 9-10 year olds are good enough to actually make baskets and passes and start playing like a team, but still young enough that they do some funny things on the court as well.

They also do a lot of fun activities for the Jr. Jazz kids! There was a party at the Delta Center with face painting, games, photos with Jazz players, but balloon animals the favorite.

 

We also got to watch the minor league team game as part of the party, which everyone except Arthur enjoyed.

We took George and Paul to their first every escape room for Valentine's Day and they totally killed it. It probably helped that it was heavily influenced by one of their favorite video games.

Fidelio wasn't George's only opera this year, the 3rd graders at Foxboro always put on an opera that they write themselves. It was so cute and hilarious; George had two solo lines that he sang and he did such a good job!

Arthur got to go on a field trip with his pre-school to a trampoline park, which he loved! I could hardly get him to leave when it was over.

I kind of continuously do improv, but one of my shows this winter got photographed, so here's a photo:

I celebrated my birthday by doing a recital with some friends at St. Mark's Cathedral. The acoustics there are gorgeous. My friend Kiersten Honaker and I just picked some songs and duets that we really wanted to sing and asked our friend Cliff King to play piano for us.

I had lost my voice and been so sick so I barely got to rehearse. But my voice came back just enough for me to do the recital. It was such a blast, I hope we get a chance to do it again! Hopefully not with the whole laryngitis bit though.

Lee surprised me the day after my birthday by inviting a bunch of neighbors over for cake. It was fun to get to chat with so many friends and have so many well wishers, and Arthur got so close to giving away the surprise. All the kids were acting so suspicious, I thought they must have broken something.

George was just so busy this winter! In March we got to go see him in his school play, Beauty and the Beast Jr. He did a great job, he was a very cute spoon, but all the rehearsals were early morning before school, I'm not sure he'll ever be willing to do that again.

Grandparents came and saw his performances and spoiled him, of course.

While all of that was going on, while we were constantly getting sick, I was also music directing two plays. I took the boys to see Nunsense's final dress rehearsal. Paul thought it was really funny, George and Arthur were kind of lukewarm on it.

And that brings us to spring time and our favorite new tradition: the Egg Dive! What better way to do an Easter Egg Hunt than in the pool? Arthur requested we do a photo "with the creepy bunny." He sure does like creepy things!

And all of that is the reason that when I am asked how I'm doing I look a little while around the eyes and don't know how to respond.

All the 2025 stuff I haven't gotten around to

We tried to make the most of our very, very busy fall season. We did a short visit to Mueller Park for the beginning of the changing of the leaves; not peak fall colors, but still beautiful.

Paul has been really busy with Student Council, Hope Squad, and doing the school musical. George has had a lot more homework than Paul somehow and Arthur has really started understanding how to sound out letters and read words. He's worked out a few little words all on his own without even being prompted, which is I think is pretty neat!

These kids are goofy.

In October we managed to squeeze a trunk or treat into our busy schedule, one of the more elaborate ones we've done. It was at the theatre I teach at (shout out to OPPA!) and they got an incredible turn out.

The boys got to spend part of their Fall Break having a big sleepover at Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dave's house. Their favorite place!

Paul and George's school photos actually turned out pretty nice this year, look how cute they are:

Our other fun Halloween themed activity was the City of North Salt Lake Zombie 5k. Paul and Arthur did the little short kiddo run, but George, Lee, and I did the 5k. The zombies got me. I didn't "survive"--in part because I threw myself in the way to make sure that George did. I consider that a success.

I had so many night away at rehearsals in September and October, there were a lot of boys nights without me at home. I don't think the kids missed me one bit.

Arthur got to go do a fun pre-school fieldtrip to a pumpkin patch in Farmington. While he was there I visited the nearby bird refuge for a bit of a walk and some amateur photography.

I thought it was quite gorgeous, despite the drizzly weather. I did see a cute little zebra finch and a hawk (not sure what type of hawk specifically).

On Halloween we kept really busy. We went to the school costume parade, two class parties, and trick or treat on Main St. in Bountiful, then actual trick or treating, then the Improvables Halloween show. It was nonstop for 12 hours.

Paul really, really wanted to be this inflatable shark, so he convinced Lee to be a diver/swimmer/victim.

George really, really wanted to be a Plague Doctor, so he convinced Arthur to be a plague carrying rat and convinced me to be his patient.

We managed to carve exactly one of the 7 or 8 pumpkins we ended up with. It was carved in theme with our decorations, which were selected based on the my most time consuming thing of the fall: Little Shop of Horrors.

I got to be in a production playing Audrey, it was genuinely such a blast. Seriously, don't bring it up with me unless you want me to talk about nothing else for far too long, I have a problem.

The boys came to see it and seemed to really like it, but Arthur cried at my (spoiler alert) tragic death. I didn't anticipate that and I feel rather guilty about that.

Dovetailing with the final week of Little Shop was birthday week: Paul and George turned 12 and 9 this year! We tried to fit the fun into our limited time, we opted to celebrate at Kid's Empire and Pizza Pie Cafe.

We had an awesome visit in Grand Junction for Thanksgiving. The kids had so much fun hanging out with cousins, eating all the delicious food, going to the movies, and even (gasp) going on a hike.

My boys would very much like to just live at Aunt Laura's house and spend every day hanging out with their cousins. They had so much fun and it was a great way to spend the holiday with family!

We hiked on the Mica Mines trail and yes, there was sparkly mica all over the trail.

I never complain about hiking in Colorado, what a gorgeous place!

Paul did his grade school play: Olympus the Rock Musical. It was a really cute show and he did a great job! He had to go to early morning practices and I am pretty sure he hated it, but he worked really hard and we're proud of him.

And the Christmas season is upon us in no time! My brother got us tickets to go see Nate Bargatze for Christmas, and it was a fantastic show. My dad only sort of fell asleep once...or twice.

Arthur dressed like a Grandpa for his 100th day of pre-school celebration. I think he pulled off Pa's look pretty well.

Lee and Paul got to go visit Temple Square for a youth activity, still under construction, but all lit up just the same.

Arthur had his first ever birthday party with friends this year at Kangaroo Zoo. It was so sweet, he was so excited and he had so many friends that were able to come and play. Best 5th birthday ever!

Arthur's birthday party was swiftly followed by his actual birthday and Christmas! The kids declared it the best Christmas ever, I guess Santa really stepped it up this year, though I question the wisdom of arming Arthur with Hulk fists. Mea culpa.

Our California cousins visited for Christmas break. I think they were planning--and hoping--for a bit more snow, but all we had was moderately cool weather and dead grass. We had to head up to Soldier's Hollow where there was some man-made snow to go tubing.

We spent New Years Eve on snacks and puzzles, it was a nice cozy way to end 2025. The next year is going to be...who knows what it'll be, but I'm glad to get to have my family with me for whatever it is.