Rainy Morning

This week the middle school performed You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I attended the matinee for elementary students and the closing show on Saturday. There were difficulties with the high school reneging on letting us use their auditorium, which caused a lot of stress and radical changes by the directors. Despite all that the kids did a great job and the show was well-received!

My folks came out to see the show and we also celebrated Mother’s Day. We visited Giambrocco’s Saturday morning and got a lovely selection of baby plants! I got two new agastaches and a russian sage, and some fruits and veggie starters. We tried a new Italian restaurant and picnicked at the Arvada Center. It was funny to see the kids still excited about climbing the dragon sculpture. Then we went to the musical and gabbed at Amanda’s house over take-out. This morning I made brunch and we exchanged gifts. The boys bought me gorgeous roses and Jack gave me a handmade card. Ben found some great leg massagers for treat my sore muscles after nursing shifts. He also made a delectable steak dinner.

The school district generously declared a snow day on this late May 6. We got a wet, heavy storm. Most of our trees lost limbs, the Ash severely so. I baked frozen croissants for breakfast. I had a massage therapy appointment (oof, my hips are so tight!). The boys enjoyed a lazy day at home with video games and lots of snacking. We got notice that Jack’s final concert of the year would proceed as planned. He performed wonderfully, as usual!

Jack debuted as an actor this week in the senior-directed one act play “Our Place.” He had a lot of fun in this new theatrical setting – learning lines, taking direction, costumes fitting, make-up, everything! He did a great job and had a lot of fun with the process.

Those pokemon are back in vogue at the Mason household. I briefly played Pokopia (too immersive and work-like for me). Jack is back into card collecting. He practices driving by going to different stores checking stock. He was super psyched when he got two packs from Barnes & Noble. I had to wait for him to calm down so he could focus on driving on I70 for the first time afterward. Then at home he had Sam film an unboxing (“unpacking?” “reveal?”) video.

It paid off 😂

This weekend Ben took him out again and he got a couple more packs. Ben bought him a special box set that he has wait for his birthday to open. Teenagers – so weird. It’s like having a child and an adult at the same time.

I was flabbergasted when Twice announced their world tour stops and Denver was on the list! We never get big-name groups! Ben is a total Twice fan, a “Once” and I told him we HAVE to go. Not only that, our friends the Walkers have daughter who is also a Once. We tempted them with a Denver visit and they took the bait! We had a great time catching up – our kids have grown so much! The concert was fantastic. Daehyun and Chaeyoung were out on health leave, but the other seven delivered. Of course Jihyo stole the show! She’s sincerely the best. I’m glad Momo was there too, since she is Opal’s favorite member.

I had a total blast. It was so fun to see our old friends and hear about life nowadays. It was so weird seeing a concert in my own town – no uber or hotel! Staying up way too late on a Tuesday night! 😂 Totally worth it.

Betty turned 80 years old this year! We came over for the weekend to celebrate. We had great food and a chocolate cake. She and the boys played the newest engrossing game, Pokopia. Of course, we got to visit with the Waterhouses and Sulei too.

Jack is a busy dude! At the same time as Big Fish he had a concert for Chamber orchestra. Here are some pictures from that show and unwinding afterward.

Then he also performed twice with the school’s choir at a special concert downtown. I didn’t attend, but a friend kindly sent video, and the school insta shared some photos:

Jack went on a school trip to California over spring break. The performing arts (theater, choir, orchestra, band) were all invited for a trip to Hollywood to see Beetlejuice with a Q&A session, to Universal Studios, and to Disneyland, including a learning session at the Disney Academy. He had a total blast. I don’t have much to say, I’m just going to dump in some of his photos. Sorry these are in reverse order!

And here are Jack’s instagram posts (some overlap in photos):

For the SECOND musical of the year, Jack performed in the pit orchestra for Big Fish. He was bummed to be back in the “black pit” but he still had a great time.

Here’s some day-to-day photos from the first quarter of the year. (Yeah, as you can tell I’ve been super slacked about posting. My shift put me on day call so I’m trying to use this bonus time to catch-up).