Wizard Rock! (or, Sammy's First Concert)

Being from Alaska, I haven't really gone to a lot of concerts (especially not outdoors). Somehow this fact has always made me feel... well, lame, for lack of a better word.
So when I heard that wizard rock pioneers Harry and the Potters would be playing at the library (!) in the outdoor amphitheater (!!) for free (!!!), I knew I had to get on the band wagon. (zing!)
Harry and the Potters is made up of two brothers (Harry Potter and Harry Potter) and whoever else they can get to play a variety of other instruments. Harry Potter 1 played keyboard and saxophone, Harry Potter 2 played guitar, and Sirius Black played the drums. The group sings about a wide variety of things from the Harry Potter books, like saving Ginny from the basilisk, and how Voldemort just doesn't understand love. Hilarious, right?
The boys put on an amazing show. They invited everyone to come down to the bottom level of the amphitheater to form a semi-mosh pit.

This was mostly high school kids... Ryan, Sam, and I elected to stay in our seats with Tara, Andrew, and Tara's sister Becky.

(By the way, check out Andrew's account of the evening!) Our friend Sarah, however, chose to join the crowd. She is a for-real HatP fan- she actually owns their CDs and knows all the lyrics!

Harry and Harry were non-stop balls of energy. While none of the songs were particularly amazing musical accomplishments, the lyrics were fresh and clever. Really, their take on things like Cho Chang talking about Roger Davies on her first date with Harry... pure comic genius. They got the crowd involved in chanting, making hand signs, and singing along. Even Sammy got into it!

Ryan liked it so much that at the end of the show, he told me to go buy a t-shirt. Andrew and Tara got in on the fun too:

From left to right: Hogwarts Tonsil Hockey Team, Voldemort Can't Stop the ROCK!, and Save Ginny!

Harry and the Potters have more stops to make on their tour before the last Harry Potter movie comes out. Don't miss them if they come to your town!

Elder Holland thinks I'm cute

As most of you know, Ryan has been working hard this past year in the hopes of being hired by the Church as a Seminary teacher. He has made it through every evaluation so far- passed the 2-week "trial teaching", successfully completed his first semester of student teaching- and today was his next step. Today we were interviewed by a General Authority.
Time out for those who aren't familiar with the structure of our church. Local congregations (wards) are led by bishops. About 6-10 wards are led by stake presidents. Bishops and stake presidents are really only responsible for the specific people over whom they preside. General authorities, however, are responsible for the entire world. The men called to be general authorities are amazing, humble servants of the Lord, and have a whole host of duties, one of which is interviewing potential employees of the Church Educational System. To learn more about the structure of leadership in our church, visit the official page: How the Church is Organized.
We arrived at the Church Administration Building about 20 minutes early for our appointment with Elder Zwick, and had the opportunity to wait and watch as other general authorities of the Church passed in and out of the building. Elder Cook walked in front of us. Elder Ballard stopped to talk to us and commended Ryan on trying to become a Seminary teacher. Elder Holland said "Hi kids!" and said to Ryan, "I just have to come shake the hands of this cute couple. Well, she's cute- you're okay." He talked to us for a few minutes. And then, out of the window of the waiting room, we saw President Monson's car pull up next to the entrance (yes, he has a primo parking spot). Through the window he saluted us both and smiled.
Another time out- Elder Cook, Elder Ballard, and Elder Holland hold the priesthood office of Apostle. There are 12 apostles on the earth today, as there were when Christ organized his followers during His mortal life. Peter, James, and John- that is to whom you can liken Elder Cook and company. President Monson is God's prophet on earth today. He is the leader of the entire Church.
Our interview with Elder Zwick was unbelievable. Elder Zwick is a Seventy, which is the priesthood office under Apostle. He is a very kind and gentle man. He asked us a lot of questions about how we joined the Church, and asked Ryan a lot of questions about his personal conduct and worthiness. He asked me how I support Ryan as he works towards his career goals. Both Ryan and I shed a few tears as we talked about our experiences and expressed our love for each other and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Zwick told us that many people cry- you can't help but feel overwhelmed by the spirit in that building, with so many servants of the Lord present. I asked him how he doesn't cry all the time- yep, I got a joke in there.
We feel so humbled by our experience. What a blessing in our lives this time in Utah has been. We are excited that Ryan is getting closer and closer to becoming a Seminary teacher!

Annie Get Your Gun

You might have heard that I am appearing in a community theater production of Annie Get Your Gun.
You might have heard that this is the show that brought you the famous tunes "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better".
You might have heard that tickets are only $8.

Well folks, the rumors are all true. So get your butt out to West Jordan for a night of musical theater magic!

Doors open at 7:00pm, showtime 7:30pm at Copper Hills High School. Closing night is this Saturday.

Fire!

First of all, I want to announce that this is my 100th post. If The Reynolds Tribe was a TV show, we could be syndicated now. Although, it is kind of lame that it took us 3 years to post 100 times. Here's to improved consistency in posting!
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Last week, Sam had trouble sleeping. One night, while Ryan was at work, Sam woke up around 12:30am and wouldn't stop fussing. I made him sleep in the pack and play in the living room so he wouldn't wake up the neighbors, and I went back to bed. Trying to fall back to sleep, I smelled something familiar. It smelled like a campfire. Now, I live in urban Salt Lake City, so campfire is not exactly something you'd expect to smell here. I could still smell it 10 minutes later, and started to get concerned that maybe some weirdo decided to make a campfire in my front yard. I risked waking Sam up to check.
Outside, the air was all smoky. I could see a faint orange light about a block away, and got worried that maybe I was smelling smoke from a REAL fire. So I called the police. By the way, I programmed the South Salt Lake Police Department in my phone- that's how awesome my neighborhood is. The nice dispatcher told me that there was a house fire pretty close by, but reassured me that the police would knock on my door if the fire spread and we had to leave.
Well, I stayed up reading for another hour, checking out the window every chapter for a wall of advancing flame. Half of my mind focused on my book while the other half thought about what I would grab on my way out the door if our house was in danger.
Obviously I would grab Sam. I would grab my backpack, and put our important documents in it. We keep them in 3 accordion file folders, so that'd be easy. I'd probably add my laptop to the bag, because there are just too many things that are irreplaceable on there. On my way to the car I'd get the diaper bag. And then I would drive to Elisa's house and pray that our house would be spared.
Luckily, the fire didn't spread. I went to bed at 2:30am reasonably convinced that it was safe to sleep. Although I did have to wash my hair the next morning because I smelled like smoke...
What would you grab on the way out the door in an emergency?

Bountiful Basket Report 5/7

This is what I got in my Bountiful Basket this week:
1 pineapple
1 cantalope
8 oranges
6 bananas
5 apples
1 flat of blueberries
1 head lettuce
9 large red potatoes
2 HUGE chunks of jicama
1 bag of green beans (1.5 lbs)
3 heads broccoli
5 tomatoes
2 cucumbers

Any recipes that this list brings to mind would be appreciated!

What are YOU?

One time, in high school, I was hanging out with some of my "comrades" when I got asked a weird question.
One of my friends stared at me for several seconds, and then burst out, "What ARE you?"
I was puzzled.
"I mean, like are you Spanish or Arabian or something?"
I informed her that I am not Spanish or Arabian, but an eclectic mix of Italian, Lebanese, and a whole bunch of "white". I'm pretty sure my nose is Jewish, though I don't know where that came from.
My "vaguely ethnic" appearance has served me well in Utah, a place full of blondes. I was cast as an extra in the Church's upcoming New Testament series, because I apparently can pass for an Israelite. And last week, in Annie Get Your Gun, I got promoted from "ensemble" to "Indian" thanks to my long, dark brown hair. So much for blondes having more fun!
Sometimes, when I am alone and feel like laughing out loud, I say to myself, "What ARE you?" Guaranteed to crack me up.

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean!

She is TOTALLY making that up. I wake up every morning with a feather duster in my hands. After praying for a safe and clean day, I rush in to the baby's room to change his diaper. Isn't it incredible that I am able to do that without ever waking him up. I then zip into the bathroom and noiselessly shave, shower and dress, ALL while scrubbing the tub, bleaching the floors and toilet and folding towels that I washed while vacuuming after the baby but before the bathroom. The trickiest part of my morning comes from cleaning the burner guards while I make oatmeal for everyone. I set out old newspapers under Sammy AND Kara's chairs before I head out the door because I just KNOW that they will be throwing the very healthy oatmeal (infused with wheat germ) on the floor. My lunch-time highlight is when I rush home to take out the garbage and clean the refrigerator shelves. My wife makes the best dinners. I love washing all the dishes after she is done. I just wash Sammy right along with them. Now, does this sound like someone who accidently drops shaving cream on his wife's (recently sterilized) toothbrush? I think not. Just to prove my cleanliness, here's my first commercial for your viewing pleasure. I took out the earring and grew some hair since the 50's. Ahhhh... I love the smell of a freshly cleaned inaccuracy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbiofcuTZBo