One more week in Bavaria!

How did that happen? How did a whole summer sneak by? Tomorrow night, we begin our last week of shows. August has been such a fun month! Not only has it been fun to have all three shows up and running, but now we all know each other really well. Friendships have been made and we all know that we have a limited time to hang out and have fun together. Next week at this time, we'll be having our closing season picnic and then it's back to "real life." ...but that's a whole week away! Instead of focusing on what's to come, let's focus on some fun things from this past month.

Starting with exciting news from Colorado! My beautiful and newest niece was born (technically last month - July 31st)! Welcome, Amelia Grace Gosselin! My sister Suzanne and her husband, along with their son and daughter are loving the new addition to their family. I can't wait to meet her in person!

For my job at the box office, I've been working at the Will Call desk for the show I'm not in - The Drowsy Chaperone. Fortunately, I was able to take one night off so that I could see my friends perform. They are just so talented! (I also loved the excuse to dress up!)

The weather has finally calmed down. This first picture I took from backstage at The Sound of Music.

It's sad that that's smoke billowing over the ridge... but really beautiful with the setting sun.

We got a really good rain storm that stuck around for a couple days. We really needed the moisture!! I took a few pictures as the clouds were leaving. Here are a few of my favorites!

Earlier this month, we got a huge group from the casts together to float the river. What a good time that was! I wish I could float the river everyday...

Afterward, we had a bbq and hung out. It was so fun, especially now that we know each other better and are starting to have shared experiences. What a great group of people I've had the privilege to work with!! And I'm not just saying that! I've made some great friends this summer.

Two weekends ago, I took a trip to Yakima to visit some old friends from my Multnomah days. It was so wonderful to hang out with Kelly (left) and her family, and then also meet up with Melody (right) to catch up quick.

We all worked together in the admissions department at Multnomah about 10 years ago. Crazy how time flies!

A pretty regular activity these last few weeks has been going to the river. There's a sandy beach just outside of town - super peaceful.

Then, if you walk across this bridge and head up stream a little ways, there's a nice swimming hole and rocks you can jump from. Though it's not documented here, I did jump from a rock one time... super proud of myself!!

I'm still running, but not as much or as far. Honestly, I'm losing motivation. I'm looking forward to coming home and picking up my regular running schedule with my running buddies in Olympia! But, I will say that I'll miss the river-side scenery here in Leavenworth! Here are a few pictures I've snapped on my morning runs this past month.

But this is my favorite picture I've taken while on a run!! It looks like a postcard... but it's not! Just think of how gorgeous the view will be from this future home!

I've had so much fun with the cast and crew of Fiddler on the Roof. Here are some women of Anatevka and the Rabbi - such sweet and talented people!

Also, here's a few action shots of my favorite few moments of this show - Tzeitel pretending to be Yente, the matchmaker.

Yesterday, I went to one of the best water parks - Slide Waters! I've been there several times and it's so fun! We had a blast!! I'm so glad I got a group together and made it happen before the summer was done. We screamed and laughed all day long!

It's been an incredible summer. I'm looking forward to getting back to normal life and beginning some new projects when I get home... but I'm going to miss these mountains!!

Fun with friends in Leavenworth!

What a fun few weeks it has been! My friend, Heather and her parents were able to come see Fiddler and Sound of Music. My pastor and his family came to see Sound of Music the same night. The funny and memorable thing about that performance was that it poured the last 20 minutes of the show!

I mean, it was REALLY RAINING... but the show must go on!

It was great to have my friend Callie in town with her family! What a dear friend she is! We went running a couple times and I got to hang out with her kids. Pictured below with me is her oldest, Kayla and her friend, Josie. They are my special ballet buddies!

Then, a few days later, my family came to visit! I was so excited for my parents and my sister to see both shows I've been working so hard on all summer. They saw Sound of Music the first night...

and Fiddler the second night.

It was great to have time to just hang out and visit. I got to spend time with my parents at their hotel (and partake in their amazing breakfasts each morning). I also got to show them all of my favorite places in town.

And then I had a really great time hanging out with my sister and her family. Her little guys are so cute! Also, she's got such a great husband. Ezra was so sweet to make the trip to Leavenworth and then babysit their kids both nights so that Bekah could see the shows. She's got a keeper!

In the midst of a busy show schedule, a few of us were able to get away to audition for Tacoma Musical Playhouse! They allowed us to have a special morning audition time since we needed to be back for a show that night! Here's the crazy gang I carpooled with...

We needed Starbucks because we were all up before 6am in order to get to Tacoma in time for our morning audition appointment.

So, I had a birthday! Yep... I guess I say I turned 29 from now on, right? I had a great day traveling back to Tacoma for a callback at TMP in the evening. My friend Beth was available to meet up in the afternoon, so we had a great time walking along the water at Ruston Way and then having a late lunch.

It was so good to catch up with this beautiful gal and hear what she's up to these days.
So now I'm back in Leavenworth about to start a four-show-days-in-a-row stretch! In fact, I better start getting ready to get to the theater!

Don't worry! Leavenworth did not burn down!

The forrest fires have been intense over here! However, contrary to misleading news reports, Leavenworth did not burn down this past week nor is it in any immediate danger of doing so. There are a lot of fire fighters working hard to contain three different fires around us. The smoke has been the biggest problem here in Leavenworth. Thankfully, the air seems to be completely clear today! It's nice to see blue sky again. Here are some images I captured this week!

This final picture was the view from backstage on Wednesday for Fiddler's opening night!

Earlier in the week (before the smoke moved in) we went floating down Icicle River, which runs through Leavenworth - just south of downtown! In fact we went floating a couple days in a row.

As you can tell, we had a great time! We had as many as nine of us one day - all with our own floats - sunglasses on, iced tea in hand, - all connected with rope like a big floating barge! Tuesday was the last day I had free before heading back to the box office full time, so we were sure to float that day! Afterward, we ended up getting a late lunch together at one of the BEST restaurants in town - Heidleburger Drive-In! What a great day!

The days AND nights continue to be really hot! (Especially before the fires started.) Wearing my nun costume was a bit torturous last weekend. I couldn't wait for the sun to set... but even then it stayed super warm. One night as I was walking to my car after the show, I checked the temperature and it was 90 degrees still at 10:45pm!

So I found some running buddies! James and his wife, Mary are marathon runners. He is in Fiddler on the Roof with me, and both their kids are in Sound of Music and Fiddler. James kept telling me about the amazing views from the trails they've been running until finally we arranged for me to join them on one of their "easy days." We ran over 6.5 miles that day. Then, a few days later we ran over 9 miles!! I haven't run that far in about 4 years when I trained for the Seattle half marathon! I had to ask that we take walking breaks from time to time, but I made it and the views were incredible!

In other news, Fiddler on the Roof opened on Wednesday!! We had what seemed like a long run of dress rehearsals (I think mostly because it was so hot and muggy), but I managed to capture some fun moments!

I need to give photo credit to our director, Phil Lacey for the picture of me and Motel on the left.

We had two Fiddler performances this week - Wednesday and Friday, and two Sound of Music performances - Thursday and Saturday. Starting on Tuesday, we will have a 5-day straight show run - alternating back and forth with The Sound of Music and Fiddler!
I was so happy that my friend Kristi could come over to see my opening night of Fiddler! My host family graciously allowed her to stay with us. We stayed up way too late talking, and then in the morning grabbed breakfast and coffee at Good Mood Food - a local bakery. And guess what? They serve Batdorf and Bronson coffee! I was in heaven!!

Meanwhile, the fires nearby were really starting to create a lot of problems. After saying goodbye to Kristi Thursday morning, I headed to the box office for what turned into a pretty awful day. We were getting a lot of people calling wanting a refund on their tickets or an exchange for a different show, due to the smoke. Well, the powers that be decided that we would go on with the show that night, so that meant that our no refunds or exchanges policy held. I felt bad telling so many people that we couldn't refund or exchange their tickets. I definitely needed that excellent cup of coffee!
And so... the show must go on! We performed The Sound of Music to a very grateful crowd that night even though there were pieces of ash falling from the sky in the earlier part of the evening. But by intermission, we had clear sky above us! The theater provided masks for us for pre-show rehearsals and for backstage. As my brother said, "A little different health care plan, but health care nonetheless!"

1 Show Open, 1 More to Go!

Warning: this is going to be a longer post since it's been a while since I've blogged. BUT, I have lots of pictures and fun info!

Sound of Music opening weekend was a blast! I think the performances went well and the audiences seemed to have a lot of fun. In addition to being Sister Margaretta, I get to be a "dresser nun," meaning I've been assigned to help Marta with her costumes changes. Pictured below are the two girls playing Marta that I get the privilege to work with. They are both so sweet and I have really enjoyed getting to know them better. The top picture was taken during the party scene when ALMOST the entire cast is on stage... we are the uninvited left-overs. I'm trying not to be sad about it. Susan who plays the Mother Abbess, has provided a party snack to share every night during that scene and ensures us that we are having the better party backstage. Love these new theater friends!

A really special treat was having my Dad come to town for the opening show of The Sound of Music. Since my mom was in Colorado, he figured he'd get out of town too and visit me! It was so good to hang out with him for the day and then having him there for my first performance with LST. We spent the day walking around town. I took him to some of my favorite places and then we drove out Icicle Road and even did a tiny hike. It was a beautiful day! He even brought me flowers!

A really fun event that I was invited to participate in was a Soiree for the LST donors. I was asked to perform a few songs from both The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof. It was at the beautiful Icicle Ridge Winery! I loved getting a chance to dress up with a few of my fellow cast members, and also meet and thank some of the people that have made this summer's LST season possible.

Fun update from back home! My brother and sister-in-law welcomed their 5th child into the world early Tuesday morning, July 8th. They had a beautiful, healthy baby girl, Hannah Faith Hadley!

I am so happy for them! This makes me an Aunt for the 9th time - just one more summer baby to go! My older sister is due in just a few weeks!

Leavenworth is starting to get REALLY hot! I put sunblock on everyday and if I'm at one of the theaters in the evening (which is nearly every night these days), bug spray is a must! Here's a pretty cool thing! A few weeks ago, I went to this cool coffee tasting room in town - J5. While I was there, I signed up for a drawing to win a pound of coffee and a bag. Well, I won!! I've used the bag while visiting shops downtown and can't wait to drink the yummy coffee!!

Yesterday, I went to Leavenworth with a bunch of girls I've met through the shows we're working on. We spent most of our time at Lake Chelan State Park. We packed a picnic lunch and had a great time getting to know each other better. We ate, laid out in the sun, and swam...and then repeated this pattern several times! We also went into Lake Chelan and finished our visit with some ice cream.

We left with plenty of time to get showers and regroup before our evening rehearsal - cue-to-cue for Fiddler. Well, all was going according to plan until we got half way home. About 10 cars up ahead, they started turning cars around. They had just closed the highway down due to a fire burning dangerously close to the road! We had to take an alternate route that caused us to barely make it to rehearsal on time! What an adventure. Here are some pictures I took from the car on our way back to Leavenworth.

This fire isn't too close to Leavenworth and it's moving east - away from here. I ran up ski hill road for my run this morning and this was the view of the fire.

I've been working a few days a week at the box office again! Yay! Though balancing work and rehearsals has made me busier, I'm still finding time for myself. I go running and then conveniently end at one of two places for coffee - Blackbird Bistro or Starbucks. Starbucks has been a more regular spot since I got some gift cards recently!! I've been reading through the Bible with a friend this year. We decided to follow a plan that takes you through it chronologically. It has been so cool to read the Old Testament stories and to see God's meticulous and loving plan for His people unfold. I just pull it up on my phone and read, sip, and take in the beautiful mountainous landscape. My favorite! This alone time has been so refreshing and keeps me going during these busy days.

Opening night for Fiddler on the RooF is less than a week away! We just started rehearsals on the stage last night. It's going to be a fun week putting the finishing touches on this beautiful story. I know I've said it before but outdoor theater is the best!

The gal in the picture with me is Kaylene. She's playing the role of Chava and is doing a beautiful job. Uh, she makes me cry every time they run the scene where she begs her father, Tevye to accept her and her Russian husband. Ugh. Breaks my heart every time he refuses her. It's sad... but it's a joyful and humorous show too, so come see it if you get the chance!