The Lion King

Last night my little sister Tawni and I had the opportunity to go to Capitol Theatre in downtown SLC. The tickets landed in my lap through a friend who unfortunately (or fortunately, for us) couldn't go.



It was opening night and a full house. We had excellent seats, actually. The show stayed pretty true to the Disney cartoon. It included a few new songs, a couple of which I really enjoyed. Simba's "Endless Night" and "They Live in You" were great. I could almost quote the entire show because the writer's didn't change the script that much. Rafiki, to my surprise, was a woman. A sassy monkey woman. She was hilarious and a superb singer. Mufasa, Pumbaa, and Timon had voices that were very similar to the cartoon characters.

The symbolism in the show was neat and unique. The scenery was incredible along with the costumes. I wonder how they came up with everything the way they did.

Overall, the show was deluxe, and I'm so glad I was able to go. I'm also glad I could go with the prettiest girl in the whole theater: my little sister, Tawni. Heck, we even saw Kyle Korver there with some girl and she wasn't half as pretty as Tawni...

BCHM 2010

On July 17, I ran (and completed) my first half marathon. It was in Bryce Canyon, which is absolutely gorgeous. Those running the race were my dad, Brandon, Michelle, Kim (Michelle's sister) Tawni, and myself. Brittany, my cute little sister, was registered but pulled out due to a stress fracture on her right leg. So literally days before the race my dad, who had not planned on running at all, decided he would take her spot. I was so proud when he came across the line in awesome time.




We stayed in Fosters Motel, a quaint place that was so perfect for the occasion. (Did I mention that yiddle Ben joined us? He took video/photos at the finish line for us.)


Here's Britt with her monster Frankenstein boot. Dang stress fractures. Tawni finished in great time and actually took 2nd place overall in her age group!



Thanks to Brandon and Michelle for motivating us to run this fabulous race! I think it should be a Barrett summer tradition!

Long time coming...

A couple years ago I first heard about the Wasatch Back, put on by the relay racing company Ragnar. It sounded fun and tedious, and I was excited. My running hopes were trampled when I made Footloose at Rodger's Memorial Theatre. The rehearsals were very time consuming and in the end I had to withdraw from the race.



Last year I was also invited, but for some reason the race didn't sound as appealing. So I didn't do it.



This year, however, I was determined to do it. And I did. Finally.

I love the middle picture because I look dead...and that was during my first leg.

It was a blast. My van consisted of myself, Jessie, Mary, Emiliy, Spencer, and Ryan. We slept at the wrong exchange station on the ground and it was freezing! But ending in Park City with some free stuff and a massage made everything totally worth it.

Return to Reality

Yes, it's been awhile since my last post. Maybe if anything exciting ever happened I would write more. Life was just as I left it when I returned home from DC. Same bedroom, same clothes, same job, same school, same family, same car, and pretty much everything else. I had to wonder if the monotony would be disrupted.

Then change happened. On my second Sunday back the stake presidency announced the division and reorganization of the 32nd and 13th wards. This came as a pleasant surprise, because I was actually seriously considering changing wards anyway. It turned out that a small section of the 32nd ward was combined with the majority of the 13th ward to create the new and improved 32nd ward. Same bishopric - mostly different congregation. Of course it is sad to be apart from my ward friends. But DC taught me that meeting new people isn't such a bad thing. I met some phenomenal people back east and thought I should do the same here.

After missing more than half of the Jazz's season, I was so excited when my dad handed me some playoff tickets. Jazz vs. Lakers. (I love how everyone treats it as a rivalry, though it completely isn't.) I went with the younger version of myself. Ben is my 12 year old brother who is absolutely hilarious. We were super excited for the game and even wore the fuzzy Jazz-hair hats. Well, that excitement balloon burst before half time and we ended up leaving with 2 minutes left because the slaughter was too much for us to take.

ROAD TRIP:

A large group from my ward had plans to go to St. George to stay in some condos and enjoy the perfect weather. At the last minute I joined them for a mind-blowing weekend. We arrived Thursday night. Friday was chill-around-the-pool day. Saturday was go-on-a-terrifying-hike day. We decided to hike to Angel's Landing, one of the most popular (and most deadly) hikes in Zion National Park. It was a great hike. My already-bad knees were destroyed by the end, but it was worth it. As the hike ensued I kept thinking that we were the first group of people to ever hike to the top. I can't believe the park lets anyone do this! They have a chain - A CHAIN - for people to hold onto. No chain = 10+ seconds of thoughtful freefall until a splattering death. Children younger than my chest hair were going on this hike. It was insanity at its best. We ended the day with some Cafe Rio and an impromptu trip to Snow Canyon to see the stars. Southern Utah is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We also played some wicked Ninja Destruction.

Other than that, I'm back at the U this summer taking a full schedule. I have about 4 days of being 23 left. 24 doesn't sound half as great. I'm entering "weird guy" zone.

Great Falls, Great Fun.

Just minutes away from DC is a great place called Great Falls National Park. It's located in Virginia. I find it interesting how the East is so compact with small states, whereas the West has monsterly-huge states. If I remember correctly, we passed crossed a few state borders just in few minutes it took to get to this park. Shannon was nice enough to drive and accompany me out there for a great picnic and hike.

Here are a few pictures from our adventure:

This is a certain Shannon Crowley standing in what is called a "pothole." Apparently it took 500 years for this hole in the rock to form. Notice the skirt and flip-flops Shannon sported for our excruciating hike.


This is a certain Brady Barrett posing on a rock overlooking the Potomac River. There isn't much more to say about this picture than that.

This is the most impressive view of the Great Falls. Right next to my left elbow was a little spot where kayakers liked to spend their time. They would paddle in there and ride the "never ending wave."

Needless to say, it was an excellent afternoon. It was highly enjoyable, and I know the mosquitos had a great time as well. Shannon and I have the bites to prove it!

Winding down in Washington

It's 10:58 p.m. on April 21, 2010. Coming up with something entertaining to say is actually quite a task. The only reason for this post is for a change of scenery. I'm afraid that the 3 people who actually read my blog will lose a bit more respect for me every time they see a picture of Barbie and the Rockers. Although those memories are dear to my heart, I don't think they should be the welcoming face to my blog.

Thinking about my time in DC is interesting. It feels like I have been here for so long sometimes. I've finally started feeling pretty comfortable at the office (handling angry constituents has become a pleasure, really). I guess the main reason this journey has seemed so lengthy is because of the relationships I've made here. I've reached the point that it's hard to understand how I had a life before knowing some friends I've made. People in the office, in the ward, and in my home have been a huge influence on my life - and mostly good influences.

One of my all-time pet peeves used to be when people would say, "I've learned so much about myself," or something similar. I now know what people mean when they say that and why they say it. I have learned some good things about myself - surprising and reassuring. Other things aren't so good, again surprising but certainly not reassuring.

Coming home will be, as the saying goes, bitter-sweet. I'll miss the eye-popping buildings and mind-boggling history this city has. It will be nice to have a car, though (I don't feel bad at all for missing the Metro cars jam-packed with summer tourists who get in the way and sweat too much). I'll miss most the relationships I made that will be left here, especially those I wish could have been stronger.

Anyway, I hope those are enough words to push Barbie to the bottom of the screen.

Brooke, Brandon, Brady, and Barbie...

Yes, Brooke speaks the truth. Barbie and the Rockers were a big part of our lives growing up. That cassette tape was the best. Looky looky, a little keepsake for you guys...

Barbie and the Rockers:

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

The other song I remember so well is "Dressin' Up:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klQE1-tPXpo&NR=1

I really think we should do a remake of our "Barbie and the Rockers" dances. Of course, we'd have to remake our "See Me Run" days too. If we broke Tom's arm and really ticked off Mom, we'd be set!