job perks

Today I met a Broadway star, and a television star.

Pretty good day, I must say.


And not only that, we all had a full on conversation. Grandpa Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) chatted about the fact that his on-air daughter would soon be starring on Broadway as Adelaid in the new revival of Guys and Dolls. And the amazingly talented Brian Stokes Mitchell joked that Deseret Book should distribute the DVD of Ragtime (I complained that I never got to see him on stage in that show).

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell is in town as the featured artist in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert. Ed Herrmann is the narrator. I was lucky enough to go to a VIP reception this afternoon with my colleagues, and had the chance to meet these fine fellows. We chatted, snapped a few photos, and Stokes (as the choir guys tell me he likes to be called) even signed a few things my friend Arron sent along to have autographed (he was flattered I had a Playbill from his concert at Carnegie Hall).

Tomorrow night (Friday) I'm going to the concert with a few friends, and then working the CD signing in our store after. Then on Saturday, Arron is flying all the way from Washington, D.C. to go to the concert with me. A few friends went and saw it tonight and said it was amazing. I'm looking forward to it.

Here's a clip of Brian Stokes Mitchell's concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir back in September:

that's ... different

So my name is in the Deseret News today. No, not as a reporter, but as a "spokeswoman for Deseret Book." Yeah, that feels weird.

Update on the job: I love it. It's a total change of pace. It's amazing to see how stressed I was in the newspaper world. Now, not so much. I'm lucky enough to have some amazing people at work mentoring me and teaching me the ropes of the PR world. I've already made what I believe will be lifelong friends in just a few short weeks.

The Joseph Smith Papers (and the fact they are flying off the shelves) kept me busy all day today. A lot of my time lately is spent working on getting publicity for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They are such a great group to work with. I was fortunate enough to finally meet the director, Mack Wilberg, the other day and he was such a kind man. I'm so excited for the big concert this weekend with one of my favorite Broadway stars, Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Other than that, I'm just busy planning things for our spring books. Its sure nice not to have to worry about daily deadlines and instead focus on the big picture. Looking back, after more than two months on the new job, I definitely feel like I made the right decision.

roll out the holly ...

... put up the tree before my spirit falls again.

That's right. I need a little Christmas. Right this very moment. So we started our decorations a little early.


I won't be home much the next few days, and there is nothing better than flying back from Thanksgiving, walking in the door and seeing the tree all lit up in the living room. I LOVE Christmas!

the life of Miss M

I know I'm a little late, but there are still 25 precious minutes left in the talented Miss M's birthday. Miss M is a new, old friend. We've known of each other for years, but just barely really got to know each other. We're stupid for ignoring each other all these years, I know.

She's witty, kind, understanding and above all a great friend willing to help me out no matter the problem.

She even DVRs The Office for me and allows her roomies to use fancy dishware to make a bowl of green jello with office supplies trapped in it. Now how cool is that?


Happy birthday, Miss M. I love you!

NKOTB

All my elementary school fantasies came true last weekend. Not only did I get to see the New Kids on the Block in concert, but ... wait for it ... I TOUCHED Joey McIntyre. You heard me right. Touched him. It's OK to be envious. I would be if one of you got to touch him.

NKOTB is back after a terribly-long absence.



And yes, like giddy school girls, Elissa and I brought out the puffy paint and made "I LOVE JOEY" T-shirts. P.S. They were glow-in-the-dark. You know you're jealous. Random strangers wanted to take their picture with us. Pretty sweet.



And no, just because they are grown men DOES NOT mean they cannot sound like teenage boys going through puberty.

They aren't really new kids anymore. The average age of this "boy" band is 38. But you know what? That didn't matter. They are still pretty hot. The audience went nuts during the Jordan Knight-unbuttoned-white-shirt-blowing-in-the-wind-machine-while-his-washboard-abs-glisten-with-the-stage-lights move. Apparently he did that in the olds days (Elissa was lucky enough to go to the concert when she was a kid. I was relegated to the Disney Channel concert on TV at the Irby's house).

Now, if only I could see Backstreet Boys and N'Sync live in concert, all my boy bands dreams would be fulfilled.

sharing the love

Christmas is a month away, and if you're like me, you have no idea what to get the many people on your list.

My family knows they will be receiving a Deseret Book Christmas this year. They've all flipped through the catalog and made their picks.

So, in the spirit of giving, here are some gift ideas I'm considering for my friends and family. Feel free to steal the ideas, and use this coupon to get a nice discount.




My top pick: Reflections of Christ -- This project is close to my heart, as I have spent every day since I started at this new job looking at these beautiful images of the Savior. The book makes you feel like you are personally witnessing the Savior's most awe-inspiring moments. This is a great missionary tool and is non-denominational. Then, there is an amazing DVD that not only has a touching slide show of the images coupled with beautiful music, but a documentary DVD with the photographer, and my good friend, Mark Mabry, sharing his testimony of how this project has changed his life.


Top Christmas Book: The Miracle of the Wooden Shoes by Deborah Pace Rowley -- This is a marvelous book and tells the story of a 10-year old boy finding special gifts at Christmas time inside his wooden shoes, which is a German tradition. The website says: “For many nights, his wooden shoes are filled and needful gifts continue to appear, each with a scroll and scripture testifying of Jesus Christ. Then one morning, Walter and his family receive the best gift of all.” It's a great Christmas message for any family.

Must have for singles: A Single Voice by Kristen M. Oaks Believe me when I tell you this book is inspiring. Sister Oaks was single until her early 50s, and went through the struggles we all face. Her life is much different now, as she wed Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Even still, she understands the struggles. In the book Sister Oaks urges single members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to “rewrite the dream.” “If you sit and wait, you’re asking life to dominate you, when you have the opportunity to go out there and make your life wonderful,” Sister Oaks said. It’s a message that applies to all – single or married, young or old, male or female: the unexpected life is no less a life. Here's a link to an article I wrote about the book for LDS Living.

Great gift for missionaries: Let Him Ask of God by Lloyd D. Newell This book is a beautiful collection of inspired messages from the life and teachings of Joseph Smith with insightful commentary by my old BYU religion instructor -- the man behind Music and the Spoken Word.

The gift I should buy my dad: Mine Errand From the Lord by President Boyd K. Packer This book is an encyclopedia of gems from President Packer's lifetime of teachings. It's a great resource for anyone compiling a talk or lesson. Check out this video for more info:



Those are just a few of my favorites. I have a laundry list of books I want to read, but don't have time for.

Get out there and use this coupon fast. It expires on Nov. 30, and feel free to pass the coupon on to your friends. And Happy Gift Giving!

the ybh girls

I write tonight mainly for three sets of eyes, none of which are my own. I write for the talented Miss M, the spider woman, and the bee.

These fine women of the yellow brick house are a breath of fresh air after a long day. Tonight, after a 10-hour day of work and another few hours doing relief society visits, I happened upon their lovely abode for a quick hello. I quickly found myself in awe of these amazing sisters who were scouring the scriptures and discussing every word of a recent general conference talk. I was overcome by the spirit, and knew I was in the right place. I ended up staying for a few hours, and engaged in a great spiritual discussion.

I'm so thankful to have friends who are great examples of faith and hope. I'm thankful that they kick me in the butt to be better. And I'm thankful that they know how to laugh and keep me grounded.

These three ladies are just a handful of amazing people the Lord has blessed me with.

concert time

Last night I went to this beautiful man's concert last night with Meg at the Avalon Theater in Salt Lake. The venue was FREEZING, but his voice just makes you melt



He's the guy that sings the song "So Close" from the movie, Enchanted. And yes, that is him on the screen singing in the movie. Unfortunately he only sang a verse of the song during the encore (I'm guessing he doesn't want to pay the Disney folks so he can sing the full version of a song he didn't write). But the rest of the concert was amazing.

guess who's coming to dinner

I ate dinner with Glenn Beck.

Sure, he was at the next table. But still! That's close enough for me. He was only five feet away. So cool.

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to sit at the Deseret Book corporate table at a fundraising event in Provo. Glenn Beck was the featured guest. We had dinner, then he was presented an award. After a short musical presentation, he came back on the stage and gave a good, 45 minute-long or so speech.

He was a great entertainer, and he was inspiring. He told us to stand up for what we believe in. He reminded us that one person can make a difference.

"Know who you are, know what you got here, know what makes you so great, know what makes you so strong. It is your values," Beck told a crowd of a thousand gathered to hear him. "It is your commitment to do the hard thing, your commitment to God. In God we trust."

I've been meaning to pick up a copy of An Unlikely Mormon: The Conversion Story of Glenn Beck. I've seen clips, and I've only heard good things. It's amazing to see how someone could turn their life around so much and then become a powerful voice for change and someone who stands up for our values.

back to L.A.

I enjoyed yet another mini vacation last weekend. Destination: L.A. with my friends Marianne, Kimber and Emily.

Highlight of the trip: the fantabulous musical, 9 to 5. It's a musical of the classic Dolly Parton/Lilly Tomlin/Jane Fonda movie. It's been playing in L.A. getting ready for it's big Broadway run next year.


This is probably one of the best shows I've ever seen. Yes, it could use some work, but I'm sure they will retool things before the Broadway run next spring. Megan Hilty was a mirror image and perfect duplicate of Dolly Parton. I still can't get over Stephanie J. Block's vocals. Man that girl can belt. She made Judy loveable. And how can you complain about Allison Janney? She was a hilarious Violet. I still can't get over the dream sequence. I don't want to give anything away. Just go see it.



Before the show, we stumbled into Hollywood somehow. Yah, we didn't plan it. But I'm so glad we did. I found Celine Dion's star on the walk of fame. We took pictures in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater and compared our shoe sizes to the stars. It was an unexpected bonus to the trip.

The next day we went to Disneyland.

I never thought it could be possible to have too much Disney goodness in one year. But alas, I think the impossible is possible. I went to Disneyland on Saturday. Kimber hooked us up with free passes for the day. Now don't get me wrong. I did love it. I've never seen the Halloween decorations. I've never seen the Haunted Mansion revamped into the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion. Oh and there was a new ride at California Adventure: Toy Story Midway Mania. Best ride of the day, no joke. I loved it.

Here's what put the downer on Disney for me: long lines. I have managed to avoid busy Disney weekends every time I have gone. In April with the family at Disneyland it wasn't too bad. Then in May, the Disney World lines were a breeze. Somehow we managed to go on one of the busy weekends. In fact, I think the entire state of Utah decided to go to Disneyland that weekend. It was UEA weekend (formerly known as The Hunt) and Utah schools had the week off. Thus, all the BYU and U of U shirts I saw throughout the park.

I hate long lines. Even fast pass lines were long. The single rider line on Soaring Over California was long. All my tricks didn't really work.


Nevertheless, I still loved it. Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth.

Runner-up for best highlight of the trip: the doo on the dude sitting to the left in the rail car on Big Thunder Mountain.

Reflections of Christ

Sorry I've been a terrible blogger. It's amazing seeing the lack of down time I have lately.

I've been spending the majority of my time working on the Reflections of Christ project. It's my job to get the press to help get the word out about this amazing photography exhibit. So far we've been getting great results. Check out this story that ran up in Idaho:

The exhibit was in Salt Lake last week, and I had two television stations and a few newspaper articles that reported on the exhibit.

And for all of you on Facebook, head over there and become a fan of the project.

top 10

Top 10 reasons I like my new job:

1. the view (my desk is by a big window with a great view of Abravenel Hall. Too bad it will go away as soon as the church build's a condo tower)

2. working 9 to 5

3. not working on holidays

4. getting the whole week off between Christmas and New Year's (are we seeing a trend here?)

5. watching "The Office" in the conference room once a week during lunch

6. friendly co-workers who immediately welcomed me on the team (one even went to the temple with me after work)

7. positive reinforcement (the marketing director is constantly giving praise, and consistently plans lunches and things to incentivize the staff to work hard)

8. Diet Coke (the marketing director reminds me to bring a Diet Coke to some of the long, boring staff meetings)

9. free books

10. working for "the Dew."

soda pop wars

Yeah remember that whole crazy "I'm giving up Diet Coke" post not too long ago. Yeah let's act like I never wrote it.

Really, what's the point of giving up Diet Coke? Yes I can see the point in giving up soda altogether, but I only said I'd giving up Diet Coke. Then I noticed my soda intake went up for other beverages, namely Sprite. In the end, Diet Coke has less sugar. So really I should dump Sprite and only drink Diet Coke.

Basically I'm trying to say I'm not giving up Diet Coke until I'm ready to give up soda altogether. And I'm not ready yet.

The end.

soccer stadium

The D'News Farewell Tour kept rolling on Thursday, as I toured Real Salt Lake's new soccer stadium today.

This stadium was the bane of my existence for a few years running there, as I swear I wrote a story every day for about two years about the funding issues related to the stadium.

I didn't think I'd ever get the behind the scenes tour, since I'm leaving the paper before it opens. But luckily Mayor Peter Corroon had a scheduled tour today, so I tagged along.


The stadium is really nice. Mayor Corroon described it in one word: "Luxurious." It made me wish I could afford the fancy club seats. Folks rich enough to buy those seats get a private lounge, a private entrance, cushy seats in a special section, and they get to walk out onto the field every game through the player tunnel. Jealous.

I was snapping pictures of myself in random spots throughout the stadium, but this one is by far my favorite. The mayor popped in and made the picture.

To end the tour, we walked all the way up to the cat walk in the canopy pictured below. They tell us the governor was too chicken to do it, but we did it!


It was fun to see the finished product of a concept I've been writing about for years.

defection

Some of you have been asking me how my superiors at the D'News have been taking my pending departure.

Here's from an all-staff e-mail from a boss:

"Friends of City Desk...Just to let you know that (Mr. Cool New Unnamed on Leigh's Blog Guy) has agreed to join us full time in the wake of Leigh Dethman’s defection to God’s Bookstore, where she will be undertaking the Devil’s mission of publicity."

Ah yes, I'm on a mission. The Devil's mission of publicity.


I'm sure going to miss the witty banter of reporters and editors.

In all reality, everyone has been really nice. It's been a hard week saying goodbye to sources, and I'm sure Friday will be rough saying goodbye to everyone else. At least I'll only be working a block away.

missile blunt palin

Flash back to 1981 -- the year I was born. But instead of having the amazing mother named Gayle, let's imagine Sarah Palin is my mother.

Apparently she never would have named me Leigh. Instead, she'd pick Missile Blunt Palin.

Oh yeah, little Missle Blunt. No joke, she named her kids Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow and Piper. Yeah, not sure where those names came from. I feel the worst for her son, Trig. I hated Trig. Worst class ever. All those proofs. Ew.

So, do you ever wonder what your name would be if Sarah Palin was your mother? Click here.

headline of the day

Courtesy of CNN.com

That's right. "Bush lands in Texas; Residents urged to leave."

I guess we know which way CNN leans.

The headline has since changed to, "Bush heads to Texas as Galvestonians urged to leave." Doesn't that just roll off the tongue. Galvestonians. Nice.

two weeks notice

I quit my job today.

I can't believe I just wrote those words. I always imagined myself as a career woman at the Deseret News. I figured I'd work there for life, or at least until I got married and hopefully didn't have to work anymore.

But life changes, goals shift and I found myself feeling like I needed to try something new. The newspaper industry is a scary business right now, and I felt like I had to go out there and learn a new skill.

Luckily, another company decided to let me develop these new skills. I am now the newest publicist at Deseret Book. I got the job offer yesterday, and officially accepted the position today. I never imagined this life change, but I welcome it. It feels right.

I'm excited for for something new, yet hesitant to leave a company and co-workers who have become a second family to me. I've been at the Deseret News for five-and-a-half years now. They hired me as an intern two months before I graduated from BYU. I quickly signed on in a full-time role a few months later.

I was quickly thrown into some big stories, like this one below, when a local girl was murdered by her husband and the national media came in throngs. (Can you spot me?)

I've done a little bit of everything in my time at the News. I've experienced things most people will never get to do. I'll never forget the sight of those tired, weary people lined up outside the New Orleans airport seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina. Or the people lined up with one injury after another in the baggage claim area (which was transformed into a triage area).

I'll never forget meeting Iraqi Marines in the middle of the Persian Gulf. Majad, who waved incessantly at me whenever saw each other. Or the other guy, who swore I spoke and read Arabic, and finally started writing in my notebook to get me to understand (sorry, still can't read Arabic). Oh and I can't forget the one who insisted I was Martina Hingis.

I'll never forget the thrill of watching an F-15 land on the USS Teddy Roosevelt while I stood on the deck, or the uncertainty of sitting in a plane actually landing on the aircraft carrier (and hoping the hook attached to the wire).


And who can say they stood next to the head of the famous toppled Saddam Hussein statue.


But really I'll never forget the many people, friends, sources and co-workers I have met in my time at the Deseret News. I hope I won't lose that going into this new adventure.

My official start date at Deseret Book is Sept. 22. I will relish my last two weeks at the Deseret News.

diet coke

I've decided to give up Diet Coke. Call it a crazy "I'm 27 now and need a goal" type of move. I drink way too much of it, anyway. I don't need all that caffeine in my body. And I know I don't drink enough water.

Diet Coke and I have a long history. The story goes that "Coke" was one of my first words (that, along with "fries" and "shub-up, Bossy" were all early vocabulary staples as a young child). Blame my mother. I swear, we would go to the drive through every day to get a Diet Coke.

Sadly the rest of my family has moved onto Diet Pepsi. I have yet to understand this phenomenon. It doesn't taste better. It just makes me burp more. Betsy gave up the drink last year, and is off and on, so props to her. My goal is to not drink a drop of Diet cola of any kind all year. Rough, I know.

So farewell, Diet Coke. You truly are the nectar of the Gods.

birthday girl

I am now recovering from the best birthday week ever. My 27th birthday will be hard to top.

It started Thursday night, two days before my birthday. My awesome friends/roommates threw a great party for me at our house. So many people came, and I was amazing at the kindness of my amazing friends.

Shout out to Kelly for the most creative birthday cake ever given to me.

In case you can't read it, it says "WRITE HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEIGH (IN ALL CAPS)." I recently mentioned to Kelly that she should check out one of my favorite blogs, Cake Wrecks. This blog makes fun of professional bakeries/grocery stores for bad cakes, grammar mistakes, etc. I love it. So to see this on my cake was awesome. I love when people get creative.



We ended the night rockin' out to Rock Band. Clint brought up his Wii, and several folks stayed over til midnight. I was SO tired at work the next day.



I spent my actual birthday in Lake Havasu with my friend, Arron. I'd post pics, but we didn't take any. Sad, I know. But really, when all you do is lay by the pool or chill on the boat, there really isn't an opportunity to take pics (and who wants to see a swimsuit shot, anyway).

UPDATE: The party and the Havasu trip was in addition to my awesome weekend in Vegas with Betsy and Louise last weekend. Oh and Betsy wrote a sweet to me on her blog for my birthday. Thanks, Boss.

Thanks to everyone for making my 27th birthday AMAZING!

sin city

I'm still recovering from my weekend in Vegas with Betsy and Weez. All that driving knocked me out.

We spent a lot of time in the lazy river, floating around on a tube getting a tan. The rest was spent eating, showing Betsy the strip (she's never been there) and seeing Mamma Mia. So much fun!

I'm thinking this should become a new cousin tradition. Anyone else in?

I have an eventful few days coming up. Tonight my friends are throwing me a birthday party, and tomorrow night I'm headed to Lake Havasu to spend my birthday/Labor Day Weekend with Arron.

temple trip

Isn't the Portland LDS temple beautiful? I remember going through the open house when it first opened in 1989. I was 7 years old and just a month or two away from my baptism. I remember putting on the little white booties, so we didn't get the pretty new carpets dirty. I remember how amazing the celestial room was, so white. So light. The image of the grand staircase seemed like a stairway to heaven.

My memories were accurate. The temple is just as beautiful as it was in my 7-year-old eyes.

I went through the temple Aug. 9 to receive my endowment. My family was there to support me, including my grandma, aunt, uncle and a few cousins from Washington. It was fitting to have them all there, since the whole point of this life is to live worthy enough to be with our families in heaven forever.

The temple trip was the highlight of an amazing, busy weekend with my family.

sisters

Forgive my lack of blog postings lately. I have a lot to blog about, but unfortunately all the pictures are on other peoples' cameras and I'm waiting for them to send them (so send them already folks!)

So I'll make due with what I have -- an old picture of the Dethman sisters. I flew home last weekend to see Amy, who lives in Denmark and makes rare appearances here in the states.

It was a jam-packed weekend, with rehearsals, my first trip through the LDS temple to receive my endowment, and culminating with an amazing fireside on the Prophet Joseph Smith. I'll blog more about my temple trip later.

Amy and her husband, Andreas, put together a whole fireside honoring Joseph Smith. They wrote the narration, put together a multimedia presentation of pictures, and then selected songs to tie everything together. It was amazing. I had a hard time keeping my emotions in check as my brother, Mike, sang out the first line to one song: "The spirit of God like a fire is burning. The latter-day glory begins to come forth."

Amy conducted the choir, and the whole family (minus Andrew) participated. It was really neat. Then, I sang a trio of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" with Betsy and Amy. It was fun to sing with all of them. Our voices seem to blend so well together. Must be that family gene. I remember the days when I would be annoyed that mom always made us sing together at church, but now I love it. It's so fun being all together up there.

fried

Nope, not Kentucky. But fried. As in my battery.

My car decided to up and die on me Monday night. Thank heaven it happened after I left the creepy downtown Wal-Mart at night, and waited until I was parked safely next to a street light outside my friend, Elissa's house. My two heroes, Dan and Phatty, came to the rescue and gave me a jump. I drove around for a while and then went home to bed.

I was nervous to try again Tuesday morning, and for good reason. The thing wouldn't start. Everything was dead. Even my automatic door locks wouldn't move at the command of my little clicker. At this point, nobody was around to give me a jump. Luckily my friend Meg came over to help. We both had never jumped a car before, and she was pretty nervous. Good thing I didn't remember the whole "battery exploding while Betsy jumped a car once" story until after we successfully jumped the car. That likely would have freaked Meg out. She looked scared even without the story.

Long story short, I spent a few hours at Pep Boys reading Breaking Dawn while they tinkered with my car. Now, $100 bucks later, everything is back to normal.

Oh and I have no idea how the battery died. I didn't leave any lights on or anything. I guess the battery was just tuckered out.

the lovefest continues

Yes, my devotion to all things High School Musical continues. On Wednesday I went a few of my girls to see "High School Musical: Live on Stage." I was a little hesitant, thinking nothing could match the amazingness of the Disney Channel movie, but I was proven wrong.

Yes, it was the same plot, and most of the same songs. But it was a different experience. The staging was amazing. It proved that you can have a nice set on a touring show. I was amazed that the boys in the "Getcha Head in the Game" number were able to dribble in rhythm with the band the whole time. The girl playing Gabriella had a great voice, and Troy was OK. He was a bit nasally and sometimes went into rock star voice mode. He's no Zac Efron, but really, who is?

After the show, we totally stage doored. Let me explain. Elissa's 13-year-old sister and 9-year-old cousin were at the show, and they are big HSM fans too. So I got to use their enthusiasm as my excuse to stand in the alley waiting for the actors to come out. The girls all got autographs, and the 9-year-old even got an autographed drum stick from the guy in the pit. Pretty sweet.


Please forgive the blurry cell phone pics. That red neon light says "STAGE DOOR." That crowd behind me and Elissa is surrounding the girl playing Gabriella Montez.

This guy is a new character in the stage show, Jack Scott. He's the voice of East High School, and ushered in every scene with a sweet radio voice announcer drawl. Elissa had a secret crush on him, so we made sure to get a picture.

Finally, here are pics of the girls with the actors playing Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton.



Most of my friends went to East High, and I've always been insanely jealous. I'll have you know that my friend Jane said I am now an honorary graduate of East High School. You know you're jealous.

pioneer day

For those of you non-Utahns, Pioneer Day rounds these parts is HUGE. Bigger than the 4th of July. You heard me right.

I celebrated my pioneer heritage by watching fireworks light the sky to the accompaniment of Faith Hill, Lynrd Skynrd, Sugarland, Dierks Bentley, and Metro Station. And no, there was no Neil Diamond or MOTAB.

TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT!

I trekked to the Salt Lake Bee's game last night night and sang as I walked and walked and walked and walked from my car to the stadium. After an awesome game, we got to go down to the outfield, put our blankets down on the grass and watch a sweet fireworks show.

The fireworks were amazing. The music, not so much. The music had no theme whatsoever. Definitely not patriotic or pioneer-esque.


Oh and meet Amy, my amazing first counselor in the relief society presidency.