The Hills Are Alive {Again}...

Remember this post when I had that insane dance audition? I couldn’t believe when Theatre in the Park posted the cast lists for their summer season and I was on one of them! I had the privilege of being cast in the role of Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music. I know…this is the third time I’ve done this show, but I've played different roles each time (Liesl in 2001, Ensemble Nun at Lyric Theatre in 2008, and now Sister Margaretta in 2011!). Plus, I was named after a character in it, so I figure it’s ok. Haha! It was such a great experience, and of course I met some amazing people. Performing on that huge stage at the largest outdoor community theatre in the country was a pretty awesome thing. What made it even better was the fact that I had so many family and friends come and support me, some from as far as Minnesota and California!

Here are some pictures of the show. You can also go to the photographer’s website to see (lots) more.

Natalie (Mother Abbess – isn’t her make-up job amazing?), Jackie (Maria), and me

This is what happens when you have a lot of time between scenes…nuns playing cards

Featured Nuns with Franz, the butler. From L to R: Natalie (Mother Abbess), Rachel (Sister Sophia), Tom (Franz), me (Sister Margaretta), and Joyce (Sister Berthe)

And some goofiness with Maria!

Natalie’s folks brought her this sweet bear for opening night. She took on a character all her own. Meet Sister Masha.

“The Liesls!” Me and Bethany (Liesl)

Nice close-up of Jackie and me. I was so blessed by new friends in this cast!

And of course, the kids who stole the show…the Von Trapp Kids!

Sabrina (Marta) cleaning up the dressing room. Child labor??

“The Von Trapp Children don’t play, they sweep”

Millie (Gretl) was helping Bethany (Liesl) with her make-up. This is community theatre, after all.

Me and sweet Avery (Brigitta). The kids had some quick costume changes, and I was Avery’s helper.

I’m hoping to be able to do another show with Theatre in the Park next summer…it was such an incredible experience!

Month of Ups and Downs...

I'll touch on each of these soon in their own separate blog posts, but here are a few highlights of our past month:

-Up...I got cast in one of the shows at Theatre in the Park! You can guess based on this blog post that I was very pleasantly surprised to see my name when they posted the cast lists for the season. Was honored to play Sister Margaretta in their first show of 2011 - one of my personal favorites (for obvious reasons), The Sound of Music. SUCH a blast...they are already onto their 2nd show of the season (my, how time flies!) and I am so happy to now be a part of the Theatre in the Park family!

-Down...we said goodbye to our baby, Norman, over Memorial Day weekend. He was suffering from cluster seizures and we had to make an agonizing decision to put him down. One of the worst experiences we've had to deal with as a couple (rivaling Memorial Day weekend 2008, when we miscarried our first baby)

-Up...we completed the process to become licensed foster parents! We cannot wait to welcome some kiddos into our home, yet our hearts break as we realize their world will be rocked by whatever circumstances lead to their need for temporary care

-Up...we had great times with several groups of visitors who came to town to see The Sound of Music. My best friend Gretchen, along with her mom and her son Aden were among the first. Then Steve's parents came, followed by my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. So blessed with their visits! My friend Kristine also came to visit all the way from California...and I hadn't seen her in 5 (way too) long years! Again, more to come in separate posts.

So...mainly "ups," with a very sad "down." Even in the sad parts, though, we are just so thankful for what God has given us, where He is bringing us (as a couple, and also closer to Him), and the people He's used to bless us. I can't wait to fill you in...

Pas de bourrée, Pas de bourrée…aaaannnddd…Jazz Hands!

So I had an audition on Saturday…my first audition since I performed in Annie last summer at Jewel Box Theatre in OKC (hmmm…did I never actually blog about that?). Anyhow, we’ve had a lot of exciting changes in the past year, which doesn’t lend well to a hobby that involves incredible time commitment. But my husband is wonderful, awesome, supportive, amazing…and gave his full support for me to audition for the Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park’s 2011 summer season. I have been looking forward to it since…well, basically since we moved here and I found out our favorite park had a Theatre!

Turns out this theatre has some roots. I think they are in their 42nd season and they have incredible turnout for their shows, both in terms of the sheer number of people wanting to be a part of them, and also the people that have made it into family traditions going to see the shows each summer. Last year they had over 730 people audition and they were expecting an even larger turnout this year! No pressure.

I prepared and sang my little heart out here at the apartment, practicing my 16 bars until I could sing them without even thinking about it. Of course, singing in front of the mirror/wall at home, or in the car, is quite different than entering a big room, looking at the 16 people that are watching and listening to your every move/note (somehow having to compare it with the other 700 people they’ve had to listen to in a two-day period) and belting it out. And belt it out I did. Except that my song wasn’t really a belting song. I just got so nervous about projecting that it came out. It’s a crazy thing, the audition experience. It’s like you are in an alternate reality, having full conversations with yourself while you’re singing a mere 16 bars of a song, saying things like, in my case, “oh no! This came out as a belt…how can I fix this? Help! That’s not what this song is supposed to sound like...hmmmm...maybe I can save it with the last note? I wonder if I’m even looking at them anymore. I can’t seem to will my body or voice to do anything it’s supposed to! This is SO not like it was at home in front of my mirrored closet doors or in the car. Can I get a do-over, please????” You know the feeling…or maybe not.

Anyhow, not pleased with how that went, I was off to the dance audition. At that point, I pulled a little bit of a Joey Tribiani (minus the whole "lying on the resume" thing, of course). Ever see that Friends episode with Joey’s dance audition? This one? (It won't let me embed the video...but I promise, it is worth the 4 min and 15 seconds to check it out)

Yeah, so I learned the easier combination and then the choreographer offered a little “add-on” for the intermediate/advanced dancers. Since I have zero years of formal dance training, I OF COURSE thought I should give it a try. So while the rest of my group went into the wings to continue working on the more basic dance combination, I and one other guy – who happened to be in ballet tights and a t-shirt (should have been my first clue that this was for professionals only) – stayed to learn the more exciting difficult impossible dance combination. Suddenly I was reliving that dance audition of Joey’s. The choreographer starts off slow and all of a sudden takes off like lightning (or whatever else is really fast). All I could do was stand there and stare blankly at her. I laughed (out loud, I think), picked my jaw up off the floor, and politely excused myself to the wings to play with the rest of the amateurs. So that’s how my audition went. Once we were actually doing the (easier) dance combination in front of the judging choreographers, I felt ok about it. But hmmmm...overall, I’m thinking if I get cast in one of these shows, it will be completely due to the grace of God. At least I got a fun (funny?) story out of the deal! And really, I love the entire process of theatre, even the audition process, so it was a great experience. Here's hoping for a miracle!

What a beautiful place to live!

So when Steve was looking into places for us to live here in Kansas, he started out looking at various rental houses. We really wanted to have a fenced yard for Norman to play in (ok, so part of it was that we missed the luxury of our yard at our previous home and were thinking ahead to the winter and being able to just open the door for Norman to go out and go potty). Of course, as we are on a pretty tight budget now, the houses we could afford were not necessarily in the best neighborhoods, so we went back to apartment hunting. Steve called me while I was in NY and said “I think I found a place for us to live.” Well…this place was definitely a God-thing. Here’s why:

1) It is right by this amazing park (that’s what drew Steve to it in the first place) which is our main source of entertainment right now! Oh, and the park has a huge outdoor theatre which I cannot wait to (hopefully) be involved with next summer! More on the park in a bit…
2) When we wanted to get some pics of the actual apartment we were wanting to rent, Steve asked the Admin. Asst. at his company if someone there would mind going and taking some pictures for us (we didn’t want to put a deposit down without seeing it, but we also didn’t want to lose the apartment either)…turns out one of Steve’s co-workers lives not only in the complex, not only in our building, not only on our floor, but RIGHT ACROSS THE BREEZEWAY from our apartment. He went and took tons of pics for us (such a huge blessing!) and we felt so much more at peace about everything. And the other perk about having them as neighbors is that I was able to watch their super sweet 17-month-old son when he was sick and the guys needed to attend a training meeting at work. I have always wanted to have the free time to be able to bless someone like that (and actually I got the blessing, because I got to snuggle with a sweet little boy for 3 hours while he slept and cuddled on my lap).
3) My dad’s cousin’s wife found out we were moving to this area, she said “I wish I would have known…I lived in Kansas for awhile and was in THE BEST apartment complex. I would have told them where to live!” Well, guess what?! We’re in that complex! And she’s right…it is an awesome place to live.

Since we are on our tight budget due to my not working (BTW, right now…LOVING the trade off. May have to remedy the "not working" situation in the future, but for now, I’m very much enjoying some time being a stay-at-home-wife!), anyhow...we are trying to find lots of cheap (read: free) things to do for fun! We happen to be very close to the best park I’ve ever seen. Shawnee Mission Park has just about everything. We have been there at least 3-4 times a week since we moved here. They have miles and miles of paths and off-path trails. Beautiful trees, a huge lake with a marina and canoe/kayak rentals, an off –leash dog park with a beach (though the dog park area is not fenced in, so it will not be an off-leash park for Norman), horseback riding trails, and even a hot air balloon launch area (which is good, because I was wondering where in the world I was going to launch my hot air balloon from around here! haha). Here are some pictures from one of our recent visits to the park.

Such a regal beagle we have! And no, that is not a muzzle (people always ask that).

We saw some pretty fall colors...the leaves were just starting to change.

Norman and I also did some exploring by the lake...

There are seriously miles and miles of paths like this...AMAZING!

And *this* is my heart all in one photo frame...

Isn't that just beautiful? We feel so blessed to have it close-by! When I go up to MN for a visit next month, I'm going to bring back our cross-country skis...won't that be so much fun this winter?! I also cannot wait until we are pushing a stroller...that will be even better! Anyone that comes here for a visit will definitely be introduced to our park!

Where have we been????

Wow...it has once again been awhile. I am such a blog slacker. It's been quite a busy few months here in the Irwin house. Back in March, our house sold (Praise God!) and we moved into an apartment (much to Norman's chagrin). Before our house sold, our realtor brought in a stager and our house looked like it belonged on HGTV! The ironic thing is that the guy who ended up buying our house saw the house the day *before* the stager came. So the whole staging deal was all for naught. Oh well, at least Steve and I got to enjoy a beautiful house before we closed! I have to admit, Steve and I were less than on-board when the realtor was insistent on a stager, but my goodness, look at the amazing work she did!

Here is the Master Bedroom (interesting choice to angle the bed):

Our Master Bathroom:

This picture cracks me up because our realtor brought in towels with the monogram "M" which reflects neither our name nor hers - they must have been on clearance...haha.

Living Room (I love, love, love the huge metal artwork she brought in for that wall!):

A view of our living and dining areas:

Another shot of the living room:

She purchased beautiful art for above our fireplace:

I also love what she did with the dining room, especially the big bowl of fake green apples:

We miss our house - A LOT - but are so, so, so thankful that we are now "unattached" and mobile if we need to move once Steve gets a job. God orchestrated the sale of our house just perfectly. We closed on the sale April 2nd, and in early May, there was a tornado that went through our old neighborhood and damaged several of the homes (including ours). We feel awful for the new homeowner, but have to admit we were so relieved that God sold the house before that happened. I can't imagine dealing with house repairs on top of trying to sell it, while preparing for Steve's graduation...all at once. Whew!

Speaking of Steve's graduation...that was actually just one of TWO big events in our family this spring. On April 24th, three weeks before the much-anticipated graduation event, my sister Christi married the love of her life and became Mrs. Matt Kunzweiler (is that not a super fun new last name?!). I had the huge privilege of being her Matron of Honor and I had the best time with her as we prepared for the big day. The wedding was in South Carolina and I was able to head out there a few days early. We had so much fun, and I once-again realized how blessed I am to have a big sister that I also call one of my best friends. Here are some pictures from the fabulous weekend!

The Wedding Party:

We took the pre-ceremony pictures at the home of Christi and Matt's good friends Mike and Colleen. They have a beautiful house and worked so hard to spruce things up for this occasion, affectionately referring to it as "Operation Biltmore" (after the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina).

Here is my new brother-in-law! This is such a great picture of him. We are so happy to have him in our family!

Here are my sweet parents. They're pretty stoked about this union as well! :) I miss you, Mom and Dad!

For the rehearsal, we made Christi a bow bouquet that was, in my completely unbiased opinion, one of the best ever made. :)

And here is the beautiful bride. Goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get married!

One of the reasons I love this picture (besides the obvious joy in Christi's face and her trademark Diet Coke in hand...hehe) is that we have the exact same shot from my wedding day. Not that Christi and I look alike or anything...haha...yes, we are definitely sisters!

After all of the partying, one of the flower girls spent some time "coloring"...didn't make it very far with the coloring. Adorable! I want a little girl just like her. She has the perfect mix of sweet and feisty!

Next was the big event we have been anxiously awaiting for almost four years...STEVE'S GRADUATION! On May 14th, Steve graduated with Special Distinction (yes, my husband is not only the sweetest, most gorgeous man on the planet, he's also a genius...sorry, ladies, he's taken!) from the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology. I couldn't be more proud.

This is Steve and Dr. Carr, the Director of the School of Meteorology. He was probably Steve's best teacher (he taught two of Steve's dynamics classes) and has a super fun accent (he's from the East Coast). Around our house, he is affectionately known as "Dr. Cah"

The happy couple! Maybe ecstatic is a better word. It's been a LONG four years...we are so grateful to have gotten to this point (seriously only by God's grace). The weather forced an indoor graduation ceremony, but nothing was getting in the way of our happiness!

We were so blessed to have our families come from both Minnesota and California to attend the festivities. They have been such a strong support system for us, and we are so thankful for them!

My sister-in-law Dawn and me:

My mother-in-law and I have a great relationship...we wholeheartedly support one another's chocolate habit.

So...busy few months, huh?? On top of all that, I also have been involved in a musical theater production of "Annie!" This is the first show I have done since Fall 2008, and I am having such a fabulous time! We have already completed two weekends of performances and have one weekend left (June 18th and 19th). If you are in the OKC area, you should come! The Jewel Box Theatre has re-opened their outdoor amphitheatre for the first time in a decade! Also, our little Annie is INCREDIBLE. Here's proof...a video taken by a local news station at one of our rehearsals.

Here is a picture of our star. I'll try to get more pics of the show with some more of my castmates and post them soon!

Whew! Now that I have typed this out, my lack of blogging makes more sense :) Things are slowing down a bit, though, and I will be more on top of it. And...stay tuned for a very exciting announcement coming soon!! I know...the suspense tactic...hope it works! I promise I won't keep you waiting long.

A Night at the Theatre...

Last night, my friend Andrea and I went to see one of our castmates from AGYG in Edmond North High School's production of The Wizard of Oz. It was so much fun and Leah was an amazing Dorothy. A talented--and very funny--cast, the elaborate sets, a fly wire to add a fun dimension to the tornado scene and Glinda's entrances/exits, and, of course, an adorable dog playing the role of Toto made it a fabulous show. It sure made me miss being on the stage, and it also brought back so many memories of my own experience as Dorothy almost 6 years ago (I would reprise that role in a second...hopefully I'll have the chance to someday!). Good times :) They have two more shows today to close out the run...2:00 pm (oops, it's 2 right now. Better hurry!) and 8:00 pm.

Go see it!

2008 Recap

It's amazing how fast a year can seem as you recap all of the fun (and even not-so-fun) times in one place, isn't it? Here is a copy of our Christmas letter that actually turned into a New Year's letter :o) I tried to scan the letter with the cool backdrop that was with it, but it just didn't work. Here's the text...

Greetings and Happy New Year!

2008 was filled with many blessings for the Irwins, as well as a few hardships. However, as we consider the past year, it is evident that God has blessed us immensely. A quick recap of our 2008:

We were able to wrap up our January with a whirlwind trip to Hawaii as we celebrated Steve’s Dad’s retirement as a pilot with American Airlines. We were blessed to be on Captain Irwin’s final flights to and from Hawaii. Though it was a very short trip (less than 24 hours in Hawaii, actually), we were so lucky to be able to share in that special time with family.

In March, we were blessed to be able to send Steve for a “Guys Week” with his Dad, where they spent time skiing in Mammoth Lakes (which I would venture to say may be the favorite place of each of them). From what I heard, it was a great time, and I even heard rumors of some beard-growing from my normally clean-shaven husband. Now if that isn’t a Guy’s Week, what is?

We received a surprise blessing in April, as we discovered we were expecting our first child! We were so excited and anticipated a December 21st arrival. Unfortunately, with that blessing came one of our hardships of the year…over Memorial Day weekend in May, Liesl miscarried our baby 10 weeks and 1 day into the pregnancy. How amazing, though, as we truly were lifted up by the prayers and support of our family and friends from all over the country. Thank you, Lord, for our friends and family! May was also the official half-way point of Steve’s schooling, as he completed his 2nd year at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology. He has continued his employment with the National Severe Storms Lab, even taking on a leadership role with the summer S.H.A.V.E. (Severe Hazards Analysis and Verification Experiment) project and gaining some valuable experience!

June was a fun-filled month for Liesl, as she had the opportunity to participate in a professional musical production of The Sound of Music with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma City. She was in the Nun Chorus, and made some valuable friendships through the experience.

In July, we were blessed with the opportunity to take a little vacation up to Branson, MO. Norman got to stay home with Grandpa and Grandma Irwin. It was the first time in Branson for both of us, and we really enjoyed it! We took a dinner cruise along the river, visited a couple wineries, spent a lot of time along the shops at the Promenade (highly recommend that!), and just enjoyed each other while Steve didn’t have to think about school/work, and Liesl had some time off work.

In August, before Steve started his Junior year of school, we had the opportunity to take a camping trip in some record heat. We made some memories, that’s for sure, with a heat index of 112 most of the time. Lots of cold showers, and sweating. Still, we do love camping and it was a wonderful way to wrap up our summer. Liesl was also blessed to be able to participate in another musical, Annie Get Your Gun, at the Jewel Box Theatre in Oklahoma City during August/September. She performed with that theatre last year, and it was fun to re-connect and also make new friends!

September brought some change. After almost 2 years with the Department of Surgery at the OU Health Sciences Center, Liesl was offered a too-good-to-pass-up opportunity with Chesapeake Energy Corporation. It is a great company that values their employees and she is really enjoying it. Another huge blessing.

In October, we were blessed to spend some more time with extended family as we headed to Colorado to be a part of Steve’s cousin’s wedding, and then we celebrated our 3rd Anniversary on October 8th. In November we had the privilege of hosting Liesl’s parents and brother for Thanksgiving. We sure miss our families, so we cherish the times we get to spend with them.

December has come and gone already…it’s hard to believe another year has passed. We wish your families many blessings as we celebrate the birth of God’s Son. In a time where the world has seen a lot of change and many hardships, it is a comfort to know we serve a God who is not surprised by any of this, and—better yet—has it under his sovereign control. What a blessing that is!

Hope you and your families had a wonderful holiday season, and we wish you a happy 2009!
With love,
Steve and Liesl Irwin

Annie Get Your Gun - 4 Months Late

Ok, so I promised about 4 months ago that I'd post pictures of Annie Get Your Gun...and as a part of my New Year's Resolution to blog more (I just made that up...I don't do New Year's Resolutions...but I really will try to blog more), I am finally making good on that promise. I can't believe 4 months have passed since my last show. Time has flown (sorta).

I had such a great time with this show...the cast was probably one of my favorites of the shows I've done in Oklahoma. And it's a good thing we liked each other, because the run was 4 weeks long with 22 shows (only two "off days" each week). The run was a huge success, and it was quite fun to do another show with the Jewel Box Theatre!

So...without further ado...enjoy these pics!

After a long absence...

My goodness, it's been too long since I last posted...and there is so much to update you on! Since I last wrote, I got a new job, finished a long run of "Annie Get Your Gun," and...well, I guess that has been all, now that I have it written down. But it's been BUSY! Our AGYG run lasted 4 weeks (Wednesdays through Sundays). Late nights, combined with early mornings for my new job (I have a bit worse of a commute, so I like to leave super early to try to avoid traffic). Pictures from the show coming soon, and also a longer update on my new job at Chesapeake.

Just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and kickin...just a bit exhausted and not having much time on the computer at home...

Stay tuned!

Some More Funny SOM Pics

Got these from a fellow nun. See what happens when you are only in 3 scenes for a total of about 17 minutes? LOTS of free time for these crazy antics. Haha...enjoy!

Next up? I just found out I made it into the cast of "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Jewel Box Theatre in Oklahoma City. Rehearsals start Monday...show opens mid-August. More fun theater adventures to be had!

The Sound of Music

Well...it was a fabulous run. Though I got very little sleep the last couple weeks, it was sure great to be on stage again. And to be in a show of this caliber...AMAZING. We ended with two great performances on Saturday (matinee and evening) and ended up performing for huge crowds (opening night on Tuesday was 1700, and I think the rest of the shows were comparable). I am now even more excited to audition for another show next week! The theater bug is one that bites you and hangs on...I love it...and have missed it. I made some wonderful new friends! Here are some pictures--my first attempt at a slide show. Enjoy! Some crazy stuff happens when you get a bunch of Nuns together :o)

The Hills Are Alive!

Yesterday I had my first rehearsal as a member of the Nun Chorus for Lyric Theatre's The Sound of Music. It was amazing to be a part of such a professional theatre atmosphere. There are 40 of us in the Nun Chorus and my goodness, these ladies sounded AMAZING! We were pulling off some 6-part harmony in some songs. Very cool. I'm so excited to be a part of this group.

We have the rest of this week off, and will pick up rehearsals most days next week. The show runs from Tuesday, June 24th to Saturday, June 28th. If you are in the Oklahoma City area and need a fun night out, I invite you to come see the show. Ticket information is available here.

Funny Story about the nuns...we met at the theatre yesterday to get into costume for a publicity photo shoot before our rehearsal. We then drove to a church in the area to take the pictures. The looks we received were priceless...a caravan of cars full of nuns driving down the road. And as we were running across the street from the parking lot to the church courtyard, I felt like I was in Sister Act! Fun times.