Why Post?

If all you had to go by was this blog, you'd probably think that we had a very lame life. No real people, just lots of shows. 'Those poor Reeses, don't they have any real friends?" Well, here's the skinny: my sisters have excellent blogs. If you know us, then you know which of my listed 'blogs to see' I'm talking about. There are great pix of some amazing family times. Here's one of my personal favorites:
We're at a real house (besides ours), with real people, and celebrating a real birthday (Emma's first). I simply stole it from someone else's blog. If you find that blog, don't miss the 'slippery fish' video. Thanks to my sisters for documenting our life!

Don't worry, this isn't the white flag of surrender: we're off to the Ballet (btw, it's way more fun to say BAHley) tonight, and if you're very, very lucky, it'll be fodder for a new post.

Encore!

Greek Tragedy Opera?

Occaisonally we get free Opera tickets from work. Tonight was Elektra - and it was the scariest, darkest opera I've ever seen. The music was amazing:

Elektra features some of Strauss’s most voluptuous music—the magnificent score, an enormous stream of orchestral sound, ranges from lush melodies to unearthly effects.

But the story! It's an old Greek tragedy, Agamemon. Think Hamlet, but women instead of men, and lots of screaming. I mean singing. In German. It sounds meaner in German. Check it out:

Scary German Greek Tragedy Opera Preview

Whew!

YeeeeHaw!

Yes, folks, we stepped right up, and went to the Puyallup Fair in the rain yesterday. We thought it wouldn't been crowded because of the rain, but it sure was! We had a great time: The 4-H barns reminded us of family members who spent untold hours raising, showing, and judging livestock. The FFA displays brought to mind some of those same relatives, and all the good times they had in that organization. I was fascinated by Grange displays, and in awe of the crafts that were entered. I am comforted to know that canning, knitting, sewing, tatting, crochet, and all the other crafts are not dead, not even in Western Washington! We ate some very tasty, very bad for us food, and each of us pledged to never let the other be shot up into the air while attached to any form of bungee cord.

Whew! Thank goodness for County Fairs! It was nice to leave shiny, urban, liberal Bellevue, and get a taste of places where there's room for livestock, where handwork matters, and I can eat a corn dog while Nate enjoys Red Cassock from the Piroshki booth. Next year, we're going to the Rodeo, and we can't wait!

Religion, anyone?

Are you religious? As most of you know, I am. In fact, my faith is very important to me. I recently heard about someone I know well who has denounced his faith, and consequently, my faith. It's been on my mind.

So tonight, Nate & I decided to relax (since it's Friday), and the only movie we thought looked remotely worth seeing was Traitor with Don Cheadle (one of my favorites). It really resonated with me. At first I thought it was a powerful experience simply because today is September 12. But then I realized, here is a beautiful, serious movie where religion in modern life is not perceived as something to overcome or suffer through. It was an intense, sometimes horrifying meditation on the power of faith for both good and bad. So! Go see it, but don't expect to laugh.

I promise, back to my usual, cheerful blog next time!

Hooray for Marriage!

So Nate's brother Jeff got married to Chelsey a couple weeks ago, and they are fabulous!


This weekend we got to celebrate in Spokane, and see lots of family. The reception was lovely, and lots of people came.

Congrats Jeff, and welcome to the family, Chelsey!

An Ode to Nieces

Have you ever seen anything cuter? I'm sorry for the niece-rave, but can you blame me, really?

Emma in Maui:



Madeline in Houston at a wedding:


Riley starting Preschool:

What a gorgeous group!

Ed Herrmann at war

Grandma worked in movies. Did you know? She was an assistant to Kieth Merrill (he did Legacy, and a lot of IMAX films). She'd pick up the stars from the airport, and do all of Kieth's, uh, assisting. Anyway, we ran across an old VHS copy of one of Kieth's movies, Harry's War. Never heard of it? No one did. The protagonist takes a stand against one of our nation's powerful agencies (which will remain unnamed, because I don't want an audit) and makes them look bad. Said agency (this was 1981, mind you) really didn't like the unfavorable light the film cast on them, and didn't allow it to be shown in theaters. I think Kieth got audited 5 times over the next 5 years. (This is a completely unverified family story, so the details may be slighty exaggerated, especially given Grandma's reputation as a storyteller, but sure is fun to tell.) Anyway, we dusted off the tape & the VCR, and had a great evening! If you can get your hands on a copy (not at Blockbuster, only a couple on Amazon), you'll laugh. Lot's of great explosions too! Thanks, Grandma, for the hookup.