Last week, we flew to Arizona so we could support Jared as he experienced his acting debut. The High School he works at (American Leadership Academy, a charter school) was slated to perform the musical "Newsies" and Jared wanted to be part of it, so he tried out for the part of Mr. Pulitzer, the owner of the newspaper. We were all surprised, but delighted to hear that he had gotten the part.
Jared's Bio in the Program:
Jared had never acted in anything before and had never sung a solo before an audience (except maybe at a Karaoke place), so I thought he'd be WAY too nervous when it came time for the performance, but he did an excellent job. He thrived on the attention and recognition he got from family and friends. Catherine was so proud of him!
Alan and I were able to watch two performances - Thursday night and Saturday night. Here's a picture of Alan and I with Jared after his first performance. We were the only family members there that night. Proud parents for sure!
I'm so glad that we were able to see him perform twice. He did great both nights. Cheryl, Eric, Kyle, Milo, and Clara were able to attend the final night's performance with us. We all thought the show was well done and that Jared did a great job.
Other things we were able to do while in Arizona was go out to eat twice. First to a Mexican Restaurant on Friday night - the day Eric & Cheryl arrived. We were seated outside on the patio. It was a fancy, expensive restaurant, but we weren't very impressed with the food, unfortunately. It was named Barrio Queen. Fun night, though.
On Saturday for lunch we ate at an Italian Restaurant called Bucca de Beppo. We had one big round table and ate family style. The food was great, but we ordered way too much food. Leftovers for Jared & Kyle the next day.
Spending time with Benjamin was fun, too.
He's such a good little baby and such a joy to all of us.
On Saturday, before eating at Bucca de Beppo, we went to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch for a little hike. I couldn't do much hiking, but the others walked around for a bit. Kyle saw this sign and thought it perfectly went along with our "Newsies" weekend as "Seize the Day" is one of the songs performed in "Newsies".
There were some different water areas at the Preserve.
It was a fun little place to visit. I didn't take many pictures there, though.
All in all, our trip to Arizona was a success. Being together with family is always high on my list. We were missing a few family members, but were thrilled that so many of us could gather for this important weekend for Jared. He says he's glad he did it, but considering all the time and effort he had to put into it, he may not do it again for a while.
