Friday, November 16, 2012

Friday Favorites {No. 12} Living the Dream



This week's pictures hold memories that will be with me until the day I die.  On Wednesday I travelled with my Mom, two of my sisters (Jessica and Natalie), and a group of dear friends to see "Les Miserables" live at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago.
Yes, I believe in dreams coming true.

We chatted, sang, and laughed all the way to Chicago (about a two hour drive for us).


Caleb and Samuel are the younger brothers of a dear friend of mine.  The three of us got put in the back of the fifteen-passenger van and had SUCH a fun time!


Once we were in the city (a first for most of us), we definitely looked like newcomers!  Taking pictures of everything, even just of the people hurrying around!
Whenever trains passed over us, one or two girls would yell: "They're coming for us!"


Amazing buildings...




My Mom said, "I felt like Jessie's face looked the whole time we were there!!!"


*Incredibly happy sigh*


Three sisters under the sign... If you look in the distance in the middle-right, you can see the lights of the Theatre.  (Thanks, Mom, for the pic!)


Walking the streets of Chicago... met many interesting people!


The Cadillac Palace Theatre... still in awe.


Oh my... oh my... oh my!


Happy people!  (Thank you, Kimberly, for taking this!)


The amazingness wouldn't stop!!!


Thrill!


The city was so amazingly beautiful...


We had so much fun with all of the revolving doors!  Natalie and her friend, Emily, would stand in front of it, "One, two, three, GO!" and dash in.

Yes, we definitely aren't from the big city.


We ate wonderful Mexican food while we waited for the Theatre to open.





I still can hardly believe I've seen "Les Miserables" LIVE!


The whole experience was so mind-blowing.



Just a wee bit excited...


Lovely group of young people.


Natalie and Emily!


Me... too thrilled to look normal in my pictures!  (Thanks, Natalie, for taking my pic after I threw my camera into your hands, squealing, "Take my picture!")


Mom, Me, Natalie, and Jessica... bursting with excitement!  (Thanks, Kimberly, for getting the four of us together!!!)


I sat Row D Seat 10.  We were in the balcony (front row)... I had a perfect view of everything!!!


We still had time to kill before the theatre opened, so we splurged and got ice cream!


Finally... inside the Cadillac Palace Theatre.  Astonishing!




Just being inside this building was incredible!


One picture of the stage before an angry lady working there sharply told me, "No pictures in here AT ALL!".  I put my camera in my purse faster than I thought possible.  :-)

Then the lights faded... and BOOM... the pounding of drums and what sounded like a hundred violins... Natalie and I gripped each others' hands for the first several scenes.

It was even more incredible than I ever imagined.  The singing, the orchestra, the sets... I am still waiting for my heart rate to go down and my mind, emotions, and senses to return to normal.  If I think about it too much for too long I almost start to cry.  It was so hard falling asleep once we got home!

It is impossible to describe how beautiful, how overwhelming, this night in my life was.


I won't be posting for the next week or so as I am leaving for another trip with my husband and a friend on Saturday.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

God bless!


4 comments:

Michaela said...

Oooooooooh, so awesome, Rachel! There is NOTHING, absolutely nothing, like the theater experience. Gives me goosebumps just seeing these pics. I'm reliving it all. And oh my, gorgeous theater lobby! o.O (and of course the lady IN the lobby is beauteous too. ;) ) The shot of you in the balcony reminds me of our Palace theater in Cleveland.

So is Justin Scott Brown still the touring cast's Marius??

Anonymous said...

You captured it well! What a special day that we can always remember together! Just sitting here smiling!!!
Love you,
Mom

Rachel J said...

Michaela~ I know... Nothing will ever compare to the theatre experience! I'm still overwhelmed by it all!
No, Marius was played by a young man named Max Quinlan. I've always been very critical of the men who play Marius, but the one I saw was fantastic!!! He sang beautifully and played the character so well!

Well, back to the real world... with the flag still waving and songs still playing in my head.

God bless!
Rachel

Sereina said...

Love all the pictures! Glad you had such a wonderful time. :)