"Annie" with Mikayla

I think I'll just use the pictures to narrate this - suffice it to say, we had a magnificent time.....

One of my biggest concerns about the whole thing was navigating downtown Portland by myself (with no other adult, I mean). We had reservations about 12 blocks away from Keller Auditorium at Jake's Grill - so I was nervous about where to park there, and then making the timing right to find Keller Auditorium and find parking there. We arrived about 10 minutes before our reservation, so this is a picture taken by a kind person while we were waiting.


This is Mikayla talking to Brayden and Daddy about their experiences while we were waiting. We weren't able to overlap, so I'm thankful we had the foresight to take two vehicles (not to mention the horrifying idea of trying to drive John's brand new vehicle and park it in downtown Portland..... ahhh!)



We got the most amazing deal on our tickets - and to top it off, she threw in a coupon for deals of local restaurants the night of the performance. Here we are in this super nice restaurant and our bill came to $12.85! Talk about a cheap date.... The highlight for me of Jake's Grill were these amazing onion rings - seriously the best I've ever had. We were obviously in "awe" when the plate was brought to us- and despite eating at them for quite a while, we barely made a dent!


It was such a huge relief to finally get into Keller Auditorium and find our seats. I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed as it was further back than I'd hoped, but I knew I still had to count my blessings that we had tickets at all and they definitely could have been much worse.


Mikayla couldn't wait for it to begin - the point in which the orchestra did a medley of the songs prior to the curtain raising was just killing here - "when are we going to see Annie?". I found myself clutching her hand and tearing up right off the bat (my favorite scenes all happen right at the start). Mikayla asked quietly if I thought "Annie" should be on American Idol..... when she started singing. Hee-hee! Her favorite part was the smallest orphan imitating Miss Hannigan during, "It's a Hard Knock Life". Absolutely, the entire program was first class, absolutely captivating!


Mikayla barely kept her eyes open during the final scenes, but thankfully managed to stay awake until getting to the vehicle. Despite her desire for getting ice cream for dessert, sleep won out - and I carried her in to the hotel room and plopped her on the bed - and then snapped this shot. What a wonderful evening!