I think I'm a bit of both.

Last night we had the pleasure of attending the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Stowell & Sendak version of The Nutcracker.  If you remember him, Maurice Sendak was the children's author/illustrator who is best known for his book, Where the Wild Things Are.  The sets/artwork for the ballet were really reminiscent of his other work (as I guess they should be.) 


Let me tell you, it was a magical performance.  I am not being facetious when I say this.  I was blown away.  The sets, the costumes, the music, the "snow" falling from the ceiling during sugar-plum fairy scenes, the gigantic rat that took up most of the stage (and writhed his 15 foot tail across it) during the battle scene; the entire performance was visually and aurally stunning.  I heard Anna next to me say things like, "Oh, my gosh…" and "A-mazing…" throughout the performance.  I kept having to remind myself that the orchestra was actually playing all the sounds we were hearing down in their sub-floor level pit.  Christa remembered being just as impressed with the ballet the last time we watched it four or five years ago.  I guess I didn't remember how EPIC it truly was.

Enjoy the pictures.  (Sadly, you're not allowed to take any during the performance.)