"The Ten Dollar Founding Father" ...

All summer I was playing the lottery - well, the Hamilton lottery that is - in hopes of winning super cheap tickets to see the show at The Kennedy Center. I could barely believe our luck when Andy informed me that the entry I did under his name had won us tickets for a Saturday matinee. What!? I was so excited to get to bring Adam to see this show - he has been loving the music since I first saw it last fall (here) and Alexander Hamilton was also who he chose to be for the wax museum (see here.)

The tickets were $10 each - which is just crazy. The only catch was the person who won the tickets had to be the one to pick them up from Will Call. So a small hiccup but we made a little family outing of it as well all went downtown together to get the tickets. We were a little nervous wondering what seats we might get - they warn you that your seats might not be together and that your view might be hindered. However upon picking up our tickets we learned that not only were our seats next to each other (phew!) but we were literally in the 2nd row!? Holy cow!

Once we had tickets in hand we still had 2.5 hours before the show so we took advantage of having Andy & Harper with us and did a little picture taking on the rooftop terrace of The Kennedy Center. It was a beautiful day and I was having a flood of memories of times I got to go see shows there with my parents.  

Harper was loving all the fountains and admittedly was bummed that he wasn't also going to get to see Hamilton - as he's become quite the fan of the music as well - just ask him what he wants to listen to in the car and he'll quickly tell you Hamilton - and he'll sing along. 

After dropping us off for lunch, Andy and Harper headed home and from there it was a Mommy and Adam date for the ages! We had a fun lunch sitting outside at the DC waterfront - we watched the fancy boats pull up and played a lot of tic-tac-toe. Then it was time to walk back to The Kennedy Center for the main event. 

Once we got to our seats we honestly could not believe our luck. Turns out everyone in our row was lottery winners. We had an amazing view and the show was unbelievable! I know everyone says it but there really is nothing like this - the music is wonderful, the performances are out of this world, and all the while you're getting this history lesson - I continue to be so thankful to Lin Manuel Miranda for that. Adam was all smiles the whole time (except the kissing parts where he'd cover his eyes) and I know he'll remember that experience for a long long time. 

So thankful that we "did not throw away our shot" and got to "be in the room where it happened." 

Alexander Hamilton...

One of the big projects the 3rd graders complete each year is the Wax Museum. The students all pick someone to write a biography about and then they develop a poster and dress up like them. The parents (and the other grades) are invited to visit the wax museum and you are encouraged to go around and ask questions of all the famous people on display. Adam had said back in September that he was going to do JFK (not sure where that came from but we were on board) but after Hamilton fever crept into our household back in October there was just no other choice than for Adam to be the immigrant orphan who helped win the Revolution and who served as our very first Treasury Secretary.

The last song in the musical is titled - "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story" and I was so happy to see Adam step up to help tell Alexander Hamilton's.

"I want to be in Monticello..."

Ever since I introduced the boys to "Hamilton" back in October it's been a pretty big obsession around here. It's played during almost every car ride and "Alexa" has been requested to play songs from it on nearly every visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house. So when we had the thought to camp near Charlottesville for a long weekend we knew we had to take Adam to see the home of Thomas Jefferson.

I wish the weather had been just a tad warmer (ok, really I wish it had been a good 30 degrees warmer because it was windy and as cold as could be) but that's just a good excuse to head back down again in the summer or fall so we can better explore the grounds.

Adam loved the tour of the home though and while I'm usually not big on tour guides I did find myself enjoying getting to hear all the stories about Thomas Jefferson & the many guests he had hosted there - James Madison, Lafayette, etc - all exciting names for Adam to hear - and while we wanted to we never broke out into song.

Hamilton...

I took a trip up to my office in NY a couple weeks ago and got an amazing surprise of getting to go see Hamilton on Broadway!!! I really have the best boss in the universe! We met up with a friend of his (she's an actress and she's got a sitcom she's writing that just got accepted into the Austin Film Festival - so exciting - hope it comes to our tv screens soon!) and his daughter Chelsea, who I always love getting to see. 

I really had no idea what to expect with this show as I had avoided listening to any of the music - not sure why but I guess I was just waiting for the day I'd get to experience it fresh and in person! Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! Those performers are incredible and I don't know how they do that eight times a week -it's insane! 

I bought the soundtrack on my way home from NY and can honestly say I haven't stopped listening to it since. It truly is a history and civics lesson rolled into a masterful piece of art. Even Harper has learned the words to some of the songs! I have a new found thirst to understand our nation's history and I can't wait to read more about Alexander Hamilton - and even more excited to learn more about his wife, Eliza. 

What a night and I can't wait to see it again!!