Melissa's wedding!

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

A post shared by Shelece McAllister (@coolshelece) on Feb 17, 2017 at 4:12pm PST

Today I had the chance to visit Payson Utah so I could be there for Melissa's wedding! I was so grateful that I was able to make it. Melissa's dress was gorgeous and perfectly Melissa. I didn't get to speak to her new husband much, but from the little I did, he reminded me a lot of her. They both seemed incandescently happy and I'm excited for them to start their new lives together.

There is something unspeakably beautiful about weddings... in particular that moment when the couple officially becomes man and wife for the rest of eternity. I wish I had words to describe it. I always get super sappy at that moment because there is so much joy in the room, and for just an instant, I feel like I'm glimpsing the couple's bright eternal future and all the possibilities ahead for them.

Melissa has had to wait so long for her happy ending and I'm glad it's finally here! It gives me hope for my future too.

Saving Sherlock: A Night at the Escape Key

Guys, tonight I helped save Sherlock Holmes' life!!!

Best Saturday night ever.

Tonight I got to check out a new Salt Lake attraction called the Escape Key (in honor of my awesome roommate's birthday--Happy birthday Melissa!!). Apparently, this sort of thing is very popular out east and overseas. Basically you are locked into a room with a deadline, and you have to solve a series of puzzles in order to escape.

We were in the "Anything But Elementary Room" based off Sherlock Holmes. It's designed to look like Sherlock Holmes' study. After you enter, a screen lights up with an incoming phone call from Inspector LaStrade. It seems Sherlock is on a case, and he desperately requires something from his study. He's trusted you, his good friends, to locate what he needs. But being Sherlock, it's not so easy as plucking something out of a desk drawer.

It soon becomes clear that the stakes are very high--you have an hour to act, or Sherlock will be dead.

I don't want to give too much away. :) But it was really fun, very cleverly done and challenging. You can't beat the thrill you get when you're the one to solve the next piece of the puzzle. Or the mounting pressure as the clock ticks away Sherlock's life. In the end, we solved the puzzle with 9 seconds to spare. NINE SECONDS!

Seriously, I felt like I was in the BBC version of Sherlock. One touch I really liked was helpful texts from "Watson." The proprietors monitor the room through cameras, and so occasionally they'll "text" you helpful hints (which appear on the screen) based on what they can see you doing. For me, that just made it more real. If I were in BBC Sherlock land and Sherlock had sent me on a mission, it seems totally legit that Watson would be my backup over the phone. I'd read him off clues and stuff I found or things that were stumped me, and he give back his insight. (We didn't text Watson back, he was just observant to what we were doing--and he was pretty hands off. He only stepped in when we really needed it, and his hints were small). I totally read all the Watson texts in Martin Freeman's voice.

I had a great time. The Escape Key is still pretty new, so not a lot of people have heard about it yet--consider this my attempt to spread the word!! If you live anywhere near the Salt Lake area, you should give it a try--way more fun and creative than your basic dinner and a movie night. Right now they only have the Sherlock room, but they are working on building CSI and Mission: Impossible rooms too. Check out their website for more info: http://www.theescapekeyutah.com/

The Count of Monte Cristo

I LOVE the Count of Monte Cristo. I love the movie, I love the book....and now I officially love the musical. :)

I heard that BYU was doing a musical version, but tickets got snapped up fast. I thought I would have to miss out. Then today Melissa facebook messaged me that they were releasing cheap tickets for a dress rehearsal tonight.

I read up a little bit on the show before we went. Turns out, it's an even bigger deal than I thought. It's a musical originally commissioned for a theater in Switzerland. It's done very well overseas, but this was the first time it's been performed in the US. 

Frank Wildhorn, the composer (a famous composer who's done many Broadway shows) was invited to perform a concert at BYU back in 2013 and to teach master classes to the BYU theater students. He was so impressed with the quality of their work, that he decided to do something essentially unheard of and debut his musical for the first time in America at BYU, before it goes to Broadway.

You can read more about it in this awesome article from the Deseret News: 

BYU readies English premiere of Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn's 'The Count of Monte Cristo'

Or you can watch Frank Wildhorn talk about it here: :)

Anyway, all of that really impressed me. I felt like I was getting to preview a Broadway show. And it felt very Broadway. (Okay, I've only ever seen Wicked, but still). The set and the special effects blew my mind. The actors were all super talented with amazing voices.

And the book was adapted beautifully into the musical, in a way that felt true to the original story. I loved it.

And I love that we got to see it on dress rehearsal night, even before the official opening night. We were some of the first people (on American soil, anyways) to see the musical! I loved it so much--I wouldn't be surprised if it's hugely popular once it hits Broadway. If you ever have a chance to see it, you should go!!

I think I'm going to reread the book.

Mitt Romney

So, Mitt Romney came to speak at BYU today.

Melissa and I headed up early to get good seats, and I snagged a couple for Shauna and Kristie too. We ended up about 6 rows back in the middle section.

It was crazy to see Mitt for real, after seeing him on TV so many times. Before he came, Melissa and I wondered what to do when he entered the room. For general authorities and dignitaries, we stand up quietly and wait until they are seated. But when Mitt came in, everyone erupted into applause, and soon almost everyone was on their feet.

BYU was super jazzed to have Mitt there. When the Dean got up to announce him as our speaker, people couldn't contain their excitement. "We are pleased to have as today's devotional speaker, former Governor of Massachusetts and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney." Applause and cheers so loud the Dean had to pause. Mitt smiled at all of us in return. "We are also pleased to be joined today by our special guest, Ann Romney, Mitt's wife." More enthusiastic cheering and applause. Mitt joined in and said something to his wife, which in my mind must have been very sweet, about how he appreciates her. "The Romneys also have many friends and family who have joined us in the audience." Again with the applause, just as loud and enthusiastic as the first round. Mitt cracked up. I did too. Yay, Mitt's friends and family!

The Dean commented that at this rate, they might have to cancel afternoon classes. That got the loudest cheers and applause of all.

And then of course, he also thanked the people who played the organ and lead the music for the opening hymn. Same thunderous applause for them. I thought it was hilarious.

Mitt shared a great message. You can read it in full here or even watch the video.

Someday, I'll Find My Waldo

 Happy Halloween, everyone!

I was Carmen Sandiego for the third year running. :) It's funny, people who recognize me are so happy to see that costume... but more and more of the BYU crowd don't know who Carmen Sandiego is anymore. Something must be done!!!

Melissa had a couple friends (Chelsea and Emily) join us for Halloween shenanigans, which started by going shopping to find Emily a costume, prior to catching the Provo River Halloween Cruise. We floated down the river as our brave pirate Captain Matt regaled us with the Cremation of Sam McGee, as we admired the jack o'lanterns and Halloween inflatables hanging over the water. (Jack o'lanterns give off really cool reflections in the water).

Then it was off to the Provo library for an epic photoshoot, some of the highlights of which I'll include here once I steal them from Melissa. :)

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Oh you know, just stealing national treasures from the Statue of Liberty.

The whole group (not at the library :)

Hats are not a good idea on windy nights.

Melissa and me with our roommate Macie

While we were there, we ran into no fewer than three other groups of people coming to the library specifically for picture taking purposes. A group of girl roommates, a group of guy roommates, and 2 couples on a group date. That cracked me up. I guess we are the selfie generation, and the Provo library is a very photogenic place!

So, you may or may not know that Carmen Sandiego and Waldo are a thing....

It's true. And so every Halloween, I make the requisite jokes. Maybe I'll run into a hot single guy dressed as Waldo and we'll joke about our costume choices, totally hit it off and....

Of course, every Waldo I ever meet is either dating someone already or not my type. Well, this year kept up the tradition. As we were finishing up our pictures round about 11:30 or so, we could see a Waldo approaching from afar.... with his girlfriend in tow. Naturally.

We actually got the two of them to take some group shots of us. While we were posing, Waldo asked me who I'm supposed to be. "I'm Carmen Sandiego," I said. He got a slightly confused look. "Wasn't she like, a cartoon character or something?"

Yep. Not only was Waldo taken... He was too young to know who Carmen Sandiego is.

Ugh. Oh well. Maybe next Halloween I'll finally find my Waldo.

Birthday Festivities

Well, I think I can safely say that this birthday was epic. :)

Melissa promised me birthday surprises on Friday. She made me promise to be off work at 5:15. At 5:15 on the dot, I came upstairs (oh, the joys of working from home!) with my purse, ready to go. Melissa was waiting patiently on the couch. A moment later, the doorbell rang, and we opened it to discover.... the Puppies for Rent delivery girl, with our very special guest, Jamie!

Puppies for Rent is this great company in town that takes unwanted puppies and helps them find homes. You can rent to adopt, or just rent for a little while (we had Jamie for an hour and a half). So far, Puppies for Rent has had a 100% success rate of finding homes for their puppies.

We took Jamie to the park to play. She was a little explorer, always wanting to run around and sniff everything.

After the delivery girl came by to pick her up, we grabbed our purses and headed out the door. Melissa turned the sound off on her Google maps and kept it tilted away from me when she consulted it, so I had no idea of where we were going until....

we arrived here!

Scheels is a giant sporting goods store that is almost like a mini-theme park, complete with animatronic presidents,

Why hello, Abraham Lincoln!

 photo opts with adorable animals,

 and even a Ferris Wheel!

Melissa remembered I'd had "ride a Ferris wheel" on my summer bucket list, but I didn't get to do it. So she looked up the nearest one, and voila! :) The funny thing is, I was so excited to go on it, but the first time we went around I freaked out. My fear of heights kicked in. Slowly, though, I got over it, and I ended up having a blast. I would like to go back and ride it again. :)

We ended up having dinner at Scheels. I tried my very first bison meat.

It was pretty good, but I'm probably not starting a bison farm anytime soon.

Now for obligatory pics where I pretend to be sporty:

I have it on good authority that I am holding this gun wrong.

Also, here is me with George Washington.

After Scheels, the night was not over. We headed over to Trafalga's Family Fun Center, where we had a rousing round of glo golf (I actually do pretty okay at mini-golf :) and laser tag. Laser tag was a blast--running around in the dark, with dramatic music playing. Unfortunately I need to work on my stealthiness, my aim, and holding the gun with both hands (I didn't have my left hand in the right position... for most of the game my gun was beeping loudly and proclaiming that I needed to hold it with both hands. I couldn't seem to find the sensor). I came in second to last... but it was still epic!!!

Then to finish things off, on Saturday, we went to see "The Giver" at the Dollar Theatre. It is waaay different than the book, but it has a beautiful message about agency and opposition in all things. I really loved it. :) If you haven't seen it, definitely Redbox it.

And then today, Elder Ballard came to speak at our multi-stake conference!!

All in all, it was an excellent birthday. A million thanks to Melissa for making it one of the best.

My Secret Spy Mission

And so, the birthday festivities continue!

Last night, Melissa and I went to Tucanos for my free birthday meal. If you haven't been and you love meat, you should try it... in your birthday month. Register for their birthday club. They are very pricey normally (we're talking $24/plate!), but if you are in their birthday club, you get a free meal... provided you have at least one other person paying full price. Melissa and I have a tradition of going for each other's birthdays and splitting the cost of the full price meal.

Tucanos is fun. You sit at your table, and servers bring around endless selections of meat. You take as much as you like. You have this little totem on your table that's red on one side and green on the other. When you want more meat, you leave the green side up. When you want it to stop coming, you flip it to red. Plan on not being hungry for like, three days after you go (gotta eat your money's worth, right? :)

Tonight, Melissa came downstairs before institute to invite me to go Geocaching. As this is my new favorite hobby, I was jazzed by this. First, we located a Geocache at UVU (we go to UVU for Institute). After Institute, Melissa drove us to a park in Provo where she'd heard that there was a good one. She wasn't quite sure where the park was, so we drove around for a bit to find it. We read through the clues carefully--it was hidden under a capstone. We weren't quite sure what that meant, and I couldn't see any stones around. But we set off across the park, until we came upon a stone wall, and we realized the top stones were stacked so there were gaps underneath them, and the top stones could be lifted off.

We started lifting stones to look, but they were so heavy it took two of us to do it (granted, Melissa was only using one hand, and I am a total weakling). We picked up a few with no luck. Then Melissa decided we should go systemically, one at a time, and the very next one happened to be where it was!

There was a coded message hidden inside along with the cache log. I didn't want to take it, since you're not supposed to take things like that out of the cache. I tried to take a picture of it with my phone so we could decode it later, but my phone was at 6% battery so it shut down right after I snapped it. I wasn't sure it saved.

But it did save and here it is!

Melissa's phone was at 17%, and we needed to conserve that to work the Geocaching app. She suggested we just take the cipher with us and bring it back later. "Is that allowed?" I asked. "Sure," she said, "I mean, no one else is going to come looking for this tonight."

So we took it and went on our merry way, to a third geocache hidden in a roundabout island. This is not your standard boring roundabout island--it had a tall rock wall, trees and bushes, 6 American flags, a "Provo Welcomes the World" Sign.... and it built up to a tall hill, but there were a few dips in it where someone could easily hide out of sight. We knew the cache was between two specific flags, so we were digging around looking for it when we heard rocks shifting, and all of a sudden a man appeared from behind a tree. We all stared at each other awkwardly. "Hi," Melissa said finally. "Hi," the man said, and then he disappeared. We could hear voices talking faintly, though, so we knew he wasn't alone. I figured he must be a geocacher too. Why else would he be in the roundabout median??? I thought it was weird he didn't approach, though. You have to be careful not to be caught by "Muggles"--non-geocachers. But we were clearly geocachers (still need to work on that whole stealth thing.....). Did he just want to find it himself?

We could hear voices the whole time we were there. I assumed they were just waiting for us to leave. Once we'd found the cache, we walked around so Melissa could photograph the "Provo Welcomes the World" sign. And... based on what we heard, I'm pretty sure that couple was watching a movie on a laptop in one of the dips. A strange (but definitely unique and private!) location for a date, but whatever... I wonder if they knew there was a geocache there or if they were really startled when someone else approached the median.

Anyway, we went back home, and I pulled out the cipher from the second geocache. I tried to solve it in the car, but I did the translation backwards at first, which resulted in unbearable gibberish. Melissa showed me the right way to translate it. We went back to the apartment, where Melissa sat next to me while I painstakingly deciphered it. I felt kind of bad that I was hogging it, so I tried to slow down a little a couple times and let her find the next letter, but mostly I just plugged along. I decoded most of it okay: "The upcoming year will rock! Just like you..." One word left. I thought this was a clever play on words, since we'd found it in a rock. I also thought it was an odd cipher. Melissa had said people hid this kind of thing sometimes, to lead you to another cache. But this just seemed like a generic positive phrase... I guess we can all use a little inspiration though! I wondered how long it had been there. Probably it was hidden in December, right before a new year rolled around.

There was one word left. It started with "Sh" and I could see it had three E's. "It's going to be my name," I joked. Yes, joked, because I am an idiot. I kept going and realized it was my name. But... what? That didn't make sense. Why would my name be in a random geocache cipher? "Wait... it is my name... That can't be right!" I did it again. My mind was racing (in a million wrong directions). There are other Sheleces in the world. Had we really stumbled upon a message written for another Shelece? What were the chances? Crazy.

I asked Melissa, "Will you please help me decode this last word? I keep getting my name... I guess that's just what's in my head..." Somehow she kept a completely straight face as she started helping. Meanwhile, in my head I pondered the possibility that somehow, one of my friends had hidden this for me. But how would they know we were going to that geocache? At this point I took a minute to read through the message again.

And that's when I burst out laughing. "The upcoming year will rock! Just like you Shelece."

The upcoming year... because it's almost my birthday! And Melissa knew we were going to that cache! I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. I blame my denseness and her awesome acting. I really never suspected anything (clearly)--I believed her when she wasn't quite sure where the park was. I thought it was really good luck when she started systemically searching the rocks, and stumbled across the cache on her first try. I worried a bit about taking the cipher out of the cache, but she was right that we could just bring it back later...

Hahaha... the whole thing cracks me up. :) Melissa knows I love geocaching and that I loved playing spies as a kid, so she set up my very own geocaching spy cipher adventure. It was the perfect chance to channel my inner child. I had a blast, and I'm very excited to see what else she's come up with for my birthday celebrations. She's promised me more surprises tomorrow night, and I have a feeling they'll be amazing.

Thanks Melissa!! You're the best! :D

Geocaching

So.... embarrassing flashback story number #5,314...

When I was a kid, I loved playing spies.

I don't know why, but I particularly loved playing this game at my grandparents' house, often with my sister Shauna and my cousin Natalie. I came up with all these ridiculous missions that involved sneaking around trying to be stealthy.

Well, I think I've found the grown-up version of Spies. This last weekend, my roommate Melissa and I went Geocaching! It was my first time.

If you're like me, you might have heard of Geocaching, but you don't know quite what it is. It's basically like a never ending treasure hunt that requires GPS. Once you sign up on their website (it's free!) and download their app, you have access to all this treasure. Your map lights up with circles representing caches people have stashed all over the place. Here in Provo, Geocaching is fairly popular, so there are TONS.

You pick a dot, follow the map until you're in range, and then you can read the hints for what you are looking for and where it is. Then you commence searching the area to find it, being as stealthy as possible--you don't want Muggles (non-Geocachers) to see you.

Here's me with one of the three caches we tracked down Friday night:
(slight spoiler alert for Geocachers in Provo....)



Uber spoiler alert: It was hidden inside a fence post that turned out to be hollow with a removable top. How cool is that?!?

I still need to work on the stealthy part. :) But I had a blast trying this out. I love that you can do it anywhere. And I like the whole "secret club" aspect of it too... I don't wanna be a Muggle!

Right now I'm trying to convince all my friends and family to give it a try too. If you haven't, you really should!

Les Miserables

Melissa and I went to see Les Miserables at the SCERA Outdoor theatre. It was excellent--the performers were all very talented. I think in some ways I liked it even better than the movie.

There are so many deep themes to enjoy in the musical--so much of it is the law of justice versus the law of mercy. If there are any other Les Mis fans out there up for deep analytical discussions... let me know!

Cue epic musical number:

Leo!!!

Today Melissa rented a puppy and she let me come play with it too. :)

Meet Leo!

I think we wore him out.

He was adorable and so friendly! Anytime a new person came by, he would run up to them and lick him. Clearly he felt that all people are friendly and good. He's been treated very well and he's loved to love everybody. I've heard that Puppies for Rent helps socialize their puppies so they are friendly for life... Leo was a prime example of that!

Journey to the Past

Yesterday, Melissa and I drove out to Vernal to see some of the sites there (as a matter of fact, there ARE sites in Vernal! :)

Of course Vernal's claim to fame is the Dinosaur National Monument. Inside their Quarry Exhibit Hall, you can see dinosaur bones still embedded in the mountain.

Then we were off to a hidden gem called the McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs. Several beautiful petroglyphs were found carved into the rocks on a private ranch. The ranchers are nice enough to let people come visit. They only ask that you leave $4 in a donation box at the base of the trail. (And there is a fridge there too, where you can buy a water bottle or a soda can for a dollar a piece). They've also set up a nice hiking trail to get up to the petroglyphs--just rocky and steep enough to bring out your inner kid and play explorer.

Inside the shack at the trailhead. You could leave a sticky note with your thoughts on the petroglyphs.

This one is my favorite. Doesn't it look like a happy little family?

Finally, we ended our day by going to a session at the beautiful (and historic) Vernal Temple. It was originally built as a Tabernacle in 1907, and converted to a temple in 1997. After the session, Melissa asked a temple worker if there was any special paintings or artwork in the temple. She was nice enough to give us the grand tour of all three floors! It is a beautiful beautiful temple. My favorite part is the stained glass window at the front, which shows the Savior as a shepherd with a flock of sheep. I tried to take a picture of it, but none of mine quite turned out, and I can't seem to find a picture on the web... Does anyone else have a picture?!?

All in all, it was a lovely day, and I'm glad we went! Here's to more summer adventures to come. :)

Update:

A picture of the stained glass window, courtesy of Melissa. :)