2016: Year In Review

This year has definitely been one for the books!  I can't believe everything I was able to do and experience this year!  Here are some of the highlights.

Snowshoeing Trip

Sundance Film Festival

Camping Weekend

Avalanche Road Trip

Theatre Trip to NYC (Wicked, Hamilton, Finding Neverland, The Lion King, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, She Loves Me, and Waitress)

Weekend at Bear Lake

Road Trip with Sean (Four Corners Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park)

Adele Concert in Chicago

Adventures Down Under (Melbourne, Alice Springs, Kangaroo Sanctuary, Hot Air Balloon over the Outback, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda Rainforest, Sydney Harbour Cruise, Sydney, Whale Watching, Beautiful South Island of New Zealand, Milford Sound, Hobbiton, and Auckland)

Weekend of Hockey in Toronto

The highlight of the year was definitely getting to see the original cast of Hamilton on Broadway!  That is an experience I will never forget because I anticipated it for so long and it exceeded my expectations in every way!  What an amazing year!  I am thinking that 2017 might be a bit quieter but the beauty of a brand new year is that you never know what to expect!  Happy New Year!

Purple Rain

As with David Bowie several months ago, I was inexplicably saddened by the news of Prince's death.  I say inexplicably because, clearly, I do not know either of these musicians personally (although Marilyn and I saw David Bowie walking through the streets of London when we were there in 2010) which makes my grief seem somewhat excessive.  However, I believe that music is incredibly evocative.  Just one note can take me back to a particular time and place so when artists who are synonymous with my adolescence die it is like losing a piece of myself.  Whenever I hear a song from the Purple Rain soundtrack I instantly become the 16 year old girl who snuck into the movie with her friends (because it was rated R and they wouldn't let us buy tickets without our parents) during the summer of 1984.  That was a magical summer and seeing Purple Rain with my friends was very memorable and so much fun (we felt like such rebels).  When I heard that select AMC Theaters would be showing Purple Rain as a tribute to Prince this week, I knew that I had to get a ticket.  I saw it last night (I didn't have to sneak in this time) and it was awesome!  The theater was packed without a single seat available (on a Tuesday night!) and the crowd was rowdy, singing and cheering throughout the whole movie.  That it has the thinnest of plots (a tormented singer must deal with his inner demons in order to find love and success) and a terrible lead actress matters not.  Prince is the ultimate showman and this movie is at its best when he is on stage at the real-life Minneapolis club First Avenue.  My attention was riveted on his every move, especially during "Let's Go Crazy," "The Beautiful Ones," and, of course, "Purple Rain."  I was surprised at how tame "Darling Nikki" seemed to me now because it was pretty scandalous back in 1984!  Seeing Purple Rain on the big screen made me mourn Prince all over again because, in reality, I am really mourning the loss of the 16 year old girl who loved this movie so much!

Note:  When I heard that Prince had died, I was with my officers and the majority of them didn't know who he was.  I played snippets from my extensive collection and the only song they vaguely recognized was "Kiss."  What?

2015: Year In Review

Snowshoeing at Soldier Hollow - January 2015

Jazz Game with Sean - February 2015

Colorado Avalanche Road Trip - March 2015

Disneyland - April 2015

Memorial Day Weekend Camping Trip - May 2015

Colorado Rockies Game - June 2015

Utah Shakespeare Festival - July 2015

Sundance Summer Theatre - August 2015

A New House - September 2015

Zion National Park - October 2015

Make-A-Wish - November 2015

Jazz Game with Sean and Tashena - December 2015

Honorable Mentions: Star Wars, U2 concert in Denver, Taylor Swift concert, Newsies in Los Angeles, and the Sundance Film Festival.

I think 2015 has been very memorable in a lot of ways!  I can't wait to see what 2016 brings!  Happy New Year!

I Heart Road Trips

Recently, I took my car to the dealership for some routine maintenance and the technician recommended that I replace all four of the tires.  Since I replaced all four tires less than two years ago, he thought that they would certainly be under warranty...until he looked at my mileage!  The poor man was incredulous that one person could put so many miles on a private vehicle!  I wasn't surprised in the least.  I absolutely love going on road trips.  There is something so invigorating about taking to the open road for an adventure.

In the span of one year, I've driven to southern Utah three times (for a spring break trip to the national parks, for a leadership conference at Dixie State University, and for my annual trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival), to Denver twice to see the Colorado Avalanche play the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames, to Las Vegas to see the Cirque de Soleil show Love, to Montana for an incredible week at Yellowstone National Park, and to South Dakota to satisfy a whim to see Mount Rushmore, not to mention all of the weekend trips here and there.

I suppose my love of road trips stems from my childhood.  My Dad thought nothing of making a few sandwiches, playing the Beatles as loud as he could, and strapping us in for extended adventures.  Just about every summer we would drive to Canada (it takes three days there and three days back) to visit my Dad's family and we would always stop anywhere my Dad thought noteworthy (Devil's Tower in Wyoming, Wall Drug in South Dakota, the Corn Palace in Nebraska, just to name a few).  Oh, the memories and the stories I could tell (ask me about the Canadiana Motel).  I guess my thirst for adventure was inherited!

The school year is almost over (seven days, but who's counting?) and my car will soon have four brand new tires so I am itching to get out on the road.  I have a trip to Denver planned (to see a U2 concert and the Colorado Rockies), I've registered my new SBOs for the leadership conference at DSU, and I just bought tickets for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  I may have a few more trips in the works and I couldn't be more excited!  Now, can anyone give me a good deal on tires?

California Dreamin'

The trees are not brown and the skies are not grey (in fact Utah has had one of the mildest winters I can remember) but I am still dreaming of California!  Spring break starts for me tomorrow (I am taking a few extra days off) and I will be on my way to California in the wee hours of the morning!  I get to spend three days at Disneyland, a day at the Santa Monica Pier, and I get to see the musical Newsies at the Pantages Theatre in L.A. on Friday night.  I am so excited!  In the meantime, here are some of my favorite adventures in California.

Sea World

San Diego Padres game

San Diego Zoo

Wicked

Tour of the U.S.S. Midway

The beach

Summer Concerts

There are so many great concerts coming to SLC this summer.  It seems like a new concert is announced every week and I keep buying tickets!  It looks like 2015 might be the Summer of Concerts and I am so excited!  It all started with Taylor Swift.  By the way, I read somewhere that life is too short to pretend that you don't like Taylor Swift so I will admit right now that I am a huge fan!  I debated and debated about getting a ticket but I decided to go for it (I had to use an alternate ticketing source because the SLC show sold out in minutes) because I really regret not seeing the Red tour.  Then I bought tickets to Rush!  I actually bought these tickets as soon as they went on sale which was in the middle of one of my classes.  I am the consummate professional!  I also have tickets to Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Sam Smith, and Shania Twain!  Then last week U2 announced that they were adding a show in Denver to their schedule!  Squeal!  I have loved U2 since I was in eighth grade and I have seen them in concert every time they've come to SLC (SLC is currently not on their schedule).  I was toying with the idea of getting a ticket to one of the Chicago shows but it will be so much easier for me to get to Denver!  I was able to get a ticket and I am beyond excited!  The show is on the first day of summer vacation and I can't wait!

Here are some of my favorite summer concerts from years past.

U2 at Rice-Eccles Stadium - May 2011

The Eagles at Rio Tinto Stadium - May 2009

Paul McCartney at Rio Tinto Stadium - July 2010

Crosby, Stills & Nash at Red Butte Garden - August 2012