Hallelujah!

On Saturday night Marilyn and I continued the tradition we started last year by going to the Messiah Sing-In at Abravanel Hall.  This performance featured the Utah Symphony, the Utah Symphony Chorus, and some amazing soloists including Jessica Jones, Sarah Coit, Christian Sanders, and Markel Reed.  The audience is invited to sing along during the choruses and you can even purchase a copy of the score for $9.00.  Last year Marilyn and I had no idea about this tradition and we were basically just spectators.  This year we were prepared (we bought our copies before the performance) and I will tell you that it is a lot more fun to be a part of the action.  It actually brought back many wonderful memories of singing in the choir when I was in college.  Handel's Messiah is such a beautiful and stirring piece of music and it is so appropriate for the upcoming Christmas holiday.  It definitely gave me a big injection of Christmas spirit!  All of the soloists were amazing but I absolutely loved Markel Reed's rendition of  "The trumpet shall sound" and so did the crowd because he got thunderous applause!  Of course I also loved the "Hallelujah" chorus because it sounded so incredible with the acoustics in Abravanel Hall.  It was a lovely evening and I hope it will be a tradition for many years to come.

Note:  I may have been a bit boisterous with my hallelujahs because Marilyn gave me a look!

Halloween 2015

I have always really loved Halloween and this year it was so much fun!  The day started early with some pumpkin carving with Sean and Tashena.

Sean's pumpkin "Cyclops."

Tashena's pumpkin "Tinkerbell."

My pumpkin "Mr. Bonehead."

Marilyn's "Old School" pumpkin.

It has been a tradition for as long as I can remember to have chili on Halloween.  This year I made it and everyone came over to my house!

Sean was a mad scientist (although we all thought that his wig made him look like James Brown).

Since I didn't have very many trick-or-treaters, I told him he could have as much candy as he wanted!

Tashena was Tinkerbell.

Tashena and her friends came trick-or-treating to my house and it was an absolute riot!  They kind of took over my house for a little while.  They were all really nice, if exuberant, kids.  A really great day!

Note:  For several years Marilyn and I have had the tradition of going to a late movie on Halloween.  We saw The Martian in IMAX 3D (yes, I've now seen it four times).  It was really late when we drove home and we had to stop at UHP DUI checkpoint.  They asked us if we had been drinking and then simply let us go.  I thought that was hilarious.  However, there were some young teenage girls standing on the sidewalk who looked to be in a bit of trouble...

Thriller 2015

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is seeing Thriller performed by Odyssey Dance Theatre.  I've been going to this dance concert for years and years and I always look forward to it.  Just like The Nutcracker at Christmas time, I anticipate every dance even though I've seen them countless times!  The concert always begins with the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson's iconic song, "Thriller."  Speaking of the undead, they roam the aisles of Kingsbury Hall before the concert and they usually leave me alone because I don't make eye contact with them.  Last night they targeted me for some reason (maybe because I was on the front row?).  I loved the breakdancing mummy in "The Curse of the Mummy," the Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," the tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," the trio of Jasons with their knives and swords and chainsaws (oh, my!) in "Jason Jam," the scarecrows who come to life in "Children of the Corn," the condemned witches who return for revenge in "Salem's Mass," the acrobatic vampires in "The Lost Boys," and the doomed Irish dancers in "River of Blood Dance."  There were also a few new surprises this year which were a lot of fun.  All of the dancers are amazing and the show is incredibly entertaining and fun to watch.  It just wouldn't be Halloween without it!  Thriller is being performed in multiple venues around Utah through Oct. 31.  Go here for tickets and more information.

I Heart the Hard Rock Cafe

When I was in Las Vegas over fall break, I had to visit the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip.  Even though Las Vegas is known for its many famous restaurants, I always seem to end up there!  I guess it started in 1990 when I was on a study abroad trip.  I visited London for about a week and near the top of my wish list of places to visit was the London Hard Rock Cafe because it was the very first one and it has a lot of fabulous Beatles memorabilia.

I wanted a souvenir from the HRC but I didn't have a lot of money and the shirts were quite expensive.  I decided to get a pin instead and thus began my pin collection.  Whenever I am in a city with a HRC, I try to get a pin and I now have hundreds of them.  It is a fun tradition to have when traveling.

Berlin

Denver

Barcelona

San Diego

Rome

Note:  My favorite HRC is the one inside the Rogers Centre.  Go Blue Jays!

Drive-In Movie

Another summer tradition that I have with Sean is to see a drive-in movie.  We always go to the store and stock up on movie theatre candy and then pick a movie to see at the Redwood Drive-In.  This year I convinced Sean that we should see Jurassic World (with his parents' permission) and he was really excited about it but, as the movie progressed, he got a bit scared of the dinosaurs.  He even climbed to the back seat and hid his head during some of the battle scenes.  He spent the night at my house and it was a bit fun getting him to go to sleep!

Despite the scary dinosaurs and a major M&M spill in the back seat (I'm a little bit OCD), we had a lot of fun.  Drive-in movies always remind me of my childhood and I'm glad that the Redwood (one of the few remaining drive-ins still in operation) is available so Sean and Tashena can enjoy this summer ritual.

Summer Ritual

It seems like summer doesn't officially start for me until I spend a day at the pool.  It is a summer tradition that started with Tashena and now continues with Sean.  Yesterday Sean and I spent five hours at our favorite pool at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center and we both had so much fun (even though Sean had a bloody nose and I am now sunburned)!

2014

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2009

2008

Note:  Go here for the tutorial I used to make the cute swim bags out of beach towels (pictured above).

Ice Skating Downtown

On Friday I took Sean and Tashena ice skating at Gallivan Plaza.  It has become one of our winter break traditions (but I think they like the hot chocolate more than the skating).

2009

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Christmas 2014

Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful!

On Christmas Eve we have the tradition of opening one present and everyone gets Christmas jammies!  Here is the traditional photo of Sean and Tashena in front of the Christmas tree! I spent the night at my parents' house, much to the delight of Sean who wanted to watch the movie Elf.  He had it set up in the DVD player all day.  He also woke me up early Christmas morning to show me the letter Santa left for him!

Christmas morning!

Santa Claus left us lots of presents!

We draw names for stockings and I drew Tashena.  I got her the coveted Nike basketball socks, an iPod case, some headphones, and a gift card to Claire's.  Ironically, Tashena drew my name and gave me socks, several bags of my favorite candy cane kisses, brushes, some Burt's Bees lip balm (my favorite), and some storage boxes.

Tashena opening her presents.  This year she got a lot of clothes and jewelry!

Her big present was a TV.  She was very excited!

It is so fun to watch Sean open presents because he is so excited!  He got some Wii games, action figures, clothes, and a remote-controlled helicopter (which he played with all day)!

Sean's big present was an iPod (just like the one Tashena got for her birthday but in Hulk green instead of purple).

My favorite present was a pair of Dr. Martens boots.  I got a black pair last year and now I have a brown pair!  I love these boots because they last forever!  I also got some levis and sweaters, some DVDs, some new snow pants (I can't wait to go snowshoeing), and a Colorado Avalanche phone case!

Marilyn made Sean and Tashena rag quilts!  They turned out so cute and they were a big hit!

This is the aftermath!  It was such a good day.  I am so glad that my family is close and that we can spend holidays together.  I am so glad that Sean and Tashena are in our family because they make every holiday so much better.  I hope you had a wonderful day filled with family and friends!

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony New Year's Eve weekend.