Christmas 2024

Yesterday was a lovely day!  I celebrated Christmas with my family at my sister Kristine's house and everything was planned by my nephew.  We exchanged stockings (I had Sean and Trent had me) and then we opened presents while it snowed outside (it was quite magical).  I got a quilt, sheets, and pillows for my new bed, an air fryer (which I am really excited to start using), some new shoes, and the movie Dune Part Two (which I am really excited to watch).  We were all very spoiled this year!  After opening presents we continued the tradition started by my mom of having cinnamon rolls and orange juice (this year Kristine made the cinnamon rolls and they were delicious).  In the afternoon we had a wonderful dinner of chicken cordon bleu, twice baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, fruit salad, and rolls.  In the evening we ate lots of treats and played Shanghai rummy, which always gets crazy (I won), then had pie.  It was such a great Christmas and I hope all of you also had a nice day with family and friends.

Nathan Pacheco Christmas Concert 2024

I tagged along with my sister Marilyn and her friend Kelli to Nathan Pachecho's Christmas concert at Abravanel Hall last year and I loved it so much I got a ticket for this year's concert and tagged along again (although this year I was one of the cool kids and was invited to dinner at Little America before the show). The concert was last night and, once again, Pacheco put on an amazing show. He began with "God Bless Us Everyone" from the movie Scrooge and "Hark! The Herald Angel Sings" and then told the crowd that it would be an eclectic evening with both Christmas songs and other songs he likes to perform. Then he proceeded to sing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera Turandot, "Questa O Quello" from Verdi's opera Rigoletto, and "Time to Say Goodbye" just because he can (he is a classically trained tenor with an incredible voice). He called the next section the musical theatre portion of the concert and sang "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables (this gave me goosebumps) and "Who We Become" from his own musical Beloved. Next came emotional renditions of "Come As You Are" and "Forever" from his album Higher. He returned to Christmas songs with a beautiful performance of "Mary, Did You Know?' and then continued with "Angels We Have Heard on High," "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (this was a dramatic arrangement featuring the cello and I loved it), "White Christmas," and "Silent Night." He sang a powerful version of "I Believe in Christ" which brought everyone at Abravanel Hall to their feet. I first learned about Nathan Pacheco when he was a guest vocalist at one of Kurt Bestor's Christmas concerts and he sang one of the best versions of "O Holy Night" that I have ever heard. I was really hoping that he would sing it last night and I was thrilled when he ended the concert with it. I have been so lucky to hear this performed live four times this season (this was my final Christmas concert this year) and I think I saved the best for last because I had goosebumps through the whole thing. For the encore, he performed "The Prayer" which is one of his best known songs. I thoroughly enjoyed this concert because every song he sang was beautiful and he was so charming with the crowd! I hope that I will be able to see him again next year.

Note:  During dinner we talked about the song we each hoped that he would sing.  I, of course, wanted to hear "O Holy Night," Marilyn wanted to hear "Nessun Dorma," Kelli wanted to hear "I Believe in Christ," and Teri (Kelli's daughter-in-law) wanted to hear "The Prayer."  All four of us got to hear our favorites so the night was a complete success!

Gingerbread Houses 2024

Last night we had our annual gingerbread house party and we had a lot of fun!  We always buy kits and this year we got ones that were pre-built (although we had to fix a bit of damage) which saved us a lot of time.  We also always buy more candy to supplement what comes with each kit.

Our gingerbread village

Sean's house

My house

Marilyn's house

Kristine's house

We have had a lot of fun doing lots of Christmas activities with Sean this season!

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir 2024

Whenever I am not selected in the lottery for tickets to the Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir concerts (which is often), I do the next best thing and attend the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast on the following Sunday because the guest artists usually perform a shortened version of the same program.  This year the guests artists were Ruthie Ann Miles (known for her Tony Award-winning performance as Lady Thiang from The King and I on Broadway) and Dennis Haysbert (known for playing David Palmer on the TV show 24) and they joined the choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, the Bells at Temple Square, and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble yesterday morning at the Conference Center.  The choir began with a beautiful arrangement of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" while standing in the aisles holding lights and then they marched to the stage (it was perfectly coordinated and I was quite impressed) singing "'Twas Midnight in the Stable."  Miles joined the choir for a stirring rendition of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" which was followed by performances of "Welcome Christmas Morning!" by the orchestra and "Good King Wenceslas" by Brian Mathias on the organ.  The choir continued with "What Shall We Give?" which I had never heard before but found very moving.  Next, Haysbert read the Christmas story from Luke 2 (he has such a distinctive voice so this was very dramatic).  The broadcast concluded with "Angels From the Realms of Glory" with Miles and this was spectacular (I had goosebumps).  The Christmas concert usually features an uplifting true story and this year's was called "A Season for Shepherds."  After the broadcast ended the audience was able to hear this story, recounting the experiences of Dr. Charles Mulli and his family in helping generations of disadvantaged children in Kenya, narrated by Haysbert who was quite emotional.  I found Mulli's story incredibly inspiring, especially when he came to the stage and challenged the audience to care for the poor.  This was another wonderful Christmas concert and I particularly loved the overall message about service this year.  I'm glad I made the effort to attend.

Ballet West's The Nutcracker 2024

Ballet West's wonderful production of The Nutcracker is one of my favorite traditions (it just wouldn't be Christmas without it) and I was really excited to see it last night.  I love everything about this ballet and I eagerly anticipate every scene and every note from Tchaikovsky's magnificent score (it seemed to go by so quickly last night).  My favorite scenes include the party revealing the Christmas tree to Clara, Fritz, and the rest of the children because it is enchanting, the nutcracker leading a group of toy soldiers in battle against the mice because it is thrilling, and the dance of the Snow Queen and Snow King with their snowflakes because it is dazzling.  When Clara and her Nutcracker Prince reach the Land of Sweets, the Sugar Plum Fairy presents a series of divertissements for their entertainment and I always really love the Arabian dance because it is so exotic and the Russian dance because it is so athletic (it received the loudest applause last night).  However, the scene I anticipate the most is the Grand Pas de Deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier because both Tchaikovsky's music and William Christensen's choreography are almost unbearably romantic (I love when she jumps into his arms and then leans all the way forward almost touching the stage).  I have to admit that I was disappointed because I specifically selected this performance in order to see Katlyn Addison and Adrian Fry in these roles and I was really looking forward to it but there was a casting change.  To be fair, Kristina Pool and Hadriel Diniz danced the roles beautifully and had great chemistry with each other but I was hoping to see my favorites and, unfortunately, I let that influence my enjoyment a bit.  I was, however, still completely caught up in the magic of the stunning sets, the opulent costumes, and the impressive special effects (the people sitting behind me gasped out loud when the nutcracker was transformed and when Clara's sled flew across the stage) and I felt like a child as I always do when watching this ballet.  It is a lovely tradition and I recommend getting a ticket for one of the performances through December 28 (go here).