Beethoven & Rachmaninoff

When the final bell rings to end the school day on a Friday afternoon, I am usually thrilled with the prospect of an entire weekend ahead of me.  When I have a ticket to a Utah Symphony concert on a Friday night, I am even more excited.  I left an enormous stack of argumentative essays that need to be graded on my desk and drove home with a smile on my face anticipating a concert featuring Mozart and Rachmaninoff, two of my favorite composers.  TGIF!  The concert was wonderful, definitely worthy of anticipation.  The orchestra began with Mozart's Symphony No. 19.  Mozart's music is light (not to be confused with simple), airy, and melodic filled with beautiful themes throughout each movement.  I enjoyed this piece immensely. Then soloist Jeffrey Kahane joined the orchestra for a marvelous performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2.  I especially enjoyed the second movement, which was very contemplative, and the third, which was, conversely, very lively.  After the intermission it was time for some Rachmaninoff!  The orchestra played the powerful Symphony No. 3 to the delight of the audience.  I find Rachmaninoff (and all of the Russian composers, really) to be incredibly romantic and the second movement is particularly beautiful.  I love the plaintive themes played by the various woodwinds.  Sigh!  It was the perfect way to begin the weekend!  The same program will be performed again tonight and, really, what's not to love about Mozart, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff?  Tickets can be purchased here.

Note:  If you get a ticket, give yourself some extra time to get to Abravanel Hall.  It is that time of year when driving downtown is crazy because of the lights at Temple Square.

Festival of Trees 2016

Last night I volunteered as a hostess at the Festival of Trees, something I have done for many, many years.  Every year people donate decorated trees and other items which are put up for auction and then displayed to the public.  One hundred percent of the proceeds of this event go to Primary Children's Hospital.  It is such a great cause and I am happy to help out every year.  My job is to watch over the trees and items to make sure they are not damaged or stolen (remember the little girl who stole a doll off the Frozen tree?) and to answer any questions that people might have.  I say items because, for the first time ever, I was not assigned to an area of trees.  Rather, I was placed in an area filled with centerpieces.  I have to say that this wasn't quite as fun for me as the trees because the centerpieces don't usually have a story so I didn't get to interact with people as much as I usually do.  However, there was an elaborately mechanized clock in my area that the children really liked.  They were positively mesmerized by it, which was cool, but children don't really talk to strangers!  After my shift, I was able to wander around and look at the trees (and get a sweet roll).  Here are some of my favorites.

This Grinch tree was my very favorite!  There are literally hundreds of trees to see, not to mention all of the centerpieces, wreaths, and gingerbread houses!  You really should make your way to the South Towne Expo Center to experience the Festival of Trees yourself!  It runs until Saturday and more information can be found here.

Carrie Underwood at the Maverik Center

Last night I took my niece Tashena to see Carrie Underwood's sold-out Storyteller tour at the Maverik Center.  To say that Tashena was in heaven would be an understatement!  In fact, I think my standings have improved dramatically in the Coolest Aunt Ever category!  Country music is not my favorite genre but I like artists who have a pop crossover sound and I like a lot of Carrie Underwood's songs, particularly "Last Name" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Tashena, however, absolutely loves her and she sang every single word!  Underwood began her set with "Renegade Runaway" from her latest album Storyteller and sprinkled quite a few others from this album throughout: "Dirty Laundry," "Church Bells," "Heartbeat," "Choctaw County Affair" while playing a mean harmonica, and "Clock Don't Stop."  I sang along with Tashena when she played her hits: "Last Name," a rousing rendition of "Undo It" with lots of audience participation, "Good Girl," "Cowboy Casanova," an emotional rendition of "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (she had to stop to compose herself while the audience sang for her), "Wasted," "Blown Away," "Two Black Cadillacs," "All-American Girl," "Little Toy Guns," and "Before He Cheats." She gave a very heart-felt thanks to all of the fans who have supported her along the way and dedicated Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" to the crowd.  She sang it a capella because she can!  She performed a fun version of "Mountain Music" with her opening acts, The Swon Brothers and Easton Corbin, and dedicated "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted" to her husband Mike Fisher (a hockey player, sigh) and her son Isaiah with adorable pictures of both on the big screen.  For the encore, she performed "Smoke Break" and "Something in the Water."  She put on a great show on a stage in the round with all of the requisite costume changes, light shows, and pyrotechnics but, more importantly, she can sing and she sang her heart out!  I certainly enjoyed this concert immensely and Tashena?  I could hardly contain her!  I often bemoan the fact that I can't buy Barbies for the little girl any more but I have to admit that I really enjoy spending time with the teen-age Tashena!  She was a great concert buddy!

Note: Tashena and I didn't get to see the opening acts!  We hit the trifecta of bad commutes: construction on I-15, a massive snowstorm, and about a billion people trying to get to the Maverik Center!  It's good thing Carrie Underwood was worth all of the hassle!

Messiah Sing-In 2016

Last night I went to a performance of Handel's Messiah by the Utah Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Eric Schmidt, the Westminster College Choir, the Utah Symphony Chorus, and soloists Abigail Rethwisch, Sarah Coit, Christian Sanders, and Markel Reed.  The audience is invited to sing along during the chorus and it was so much fun!  Handel's music is absolutely glorious and I especially loved "For unto us a Child is Born," "Glory to God in the Highest," and, of course, "Hallelujah!"  Markel Reed sang the baritone part at last year's performance and he was amazing.  He was amazing again this year, especially in "The trumpet shall sound."  He received thunderous applause after this section!  I was a member of the Westminster College Choir all four years of college and seeing them on the stage made me feel very nostalgic.  I used to love performing Christmas music this time of year and, to this day, I still love hearing Christmas music performed live.  The annual performance of Handel's Messiah is a wonderful tradition (I have done it now for three years) and, while I was feeling pretty festive after putting up my tree on Saturday, I am now filled with Christmas spirit after such an amazing concert!

Note:  I bought a copy of the score last year and put it in a very safe place.  Of course this necessitated a massive search of my house to find it for this year.  Luckily I found it in time.

O Christmas Tree

I love it when my house is decorated for Christmas!  I try to put my decorations up right after Thanksgiving so I can enjoy them for as long as possible.

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon hauling everything up from the basement and putting up my tree.  Hanging all of the ornaments on my tree is so much fun because most of them bring back lots of memories.  I listened to my favorite Amy Grant Christmas songs and burned a pine scented candle while I decorated and now I am so excited for Christmas!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Note: My family has played shanghai rummy every night for the past three nights.  I have won every game!  I think they all hate me now...

Moana

Yesterday afternoon my Mom, Marilyn, Sean, Tashena, and I went to see the new Disney movie Moana.  I loved this movie so much!  As soon as the credits started rolling I started the applause!  In fact, you should probably stop reading right now and go see it because it is that amazing!  I loved the characters, the story, the animation, and the music (one of the composers is Lin-Manuel Miranda!).  Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is the daughter of the Chief of the island of Motunui.  She feels like she is being called to the ocean but her father warns her not to go beyond the reef.  When her island is threatened, she learns a legend from her grandmother that says the heart of Te Fiti was stolen by the shape-shifting demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) and it must be returned to bring life back to the islands.  When the ocean gives Moana the heart of Te Fiti, she sets out on an adventure to find Maui and return it.  I loved the character of Moana because she is strong and finds the strength to do what needs to be done to save her people even when she doubts herself.  I loved that Maui is not Moana's love interest but a goofy sidekick and that they work together as a team.  Maui is a fun character and his tattoos are involved in telling the story.  It is hilarious when they mock him!  I also loved the character of Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement), a crab who has stolen Maui's hook because he likes shiny things.  I loved the story of finding your identity and believing in yourself (I may or may not have had a tear in my eye at a crucial moment).  The animation is lush and beautiful and I especially loved how the ocean is used as a character.  Finally, I absolutely loved the music!  My favorite songs are "We Know The Way," (sung by Lin-Manuel Miranda, sigh), "How Far I'll Go," (it gave me goosebumps) "You're Welcome," (who knew that The Rock could sing?) and "Shiny," (I love Jemaine Clement).  We all enjoyed this movie so much we went to see it again late last night!  You should go see it, too!

Note:  We always have fun stories to tell when we see a Disney movie the day after Thanksgiving.  When Tangled was released we were camping in the motor home and the tiny theater in St. George could not deal with the huge crowds who wanted to see it.  Seating was not assigned and it was kill or be killed to get a good seat.  People were climbing across us and spilled our popcorn.  Then a kid climbed over the seats in front of us and spilled Marilyn's drink!  When I took Sean and Tashena to see Frozen, we didn't buy advance tickets and the theater was packed.  We ended up having to sit in the middle of the second row and Sean and Tashena got into a huge fight over who would have to sit by a stranger!  During our first screening of Moana, there were tons of really noisy kids and babies!  Good times!

Thanksgiving 2016

Yesterday was wonderful!  We had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house and everyone was assigned to bring something.  I was assigned rolls and I actually made them (Rhodes Bake and Serve) and they turned out great (I have burned them before).  We had turkey and ham, cheesy potatoes, stuffing, the aforementioned rolls, pomegranate salad (a tradition), and a relish tray.  Everything tasted great!

After dinner we all took naps for a few hours and then we reconvened for a ruthless game of shanghai rummy!  Everyone was assigned to bring a treat (we will play this game every night over the break).  I made caramel corn and we also had fudge, caramels, my Grandma Johnson's traditional scones, and, of course, pie!  Sean is modeling the whipped cream from the pie!

Marilyn is modeling the caramels.

This game is absolutely crazy!  Tashena won the last game we played so we were all gunning for her and she was not happy!

It is kill or be killed, Tashena!  I actually won but I know that everyone will be gunning for me when we play again!  It was so much fun to spend the day with my family!  I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving as well!

Johnson Family Pictures 2016

My parents have a big anniversary coming up and, in honor of the occasion, my Mom really wanted some new family pictures taken.  A couple of weeks ago we had our family friend, Lesa, take some and we love how they turned out!

2009

2008

Note:  Lesa took all of these photos and her first comment was how much Sean and Tashena have grown!  How did this happen?