Long Time and Las Vegas

Have you ever noticed that the closer to the holidays it gets, the crazier life gets? I have been preparing for our Christmas Dance Recital and I am very very happy to say that all of my dances are now complete and I have 3 weeks to clean them. I have to admit that I love the completed dance I hhave set on the Company class. I choreographed a dance to the song "Let Him In" from The Forgotten Carols. It turned out amazingly well and my dancers look amazing dancing it. I am excited for their parents to be able to see it. We are performing a shortened version of the Nutcracker as well, so my level 4 is performing the dance where Clara is given the Nutcracker and level 5 is performing the Arabian with one of my company girls as the princess. I am very pleased with all of my dancers.

My younger brother, Chad, was also here for a visit and we had a blast while he was here. He arrived at 9:26 PM on Friday, November 7. I picked him up from the airport, assuming he would be exhausted and ready to go back to my apartment and crash, but that was not the case. He decided that he wanted to go bowling. So we met his friend, Brandon at the bowling alley and bowled two games. By about one a.m. it was home to bed... Prior to my brother coming we had discussed heading to Vegas for a few days and seeing Mamma Mia. So a few weeks prior we made hotel reservations and bought tickets to the show! Now was the discussion of what time to leave for Vegas on Sunday Morning...Chad wanted to leave at 3 a.m. and I felt that 7 or 8 was sufficient, so we compromised and set a goal to leave at 6:00. First stop in Vegas was In N Out Burger! YUMMY!!! Second stop was the Mandalay Bay to pick up our Mamma Mia Tickets then to check into our hotel. We were staying at Planet Hollywood, and what an amazing view we had from the room. We were on the 38th floor overlooking the fountains at the Bellagio.

Sunday night we were off to Mamma Mia. What an amazing show! It was interesting, as we walked into the theater there were the headshots of the actors on the wall, and I recognized 2 of them from my days at Shakespeare- Carol Johnson and Don Burrows. I loved Mamma Mia! The live production was amazing, and I enjoyed it even more than the movie. Monday was spent shopping...My mom and brother are much bigger shoppers than I am, I did buy 2 pairs of boots, 2 shirts and a pair of pants, but shopping for 8-10 hours, really did me in...Although I discovered that my favorite store, H & M, is in Vegas at the Miracle Mile Mall at Planet Hollywood! Tuesday it was time to head back to Utah. We stopped in St. George at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and then stopped in Cedar City to eat at my favoriet Mexican Restaurant, La Fiesta!



It made me miss living in Cedar City, just the driving thru the town and remembering the fun and crazy times. We also stopped and did the scenic drive thru Kolob Canyon.






I must admit it was nice to return home and be in my own space again. Wednesday was my day to recouperate and then Thursday it was back to work. Wednesday night Chad and I had dinner with our dad and Donna. Saturday night Chad, some of his friends, myself and my dad and Donna all went to a hockey game. I do not understand hockey. I go for the fights and I think that hockey is a sport for individuals who don't have any anger control. So in the first minute and a half there was a great fight... There were actually several fights throughout the game!





Sunday morning Chad left to go home. I was sad to see him go. It was so nice having a sibling here with me.

I want/need to go back and see Mamma Mia again before it closes on January 4, 2009. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, except those under 13 or 14... It is definitely a PG-13.