Arabian Nights

So I have only 3 more blog posts to be fully up to date, but those posts are on hold for the week. I am having a so much fun hanging out with my sister and several of my nieces here in St. George for a few days, and wanted to blog while the stories are fresh in my memory. We did this last year when Tuachan was putting on Disney's The Little Mermaid, and we had a great time but we learned a few things. Mainly that if tickets are purchased separately the seats are separated, so I ended up sitting all by myself about 7 or 8 rows up and on the opposite end of the section from everyone else. This time we bought 5 tickets to begin with, and then when Lauren got added into the mix Grandma bowed out so she could have her ticket. (My mother would like to add that she didn't really want to see Aladdin, and was mostly going just to see it with the girls anyway. Basically she was more than happy to give up her ticket and hear all about the play when we got home.)

We went to the play early to enjoy the dinner and all of the pre-show fun. They had a cutout similar to this last year for Little Mermaid, but after the play ended there was such a line up and it was so late that it didn't seem worth it. This year we were there plenty early and there was no line whatsoever, so we got to have a lot of fun poking our heads through as different characters.

We went exploring and found a small area where we could peak over and see the side of the stage. We were excited to see the scenery both manmade and the natural wonder and beauty of the red rock canyon in which the theater is set. Last year it was fun to see them flood the stage with water, but I loved that the hot desert really fit with the whole Arabian setting of the story. Mother nature decided to make the show a little more interesting by putting on quite the lightening show throughout the play, and in some of the most appropriate places. She even threw in a big rainstorm during the aptly named song "High Adventure." An adventure it certainly was. Unfortunately lightening storms like these have also brought some pretty bad fires in the area. We saw one on our way home yesterday evening, and again tonight so bright and clear we could see the flames. The fires this summer have been plentiful and powerful this year, and the cause for much concern and prayer, but I digress.

Our biggest surprise and thrill was to see 3 live camel hanging out and eating from some of the trees to the side of the stage. They very well could have been our favorite part of the night. They were pretty amazing.

There are always performances of some sort on a small stage in the open space before you enter the open air theater, and Kelsea just loved it. She kept moving down a step at a time. At one point she turned around and just laid her head down. I loved how wistful she appeared.

In order to accomplish the intricacies of the cave of wonders they gave everyone 3-D glasses, and had a screen as part of the play. I thought it was brilliant, and very well done, and we sure did look stunning in our spiffy glasses :)

We got back pretty late, and were exhausted. We had decided to go out to breakfast this morning, but were so tired that we slept in and didn't make it out until nearly 11. We split up after breakfast and Lisa took her girls off to do some shopping and run some errands while we took Lauren school shopping. Do you know how weird it was to do school shopping, and not be the one going back to school? I still don't think it's hit me that I am actually a college graduate, and that I am not headed back this fall. If I annoy anyone with my random statements about having bachelors degrees I promise I am not trying to show off, or indicate any bit of superiority because that is so far from the truth. I just can't seem to wrap my brain around the fact that all of the hard work and effort is truly over and I actually made it across the finish line. Total tangent, sorry.

So we got back to the condo just before two, and the girls all got in their swimsuits and headed for the pool. I joined them about half an hour later once I got the internet up and running. My brother and his family moved down here last week, and we were trying to coordinate with his daughters all day to come hang out with us before they start school tomorrow. They got there at some point while we were swimming because next thing I knew Maddie was splashing into us, and joining in our crazy. We didn't come back in until nearly 5, and by that point we were tired, but still pretty wired. I was thrilled to find that my sunblock worked, and I only have minor sunburns on my shoulders and chest.

Cleaned up and looking a little more presentable we headed out, picked up some Panda and went to see my brothers new house. It's brand new, and beautiful. Perfect for them, and I loved it. We stayed there for several hours; the adults visiting in the living room, while the younger girls played for hours. I heard so much giggling, and excited voices. It's one of the most beautiful sounds in my opinion. We left around 9, though we could have stayed for hours more visiting. We would have too, if my sister-in-law didn't teach school, and if tomorrow weren't the first day of school for their girls. Early mornings all around made it a necessity to leave. In all honesty, we probably could visit for days and still end up leaving under duress. I love all of my siblings and their families. They are all so different, and yet so similar, and it's fun to see how well we all get along.

Tomorrow Lisa and all the girls head back up north, and my mother and I will have a few days to visit some of her friends and family down here, and do some activities of our own before heading back up to more madness and crazy (in the absolute best way possible).