Our Trip to Utah - short, but sweet!

We made our kids all watch PBS's show of Les Miserables (Everyone except Jonas wanted to watch it - in fact, now I remember that Jonas opted out of most of the shows). It was a 3-part series, each 2-hours long. There was no music and it followed the book very well (as opposed to the musical version). While I love, love, love the musical, I ended up loving this as well. Les Mis is just one of the best stories ever written.

Anyways, I wanted my kids to watch the musical and did a google search of Les Mis in the Denver or Salt Lake areas. Official performances are way too much money for us to take our family of six to attend. But I found the next best thing: Les Miserables School Edition. It's basically a legit (i.e., author approved) condensed version of the real deal. Put on all by kids 18 and younger.

So we left Saturday morning (the boys had a stake dance on Friday they wanted to go to) and drove straight in to Salt Lake City. We parked our car in a parking garage and the kids wanted us to park on the very top. So we did! It was tall and we went around and around - Lucy said, "It seems like we're just going in circles!" Ha, we were - just circles that were rising. We all got a little sick feeling looking over . . .

We met my parents at the theater and had a wonderful time watching the show. It was so very good! Utah's got talent, that's for sure. Afterwards, we went to the Last Course to get our first course of dinner - dessert, ha! The kids had fun ice creams:  three of them had "breakfast cereal" and it was delicious. Miles had "rosemary and honey" ice cream and it was good, too. Ben and I shared a lemon crepe-like cake. My parents shared something, too. Fun!

We spent the evening lighting fires in my mom's oven - really, my mom started a fire. Ha! Ben and I drove back with the boys and so we missed the actual flames (but were engulfed in a VERY smokey house!). Emmy kept telling me that the fire was just like a "camp-fire" and was "huge" and that Grandma screamed, "FIRE!" My mom did all that to make a fun memory for my girls, haha.

My dad displayed some of his "things" from the old-days. :) Pictures of his helicopter crash and burnt body, military ribbons, pictures of girlfriends, etc. The kids really enjoyed seeing it all!

Sunday was a special treat, too. I went back to my ward I grew up in - the Granite 5th ward, now called the Willow Hills ward. Some good friends of my parents were called as mission presidents in Seattle and were giving talks so my parents wanted to attend. Since I was there, I thought it would be fun, too. It was crazy. So many people that I recognized! It's been almost 20 years since I've been there . . . it was weird and awesome. Emmy went to the same YW room where I began YWs 28 years ago . . .

Then we had a yummy and filling lunner (lunch/dinner) and drove back home.

It was a quick trip, but totally worth it!

Pics:

Looking down from our parking spot . . . Ben was especially scared. :)

 Love these people!

 It was a ways down . . .

My dad, Miles, and Jonas waiting for the play to start.

The girls really loved the show! Ben said it was his favorite-ever performance of Les Mis that he has seen!

 The kids eating their first course at The Last Course.

 Emmy wearing my dad's old helicopter helmet.

 Lucy loved it! She wanted me to send a picture to her teacher! And today she had to show the picture to all her gym friends. :)

 My kids (on a cold morning - like 35 degrees!) standing in front of my old ward building. Fun stuff.

Like I said, short but sweet! Thanks mom and dad for hosting us!