We got tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert – it has been a lifelong dream of our little boy to attend one of these concerts! Both sets of grandparents and my sister’s family also got tickets and we had enough spare tickets for another sister to come with her boys too. This led to an impromptu family weekend gathering in Salt Lake City, Utah just before flying home to Vienna. We had such a fantastic weekend!
Our first night we went to see the beautiful Christmas lights on temple square. Elora sat with her dad drawing in her sketch book while I walked about with my parents and sisters. The cousins all had a fun time looking around at the scenery and Grandpa got to hang out with his two biggest fans – Drake and James.
I love seeing my kids with their cousins. They all love each other so much and always have so much fun. Fun on the train platform, on the train, and a really awesome big Italian dinner at Buca di Beppo’s which was super yummy.
The next day we headed to the really awesome Natural History Museum at the University of Utah. It is a really fun building with great exhibits. We had so much fun I didn’t take any pictures…
In downtown Salt Lake City there are candy windows at one of the department stores. It is a tradition that every year they have different themes and displays are made completely out of candy. They are beautiful and look yummy and our kids love to see them.
And we finally made it!!!! This year was the first year Oliver was old enough to attend, and he was SO excited. He has wanted to go to a concert since he was two years old. Grandpa graciously babysat the younger kids and had a fun night taking them to see Moana so they would get a special night out too. At the concert we were pretty near the front and could see the dancers that performed in the aisles. It was such a beautiful concert and an amazing night watching the excitement and wonder on this little guys’ face. I am so grateful that we got to have this trip with family and have this special night with Elora and Oliver.
For our last night in Salt Lake City, we went to see the Nutcracker with Nana. Before the concert we enjoyed posing with giant nutcracker dolls, looking down into the orchestra pit, and exploring the theater. The performance was wonderful and I really enjoyed it. I have not seen the Nutcracker since I was a little girl, and I loved it. The kids have never seen a ballet before, so I think they were not always sure what was going on, but they said they liked it and that the music was nice. They liked hearing songs they were familiar with. Some of the songs from the Nutcracker are in the movie Fantasia, and they thought it was fun to hear those songs. Marion asked me during every song what the song was called and what was happening.
After the ballet we took Nana to see the Christmas lights, which were still beautiful and luckily it was less crowded than the previous night we came. I love the lights on Temple Square, but don’t love crowds.
Before leaving we had a little Christmas party with the family to exchange gifts since we wouldn’t be together on Christmas. It was a fun little party and the kids were excited to get new books and little lego sets that would fit in their backpacks for the trip home to Vienna. I can’t describe how much this weekend meant to me. Being in Vienna is magical, but I miss my family and we had so much fun and made so many beautiful memories on this weekend trip. I hope we can do it again some time soon.
