January is off to an eventful start. We have had some experiences I wish I could freeze--going to the ice castles and seeing Little Mermaid. We have also been able to spend time with so much family.
The Ice Castles in Midway, UT— Monday, January 16, 2023
Our tickets to the Ice Castles weren’t canceled this time! Yippee!! Jessica, Chris, and George joined us. We drove up Provo canyon in quite the blizzard. I had never been to the ice castles before. We were dressed in full-on snow gear and I highly recommend dressing warm. We had an amazing time! I’m having a hard time describing the atmosphere. It was simply magical. We even saw a bride and groom getting photos taken. There were classy lights, several outside heaters, reindeer, massive and tall ice castles, slides and tunnels, and signs explaining things. One of the signs said something like, “in one day, 10,000 icicles were used.” Another said, “there are over 25 tons of ice used.”
The kids went down the slides on repeat. Crawling through ice tunnels was popular too. This event was perfect for them. Jessica knows me well and purposefully captured the kids eating their packed sack dinners. We stayed away from the churro and hot chocolate food trucks. Tickets to the castles are a bit expensive. (I have a coupon code if you’re looking at going.) Because of the amount of snow we’ve had this year, the Ice Castles were able to open early. They may stay open longer than usual too, but we’ll see. The ice castles turn colorful when it’s dark and we were able to see some of the colors which were cool. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget Chris’ comment, “Grandma got run over by a reindeer.” Ask him about it. What an experience. The kids were worn out! After our original tickets were canceled, I debated rebooking. Thank goodness I did! The pictures below capture pure joy. James' face is proof.
Dallin and Alysee’s Wedding in Payson, UT— Thursday, January 12, 2023
Most of Andrew's siblings came into town for Dallin and Alysee’s special day. Grannie even got permission to leave her mission in Chicago to come. The Payson temple is gorgeous and the sealing room was large! The sealing was short but tender and sweet. Dallin and Alysee cried and many others. The luncheon and wedding reception were in Provo. The food, company, and entertainment were great. I participated in a skit about Alysee with her other aunts. My line was, “My name’s Alysee Ditto, happy I will be, my name’s Alysee Ditto, a mother me! Babies, babies, everywhere, give me a dozen, I won’t care!”
We enjoyed seeing so much extended family. I was able to chat with lots of Ditto cousins I haven’t seen in too long. Andrew and several of his brothers snuck out of the reception a little early to watch the BYU vs. Gonzaga basketball game. It was an exhausting day. We were gone for over 12 hours and got home at 9:30pm. Dallin and Alysee are an excellent match and couple and we had a good time celebrating them! Debbie stayed with us and Blayre’s family did for a couple of nights as well. Our nephew, Carter was baptized at our stake center while everyone was together. We packed in many other things too— the aquarium, the BYU bookstore, etc. I slept well after that busy weekend! I even slept in— what!
The Little Mermaid at Hale Center Theater in Sandy, UT— Saturday, January 7, 2023
I have heard rave reviews from many people about the production, “The Little Mermaid.” Of course, I wanted to go and bring the kids! The Hale Center Theater even did some special showings for children ages 3 and up. Cha-Ching! Tickets were basically sold out, so I spent many days searching for some on KSL. I snagged tickets when I had the chance.
The show lived up to the hype. Everything was incredible! After the opening scene, James worriedly asked me, “mom is it over already?” He didn’t want it to be the end. Watching the kids' expressions during the show was my favorite. James’ mouth was open for a large chunk of the show like he couldn’t believe it. One of Izzy’s first comments to me was, “Mom, mermaids don’t have legs. Why does Ariel have legs?”
We got a couple of extra tickets for the show. We invited one of the kids' friends in our ward to join— Derek. I think Ursula was a bit scary for him. Grandma Denning also came with 10 minutes' notice. We got one more ticket than we thought. The music, sets, and costumes, were better than you can imagine.
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