Another Football Saturday

It looks like I will be watching football every Saturday morning this fall! I have next Friday off and I was contemplating going out of town but then I remembered that Sean would have a game the next day and I don't want to miss it!  I don't know what it is but going to his games is so much fun!  I think it is because football is synonymous with fall and fall is my favorite time of year or maybe it is because Sean is getting to be so good at football!  Whatever the reason, my family was sitting on the sideline once again yesterday to see the Bountiful Braves take on the Cyprus Pirates.  Sean played both offense and defense in this game so he was on the field a lot!  The game was tied with two touchdowns apiece but Cyprus scored in the last few minutes to win.  It was a tough loss but Sean still gave me a smile at the end of the game!

We are so proud of our Number 98!

Homecoming 2016

This week has been Homecoming at HHS and my officers and I have been so busy!  This morning we had our annual assembly and it went so well!  I was so proud of my officers!

It has become tradition to have the leads from the upcoming musical sing the national anthem at the Homecoming Assembly.  This year the performing arts department is producing Fiddler on the Roof and I will definitely be seeing this show because they sounded amazing!

Our student body president opened the assembly.

A performance by the cheerleaders.

The ever popular spirit can made an appearance!

A performance by the Drill Team, the HHS Silhouettes.

The most popular game was the Mummy Wrap!  The team from the Theatre Council won!

Performance by Dance Co.

Announcing the Homecoming Royalty.

Our beautiful Homecoming Queen and her King (she is a lovely girl and she was absolutely thrilled when we told her that she had won).

My favorite part of the Homecoming Assembly is always when the football team performs the haka.  I saw this performed in New Zealand but I think ours is pretty amazing!  After school the officers decorated for the dance and then hosted a carnival featuring all of the clubs and organizations.  There was a huge crowd in attendance!

Then we had the Homecoming game against one of our fiercest rivals and we had one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen!

Aside from all of the fun traditional festivities, it was a great game!  Hunter ended up winning 33-13!

Sydney Harbour Cruise

After a few days in Cairns, we took an afternoon flight to Sydney.  After settling into our hotel, a few of us opted for a dinner cruise around Sydney Harbour.  In a trip full of magical moments, this is, perhaps, one of my very favorites.  I can't tell you how exhilarating it was to catch my first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge at nighttime when they were lit up!  Absolutely stunning!  It was an amazing, never-to-be-forgotten moment!  In addition to the view, the cruise was memorable because of my companions for the evening.  We had a lovely dinner, complete with entertainment, as we cruised the harbour and we caused quite the commotion.  We were singing, dancing, and requesting obscure pop songs!  I can't speak for anyone else but I was certainly excited by the prospect of exploring Sydney and I was definitely in high spirits.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!  I usually don't like to attract that much attention but it was just so much fun and everyone around us only encouraged our shenanigans, especially the singer!

 

I fell in love with Sydney after this spectacular cruise!

The Kuranda Rainforest (and Koalas!)

On our second day in Cairns, we went on an expedition to the rainforest to see a village called Kuranda (which literally means "village in the rainforest" in the aboriginal language).  We rode the skyrail up the mountain to the village and at the midway point we were able to have a tour of the rainforest with a guide.  It was so interesting, except when the guide talked about the giant python that lived under the boardwalk!  After I had a complete meltdown he told me that pythons don't move around very much in the winter!

Once we got to the village, we were able to see (and hold) koalas!  They are so cuddly and I had to resist the urge to squeeze them!

The village was really charming with lots of cute shops and restaurants. After some free time, we took a vintage train back down the mountain which was a lot of fun.

It was another amazing day in Australia!

The Eccles Theater

Over the weekend I was invited to an open house to get a sneak peek at the brand-new, state-of-the-art George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater in downtown SLC.  It is absolutely gorgeous and I can hardly wait for the Broadway at the Eccles (formerly known as Broadway in Utah) 2016-2017 season to start!

The theater is located in the heart of downtown SLC right on Main Street.  Locating the theater here has done quite a bit to revitalize Main Street and I'm looking forward to going to many of my favorite downtown restaurants before shows.

I love the reflection of the city in the glass doors and windows.

The lobby is very sleek and modern with different colored glass on every level.  My favorite is the purple on the third tier.  There is also a restaurant in the lobby called the Encore Bistro and I can vouch for the caprese sandwich with orzo salad.  Yummy!

The third tier also boasts a terrace with an amazing view of downtown SLC.  I imagine this will be a lovely place for a drink during intermission!

The Delta Performance Hall inside the theater.  The lights are absolutely dazzling, especially on the ceiling.

As part of the open house, season ticket holders were able to "meet" their seats!  I met my seat and I think we are going to get along just fine.  It is really comfortable and there is a lot of leg room!  Hooray!

The view of the stage from my seat!  The shows coming to the Eccles Theater this season are Beautiful - The Carol King Musical, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and Dirty Dancing.  There are quite a few special engagements to add to a season ticket as well.  I added The Lion King, Mamma Mia, and The Book of Mormon.  If this little tour of the beautiful Eccles Theater has convinced you to get season tickets, go here for more information.  Another incentive: having season tickets for the 2016-2017 season guarantees you tickets for Hamilton which is coming to SLC for the 2017-2018 season!  I can't believe this will be my view for Hamilton!  It is a little bit better than the view I had at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (although I did see the original cast in my nosebleed seat!).