A Weekend Away

After four years of being parents, we finally had a weekend away! I highly recommend having one. LeMira's parents treated us (birthday presents) to a weekend in St. George, UT to go see a play at the outdoor amphitheater, Tuacahn. They watched Jackson overnight for us so we could have a relaxing time away. It was so stress-free! We did what we wanted when we wanted, and at one point I was worried about getting bored because I didn't have someone to keep telling "no" to. But it sure was nice staying as long as I wanted at the restaurant without a child reminding me that it was time to go, and going to the temple without worrying about how long it would take to get in and get out.

If you ever have a chance to see something at Tuachan, I suggest you jump on the chance. It's phenomenal the things that they can do there. I really wanted to see Les Miserables, but it only plays on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; and we were there Friday. We made it to the opening night of Big River (the adventures of Huckleberry Finn). Since I never really liked Huck Finn in high school, I wasn't sure if I'd like the story, but I knew I'd like seeing the play. (I LOVE THEATER, and yes, Jamie, I even like musicals!) Well, I learned why I never liked Huck Finn, I didn't understand it! That's right. I realize now the controversy this book carried when it was published and how it went against society in those days (something my high school English teacher failed to emphasize). I got so stuck in the language in high school, that I couldn't look past it to see how this book affected society.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I loved the show. We had the best seats -- five rows back and in the center. My favorite part is when they flooded the stage to create the Mississippi River. There were signs all around outside in the "lobby" that had messages from Tom and Huck. This was one of our favorite, just posted outside of the theater doors.


I was shocked to see little kids there with the language and some of the themes that are in the story; and I was very glad I didn't have mine there! The show starts at 8:30 and is three hours long. Then you have to wait in a never-ending line of traffic to get out of the one exit. Here's a cool shot of the closing scene. It's a little blurry, but that's because Matt had to hold open the shutter for 5 seconds and keep the camera as still as possible.

We did enjoy the rest of the weekend with my parents in Panaca. Jackson had fun coaching Grandma while she played Zuma on the computer and watching Grandpa play the Nintendo.

According to my parents, he did so well and entertained himself most of the time. The hardest part of it all was the "detox" when we got home. Jackson was so spoiled (he came home with several new toys) that the first couple of days home were a little difficult on him. You can see Matt's feelings on small towns on his blog. Yes, we are quirky hicks that live in them thar stix!