The first was Time Out for Women. It has been an annual tradition to go with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law each year for the past seven years. This year, some of my nieces joined us for the first time. In the past we've made a little mini vacation out of it, and we've gone to Logan or Saint George. This time we stayed near home and went to the Salt Lake event, but we still made it a "get away" by staying in a local hotel.
One of the perks of going to the Salt Lake event was getting to see my bestest buddy, Shannon. I don't think I've told you, but Shannon moved to Idaho about five months ago. Idaho is kind of far away, but not as far as Minnesota (I'm not guilt-tripping anyone here - just stating the facts... ahem...) Anyway, Shannon made the trip to Salt Lake to attend TOFW with her in-laws, we we were able to hang out a little bit while she was in town.
I also got to see several other friends, like Sara and Shayla.
Quick funny story: Sara and Shayla are two of five sisters. Last year, a photographer took some pictures of them at TOFW and then asked Shayla to step out of the photo. TOFW ended up using the photo of the four sisters (minus Shayla) for all of their promotional materials this year - emails, fliers, programs, etc. Last year on Thanksgiving, Shayla texted me and said, "Do you mind if I swear?" I said, "Go ahead!" Then she sent me the promotional photo, and said, "Notice anything missing? What the HELL?!?" So for an entire year, this sisterly photo was EVERYWHERE, and now that year is finally coming to a close. TOFW ended up using an enlarged photo of Shayla with her baby to direct women to the mothers' lounge, but is that any consolation?
Time Out for Women started Friday night and went through Saturday afternoon. The next morning, Nicky and I went downtown to Temple Square to attend Music and the Spoken Word.
Music and the Spoken Word is a weekly musical broadcast with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It's been on air for over 80 years (we attended the 4,601st broadcast). The show is recorded at Temple Square and is open to the public (ages 8 & up).
(If you're visiting Salt Lake, make this a part of your trip!)
I've wanted to take Nicky for a really long time, and since we have 11:00 church this year and will switch to the 9:00 block in January, I only had a few weeks left where we could go before church. Daisy was invited, but I knew she would hate it, so I was relieved when she chose not to go.
I was excited when I walked into the rehearsal and saw that the hand-bell choir was there. What a perfect week to go! I also loved that the program had some familiar songs for Nicky: "A Prayer of Thanksgiving," which was his piano song the week prior (under a different title), "Simple Gifts," which Nicky knows from the Piano Guys, and "I've Got the Whole World in My Hands," which Fred Randall sings from outer space in the cinematic masterpiece, Rocketman.
I enjoy attending Music & the Spoken Word, and while I was there I kept kicking myself for not coming more. It's cool to see behind the scenes of a live broadcast, and the sound of the choir in the Tabernacle can't be beat! The Spirit was so strong - I was giddy when I left.
Both these events were really good precursors to the holiday season. I feel like my heart was in a good place for Thanksgiving and will hopefully remain there through Christmas.
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