Holiday Celebrations

The closer the holidays get, the busier my schedule gets! Work is still pretty crazy since we just barely moved into a new warehouse and Teresa and Amy Kay are both on maternity leave so it's up to Mariah and I to do everything ourselves. I have been pulling extra hours everyday and running around like a crazy person trying to catch up on all the work we have still to do. Luckily I somehow found time to finish my Christmas shopping and Thursday I was able to leave work in time to go to my favorite little swimmers Christmas dance recital and watch them dance. This year Meridien  was old enough to help with the little dancers and all the backstage work so I didn't sit with her during the show. Caelin came and sat with me after her dances though, and she was so excited to see me she forced her dad to move over so she could talk to me. Both girls danced beautifully but Caelin was especially impressive since she was dancing and tumbling with a broken hand (everything one handed of course, not actually putting pressure on it).

Meridian is in the white and Caelin is the little one in black

Meridien's lyrical routine

Caelin's hip hop routine

She makes the best faces!

Caelin mid-tumbling

Friday night Bob and I went to my friend Emily's Ugly Sweater Party. We had a lot of fun. There were great cocktails and delicious food. We did an ugly sweater contest which I won, and then we passed around white elephant gifts. Bob and I were both drinking so we planned on staying the night but everyone else had DD's and left for the night. Unfortunately Bob had a little too much and after saying and doing a lot of stupid things, he got sick. It was a pretty bad turn of events and we both vowed not to drink again for a long time. The alcohol also made it hard to remember to take pictures so I don't have a picture of our ugly sweaters or silly gifts. It's too bad cause I worked hard on making my sweater the ugliest of them all!

Saturday while Bob was recovering I went with Renee to see Ballet West's performance of The Nutcracker. It has been too long since I have seen it so I forgot how great it was. As always Ballet West did an amazing job. The set, costumes, music and choreography added up to a wonderful experience. Renee enjoyed it too, and I soon found out that it was her first ballet! I'm glad I got to take her to her first!

This week history was also made in the state when Utah became the 18th state in the U.S. to perform and recognize same sex marriage. I didn't see it coming at all since this is such a conservative, religious state but thanks to a federal judge, Judge Shelby, it's true! He declared the Utah law banning same sex marriage to be unconstitutional, overturned that law and marked our place in history. I don't know how long it will last since I know the LDS church and the state of Utah will fight it, but I'm happy to know that as of right now same sex couples are lining up and being granted marriage certificates at the court houses. The courts are even staying open outside of normal business hours in order to meet the demands and help as many couples as possible. It is a truly beautiful sight to see and a huge leap forward in the fight for equality!

First same sex couple married in Utah