We traveled to Salt Lake City this weekend so Bailee and her friends could audition for the Ballet West summer program. Of course one of the bigger winter storms we've had decided to arrive as well. That made for an interesting trip. Going down wasn't bad, but the return trip definitely had its moments as the snow piled up on the roads and the snow plows were nowhere to be seen. I was really glad to get home at 11 pm.
We left for SLC Friday after school. Our friend, Amy, drove her new Nissan Pathfinder with 4WD. It did well. Nice rig. We made good time and got to our hotel in downtown around 7 pm. We then walked over to Olive Garden for a late dinner. It was in the 40s down in SLC, totally balmy after our week of subzero weather (-30+ degrees wind chills). Even though it was rainy, it was still great. We were on the 11th floor of the Hilton, which was a new experience for Bailee. Being downtown was nice too. We got to watch all the folks decked out in their finery heading to listen to the Utah Symphony concert. Then it was back to the hotel for relaxation for the adults and homework for the girls.
The girls got up early (6:30), and went down to work out. We then headed down for what we thought was a complimentary breakfast. Nope. We were taken to a table and handed a menu. $10 for a bowl of frosted flakes. $5 for a bagel. $20 for anything else. We left and went over to a Denny's. lol When we got back, the girls hit the pool and hot tub. Then then preparation for the audition began. Nerves were pretty high.
We went to an outdoor mall located downtown that was really interesting. Bailee picked up a new hat, which she needed. It started raining, and the wind picked up. It was still nice in comparison to Idaho, but there was a growing chill to the air. We then went over to Noodles and Company for lunch. I had the best tomato basil soup ever. Yummy! Bailee had their mac and cheese, which she also loved. The girls stopped in at Lunaberry for boba smoothies. Bai loves them. We then went to Les Madeleines to pick up some French pastries for the McMullins. Daddy McMullin is addicted to their signature pastry, and he begged for them as a souvenir.
After that, we took the girls to the Marriott Center for Dance on the U of U campus. We saw several students from Brindusa-Moore (which helped our girls' nerves - seeing people you know and have danced with always helps). While they auditioned, Amy and I went to Starbucks and tried to relax and distract ourselves. We returned at 5 to pick them up, and had a chance to visit with some other parents from Idaho Falls and Brandi Simpson, who owns Idaho Ballet Theater. Even she was nervous for her daughter. Guess it's a typical parental malady.
After the auditions we took the girls for dinner at The Pie Pizzeria. They loved it - and the chance to relax. After dinner we hit the road. By this time it was raining heavily. We kept a pretty close watch on the weather and road conditions using our Smart Phones, so we were prepared when the rain turned to snow around Malad and the roads got ugly. That slowed us down, but we didn't have any problems, thankfully. We pulled into town around 11 pm - definitely ready for bed.
I'm glad we left last night, as the weather hasn't improved. In fact, the wind has kicked up. That would certainly NOT have been fun. Now we wait to hear. Yes or no, it's all good. We had a good time, made memories, and learned some important information about the University of Utah's scholarships and dance program. Of course, I hope Bailee makes it, but if she doesn't we have learned that it isn't the end of the world. Life goes on, and that's a pretty valuable life lesson for her to get under her belt.
