24 Hours of Fun!

Really it was closer to 28, but it seems to make sense to round it to an even day.

Erick and I had a fantastic time in St. Louis. Pre-concert dinner with JP and Niki at Cicero's on Delmar Loop.

 

After a cold but invigorating walk down Delmar Loop, we reached The Pageant. We have had a lot of fun in this area of St. Louis/University City. This was definitely the best experience yet. Here we are prepared for a great concert experience.

 

The Swell Season was really incredible. Right on. New music, old music, cover songs. Just a really terrific live show. I thought it was even a little better than the first concert we saw from them. Seemed like they have gotten comfortable with their new found fame and have decided to run with it.

 

After the concert, we went back to Cicero's without JP and Niki, with our friends and neighbors the Grays and the newlywed Orrs. However, it was after midnight (and Dr. Aaron Gray's birthday) and I took no pictures... Back at the hotel, we slept in at our pricelined hotel in the giant king bed under a luxurious down comforter. That was fantastic. I highly recommend the Maryville Marriott.

Then things just got better. We headed home to a very happy Sophia. She and my parents had been having a great morning and were waiting patiently for us to arrive and open our Christmas gifts. Let's just say that so far, Christmas is treating us well. Sophia was really pleased with her gifts, including her very fancy clothes and dog Frenchy.

 

And it worked out really well that she wanted to wear them (and bring Frenchy) to The Nutcracker tonight.

 

I don't really know where to begin about The Nutcracker. Before we even arrived, Sophia was so excited to get to see the ballet, but to see it with Grandma and Grandpa was just beyond thrilling. This picture is the closest to capturing how thrilled she was.

 

I thought we'd make it to the intermission but probably not too much later. I was wrong. Sophia was riveted through the whole show. At one point, she leaned over to me (from Grandpa's lap of course) and said, "I love this show!" Again this year, I was amazed at the fact that in spite of the inordinate number of small children, Jesse Hall remained nearly silent through the entire two hours! When it was finished, Sophia actually cried and said she wanted them to do it again. Apparently she didn't think they should be tired after their performance. Regardless, we headed home. And yes, I am wearing a hat. It's among my favorite Christmas gifts of the day. Feminine but still modern. Like me?

 

What a fantastic twenty-some hours! A really, really great weekend already. The perfect way to celebrate Christmas.