Dallas Trip

On April 16th Elizabeth and I departed for a quick trip to Dallas for a choir contest she was in. She chose not to go on the choir spring trip this year but her director asked her if she could go just for the competition. (She didn't want to pay around $500 for a 3 day trip.)
We decided to make it a fun trip for just the two of us. We left Thursday after she got out of school and headed north. The drive there was fun, but long. (around 5 hours)We got to enjoy an awesome Texas Thunderstorm on the way there. The lightning was incredible! We have so many trees here that we never get to appreciate the lightening. We stayed at my wonderful Aunt Teresa's home. I didn't realize how much I missed her until we spent time with her! (She's one of my Dad's younger sisters!) I have so many memories of her growing up and just love her!

We woke up on Friday and drove to Dallas to meet up with the choir. (My Aunt lives in Arlington which is between Dallas and Ft. Worth - Home of Six Flags) We arrived during another rain shower only to find out that the chorale women had had to perform early and we had missed it. Bummer!! They had wanted the chorale to perform early also but Mr. Carter requested that they wait for Elizabeth who was on her way. So, we arrived before they were to go warm up. It ended up being very emotional for Elizabeth and some of the other Seniors. It was their last competition/performance together. All I can say is that that was one of the most incredible performances I have ever heard! The sound that came from that group was incredible! I had tears in my eyes myself. It was flawless! They won sweepstakes and then won Best overall choir! (They got a HUGE trophy!) It was so worth the trip!

After the performance I was able to snap a few pictures. This is Elizabeth and Chantel. Chantel lives down the street from us and they have become really good friends this year. Mr. Carter makes all the girls pull their hair back into tight buns for the stage effect. (I'm not a fan of the look myself!)

Elizabeth and Jon - He had already changed out of his tux.

After we left the choir we decided to find the Dallas Temple. It was further than I thought it was, but it was nice to go and walk on the grounds with Elizabeth. It's amazing how much the trees have grown since Darin and I were married there! It was beautiful and so peaceful!

We finally headed back to Aunt Teresa's house where she had a yummy dinner waiting for us! We decided later to go shopping for prom shoes at DSW where Elizabeth just kept cracking up. She would try on shoes and Aunt Teresa would let her know if they were sexy enough! It was funny! We then went to Cheesecake Factory and indulged in some yummy cheesecake. Saturday morning we got up and went to my cousin James home and spent time with his family. They are awesome! His wife and I hit it off quickly and I can't wait till we can go visit again! (Hopefully this summer!)

We had to end our visit too soon. We had such a great trip and enjoyed getting reconnected with family.

We had to rush home to make it in time for our Ward talent/skit night. It was a long drive! The next few pictures show how bored Elizabeth got! She got a little camera happy!

We had such a fun trip! I think Elizabeth liked being the "only child" for a few days!