Fieldtrip to the Symphony

On Saturday, April 15th, we had a fun field trip to Salt Lake to watch and listen to Philharmonia Fantastique performed by the Utah Symphony as part of their family series. The kids had free admission to the concert through their PBS Kids Adventure passes, and I've always wanted to attend a concert at Abravenal Hall, so we made it happen. Extra fun was that Heather and her family met us there! Cousins and a concert! Woo!

They had an instrument petting zoo in the lobby before the concert began, so the kids got to try out cellos, violins, and even a trumpet (that was Cooper, and I think he surprised the helper by actually getting it to make a sound - little did that guy know that Coop practices on his mom's French horn and can buzz his lips like a pro!).

 The concert itself was fantastic - a great little intro to the orchestra, with songs played by each section and cheers and claps from the audience as they voted for their favorite section. The finale was a long piece that toured through the orchestra at the same time an artistic video representation of the music and the instruments was playing on a big screen behind the orchestra. Think fantasia-style art and animation. It was very fun.

After the concert we all walked a few blocks over to Crown Burgers for lunch. YUM! 

Sam was so excited to see dandelions along the sidewalk
he picked one and then asked me to take a pic before he threw
it back outside while we ordered lunch.

Then we didn't want our day to end, so we wandered back toward our parking garage in City Center and made a detour into Temple Square. We gawked at the temple construction and peeked inside the tabernacle and assembly hall and the kids ran and played on the grass (such a rare sight!). They even took off their socks and shoes! We soaked in the sun and visited on the benches and at last we decided we should head back to the car.

Can you see where the steps and door that are normally at ground
level are definitely not at ground level right now?! This is wild!

Blossom tree!

But wait! Why not take a ride on trax for a couple of stops first? We waited for a bit for the eastbound train to come, but realized it would be quicker (and more train time) for us to catch the westbound train for one stop, then hop back on the eastbound for two stops back to the car. Simple pleasures. Fun day!