Alegria!

Mind is officially blown.  the end.


Where do I even begin?  


Okay, first off. I'm happy to report, we are totally getting better at this whole date thing.  Like way better!


Last night was ahhhhhmazing!  I'm going to use the word "amazing" a lot in this post, be warned.  Absolutely fantastic!  As you've read in earlier posts,here.  Our date life has been puny to the non-existent, but true to my promise, it is improving!  I've always wanted to see a Cirque du Soleil show but never thought I'd have a big enough reason (or spare funds) to travel to Vegas to see one of their shows.  Let's be honest, what does Vegas have to offer a Mormon?  


So you can imagine how psyched I was when I was driving on the interstate and saw a LED billboard for none other than Cirque du Soleil...surely mine eyes were deceiving me!  But they were not.   Reviews spread on FB like wildfire and it peaked my interest.  I mentioned it to Mitch, and after a "should we- shouldn't we" debate (Mitch made the winning argument of we never do anything like this... SO true)  and we decided it was a date :)


Since we never do this kind of thing, we splurged.  We bought floor seats!  Can I just say

  BEST MONEY SPENT. EVER. 

We were going to get the stadium seating, but the ticket master sold me when he informed me that the performers actually interacted with the audience on the floor. (How cool is that?!?!)  He was such a sweet old man... complimented and cooed with Bella the whole time!  And since I went down to the ticket office instead of ordering online, I didn't feel as bad about splurging since I saved us the $15 convenience fee.  (Don't judge me, it helps me sleep at night).


I was happier than a kid in a candy store when I put those tickets in my wallet.



So the night of the big event arrives.  Mitch and I looked very GQ in black (What can I say? it's classic.) and I had the cutest snake skin peep toed shoes.  Mitch even took me to get a pedicure the day before for our big night out! 

Ignore the sausage toes and focus on the cute shoes

We ate at Takosushi (also amazing!) and ordered the tempura asparagus and sushi.... seriously, what food doesn't taste better fried?  I've yet to meet something I wouldn't like better fried.  We also ran into a couple from our old ward that we love and miss!  After Takosushi we had some time to kill so we walked to Marble Slab for some ice-cream.  What's more awesome than fried food AND ice cream?  Nothing.  Okay, maybe there are, but its a nice combo.  

On our way to TakoSushi... you can't tell in the pic, but my outfit was really cute.  I even wore a chunky belt... that's very "NON-Momish" of me :)

Unfortunately, the food didn't last long enough to take a picture, yep... it's that good.

...My smokin hoot husband...so GQ

Now for the good part!

We finally arrive at our destination for the night and lock our "Lexus"  (my white 98 Honda, we pretend its a Lexus because with a husband in college, it's all the luxury we can afford)  It was neat that we had an escort to our seats and we had awesome seats!

  

Just so you get the full experience.

The stage is amazing by itself.  I don't know how to effectively describe it.  

Before the show started you saw the "ringmaster" in the balcony and he looked like a mix between the guy from Saw and a mime. 

Ring Master (My New Admirer)

Then these old ladies with exaggerated calves and butts aka "The Old Birds" came out and started interacting with the crowd.  Not going to lie, they kinda scared me.  

Old Birds

Still have that song stuck in my head

Then you hear the most amazing and haunting music and then you see the ring master with this glorified mariachi band... and they come marching straight to our section.  The ringmaster selected a lady from the audience and started dancing with her to the crowds cheers and excitement.  Mitch leaned over and said "they're totally going to get you to do something" which I didn't believe.  Little did he know, HE was going to be the star of the show.  So then the ringmaster walks up to our row.  Mitch smiles and then the guy handed me his staff and got Mitch to dance with him!  It was hilarious, but that's not even the best part!  He then grabs Mitch and takes him all the way, almost to the back of the stage and sits him in a chair all by himself and then runs back to sit by me and puts his arm around me and Coochie Coo's my chin!  Okay, so he wasn't Brad Pitt and it was just part of the act, but it made me feel so good!  It's hard being a mom and feeling attractive (almost like you're not allowed to be cute anymore) and this just made my night.  Needless to say, I felt like a million bucks and the crowd went wild.  This alone was worth the money.

The Ringmaster shouted "ALEGRIA!" which in spanish means "jubilation" or "celebration" and let me tell you, this show was just that!  The crowd went crazy every time he would shout!  The atmosphere was electrically charged to say the least.  You were on the edge of your seats the whole time!

Then the "White Singer" came out and started singing the theme song which was enchanting.  I still have the song stuck in my head.  I'm going to chronicle the show with photos. But I will add this.  My jaw was dropped, my hands were clapping, and some "whoos" escaping my mouth were permanent fixtures the entire show.  Not a single dull moment.  It was a magical journey for all of your senses, okay, so not smell because the couple next to us were drinking beer, but the other ones... totally euphoric!  Everything was perfectly synchronized and in harmony.  Your brain couldn't believe the things your eyers were seeing and I am pretty sure half the performers had bones removed to bend the way they were.  I could take yoga for the rest of my life, every day, and I still couldn't bend my body the way the people could.  They were true performers and artists in every sense of the word.  I will never be entertained the same way again.

The White Singer (Mitch's new admirer)... she had such a beautiful voice.

THESE GUYS WERE AMAZING!  They were doing things with fire that defy gravity and all logic.

This guy was amazing.  He had so much control over his body and all his movements were very fluid.

That's right, these guys were doing back flips and all kind of acrobatics in the air and then landing on the boards that were maybe 6 inches wide... TALK ABOUT ACCURACY! (not to mention trust... there were no safety nets or wires)

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you....that's two separate people, one balancing on top of each other bending their bodies like they were Gumby.  These contortionists was mesmerizing.  I couldn't tell their head from their butt with all the different transitions.  The could been their backs at a 90 degree angle, in the opposite direction of what any back should bend (thus why I am convinced they had bone removal... when you can rest your feet on your cheeks from behind you... something ain't right)  Their movements were so fluid it was unreal.  It was like two bodies working with one mind.  All the transitions were so smooth.  Absolute perfection.

The trampoline act was ,of course, phenomenal (I'm running out of new positive adjectives to use)  Perfectly synchronized and action packed.  It was a four way trampoline and performers were flipping onto the trampoline and twisting off onto the stage.  Precisely choreographed for an unforgettable experience.

Somewhere in between here there was an intermission.  We had a chance to take a picture together since cameras weren't allowed during the show and we even got cotton candy!  People also stopped us to discuss our new found fame (we are a pretty likable couple) and then we took our seats.

When the show started back up the white singer came out with ringmaster and they came out into the audience as she sang and shmoozed the audience.  She showed some love to the other section before coming to the center and looking in our direction and giggling.. they approached us again and the "white singer"  approached Mitch for a dance...she was kind enough to gesture for my permission to which I happily consented.  And she took him on stage!  While they danced and she serenaded him surrounded by the precise dance moves of the other performers... I was so proud of him!  It looked like a scene from a Disney Princess movie.  The crowd was just eating him up!  I even turned around to face the audience and pointed saying that's my man!  Because he is :)  And if you know Mitch, he was soaking up the attention as much as they would dish it out.  Normally, I wouldn't condone this behavior (dancing with other women while they serenade you) but I felt like this was an exception.  However, if she were to invite him backstage after the show, all bets were off.  After this, Mitch was hesitant whenever they would near our direction.  If people were looking before, they were definitely paying us attention after this.  We so got our money's worth out of the tickets. 

 The rest of the show was just as amazing and the first half an in between there were clown acts which were hilarious.  Their were acrobats and trapeze artists who were ....amazing!  One of the coolest parts was when this sad clown (who appeared to be homeless) was traveling in a snow storm and then there was an  illusion of a snowblower coming from absolutely no where (the arena was pitch black with the exception of a headlight in front of you) and this giant windstorm blows all the "snow" at you (paper confetti) and it was so fun!  I'll say it again!  Totally worth the money.

It was a night full of "Did they really just do that?  Oh yes, they did!"  and "She can't bend that way naturally... bones have been surgically removed somewhere."  I was contemplating to myself how badly it would hurt to have something like that done, and if Mitch would let me... I'd love to be in the circus.  However unrealistic, I still can dream.  The show as a whole was awe-inspiring and mind blowing.  Even as I type this I am secretly googling the closest Cirque du Soleil show for my next fix.  I'm addicted and I totally can't afford this habit.  

We entered the event as regular ol young parents, and left rockstars. (at least in my mind)

Best date night ever.