1) The troupe I dance in, Nagamani Dance Company, got a performance spot in the Massive Spectacular, a professional dance production in Las Vegas.
2) John's sister was planning on getting married in Vegas.
3) I decided that no matter what, we were taking a family vacation before Nico was born.
To make thing oh-so-neat and easy, Toni scheduled her wedding two days after the dance show, allowing our whole family to make one trip together so we could do both things. Then we booked a teeny tiny little beach house in Mission Beach, San Diego, starting the day after the wedding. Win!
The show went off without a hitch, and I can't even describe how cool it was to share a stage and dressing room packed with the bellydance stars whom I've been following all googley eyed via the web for the last 10 years or so. Wow. Hugs and kisses from Mira Betz, Rachel Brice, Heather Stants and Unmata's Amy Sigil and Shelley, sharing glitter and giggles with Deb Rubin and Aradia and rubbing shoulders with Zoe Jakes, Mardi Love, Kami Liddle and others all in the span of a few hours? Who would've thunk?
But then the glitter and glam was washed off and packed away, and we went back to enjoying our wonderful Vegas family. We pet and fed the animals at Bonnie Springs, including the wild donkeys who stuck their heads right into our car, jumped on Aunt Lisa's trampoline, and generally hung out and relaxed.
Toni's wedding was simple and beautiful -- it couldn't have been any better! We're so happy for her and Sofia's new Uncle Keith. May they, and Toni's dogs, enjoy many years together!
Ah, and then San Diego! Despite the fact that we arrived to RAIN (what?!), the weather quickly shaped up and we had a great vacation. A visit to the zoo was our only "real" excursion, otherwise we walked the boardwalk, buried Sof in the sand and rode our beach cruisers around. It really couldn't have been better, except if we had stayed another week. The highlight (for me, at least) was on our last day. We were sitting on the beach right before sunset with my great friend Emily, who drove down for the day from Santa Monica. Just as the sky was getting set to change colors, we spotted a group of dolphins playing just beyond the waves. We got to watch them swim and jump all the way across the horizon. Magic!
Enjoy the pics (there are even more on facebook), which are more or less arranged in the order in which they occurred:
1 comment:
love! glad you guys were able to have that time together before Nico arrives.
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