Nutcracker + Christmas + Family

We've had a whirlwind couple of weeks and I've taken about a million pictures...

Start waayyyyy back with Nutcracker Rehearsal at the Theater on Thursday night. Grandma and Grandpa were very kind to get Shelly picked up from school and to the theater on time since I was at work. Friday I took the day off so I could get her to the theater on time (again) for dress rehearsal. Grandma and Grandpa weren't left out of the fun, though, they took Eli for the weekend. Let's not forget Archer - he packed himself up and took off with the scouts for a weekend of camping. And. A beautiful dress rehearsal kicked off the weekend of performances.



Saturday and Sunday. Three performances, so many compliments to the dancers and of course the best dancer of all was Shelly. She had a new role this year, as a Sheep. She was the cutest one.

Archer made it home Sunday morning after a weekend with an entire Scout camp for their small group of five people. Did I mention that the Blizzard of the Century blew through on Friday night? The Scout camp was covered in 40 feet of snow so the boys spent the weekend sledding and snowball fighting and whatever else Scouts do when camping in the snow.

We had a little Christmas gathering with Grandma and Grandpa after the final performance on Sunday. We all breathed a sigh of relief that another Nutcracker season was closed. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for assisting with the taxi duties, and for hanging onto E for the whole weekend so he didn't have to see the Nutcracker four times. You two always come through for us!

Fast forward six days, Hello Christmas!

Remember when Archer was the same height as these Nutcrackers?

We enjoyed our traditional visit to the campground for the light show, a visit from Santa, and Christmas with the cousins. This was the year of Nerf and RC toys. I tried to tally it up. The addition to the F5 Arsenal is something like 120 Nerf darts, 4 Nerf guns, 4 quadcopters, 2 cars, 1 helicopter and a whole lot of Cracker Jack. There might also be somewhere around 1,000 new Lego? And who gave Elijah Graham 110 marbles?

This is what I know - the rule of "no small parts" is 100% broken because for the last three days I've barely been able to walk without stepping on a weapon or some kind of ammo. I also know this. There has been a lot of running around, screaming with delight, laughing as the kids and quadcopters chase each other around corners. All around, a happy Christmas season for all.

Busy Bees!

Archer impressed us all in his role as waiter at the Scout-ghetti dinner on Saturday. He began his shift at noon and didn't get home until after 10p.m. There was the set up, serving and clean up. Archer kept his complaints about sore feet and legs to a minimum. But I think he may have gained a new respect for waiters and others who spend long hours on their feet. Way to go, Scout!

Sunday marked Shelly's last Nutcracker rehearsal at the studio. Shelly gained some laundry experience this morning when we realized she had no clean tights to wear to rehearsal. She jumped right on that problem, loaded up the washer and set it to go! All that remains are two rehearsals at the theater, and then we've got the big show, just a few short days away!

We wrapped up our weekend with four long hours of pool time at the Y. Note to self - next time, two hours will be plenty. Eli... Well, he got two hours of pool time wearing a life vest and followed around in the lazy river by me. After that I gave up and made him play in the shallow kiddie part by himself. Archer's game of constantly hanging on my back and trying to drag me under was getting too old.

We were ALL chilled, hungry, and tired. So nice of David to have dinner started when we got home. Thanks honey.  :)

Next Up...

Archer's Holiday Concert at JAMS

Two days of theater rehearsals followed by two days of Nutcracker performances

Christmas in HC with the family

AANNNDD... Are you ready? I'm not quite.  :)

I Think I Need a Personal Assistant, or Maybe Just a Tissue

It would be great if someone could help me manage all the different schedules I'm in charge of...

We are FULLY immersed in school now. Last night David said the return to the routine had gone very smoothly. We discussed how its not really new to me anymore, not many surprises and we just slip right back into it. Kind of.

The difference this year is Archer and Eli are both at new schools. They've done very well adjusting and I'm proud of everyone for their great attitudes. We are, of course, busier than ever.

Archer is still in Scouts, every Monday. He's also decided to join the Cross Country team at school (yay!). That's Monday through Thursday. He gets home after 5:00. Yesterday was his first practice and he wore my old running shoes (they're at 600 or 700 miles by now, worn out?). He came home exhausted - not only did they run, he walked a mile and a half home with a 20 pound backpack. I guess I'll be picking him up after practice from now on.

After missing a week of ballet, Shelly gets to officially start this week. She's gotten rid of the boot and she's ready to go! That's every Thursday.

Eli has gotten the hang of riding the bus and asks me many times each morning, "Is it time to go yet?" We hang out at the corner picking dandelions and making wishes. I hug him so many times in the morning, loving his warm little body against mine, a little sad for the time slipping past us and the time we can't go back to. My little boy, so grown up with so many stories and things to share. He told me today, "I know you're going to do all the really fun stuff when I leave!" I'm not sure what he's imagining, but here I am at my desk, working on emails, wishing he was at my side with his truck delivering random stuff to my feet. Or with his pockets full of tools asking what needs fixed, because he's the Builder Man and he can fix anything for me. Or am I hungry? He just opened up a restaurant called Peanut Butter and Jelly, but he can make anything else too.

Yesterday when we walked to the bus stop, I watched Eli and tried to remember when Archer and Shelly were that small, just starting out in 4K. So confident and stepping out into the world, onto the bus, on their own.

Maybe we've all started back up with the school routine, and maybe we're all getting pretty good at it. But maybe I'm also wishing I could just slow it down a bit, remember those single moments of holding their small hands. Maybe I'm a bit sad that Archer doesn't ask me to help him blow dandelions to make wishes anymore. Shelly doesn't want me reading to her or picking out books for her, she's got her own ideas about what she likes. She won't let me braid her hair and definitely not ever tell her what to wear.

I guess for now I'll just hold Eli's hand as we walk to the bus stop, wave him off and wait for the tribe to return home to me at night and share their stories.

Big Ballet Debut

This past summer, after watching a movie, Shelly innocently commented that she wished she was a ballerina. When fall started getting close and we had our annual discussion about "what activity this year?", Shelly said she didn't want to do Awana again. She wanted to take dance lessons. We scouted out all the dance studios we could find and settled on one. The one farthest away from home, the one that you have to drive through shady neighborhoods, that's the one that caught our attention. That's where we joined. It didn't hurt that we spied Nutcracker costumes on our tour of the studio. It helped that we got to see some ballerinas in action during a class they were taking.

Anyway, we've been travelling down to the studio once a week for Shelly's ballet lessons and she seems to really enjoy it. Not long after the school year started, the notice came out - all those interested in participating in the Nutcracker production should complete a form and mark their calendars... And away we go!

Then, instead of just classes on Wednesdays, we also had rehearsals on Sundays. Once it got closer to the big weekend, there were MORE rehearsals and planning and discussions of hair and makeup and what color tights, what color shoes, what time to show up, where are we supposed to go? Do we have enough bobby pins, hair nets, hair spray, snacks?

 

The big day finally arrived, after countless hours of rehearsal we got to settle in and truly enjoy the show. What an incredible performance by ALL of the dancers. Shelly was an angel and performed her role perfectly.

We were treated to multiple showings, Shelly performed five times in four days (including the full-length rehearsals). By the end of the weekend we were thrilled at the opportunity we'd had, and also completely exhausted and thankful for the holiday break from ballet, two whole weeks off before we start up again next year!