Nutcracker 2016

The kids work so hard all year, taking classes day after day, spending all their Saturdays at rehearsal.  And they love it.  Then the performance day comes, and there's so much excitement.  Costumes, lights, an audience, the stage...  And then it's over for another year.  But they're already thinking about what parts they may earn when the cast list comes out in September.  

The Nutcracker was Saturday.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Thank you so much to our friends and family who showed support by coming to the show.  

First Snow

At the first sign of winter, all normal people put on their bathing suits...

...and snow suits!!

(Doggie in camouflage)

Yay for snow!  Can't wait for more.  

Fall Review

Yesterday, snowflakes returned, unofficially marking the end of fall.  Somehow, perhaps because of the unseasonably warm weather, it seems to have come and gone in record time.  Or perhaps that is just the way of life when every day is full to the max.  As they say, the days are long but the years are short.  So true.  

This post is dedicated to summarizing some highlights of the past few months...

School days:  here I am in my glory looking over somebody's math. 

I turned 44!  Yoyo lovingly brought me breakfast in bed, but I was already up. So...  Breakfast in the chair in our bedroom!!

Uncle Ashley came to visit and brought along his sons - some of our favorite cousins!!  

Joy turned 15.  Um... What?

Our good buddies visited from Pittsburgh and the kids put on a 'FOM' in the garage (a fake prom).  So much fun:

Yoyo turned 9.  Here she celebrates with ballet buddies at Smoothie King.  Crash and I tag along:

Basketball season has begun!  Spike has 2 tournaments under his belt, and the team is looking great in spite of 2 of the best players being on the 'injured' list.

Joy works at a local dance studio, so we signed Crash up for her 3-4 year old tap class.  He loves it.  Here they are on Halloween!

Goofing around in the parking lot outside Friday afternoon homeschool art class.

Friday may have been the last day of summer-like weather...  So Crash, Grandma, Pada and I spent some afternoon time at the park.  Pada may have gotten busted for climbing he equipment himself:

Daddy, curiously absent from all the pictures, has spent a decent amount of time traveling to various medical conferences and serving as expert witness in trials.  We'll be glad to have him home more in coming months.  

Bring on the snow!!

New Wheels for Fall

1998 Winnebago Rialta

A fall walk

Our first dinner in the camper while parked in the ballet school parking lot.

Me and my camper-loving Dad

For years I've been joking that I just need a camper. 

All our kids' activities are several days a week and on the other side of town.  Most days, we spend several hours away from home.  This year, we made a decision to send one child to school half days, and another child has a need for ongoing occupational therapy...  all of which are also 30 minutes away from home. 

We prayed for help and were provided with 2 young adults who are available to help me with driving.  But still, we were spending so much time in motion, it was becoming difficult to complete all our school lessons and eat meals at reasonable hours. 

So, I started looking online for small campers.  My dad helped me with the search.  We found one...  a 4.5 hour drive away.  We needed an older model to fit both our budget and the size of our garage.  This one fit the bill. 

So, my faithful father and I set off on a trek to check it out.  It has a little rust, but has been very well taken care of.  So, I drove it home. 

In it's first week home, we drove in it every day.  It is comfortable, has a table for schoolwork, and even a little bathroom for emergencies. 

We can't wait to take it on a real camping trip.  And, for the record, my anti-camping husband is fully on board.  He loves and tolerates me -  crazy ideas and all.  God bless him. 

En Pointe

Hard work pays off.  Yoyo has been given the green light from her teachers to begin an exciting journey in her ballet training:  pointe work!! 

She has lots of blisters and pain ahead.  She couldn't be happier about it! 

Bonus is having a big sister to show you the ropes, including how to sew on those elastics and ribbons.  

Great job, little Miss Happiness!!  We are proud of your dedication and sunny attitude.   

Preparations

It's Saturday morning, and the puppy and I are nestled in the recliner drinking coffee (me) and catching a few more winks (him).  In a few minutes, I'll drive child número uno to a work seminar ( I have a child old enough to work...  Wait - what??!!), pick up some fresh meat from our favorite farm, and get to work on preparing for the week ahead.

For the first time ever, one of our kids will be attending an actual school of the brick and mortar variety.  It's tiny.  It seems lovely.  He's only going half a day.  I think it's going to be great!  On Fridays they have a homeschool program which we will all attend!

Still, it is a huge departure for me from life as we've known it.  Please pray for us.  Thanks so much!!!

Here's a glimpse at today's productivity so far:

(The puppy moved on to another lap...)

Have a great weekend!!

Not a fan of selfies, but...

...I love these!!!

Have a great week!!

Our NYC Experience

It's been something of a surreal summer for this little, humble family of ours...  You see, back in January, our eldest child auditioned for the School of American Ballet's summer program and was accepted.  This is no small feat.  At first, the thought of sending our 14-year-old baby to Manhattan for 5 weeks to live in a dorm was daunting, but we prayed, talked to the staff there and her ballet teachers here, and we were heartened and encouraged to send her.  So, we did.  Her faithful grandparents stayed nearby for a couple weeks, and we all visited for a week prior to bringing her home, but largely, she was on her own (with the help and supervision of the SAB staff - who were excellent).  

She describes the experience as the 'best five weeks' of her life.  I'm so thankful.  

She had unbelievable ballet training, outings to so many cultural events, and wonderful suite mates. She navigated the cafeteria with all her food allergies and did her own laundry.  She even got her own NYC library card.  

She was so nervous about going, but she did it.  In fact, she thrived.

The rest of us flew out and stayed in an apartment in the Upper West Side. We walked miles every day in spite of 100 degree heat.  We met with old friends, saw Matilda on Broadway, took in so many beautiful museums ( American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art), historical sights ( Statue of Liberty, 9-11 Memorial), and watched Joy in her ballet classes.  

At the end of all that, we piled into 2 Ub*r SUVs, made for the airport, and came right back to the wide open Midwest, which we love.  

Did that all really happen?  Again, it seems surreal.  But here's some picture proof:

Central Park Zoo

South Street Sea Port

The Met

The NBA Championship Trophy - we caught the last 10 minutes of its public display in the NBA Store.

A little sidewalk pow-wow with our old friends in front of Grand Central Station

Crash's primary form of transportation for the entire week

Heading home and happy to be reunited...

Milestone

When you're the youngest of 5, there's lots of action at home, but not a lot of time for you to have your own classes.  Mr. Crash has been to a couple story times at the library and a couple parent-child music classes...  and that's it.  

This summer, we really wanted him to learn a few skills such as sitting in a circle and follow a teacher's directions, so we signed him up for a creative movement class. 

The first week, I attended the class with him.  He loved it but definitely wanted me there for security and needed a little extra guidance.  

This week his sister walked him in, and he did the whole class all by himself.  

So proud of this little stinker.  And so grateful for patient and kind teachers.