Break a leg, girls!

Every now and then we are blessed with an unexpectedly

wonderful experience.

Our time with Whippoorwill Theatre's production of 

Midsummer Night's Dream was one of those!

It started with my random web search to find an acting class

or camp for the girls.  They had been expressing an interest

in theater so I was just looking to see what was out there.

I found Whippoorwill Theatre.  It is a community theater

through the West Des Moines Parks and Rec.

As it happens, they were just registering for their late winter

performance.  I decided to give it a try.

We signed up for the play, and the 2 hours/day 3 days/week

practice schedule.  It was a daunting undertaking, considering that

the girls were still doing swim team, piano and gymnastics at the 

same time. 

Not to mention, it was completely out of our comfort zone!

We didn't know anyone participating, anything about the theatre

or anything about the program.  

We showed up the first night, expecting it to be with a few kids with 

as limited acting experience as us.

Well, our first night was not exactly what we expected, to say the least!

Our first impression was.... not great!

It appeared that 'everyone already knew each other'. 

They were quite a spirited bunch, and they had all performed in the past!

The worst part: at the end of the first night, anyone who wanted to 

was encouraged to stand up in front of the group and sing

their audition song! Out loud! In front of the group!

As if that wasn't scary enough, these girls were good!!

Needless to say, we went home that night and both girls announced

in the car that they did NOT want to do this.

I have to admit, I was feeling the same way!

It was overwhelming and uncomfortable, as our many new things.

We agreed to pray about it.

We all prayed.  We prayed for God's guidance on whether we 

should continue and for his strength if we decided to go back.

I prayed for an open mind and to not put my fears and 

insecurities on my kids.

When the sun came up the next day, I had to 2 refreshed,

faithful kids ready to go back and give it a try.

We have not regretted that decision once since that day!!

So began auditions and then 7 weeks of practice.  

7 weeks of insane busy-ness and amazing fun!

The girls went straight from swimming or piano several

days a week.  They ate dinner in the car 2 days a week.

I spent hours upon hours at the theatre surfing the web,

facebooking or just enjoying the chaos that is play practice.

Avery was even invited to join the production as a "little fairy"

so she attended many of the practices too.

In-between the hours of practice some pretty incredible things happened:

We discovered Claire could sing. I mean really sing.

We discovered Ella has a natural presence on stage.

We confirmed that Avery is a drama nut, as we always expected.

We uncovered and developed some pretty amazing character traits in our girls;

courage, confidence, talent, patience, discipline, leadership, and hard-work.

We learned the ins and outs of play production.

We met some really incredible people.

We developed a passion for theater and costume and song.

We identified our own audition songs! 

We had a ton of fun and can't wait to do it all over again!

Avery, aka the purple little fairy

Ella and the other fairies

Avery and the other little fairies

A professional photographer came to the dress rehearsal

to take some cast shots.  It was very cool to see the girls transformed

into character through hair and makeup.

Ella, aka Mustardseed

The cast of Midsummer Night's Dream

Claire, aka Quince

Claire and the mechanicals

Our beautiful actors on opening night!

There was plenty of fun and fooling around too!

Lots of time spent back stage, waiting and practicing~

We had some great souvenirs, including; a poster, memory book, tshirts, and bags

I am so grateful for the many great experiences my kiddos get to have.

We are lucky to live in an area full of opportunity.

We are very blessed and grateful to have such supportive friends and family

(many came to watch the girls in their stage debut!).

Mommy/Avery Day... again!

It's no secret, I love my mommy/avery days!

Almost as much as Avery does!!

Her activity of choice is always Build-A-Bear

and/or snuggling up watching Avengers.

My Avery: she is one of a kind!

Avery and her new friend, Hoppit!

Daddy Daughter Dance 2013!

This is definitely one of my favorite events of the year:

Daddy Daughter Dance!~

The girls have been going to the dance at Hope for several years.

They have a great tradition of meeting Mr. Liskey and the girls

at Culvers (high class dining) for dinner, then they all

head to the dance together.  

Every year the girls get so excited to dress up for their date!

They pick out fancy outfits, and insist on curls and makeup.

It's fun to see them with their unique style.

My favorite part is the photo op!

I love getting these pictures every year and watching 

my little girls grow into beautiful ladies.

I can't wait to watch the years pass and hopefully

continue to take pictures of them all as they head out

for a night with Daddy!

Beautiful Ella, Age 8

Beautiful Avery, Age 5

Beautiful Claire, Age 11

I love this crew!

3 very happy girls. 1 very happy and proud daddy!!

Basketball and bands!

Claire's band had the privilege of playing at the HS Girls and

part of the Boys Basketball games.

It was such a cool experience!

They were mingling with the HS band and playing

really well.  

We all enjoyed the game and music.

I did have a scary, "my baby is growing up" moment.

They had been playing for quite a while and everyone

was having fun.  There were a bunch of kids from Claire's

school there, cheering on the team and friends.

I look over to see Claire and she's laughing and doing a

little dance, and dare I say, flirting!

I look in the direction in which she is giggling, and I 

see several of the boys from her class!! They are all

laughing and being 5th graders and I let out a 

little gasp.  I was stuck between running over and 

telling her to knock it off and running over 

and saying, "you go girl!"  Okay, maybe not you go girl,

but I do think it's great that she's having fun and seems

to be a pretty well-adjusted, normal kid.

I mean really, isn't that all we want for our kids.

I couldn't resist teasing her a bit afterward!

I think I am equally excited and scared for the

coming years, but I know that the more experiences

we have like this the better things will be.

Band, chorus, swim team, whatever it is, those

activities help guide Claire.  They provide

her with good activity, discipline and supportive friends.

I am so grateful for the opportunities my kiddos have

and I can't wait for all that's to come!

Percussion was lined up against the wall.  A bit squished, but they seemed happy.

Avery was a great cheerleader!

Walking in for her first live band performance!

5th grade concert

After a snow day cancellation, Claire's 5th grade band and chorus finally

got to show their stuff.

And they are good!

I mean seriously, I was really impressed with the band. 

They sounded like a HS band!  

Oh no! I think I've become a band mom!

Claire loves playing percussion. In fact, I have noticed that 

piano practice seems to take second seat to percussion practice.

Every morning I hear, rat-a-tat-tat, boom boom!

Our girl has rhythm and we are so proud of you!

I like this next video because I think it's so cool how the 

band 'follows' the director.  They all move in unison

when she stands up and then again when she holds

her arms up.  Pretty cool!

Best Birthday Ever!

Thank you to the best friends ever for helping me celebrate my

3_th birthday! Ok, it's my 38th and I'm totally okay with that!

I had the best time ever.  Really.  We combined three of my favorite things:

Living History Farms, Eating, and Friends.

It made for one of the nicest nights I've had in a long time.

As I sat around that farm table, looking at my dear friends,

I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude.

I have not always had good friends.

There have been times in my life that I have not always surrounded 

myself with good, faithful, honest people.  There have been

times in my life that I have felt incredibly lonely, even when

surrounded by people in a loud, crowded room.

Today, I can count on many people to call me a friend and
I them.  I trust them.  I love them. I know them. I support them.

And they do the same for me.

So often my life is focused around kids, schedules, driving and 

maybe the occasional date night.  I don't always take the time

to enjoy the great friends I have.

So, thank you for blessing me on my birthday, and all the days in between!

It was bit chilly and a bit dark, but we loved the lantern lit
tour of the 1900s farm

We were blinded by the flash, but it was worth it!

Happy Birthday!  I have a silly face because I was trying to hold
still, and not laugh, for the forever 'no flash' pose!

My crew! My life-long friends and village!

Family, Fun, Food, Front teeth!

What a way to end the year!!

As is our tradition, the girls and I headed up to Minneapolis to

spend time with Dean/Rachel and kids after Christmas.

Grammy and Boppa came along too, and we had a great time.

We love staying at Dean and Rachel's.  They are wonderful

hosts and great family. They always make us feel comfortable

and loved.  We love eating with them, and playing with them,

and relaxing with them.

This year was really neat because all the cousins are getting old

enough to really enjoy each other.  It is so special to watch

them grow up together and love spending time with each other.

I am so very grateful to my wonderful brother for these memories!

One of our favorite places is the Mall of America, and our visit

to the American Girl Doll store.  This year was extra special

with Avery's new doll, Clarice.

She was very excited to pick out a "mismatched" outfit.

(it took us a bit of time, and the help of the catalog, for 

Avery to explain what she actually wanted was 'matching'

outfits.  So, she and Clarice now have beautiful matching

dresses and headbands, or 'mismatched' outfits!)

Our favorite spot at the MoA is the amusement park.

We love all the rides, especially the roller coasters and

log ride.  We spent several hours enjoying them all.

And then, as evening was upon us, and we were almost

ready to head home, the Rousehouse tooth curse struck again!

The girls and I were on a roller coaster, and it was a fast,

jerky one.  As we neared the end, it took a sharp turn/stop and 

Avery slammed her mouth on the bar.  Blood was everywhere!

As you may know, mouth wounds are bleeders!

Not only that, but the one front tooth she still has

(she had the other pulled a few months ago after chipping it)

was knocked loose.  

So, here I am, carrying a screaming, bleeding child while

Ella is crying because Avery is crying.  And what do the

teenage ride attendants say to me as I'm screaming for help?

"Maam, you need to exit the ride area."

Are you kidding me!?!

Now, I won't relive the horrible experience we had getting any help or first aid, 

but I will say, it was awful!

My mom and I finally managed to get the most basic of 

first aid, and after listening to the pathetic request of the manager to assure him 

he had "done due diligence", we got Aves calmed down.  

We were heading out of the amusement area (I certainly had enough)

and we pass one of the girls favorite rides.

Avery looks up, swollen and bloody, and says 

"Can we ride that one more time?"

Yes, my brave baby, yes we can!

We spent another 30 minutes riding rides, and even rode 

a different roller coaster!  Oh my wonderful baby!

A few weeks later and the tooth is still there! It has tightened

back up and appears to be okay.

Now, I'm not holding my breath, as I'm 0/2 with teeth.

Both Claire and Avery have knocked teeth that later became

infected and had to be pulled.  But, for now, I'm counting my lucky

stars and hoping this time will be different!

Clarice and her new ear piercings ~

Cousins Sophie and Arwyn at the AG store

Uncle Dean took the girls sledding in their neighborhood.
The girls thought the cardboard box was the best sled!

Until they fell off~

Uncle Dean and Arwyn

Aunt Rachel knitted the cutest hats for the girls!  They all love wearing them.

Claire and I had so much fun together.  She is getting so big and is really
a great person to hang out with.  I am so grateful for her old soul and
loving personality!

Aves and Claire rode rides with me a little extra while Ella enjoyed
some shopping time with Grammy.  That girl loves to shop!

The girls and I enjoying the rides!

Finally, all 3 girls ready to ride!

We all love the roller coasters! We rode this one over and over and over...

Buggie was quite swollen the next day.  She really hit her mouth hard!

We have so much for which to be grateful.  

Our family, our great opportunities, our teeth.

Thank you God for all the gifts in our life.