The Nutcracker starring Mary!

Perhaps Mary wasn't exactly THE star of the The Nutcracker. But she was OUR star! 

Her studio puts on a big, fun, high-quality performance every year. And this year Mary was part of it! She was a Ginger Snap, one of Mother Ginger's children. Mary (and David) have always loved the Mother Ginger part of the The Nutcracker, so her role was exciting for our family! It's a well-run, polished, professional-like show, and it definitely required a certain level of maturity. Not surprisingly, Mary worked hard with grace and focus, and she more than rose to the occasion. She was even chosen to have a special part as one of the Ginger Snaps who welcome Claire and the Nutcracker to the Land of Sweets. Yay, Mary!

You can see the Ginger Snaps two dress rehearsal performances HERE and HERE. It's a super cute dance with lots of bouncing and moving around--so it's hard to follow Mary. I did my best. Check it out! 

(MDC's Nutcracker version is "jazzed up." There's lots of ballet, but some of the numbers are jazz, modern, tap, and even hip-hop! No, it's not traditional, but it is a lot of fun.)

Because The Nutcracker seems to be a rite of passage for a dancer, and this was Mary's first year, I have two million pictures to document the event . . .

Saturday was dress rehearsal all day! Lots of work.

Listening to instructions during the tech run/walk-through.

Ready for dress rehearsal!

Sara met us backstage before Mary's group rehearsed. We brought Sara to see the dress rehearsal because we weren't sure if we would take her to one of the performances the following day.

Our favorite Ginger Snap!

Rehearsing the arrivals scene--when the Sugar Plum Fairy welcomes Claire and the Nutcracker.

Bragging alert: Mary was one of four Ginger Snaps (out of a lot!) chosen to be in this special scene. She was really excited about it. We were too!

There she goes! Skipping across the stage!

Meanwhile, Sara was loving it!...even though her expression doesn't show it here. Sara loves music and dancing. She was captivated, clapping after each dance and asking for more. She loved it so much we decided we had to bring her to one of the performances the next day.

This is the farewell scene, when the Sugar Plum Fairy gathers everyone to bid farewell to Claire and the Nutcracker.

Listening to the post-rehearsal notes. Mary listened carefully. The director asked the Ginger Snaps to be even bouncier and  more energetic. Mary took it to heart. Her performance was so fun, energetic, and BOUNCY! It was super cute.

Performance Day! There were two performances. The whole family came to the first one, and I stayed for the second.

Sorry, David and Sara, but you weren't being very cooperative for the picture. But everyone enjoyed the show!

Sisters. Sara loved the show...she made it almost to the end before I had to take her out. 

Greg was really proud of Mary.

We love this girl!

She's quite the performer.

Me and my girls!

I'm so lucky because I got to watch the dress rehearsal and both performances! I'm so proud of Mary.

Our star of the show!

Mary had a little lamb and other stuff from Christmas 2014

Mary had a little lamb ... 

...and Grandma Evie was an angel.

For other highlights from our Christmas 2014 celebration (including such memories as a very sick child, rhythm sticks, and a toilet) go HERE.

November happenings

I don't have pictures, but we had an awesome Thanksgiving with the cousins! Aunt Leslie, Uncle Chris, Eliza, Luke, and Evan came back to Ohio for a visit that week. We decided to do something really laid back a non-traditional for Thanksgiving. So we made calzones and drank Sprecher's. The kids played and the grown-ups talked. It was so much fun. We miss them!

Other November happenings . . .

David and his buddy Jeff participated in the Cincinnati Boychoir workshop. What a great experience!

They performed at the Aronoff Center!!

Mary and pal Grace wait for the concert to start.

Sara was looking for "Day-Day,"

Mary and the Little Gems performed at the Mason Family Expo.

Mary is second from the right.

Mary is in the middle.

They were adorable!




There was also lots of dancing at home. Mary is a great teacher, and Sara is an eager student.

There were also lots of leaves. Lots and lots of leaves.

 I returned to Wisconsin for a week for Montessori practice teaching. While I was gone Sara took up wearing her newborn beanie from the hospital.

Usually Greg and I go out for a free lunch on Veteran's Day.* But I was in Wisconsin. So Sara was his lunch date instead!

David is in 4th Grade Chorus. They had their first concert. They sang some really challenging music! It was impressive!

Greg took David and Mary on an early morning hike at Sugarcreek Metro Park.

Nutcracker rehearsals got real in November! Busy, busy.

We also had a Tiger Fairy . . . 

Video HERE.

* Greg got a little more peace and quiet this year on Veteran's Day. Last year (and the year before) Greg has attended the Veteran's Day Parade at David and Mary's school. It's been special for our family. We don't live in a military community, so it's special that David and Mary's dad is in the military--and that our family experienced a deployment. In 2013 David gave one of  the speeches at the assembly. And in 2014 Mary gave a speech, and David led the color guard. They also got to march in the parade! We've been very honored! But this year David and Mary wanted to be regular kids and watch the parade, cheering on the veterans. So Greg didn't participate this year. Here are a few pictures from last year. (I don't know why I don't have one of Mary giving her speech.)

P.S. Better late than never? This was published in January 2016.

Christmas cheer back in 2014!

I posted some more old material--some Christmas cheer from 2014. It's archived in December 2014.

One more post coming from the 2014 holiday season...
...and then it will be onto the 2015 holiday season!  Hooray! I love Christmastime. (I know everyone always says that. But I really mean it. And I haven't always loved Christmastime. So it's a big deal for me to say that I love Christmastime.)

New post, old material--Link to Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving weekend 2014

In this picture David is almost 9 and a half (and in 3rd grade), Mary is 7 (and in 2nd grade), and Sara is nearing 2 years old. It was taken a year ago, on first day of the our long Thanksgiving weekend in 2014.

I'm spending some of my time preparing for the 2015 holiday season by reminiscing about last year's. It's been fun. Last year was really special, but life has been such a whirlwind that it's only now that I'm finally really processing the memories of last year. (There's some great ones!)

I just posted more picture of Thanksgiving 2014. It is archived in November 2014.

Links for Christmas 2014 coming soon!