Camp Invention, VBS and a good book

Summer is full swing. The big girls have gotten comfortable sleeping in and even Bridget will sleep until 7:30 if she has been up late the night before. Late for her is 9:00, and we seem to be hitting that a lot in the recent days with the sun setting not much before that.

Last week Rachael attended Camp Invention and had a fabulous time. She really loves being able to dig through piles of recylcibles and turning them into something else. They worked in teams and built and played games and it culminated in a Rube Goldberg Machine that moved a ball. Each day she came home happy, with a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, and inspiration. She is hoping that when she is too old to attend camp she can be one of the Junior counselors, like some of Emma's classmates.

This week is Vacation Bible School. Bridget was so excited because this was the first year she was old enough to participate. Megan was eager but Rachael was super negative. We asked Rachael to keep her eye out for Bridget and make the best of it. After the 1st day Rachael had a few complaints but despite an attempt of negativity had a good time. The theme is Jesus as a boy in Nazerath. By the end of the 2nd day she was ready to dress in coustume (only the volunteers do that) and sing along to the VBS CD in the car. They made small banks for saving money to give to the poor and made wooden rolling lambs. They are having a blast.

This year VBS has been a new experience for me. With 5 of my 7 summer crew attending, I have the odd sensation of time to myself. I put Ben down for a nap and Emma who is too old for VBS doesn't need entertaining. I had 2 1/2 hours of time to cross some things off of my list, like replace a window screen, call our contractor, and do 3 loads of laundry. I also got to play a game of foosball with Emma and discuss a book we both just read. It felt very luxurious.

The book we read was one from my book club called "The Hunger Games". It is categorized as teen fiction and was a fun, quick read, but also handled some challenging topics. After I read it I passed to over to Emma, who had 2 lazy summer days in which she could read it from the moment she woke up, pausing only for meals and chores, to bedtime. Obviously she enjoyed the book too and was eager to talk about it. I am a blessed woman.

C3PO and Han Solo

Jim and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary by going downtown to see U2 in concert. We decided since it was a special occasion we would get good tickets and be on the floor of the stadium. It was a blast and the sound was fantastic. As we drove back home after midnight we were both tired and chatting as we dealt with crazy concert traffic. I think after a long day we no longer held some of our less appealing traits in check. As we got closer to home traffic loosened up and as we approached our exit Jim moved to the center lane and accelerated, passing cars. I questioned him as to why he was driving aggressively. He then cut back over to get off the beltway and said to me "You are C-3PO, to my Han Solo". We laughed. Yup, that is us.

16 years of a strange but fruitful relationship, summed up by Star Wars. Like Han, Jim is a little rough on the edges and sometimes harsh with his words but skilled and warmhearted underneath. Like C-3PO, Diplomacy and service are more my calling, as it is programmed with protocol droids, But irritating, too talkative, and frequently not getting the joke. I definitely am not Chewbacca, since I frequently would rather avoid a battle. This means I don't always have his back like I should.  And I am not the powerful, frustrated Princess Leia either.

Han and C-3PO get through a lot of scrapes together sometimes in spite of themselves. They both add important skills to the struggles they face and really they do like each other, but day to day they can cause each other a lot of aggravation. Maybe it isn't the "best" relationship in film but it is successful and I will happily continue to be the C-3PO to his Han Solo.

The Recital

Recital day was exciting. After the celebration of Pentecost at Mass, we made a quick trip to the Farmers Market, and then I ran with Meg to the shoe store to exchange her new ballet shoes for the correct size. We had a quick lunch and then changed Meg into her ballet outfit. We gathered our hair and make-up bag, Meg's lyrical costume and Bridget's ballet costume, plus stuff for the rest of us and we set off for our 7 hour dance adventure.

 I went in with Megan, while Jim and the rest went to buy flowers.We got great seats, it helped knowing where Meg was going to be on stage and getting there before the doors opened. In the dressing room after a few extra bobby pins and some lipstick, Megan and her classmates were ready. I gave her a last kiss and headed to the door when the teacher Ms. Sam looked at the program to discover it had the 2 dances in the opposite order from what everyone was told. The music was in the order of the program so it meant they all had to switch costumes to the lyrical. With help from a few older dancers we got them all changed.

The show started on time with a number that included all of the dance team company. They range from elementary through high school age and are impressive. Bridget sat on the edge of her seat throughout the 1 hour recital and would place her arms in ballet positions just enthralled. Rachael, Emma, Jim, Grandma Kate and I had quite a few wow moments as we watched. I was really relieved that the dances weren't provocative and the costumes were relatively modest. The recital moved well, from solos, to team dances, to classes. Megan's class came on stage in darkness, she looked so composed. Megan danced beautifully and really had to pull her partner and the 2 new dancers along. At one point her and her partner were supposed to skip in a circle together near the front of the stage, but her partner was no where near, where she was supposed to be. Megan motioned to her partner and the audience laughed warmly as she ran across the stage. I was really proud of her.

Megan's class came back on for their ballet dance and again Megan looked serious and composed. She didn't get much support from the girls on her side of the stage and frequently she was the only one doing the position she was supposed to, but she wasn't confident enough to lead her side. Megan was beautiful. The finale was next so she was back on stage a short time later, in a group dance and looked like she was having a blast. She and the apprentice who helps with her class found each other and the teacher slide Megan through her legs and back up. It is a favorite move they practice. The recital was a great experience. We were all so excited for her.

I met her back in the dressing room and Megs was grinning, but then she asked me about flowers. I told her teasingly that I didn't bring any but I knew someone who did. Megan was thrilled to receive a dozen roses from Jim and get lots of congratulations. And then pictures.

We ate a quick dinner and returned for Bridget's recital which was to start @ 6:00. Bridget was anxious to get back to the theater to put her costume on and was so excited when her classmates and especially Sarah arrived. I put a little makeup on them and left them in the hands of the older dancers. My parents came out in a midst a crazy thunderstorm to watch the evening show. Back in the audience we were pleasantly surprised that the the recital had all new solos and team dances, so it was fresh and fun to watch. Megan was impressed and decided as she was watching that yes she wanted to join the dance team. Bridget's class of preschoolers were walked on stage in the darkness and formed a circle of little butterfly fairies. The lights came up and the music started and the girls were grinning from ear to ear, well most of them. Bridget and Sarah were beaming. They did the routine amazingly well and the whole audience "awed" audibly throughout. Bridget obviously enjoyed it and she did great.

Bridget came back on at the finale, in which the whole dance company is on stage free dancing. Sarah and Bridget found each other, grabbed hands and danced in sheer delight. Their teacher came over and danced with Bridget up front but as soon as the teacher let go of her hand Bridget ran back to Sarah grinning. I don't think I have ever seen her so elated.

It was so much fun. I went backstage and got Bridget and she too asked me about flowers. Again I teased that I knew someone who got her flowers. Bridget was so happy to receive them from Jim and pose for pictures with the grandparents. Megan discovered that one of the apprentices, who helped teach her class and showed Megan special atention, didn't receive flowers at the recital after dancing in 9 numbers. So Megan pulled the "prettiest" white rose from her bunch and gave it to her teacher. Megan got a huge thank you and hug and made lots of us smile.

It was a wonderful day.

Dress Rehearsal

 Preparation for a dance recital takes months, with lots of choreography changes and steps to learn. Megan takes a combination class so she had 2 numbers to prepare for. Megan had been working on her lyrical dance since Christmas and because she is one of the stronger dancers she was paired with a very young dancer, who kind of does her own thing. Megan was a little frustrated at first but felt better when the teacher explained why. The ballet number wasn't worked on until spring but the choreography was pretty straight forward. Despite the preparation Megan was naturally a little nervous as the recital approached.

I was nervous too. The studio puts on 2 recitals on the same day, so that the shows aren't too long. I was mostly nervous about the logistics because they were not able to put Megan and Bridget in the same recital so we would go to both recitals. We were all really excited that Grandma Kate was going to fly in for a long weekend so that she could be in the audience too. One big problem with 2 recitals is that it means 2 very long dress rehearsals the day before. We were able to work out a schedule so that I would go down with Megan then Jim would bring down Sarah and Bridget for the later rehearsal and take Megan back. It was the summer cousin swim birthday party that evening. The schedule worked well and Grandma was able to spend time with the other girls at the house. The rehearsals for Megan's class were a little rough, 2 of the girls had just joined the class in April and they were also put on Megan's side of the stage, with Megan the farthest to the right, and farthest from her teacher behind the curtain. Megan didn't look very confident but I assured her that every class was going to make mistakes but that it was OK and she would do well anyway. Megan did love being with the rest of the dancers and watched the older girls practice in awe. Megan was ready to go the the swim party, when Jim and the little girls arrived.

Grandma and Jim had gotten Bridget ready and packed her dance bag, so all I had to do was put her hair in a bun and add some make up. The little girls were ridiculously cute in their fairy butterfly wings. Bridget and Sarah were happy to have pictures taken and watched wide eyed as the dancers moved in and out of the dressing area. When it was time to walk onto the dark stage lead by Ms. Elaine, they were ready. They did so well they only had to go through it once by themselves. We then watched the other dances together while we waited for the finale practice. It was so much fun for them. I was exhausted by the time we got to the pool party but I was able to relax with family while the little girls joined in the fun.