Hello, Dolly!

Hello, Dolly: the play that almost broke by girls' spirits.  It was a HUGE production, with a young cast and a lot of moving pieces and hurdles, like tuxedo rentals, 4 different choreographers, 2 principal characters sick during Dress & Tech Week, only 1 senior on the cast, and 1 stressed out director. Through sooo many lyrics, lines, and steps of choreography memorized, through hard days and sick days, and director-doesn't-love-us-today days, this cast persevered and put on another dazzling performance!  There were moments both my girls said this would be their last play, but that idea seems to have disappeared on this side of the high of performance weekend, and I'm so glad!  Watching them shine on stage is one of my greatest joys.

So, what's the story of Hello Dolly and what were Ella and Delia's parts in it?  Dolly Levi is widow matchmaker, who does everything from teach you how to dance to practice law.  She has her eyes set on the curmudgeonly, but endearing, old Horace Vandergelder.  This is their "love" story, with a few others finding their match along the way.  Delia was in the ensemble, singing and dancing her heart out almost the whole time on stage.  She's a background character, but the joy of performing just oozes out of her and she catches the audience's eye.  We were told over and over how fun she was to watch.  Ella was Ernestina Money, a friend of Dolly's, who does her a special favor by going on a date with Horace and being hilariously horrible, driving him straight into Dolly's arms.  

The show opens with the company of ladies singing, "Call on Dolly".  Note all the cute dresses and hats!  Our costume people outdid themselves with this play!  Note also, all the best pictures are taken professionally and shared with us by Erica, the director's daughter.

Horace's clerks, Barnaby and Cornelius, dream of getting away from his hay and feed store for a night in New York City and sing the famous, "Put on Your Sunday Clothes", which was a show stopper!

Barnaby and Cornelius bump into Minnie May and Irene Malloy and fall instantly in love.  Dolly teaches them all how to dance.  Ella looked so elegant and beautiful in the background of this lovely number to "Dancing".

Dolly, ready to "feel her heart come alive again", belts out that she will keep her head up and find love again to the whole company number, "Before the Parade Passes By", which was choreographed professionally from a dance studio and looked AMAZING!

Act 2 opens in the fancy Harmonia Gardens restaurant, where the waiters serve AND sing, dance, sword fight, flip and do tricks!  This was Delia biggest, longest and favorite scene. This is also the scene where the loveably obnoxious Ernestina Money makes her appearance, terrifying old Horace with her cringey voice and talk of garter belts and dancing the hoochy koochy.  

It worked!  Dolly thanks her!

"Hello, Dolly!  Well, hello Dolly!  It's so nice to have you back where you belong!"  This iconic number was yet another show stopper!  

Chaos erupts as multiple characters and plot points converge at the Harmonia Gardens, but not to worry-- nothing a judge and a love scene can't solve!  Barnaby and Irene share a sweet kiss after professing "It Only Takes a Moment" to fall in love.

 And perhaps inspired by this love story, Horace and Dolly finally get theirs too.  A match for everyone!

So, here is what we have learned from this season of Hello Dolly.  Using your gifts to glorify God brings joy to all.  It is good to do hard things.  If you keep the big picture in mind and persevere, you will be rewarded.  Sweet new friends can be found in any class.  Don't accidently leave your dance shoes at home on performance night.  And when dancing for two and a half hours with your straight, fine hair, about 100 bobby pins will be required to keep that style in place! ;)   

Rock On!

Ella has a surprising new hobby!  She is an indoor rock climber now!  It started when some friends of ours opened a state of the art rock climbing gym right next to our school.  Uncle Andrew gave Ella a gift card to try it out.  Ella used it to take a belay class with her friend Ruth in August and was quickly hooked (or clipped?!)  She went back and practiced every day for a week, passing a test, and earning her Top Rope Belay Certification.  She is now a member of the gym and meets a group of her friends a few times each week to climb!  It's a pretty cool place to hang out!  The walls are all set at different difficulties and rated with a special number system.  She's been setting goals with her climbing partner and improving, already tackling the harder routes.  Her membership comes with guest passes, so if you visit, she may want to literally show you the ropes! ;)

 

Everything I Haven't Told You...

My last post was dated in August and here we are in October.  In between the trips to Tahoe and Oahu and the birthday parties, we had a splendid summer!  Here are a few of the left over pictures that never made it to the blog...

The girls did a fun photoshoot in the park.  These are a few favorites that they took of each other.

Ella took a life-changing youth group trip to Estes Park, Colorado where she was challenged with amazing speakers, recharged with passionate worship, dazzled by the magnificent mountain scenery, and bonded with her sweet group of friends.

We were blessed to host some dear friends for a day!  Loved catching up with Amy and her kids, and I am blown away by how BIG everyone in the picture below is!

We celebrated the Fourth of July with some fun festivities.

We visited the local Farmers' Market every Thursday night, usually meeting friends there for dinner or dessert, one time climbing and hopping a fence when our car got locked in! :)

We survived another busy week of VBS, once again telling Bible stories (me and Dave), acting as the main part in the daily dramas (Cam Track, aka Delia) and leading arts and crafts (Ella).

The kids kept busy for a week with Drama Camp, this year learning legit choreography for songs to Newsies from a local dance studio who donated their teachers to come instruct our drama kids!

We met our friends' new batch of baby bunnies.

We spent one of our last summer days at Pinecrest with some friends.  There was swimming, hiking, and the most intense paddle boating we've ever done!

Ivy got all the love.

Delia completed her Invisalign Journey and now has the most beautiful smile, matching Ella's!  Our family is officially braces-free!

We helped our Drama Director move the week before school started.  The skills Dave learned during a summer of working for a moving company during seminary coming in handy once again!

We started school...and we started totally normal with no restrictions, hallelujah!

Ella got her license and our lives changed!  It is VERY nice to let her drive herself to her many social engagements and extra curricular activities!

We celebrated my birthday.

Ella took a trip to Apple Hill with some girl friends to pick apples and take fall pictures.

We enjoyed dress up days at school.  After two weeks of jungle print and cowboy gear for me in the preschool, the girls had a fun week of movie dress up.  The first day was "Back to the Future" where they had to dress from a different decade.

And probably the biggest news-- both girls landed significant parts in the fall musical, Hello Dolly, which debuts next weekend!  Producing a show is always a series of peaks and valleys.  This one has had more lows as it's a HUGE show with a lot to learn and being stressed has been a big part of it.  But, after the first week of Dress & Tech, it's looking good and the excitement to perform is always a peak!  I'm proud of both girls, but Delia especially, who is in the song and dance company and leads with her work ethic, earning this little shout out on social media from our director.

That is the super condensed Cliff Notes version of June-October!  But, let me get deeper for a moment here and tell you what the pictures hint at-- we are in a GREAT stage of life!  Both my girls are loving high school, their teachers, their classes, their activities, their friends.  This may be my favorite stage of parenting yet!  As the girls mature and test out independence, I am enjoying a subtle shift, especially with Ella, to more of a friendship relationship.  I love laughing with them.  I love having their people fill my house for movies and pizza and games.  I love when they ask for advice about relationships and their futures.  I love watching them lead and use their gifts.  I haven't blogged in a while, but it's not because life is not good or worth recording!