Family Weekend+

We hug Ella goodbye in August knowing it will be a full 2 months until we get to hug her again.  A lot happens in those 2 months, but they do fly right by with the all the calendar-filling activities associated with the start of new classes, new routines, new plays, and (for Ella) new friends!  We were so excited to spend time not just with her and her people, but also...with some of our extended family members!!  It worked out perfectly that Kyle's work brought him to LA days before our plans to be there.  He met up with us and shared all the fun of Family Weekend and his first look at Ella's college.  

 

Delia has actually applied and already been accepted to this school too.  First order of business: the official tour and meeting with an Admissions Counselor that gives her a $500 scholarship.  Ella's best friend Ori works for Admissions giving tours and was able to request she be the guide for ours!  Since Ella has spent lots of time helping Ori memorize her script and practice her tour speeches, she came along to cheer Ori on!  This was a fun way for Uncle Kyle to get a comprehensive view of the school too.

After the tour we met up with Gideon to share the night's activities: dinner and a show!  Dinner was at our favorite Cuban eatery, Portos. Gideon and Kyle were both introduced to their specialties-- spicy potato balls, empanadas, meat pies and cheese rolls.

The show was a murder mystery farce by the school's theater program.  It was amazing!  We got another opportunity to support Ori here too as she starred in it!  One drawback to Delia possibility attending this school is that Drama is for theater majors only.  But, that does ensure some MAJOR talent was in the show!  We were entertained and impressed.  Our morning started very early so we could make it to LA by lunchtime.  We adults were pooped by the time the play ended and anxious to head back to the hotel as Delia had another fun dorm sleepover with Ella and her sweet roommate.

On Saturday the grand plan was to meet Anna and Derek at The Huntington Library, Museum and Gardens.  This has long been on my LA List and it exceeded expectation!  What a lovely day we had strolling around enjoying the incredible sights while catching up with some of our dearest ones.

In the Huntington Library my favorite items on display were the Gutenberg Bible and the original Birds of America paintings from Audubon.  Incredible history here, so impeccably persevered.  We also saw original works from Newton, Thoreau, Shakespeare, and Chaucer to name just a few!

The Art Museum had lots of interesting things too.  My eye was drawn to the beautiful nest sculptures and bird paintings on the glass.

And then there were the gardens.  We could have spent an entire day exploring each of them!  The Rose Garden was my favorite with rows and rows of vibrant and thickly scented rose buses as far as the eye could see.  Many were genetically engineered right here at The Huntington, so you can't see these particular breed of roses anywhere else!

The Japanese Garden with its koi ponds, many manicured bonsai trees, and raked Zen sand patches was serene and special.

The Chinese garden, peacefully nestled around a lake with multiple bridges, was calling us to stop and enjoy a Boba tea in the little tea shop pagoda.  We also walked through an Australia Garden which was mostly hot and dry, a Desert Garden where everything wanted to poke you, and a Jungle Garden full of lush greenery, shade and waterfalls.  I love that in our many trips to LA we are still finding new gems to discover.  It was the perfect place to spend a day with family.  

A hearty dinner of every kind of pasta at a local place we've come to love was followed by a time to just visit and chill in Ella's dorm room, where we got to know her roommate (who she LOVES) a little better.  At about the time I'm normally putting my pajamas on at home, we decided to venture out again and check out Don Churros-- this busy churro stand right by Disneyland made famous by the Food Network.  We waited a whole hour for our freshly fried, piping hot churros with ice cream and dipping sauces and it was worth every minute!

Especially since our wait was timed perfectly with Disneyland's 9:30pm fireworks show!  Ella actually hears this every single night on campus, but we had front row seats to seeing the 3 different places Disney shoots off the fireworks, using a forced perspective that allows their guests to enjoy all the angles.  Did you know the fireworks actually go off miles away from Disneyland?! 

On Sunday morning we said goodbye to Kyle and headed off to Ella and Gideon's church.  After church we had a nice lunch at Gideon's family's home.  For a month we've been hearing about the puppies their dog Pepper gave birth to-- what a treat to meet these sweet pups before they go off to their forever homes.  The time to get to know Gideon's family is always something we enjoy too.  This time his brothers, aunt, uncle and cousin joined us.  

Delia was in heaven giving each of the drowsy puppies a chance to snuggle in her arms.

We left Ella with the taste of home we had brought along for her and her friends.  And with the "See you in a few weeks!" hug goodbye that always makes coming to the end of a wonderful weekend a little easier.  If the months of September and October flew right by, we know November will go that much quicker!

Best Cast Ever

A peek at some of the behind-the-scenes and after-show fun!

Delia knew going in that she was going to love this cast.  Over half of them were freshman, who she got to know while mentoring Elf last year.  This is famously a lovely, talented, enthusiastic, hilarious group of kids.  Delia loves that she got to share one year of Drama with this special bunch and feels good about the future of her beloved program in their hands.  Shrek, in fact, was played by a freshman and he was amazing!

These are the Senior Four.  All good friends of Delia-- BFF Kate playing Shrek's mom; longtime Drama buddy Dylan, absolutely killing it playing Donkey; and Bella, a girl who was new to our school last year, but who Delia immediately sought out and connected with because of Drama, brought Fiona to life with her huge personality and powerhouse voice.

They are each amazing leaders, bringing different strengths to the group and we expect our director will weep over them after the spring show. ;)

This show was a ginormous undertaking!  From the large cast to the green makeup to the elaborate costumes.  We parents were told at the beginning that it could not happen without us.  Not being a seamstress, hairdresser, or set-builder, I found my niche the way I normally do-- feeding the kids!  Long practices meant many dinners at school.  I was happy to run and get food and organize and make light suppers and hearty snacks to keep our actors fueled.  (Doing this job has the added perk of letting me get to hang out with this crew a bit too-- they are delightful and SO appreciative!)

They have such sweet prayer times!  When I feed them, I get a peek at practices as I clean up.  I know these kids are deeply bonded and it's for so much more than just sharing a stage.

The Performing Arts Center's lobby was decorated with these promo posters featuring each Fairy Tale Creature for Performance Weekend.  Here is Delia's.  Fun, huh?

Delia spent a lot of time writing each member of the cast and crew a heartfelt note calling out their strengths and encouraging them.  Such a Delia Thing to do!  

Some of the dearest friends she made (or already had) on the cast.  The Sunday after the show closed, her phone was blowing up with the 40 person group chat all sharing silly pictures, videos, and messages of love about what this experience meant to each of them.

A few of the non-cast friends who came to see it.

Long time mentor, Megan, always comes to show support!

Proud parents-- and not just of the great job Delia did performing, but of the strong leadership and character she shows her fellow, and younger, castmates throughout the whole process, something our Director shared and praised.

Mrs. M., guiding theses kids through another show they all feel super proud of, but also shepherding their souls as she points everything back to the Lord.

Something so fun that Mrs. M. had our Fairy Tale Creatures do was visit the elementary playgrounds during recess in costume and character!  Shrek is a show for kids, so they wanted to make sure kids knew they were invited!  It worked-- over half of Friday's afternoon audience was kids.  Delia said interacting with the children as the Ugly Duckling was one of her favorite parts of the experience.  She jumped rope with them at recess and signed programs after the show and explained why she was called "Ugly" when she didn't look ugly.  One little friend from church, Joelle, said she'd want to be Delia of all the people in the cast.

A fun double picture-- left taken on the first day of practice in August, right taken the day they came to strike the set and say goodbye after Performance Weekend.

Some goofy fun Delia and her fellow Duloc's cooked up backstage.  While in their creepy Conformity Costumes singing their synchronized song, they made up a "cry for help" horror story told just through whispers and terrified eyes!

A super fun cast party!

And a little taste of the silliness.  This was the day the giant dragon puppet arrived.

A sad, but accurate, testament to the closeness this cast shared this season: as soon as the show closed, a good chunk of them all got sick and spent the week at home, Delia included!  Not exactly unexpected.  Hopefully a weekend of rest and all these amazing kids will be back to 100%.

Shrek

Last weekend we enjoyed all the highs of another performance!  Shrek was Delia's 12th show.  She's had some amazing Drama experiences: getting the lead role, acting with her sister and best friends, playing iconic roles in iconic stories, and getting to sing and dance in some super catchy numbers...but this show was by far her favorite.  There was not a moment of it that she did not love and was not having an absolute blast!  It was such a FUN show, full of crazy characters and big comedy.  But, it was the cast that made this one awesome for Delia.  

  

When Shrek was announced last year, everyone assumed that veteran and senior Delia would be going for and maybe get the Fiona role.  But she never wanted it!  After playing the bride last year, Delia knew the pressure of a lead and just wanted to sing and dance in all the fun ensemble numbers for this one.  She got the perfect part, Ugly Duckling, which had a few cute lines and solos and the best costume!  Our director also gave Delia the special responsibility of being the Dance Captain-- the person who reviewed the choreography at practices and kept on eye on making sure everything looked clean and synchronized.  I think Delia did a great job!  The dancing in this show was some of the best we've seen!

Delia's costume was a legit ballet gown that someone donated and one of our talented seamstresses sewed feathers on.  She loved and felt so fun tiptoeing around in Ballet Swan/Ugly Duckling character!

Shrek has this cast of Fairy Tale Creatures that sing some of the most fun songs.  We meet them right away after they are evicted from their homes and banished to the swamp.  They sing Story of My Life about all their many woes, from being labeled a "Fashion mess because I wear a granny dress" (Big Bad Wolf) to having their hat ridiculed (Peter Pan).  

Shrek is their only hope for getting their homes back. He's big and scary and he can talk to the bad guy, Lord Farquad.

After a quick costume change, Delia is back on stage as one of the identical Duloc's singing Farquad's silly song of conformity.  Can you spot her? ;)

Lord Farquad in his rented costume with the itty bitty legs was HILARIOUS!  He performed the whole show on his knees for our amusement.  Such a great sight gag.

The middle of the show is Delia-less, but not without awesomeness!  We meet dorky, but lovable Fiona.  She is rescued from her dragon-guarded tower.  Donkey, Shrek and Fiona get to know each other as they journey back to Duloc.  When Shrek misunderstands something he overhears Fiona saying about ogres being hideous, unlovable beasts (she was talking about herself), he leaves dejected.  The Fairy Tale Creatures come back to reassure him that what makes him different makes him strong in the song Freak Flag.  In this song each character reveals their own weakness to show we all have them.  Delia has one of my favorite lines here-- "I live in constant doubt!" delivered with a huge smile and cheerleader jump.

Fiona and Shrek share a kiss, but it is her ogre form, not her princess form, that true love has turned her into.  Shrek assures her she is beautiful and the show ends with the goosebumpy song This is our Story.  My favorite "We are different, but united.  You are us and we are you" line reminding us that we all have parts that make us feel different and unlovable, but we, and those around us, are actually created exactly right.  This is a silly story with a powerful message wrapped in it.  Our director did a great job each night of explaining their attempt to tell, not the world's story of acceptance for your personal choice of sin that makes you different, but instead a story of loving who God created you to be and inviting everyone to belong. 

Our beautiful swan takes her bow, a sweeping ballet bow she was excited fit her character, as the high energy song I'm a Believer blasts.  This cast got 3 standing ovations for their 4 shows!  It was SO well performed and had a mix of both big laugh-out-loud and tear-jerking scenes.    

By Saturday night, the crowd didn't just stand, we were all dancing along too!  Since Drama has long been Delia's favorite part of school, how wonderful that she begins her exit from this stage singing and dancing her heart out with what's been her favorite cast in her favorite show!  

There was a recording made and its pretty good quality.  Let me know if you want the link to watch!

Hard to Be Sad

After a magnificent Mount Hermon summer and a couple weeks of recharging at home, it was time to bring Ella back where she belongs.  This felt completely different this year!  Last August there was so much Anticipatory Grief, so much anxiety about the unknown.  This year we know what good things await; I was actually looking forward to returning her to her Happy Place!

We rolled into LA late Thursday night.  Last year we made an impulsive trip to Downtown Disney for dessert at 10:30 pm after saying goodbye to Ella.  It became such a core memory, we decided to make this a new tradition!  Each year that we drop Ella (and possibly Delia) off, we'll try a new dessert while watching the exhausted Disney guests leaving after a long day-- best people watching ever!  So many tired princesses! :)  Last year we enjoyed a decadent Crazy Shake, this year we sampled Salt & Straw ice cream.  Next year we're excited to try beignets from the New Orleans Jazz Kitchen.

On Friday we had to make it to Anna's neighborhood to pick up the load of Ella's stuff she generously stored for us over the summer.  Unfortunately, our timing was super tight on this trip and the window we were available did not match Anna, so we didn't get to see her.  But, we did have a lovely visit with Derek and their sweet pup Winston!  Since we were on this north side of the city. we made some special outings here too.  We stopped at the Glendale Galleria to stock Ella up on Target supplies...and take advantage of this mall's fun Decades Photo Booth!  Delia is so expressive, I just love her.  Which one is your favorite?!

Then we grabbed lunch at a place that's long been on my LA List-- Din Tai Fung.  This Taiwanese restaurant specializes in soup dumplings and has award-winning locations all over the world.  It was as delicious as we hoped.

Friday night was spent with Gideon and his family!  They kindly invited us to their gorgeous beach home for dinner and games.  We've gotten to connect with them a few times now and always enjoy getting to know one another better.  They are funny, smart and so easy to hang out with!  After dinner we walked a few blocks to pick up homemade cinnamon rolls from their favorite local bakery and then eat them while watching the sun set over the Pacific.  Last year, on this Friday night, we cried our eyes out at the Goodbye Communion Service, worshipping with lumps in our throats and speaking blessings over Ella while holding her in long, tight hugs.  This year, on this Friday night, we laughed and played Code Names with the people Ella's community has brought into our lives!  So much happens in a year!

Saturday morning it was time to get Ella moved into her new dorm!  This year's home is for non-freshman.  Her whole friend group was able to relocate here.  It's her school's newest and nicest dorm and it's known to have a "fun vibe"!  We felt it!  As soon as we walked in, loud music was playing, and lots of happy friend reunions were happening!  Ella lives on the top 5th floor, so we made friends in the elevators and stairwells while hauling all her stuff up! :)

I love helping get her room set up.  It's good for my mental health to drive away picturing her home and knowing she has a cozy place of respite in her busy schedule.  Her roommate, Emma, is a good friend from last year.  Emma was working all day and will move in a little later.  She has some questionable financial stuff going on, though, and is actually not positive she can afford the whole year, so maybe say a little prayer for Emma (and Ella who is heartbroken to think of another situation where a roommate doesn't last all year).

Anna and Derek stored Ella's saucer chair, her favorite dorm item, and were SO kind and generous to actually buy and surprise her with a second matching one!  Ella was pumped to make this darling little seating/coffee area with her two chairs, right under her window with the palm tree view and Southern California sunshine pouring in!

Dave had church responsibilities on Sunday, so we had to head out by Saturday afternoon.  Goodbye this time happened on her dorm lawn.  It was a happy farewell with not a single tear shed and Gideon promising to take good care of our girl.  Even though goodbye is always bittersweet, our goodbye means Ella's hello!  Hello to her beloved community.  Hello to her boyfriend.  Hello to a perfect-for-her-job (bio lab tech).  Hello to exciting, challenging classes, like OChem, Genetics and Weaponless Self Defense.  Autumn, Gideon's mom, said it perfectly as we texted on the ride home: "It's hard to be sad when they're so happy to be back." 

Ella's Mount Hermon Home

Praising and thanking God for the BEST summer for Ella!  She LOVED her team, LOVED her daily responsibilities, LOVED living by the ocean.  And LOVED that she got to spend every day zipping through the redwoods. 

Gideon was even able to come visit her!  Showing him around her Mount Hermon world, taking him on the Canopy Tour, and introducing him to all her Adventures Team "big brothers" was a summer highlight!  (The guys all approved and begged Gideon to apply and come join the team next summer!)

Maya was the perfect roommate for Ella.  They had a super fun summer living together!

Fun to get to know a whole new area of our state too!  Ella and her friends enjoyed exploring secondhand stores, coffee and boba tea shops, bookshops, beaches, and the Boardwalk!  Before I brought her home, she wanted to take me to her favorite local coffee shop,  So cute!

At an end of summer banquet, a hilarious all-staff video was shown.  This is the wacky Adventures Team's contribution to the video.  

We got 3 weeks at home with Ella in which she recharged after an exhausting summer-- fueling her body with rest, good homecooked meals, and time with old and new friends (the Adventure Team continued to hang out a few more times in these 3 weeks!).  We brought her back to her college community this weekend and of course every friend you hug and reconnect with asks "How was your summer?"  How do you even describe such an experience?!  Thank you, Lord, for this gift of a job!

The lyrics of our favorite folksinger Jack summarize it pretty well.  We played this as we drove away a few weeks ago.

They say "home is where the heart" is, I guess they got it right.  

I left mine in the hills near Santa Cruz.  

And I dream about returning every day and every night, to get rid of these Mount Hermon Homesick Blues.  

I'm goin' back to my Mount Hermon Home.  

It's the sweetest fellowship I've ever known.  

Though I roam far away, in my heart I'll always stay in the redwoods of my Mount Hermon Home.  

Oh I love it up on the mountain.  

But, the valley's where I live.  

With a car, mortgage, kids and things to do.  

When the cares of life grow heavy, there's a place I always go to ask the Lord to help me through.  

I'm goin' back to my Mount Hermon Home.  

It's the sweetest fellowship I've ever known.  

Though I roam far away, in my heart I'll always stay in the redwoods of my Mount Hermon Home.  

When you think of home, you think of family.  And I've got a family there.  

The ties that bind grow deeper every year.  

It's a little taste of heaven till we meet Him in the air when the Lord himself shall wipe away every tear.  

I'm goin' back to my Mount Hermon Home.  

It's the sweetest fellowship I've ever known.  

Though I roam far away, in my heart I'll always stay in the redwoods of my Mount Hermon Home.  

And when Glory overtakes us 

and we kneel at Jesus' feet in that house of many mansions in the sky.  

Should the Savior pause to ask me which room would I prefer.  

I'll just say, "Is there anything left in old Lakeside?"  

I'm goin' back to my Mount Hermon Home...

(The video Ella put together of featuring the team that became fast and lifelong friends, on and off the ropes course.)