After Show

For this show, we were blessed again to have some special family members sitting in the audience with us!  Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Kyle made the trip to see Delia shine on stage and then take her final bow.  We're always so thankful to share these milestone moments in our kids' lives with others who love them too!

Here are a few after-show shots.

First day of full dress, hair and makeup.  Delia was excited to have the big gorgeous hair for this role! :)

The VIPs!

Proud family, once again.

Mrs. M and Ericka, there are hardly enough words.  Here is what I wrote them: "For eight years our famly has always been in 'play season'.  We love the thrill of watching a show come together from the jitters of auditions to the high of the final bow.  Through every step, you've guided our girls-- encouraging them to develop their gifts not just for the quality of the show, but for the glory of God.  We've surrendered them into your care for hundreds of hours and have nothing but trust and appreciation for truth you've spoken, character you've' developed, and lessons you've taught.  We can't thank you enough for your commitment to cultivating an awesome drama program, but even more importantly, to loving our kids so well."

Some of the church friends who've grown up coming to Ella and Delia's shows.  We're so thankful for their support!

This is neat one.  Above is Megan, a long time friend from the days when she was a high school mentor to Delia in middle school.  She brought Delia flowers for her final show.  And below is Olivia, the amazingly talented middle school gal who played Annie, who Delia mentored this year!    These two pictures show what I love about our drama program-- the past, present, and future built on mentoring, friendships, and someone great to look up to!  Lots of tears as this final show for Delia hit these old and new friends.

The program picture for this show's scene-stealers: Nostradamus and Shakespeare-- hilariously played by Delia's "little brother" Trevor.

All the sweet friends who were in the show and who came to see it.

Some wacky fun before heading out for a cast party that went late into the night!  They are a bunch who love each other and know how to have fun!  

I'm saving most of the Senior Bow and Speech stuff for a special Senior post, but I'll say here that this was a very special, feeling-full season for all of us.  Delia was generously honored throughout the production of this show by her directors, the school, and her castmates.  She leaves feeling very loved and very good about the impact she made on the program in her years dedicated to it.

There is a show link! Let me know if you want to watch it! :)

Something Rotten

Delia's final high school show could not have been more perfect for her!  She's so content to have ended her 15-show run on the stage that's been her second home since sixth grade with her most fun part ever-- Nancy Nostradamus, the soothsayer who looks into the future of the theater and tells Shakespeare and his contemporaries that MUSICALS will be the next big thing.  This was a show jammed with musical theater references and Easter eggs.  Each of these drama-loving performers had a ton of fun with it!

The scene is set with "Welcome to the Renaissance" a song telling us this is happy time of rebirth and explosion of growth in all areas of art and science.  

And that's right, they're fancy.

The biggest star of the Renaissance is Shakespeare.  "He's the bomb, the soul of the age, the wiz of the Elizabethan stage..."  He even comes with his own bodyguard!

Our protagonists, Nick Bottom and his brother Nigel, are trying to write a hit play, but it's hard being in Shakespeare's shadow.  Nick gets the bright idea to consult a soothsayer to predict what the future holds for theater, so he can have an edge.  Enter Delia!

Delia's role is the funniest one in the play and she played it so endearingly-- quirky, but adorable.  She'd look into the future and get random glimpses of future musicals, which she'd report to the Bottom Brothers, inspiring them to create a wacky mash-up of a show!  The running joke was that, in her attempt to see Shakespeare's biggest hit, our sweet soothsayer got a little mixed up and reported that "Omelet" (instead of Hamlet) should be the idea they grab from future Shakespeare.  

In the show-stopping number, Delia explains to Nick Bottom, through a big, splashy song and dance number, that "If you wanna be great, you gotta create a MUSICAL!"

It's the first time this Renaissance Man sees things like tap dancing, kick lines, splits, and flips set to song!

"Whoa!  Are you okay?"

Here comes the ensemble to be Delia's back up dancers!  This whole song is full of musical and lyrical references to well known shows.  "It's a mus-i-cal for us!"  

The grand finale is when the doors at the back of the auditorium bust open and down both aisles comes a parade of characters in old costumes from all the formal musicals our school has done!  Find Chitty, Buddy the Elf, Alice, Mary Poppins, Dolly, Annie, Aladdin, Shrek, a nun, Annie Oakley, and more! 

Okay, so it may be cheating a bit, but with all this great intel from the future, Nick Bottom is full of ideas and confident he can write a hit!  "Yeah, Nick Bottom's gonna be on top!"

Delia continues to amuse the audience and confuse Nick with her random visions.  "How do you solve a problem like Ophelia? Get thee to the nunnery!  So the nuns hide her with all the other singing children from the giant, man-eating house plant!"

"CATS.  A whole stage covered in singing and dancing cats!!!  Wait, that can't be right.  No, it's cats." (A random outburst that was one of my favorite lines.)

Our first look at the insane musical "Omelet".  Delia's character is the only one vibing to it. "The solution to your troubles is cheese and veg-e-tubles."

When word gets out that Nick Bottom robbed Shakespeare of his future ideas and put this ridiculous and offensive piece of theater on the stage, he, his family, Nostradamus, and his troupe are banished to the new world. 

But, not to worry!  It's the land of opportunity, even though "nothing rhymes with America".

And the Bottom Brothers have learned the lesson of "to thine own self be true" and will write the outpouring of their hearts that they come up with on their own from now on.

This was not a well-known show, like Annie, Sound of Music, or Shrek.  But, that kind of made it that much more delightful!  The humor was surprising and the production value was outstanding-- one of the most polished Delia's ever been a part of.  She was so thankful to get a part that featured her love for dance AND musical theater references!

Big Changes Ahead!

A few days ago God opened an exciting door for a BIG change for me professionally.  Still gonna teach and staying at the same school, but moving to a new grade for something more challenging and full time! We're praising the Lord for miraculous provision in a season of shifting parenting roles and giant tuition bills. 

I'm SO excited, but a tad intimidated about starting from scratch. If you'd like to bless my new, empty classroom, I've added my own Amazon Wish List to the side bar.  I'd encourage you to "filter/sort by priority, high to low" to see items most needed. (High priority: Cricut and various storage bins-- yes please!! Low priority: mini fridge-- that's just for fun. ;) I need to build a cozy library for new readers, fill my cabinets with math manipulatives and phonics reading center activities, create a colorful learning environment that I myself will be spending looong hours in, decorate with a possible Farmers Market/Fruit of the Spirit theme, etc.  The list will continue to grow as I wrap my head around this new job and study the curriculum.  Please use my new classroom wish list for any occasion on which you would buy me a gift.  Thanks, sweet gift buyers and blog readers!

A Central Valley Spring Break

Meet, Ava, Kristen, and Sara!  These are Ella's closest friends this year and the ones she will live with next year.  They met through Biology classes.  Ava is from DC, Kristen is from LA, and Sara is from Portland.  For Spring Break, these lovely ladies planned a fun road trip!  They started with a few days in Southern CA, staying at Kristen's family home, hiking in the LA mountains and visiting Slovang.  Then they made the trek to Central CA where they filled my house with laughter and fun for five days.

I'm learning that I LOVE feeding hungry college kids!  I stocked the fridge and planned a delicious menu of non-caf food.  We heard about a special birthday during the visit, so we popped the old 2 and 1 candle in the pie to celebrate.  

Ella's Spring Break was quite early and did fall while we were all still working, teaching and going to school and play practices.  But the girls entertained themselves, making fun brunches, visiting coffee shops, and getting some studying done.  Nights were for board games and movies.  I loved how much time and attention they gave Delia, having long conversations with her about what to expect from college life and what to look for in a compatible roommate.  

One day I met them after school at our friends' almond orchard to take some blossom pictures for them.

They're a bunch who loves to laugh!  They also could not have been more polite!  I didn't wash a single dish all week and they even laundered their own towels!  I complimented Ella on what it says about her character that she's chosen such solid people to surround herself with.  Every single person she's introduced us to from college has just been amazing.

Another day, I was able to take the girls up to Big Trees State Park when I was done teaching.  We packed up some sandwiches and dug every boot and raincoat we own out of the closet to bundle up for some expected rain.  

What we did NOT expect was the snow!! It was the best!  Fat, fluffy, idyllic flakes floating down in an already gorgeous landscape.  We were wet and cold, but we did not care!

I loved Ava from DC on this day taking and sending her mom a hundred pictures of the Giant Sequoias, something she had never seen and has always had on her bucket list.

On the one day Delia did not have a big practice, I got a sub and we all took a whole day off to show the girls around the pretty parts of San Francisco.  We started at Golden Gate Park, were the tulips around the Queen Wilhelmina Windmill were in bloom.

Next it was a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge Visitor Center and a windy walk to the first column.

The girls loved the aesthetic of the Palace of the Fine Arts and took all kinds of cute pictures of each other here.

We drove down the twisty Lombard Street to get to our lunch destination in Chinatown.  I did a little research and found a tiny, but highly rated, restaurant in Chinatown that did not disappoint!  When we walked in, the tables were full of SFPD and construction workers, so we knew we hit the local hotspot jackpot.  After lunch we walked to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company to get cookies hot off the press.  You can actually watch the workers folding the fortunes in!  This historic business was THE one that brought fortune cookies to the US.

The afternoon destination was another view of the Golden Gate, but this time from Fort Point, one of my favorite paths to walk in SF.  Sara fell in love with the city enough to text her family that she wants to live here.  They were like, "Ummm..." Haha!  Like any big city, if you stick to certain neighborhoods, you see the best.  The day could not have been prettier.

Ella and her friends were blessed with travel mercies as they journeyed back over the mountain pass and through the LA traffic to make it back to school.  But, not before one more fun outing to a So Cal beach, were Ella reported a sunburn!  How funny to go from snow to sunburn and county to city in a matter of days!  A little taste of everything California for these sweet spring breakers!