Enjoy a Final Set of Prom Pics

I think they played the song End of the Road by Boyz II Men at our Senior Prom. I'm feeling those lyrics as we enter the month of May with our own Senior and get to the end of that road of so many things that have become our routine these past 6 years of high school.  Junior Senior Banquet (JSB), our school's version of Prom, is one of those!  For the last time, Delia dressed up, did fancy hair with friends, posed for pictures, and enjoyed the festivities with upperclassmen friends.  We know there will be plenty of formals in college, and in many ways they are MORE fun, but this is still a milestone Last.

Delia loves getting ready at her friend Natalie's house, who does amazing hair.  And these silly girls just can't get ready for a formal without making a hilarious video!

Natalie went her own way with Junior friends, but we had to get some pictures of this lovely pair.  Natalie is a friend at the top of the list of people Delia will miss next year.  She and her family are so dear to us-- an answer to our prayers to surround Delia with people who are a positive influence and point her to the Lord!

(When the loveable little brother pops in the picture!)

Actually, Delia's hair and dress are courtesy of Natalie!  She ordered this dramatic blue dress and found it way too long for her petite frame.  When her family tried to return it, they were refunded, but told to just keep the dress.  Free dress!! So, they passed it along to Delia, who even shared it with Ella before wearing it herself for the college formal a few weeks ago.  

The back is super pretty!  And all that fabric was just begging to be twirled!

After getting ready with Natalie, it was off to Julia's house for pictures with the Seniors.  We appreciate Julia and her family always donating their gorgeous backyard, pool, and orchard as a perfect photo backdrop.  This year Julia's little brother Vince (who is quite skilled with a camera!) was our photographer, gifting the group this gorgeous album.  Love how formals are a family affair! ;)

Gotta get the now-traditional picture with best friend Kate!

The report was that this year's JSB, with its Murder Mystery theme, was super fun! The actual dinner and dancing of formals is often not even as fun as the getting ready with friends.  And how I love being a mom behind the camera at the photo spot, joining the chaos of other cheesy parents chatting with, admiring, and probably embarrassing our beautifully-dressed, but awkwardly-posed, teenagers.  This might be a high school thing I miss more than my kids.   Maybe Delia's Junior friends will let me come take pictures for them next year! ;)

Mock Rock Weekend!

Ella's (and Delia's ;) college has this one epic event that is prepared for all year long-- Mock Rock.  It's a legendary lip sync/dance battle between 5 teams with long history at the school.  Each of the teams has a personality or vibe.  You usually join one by invitation or because you have a friend on it.  Ella decided to dust off her stage skills this year and join the Mock Rock team her good buddy Javan is a part of, BroPoc.  The leaders of each team come up with a theme that is kept super secret until the night of performance.  A short movie is shot setting up the story and then a 10 minute long song and dance production tells that story.  Ella's theme was Murder Mystery/Clue this year.  Other teams did things like Spider Man, Greatest Showman, and the Wizard of Oz.  Some teams always retell a movie that is familiar, some teams always come up with original student-written material.  After each team performs they are commented on and judged by a panel of people who either work for the school, or work for the entertainment industry, or both.  Those judges determine which 3 teams will go to "Podium", from which everyone watching then gets to vote on the winner via their phone.  

ELLA'S TEAM BROPOC WON IT ALL THIS YEAR!!  They broke a 10 year second-place streak with this victory!  We joke that Ella was the difference. :) Their theme was amazing, and their choreography was definitely the tightest and best.  Overall, their performance was the most polished, layered, and spectacular.  Though, every single team was awesome and very fun to watch!  

The week of Mock Rock is called Hell Week and it is expected that practices go till 3 or 4 in the morning.  There are also only 1700 seats in the gymnasium, so when tickets are released online at 10am the day before, there is stress and virtual queues and the possible disappointment of needing to watch the livestream from a remote location if you can't secure one of those precious tickets.  We were each able to score tickets.  Students camp out in line the night before, so when the doors open, they get the best seats.  We had Gideon's family waiting in line for us all day.  It's kinda nuts what an ordeal this all is; I must admit that I didn't really understand it until we experienced it in person.  The hype builds up the thrill for sure!

The announcement of the winner!

(I'll share the professional YouTube video in a separate post.)

You KNOW that Delia can not wait to be a part of all this!  She'll join her sister's victorious team next year!

Not only did we get to see our first Mock Rock, it was also Formal weekend!  Ella's friends kindly snuck Delia in and she had a blast.  I helped curl hair in a dorm room full of about 12 college girls.  And then I got to take up my old role as photographer.  Delia spent the weekend in Ella's dorm with her sister and friends, hearing over and over how excited these upperclassman are to welcome her next year.  It's safe to say this super fun college weekend kicked a massive case of Senioritis into gear.  

This Mock Rock weekend timed perfectly with the start of our Spring Break.  We had a lovely Spring Break weekend in LA!  While the girls stayed on campus, we were generously hosted by Gideon's family, who live a minute walk from the beach.  Their home is amazing and definitely gave us all the beach vacation feels.  We loved just getting to know them better in unplanned times of morning coffee in jammies, or late night catch up on the day conversations.  We all worked to put an entire puzzle together one afternoon and that time to laugh and connect was honestly one of my most fun memories of this trip!

We thrifted.  We strolled the dog beach at Huntington.  We ate noodles at the Pho spot by school.  We attended Javan's church in Long Beach on Palm Sunday.

We went to a beautifully restored old theater in Seal Beach to watch the classic The Sandlot with Gideon and his family.  This was one of Dave's favorite memories.

We ate warm cinnamon rolls on the beach and couldn't stop giggling in the kitschy shell shop downtown.

We toured Ella's science building, met the zebra fish she's been studying all semester, and tried to understand her OChem notes (that's her work on the white board!).  We watched her Swing Dance Club host a Lindy Bomb at the fountain.  

We also met Delia's roommate Audrey and her mom for breakfast one morning and this was wonderful!  The connection they've built over distance was affirmed and we feel good that God has intentionally brought these two similarly pure, Jesus-loving, kind girls together.  I don't actually have tons of pictures because most of our time was just spent visiting with the people Ella's college education has brought into our lives!  Her friends are all so delightful and would often spot us in the dorm lobby, or around campus, and stop for a hug and long chat.  Each visit to this school is a bit different and this one was less about the sights of LA and more about enjoying the community of the school-- from its fun weekend events to its warm, friendly people.  

Ella's Dance on YouTube!

A short cut to the You Tube video. Click on the words YouTube to view it full screen.  Ella is in a pink blazer and gray pants and can usually be found in the back or on the right side.  At 6:45, there's a good close up of her. :)

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!