Reese's First Theater Trip

Joining the ranks of those who have grown before me, I finally got my first invitation to see a show at the theater!  

Sisters have told tales of horse-drawn carriage rides, restaurants that are more like amusement parks than eateries, and singing actors and actresses robed in glitter.  

Up until this week, it was always decided (by mom, of course) that I was too young for the event they call the theater, usually banned to infant-dom with Daddy as my guard.  Ah, but today!  Today, I chose a fancy dress alongside the elite.  Although, I didn't feel like letting anyone fix my hair... that seemed totally unnecessary to the experience.

I've been to The Downtown Aquarium before, but this time I saw it with new eyes.  There are fish as big as I am!  There are some with stripes and some with funny noses and even some long skinny ones.  Every time a new fish swam by, I'd have to run to tell Nana or DD what I'd seen.  It was awe-inspiring.

After dinner, the horses with the carriages seemed to have the night off, so we strolled to the theater for the main event.  

Inside, we peered over the orchestra pit and saw so many instruments!  The show itself (The Little Mermaid) was awesome - everyone wondered if I would be scared, but only King Triton was intimidating.  Hiding my face when he was around was sufficient.  It didn't start until 7:30 so Mama thought I might go to sleep during the second act, but there just wasn't a dull moment and I didn't want to miss anything!  Ariel swam up high on the stage (almost like she was floating!), and there was signing and dancing and magical fins-into-legs.  

If there was any doubt that I am old enough to enjoy the occasional kid-friendly musical, I took this opportunity to express my delight and clear any confusion.  No more leaving 'baby' out - I'm a cultured toddler now!

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Summer Fun Things

Fun Summer Things We Like To Do:

*Stay up playing in the pool by under the big open sky
*Horse back riding lessons for big girl
*Tagging along to play with the farm animals for also-big girl
*Science and exploring with s
ensory materials
*Biking and "jogging" with Mommy
*Morning cuddles
*Losing teeth!
*Hanging with friends
*Frequenting neighborhood pools
*Taking selfies.  So many selfies.
*Sleeping in!

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Gran's 95th Birthday!

We went to Lockhart to celebrate Gran's 95th birthday!  We made him a banner and ice cream cake.  We swam and found rolypoly bugs and we ate chicken and french fries (and the adults ate catfish and okra but I didn't want to try it).  At night, Mom and Dad let me and Avery spend the night at Mimi and Gran's house for a sleepover when they went to the hotel.  The best part of that was the chocolate chip waffles in the morning!

When we were in Lockhart for Gran's birthday, we went to the watch the Chisholm Trail Roundup Parade.  We went to where the parade was waiting to start and we noticed some princesses on a float.  We got to meet them and take pictures with them.  Then one of the princesses told us about how she trains dogs and rides horses and she let me try on her tiara!  She asked me to sit up next to her on the float while they were waiting for the parade to start and she taught me how to wave like a princess in a parade.  She even gave me a fan to cool off with.

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Love, Kate

End of School by Avery

On the last day of school, my family had a celebration for me.  Kate and Reese made two cookie cakes for me.  They were delicious.
 I'm so glad that school is out.  I'm glad school is out because I get to go swimming and I don't have to wake up early.  My plan for this summer is to go swimming a lot so we don't get hot.  I can have sleepovers, even on weekdays.  I'm starting two new hobbies; swimming lessons and horse back riding lessons.

Summer is fun!

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Recital

Avery and Kate both took dance this year.  Their recital was this past weekend, and they each performed a ballet routine and a tap routine.

After the dress rehearsal, Avery said, "I love the part where I'm on stage and I get to perform!  I didn't like practicing every week.  That was boring.  But I love the rehearsal because I get to dance in front of people and especially because all of the performers get to hang out together backstage the whole time!"

Kate (who has loved going to practice every week) said, "Mom, we didn't have enough time to learn our ballet dance all the way so we don't know the whole thing.  It's not okay.  We just don't know that part!"  After some discussion, we decided that when Kate couldn't remember a part of the dance, she could stand in a beautiful pose and let the audience admire her pretty costume.

The night of the recital, Avery did great on stage -- but the highlight of the night for her was playing backstage with her friends.  By the time I picked her up after the performance, she had her feather tutu on her head and her red lipstick was smeared all over her face.  She was all giggles.

Kate did a fantastic job on her dances, and during the part that they hadn't learned fully, she stood like a beautiful model, posing in her costume.  Her face was stoic on stage - this was an important task she had been given, and she was taking it very seriously.  Afterwards, when we picked her up, she was wearing her medal proudly and posing f
or pictures.  She had a great time, even with a section of a dance unknown, and she embodied the ballerina and played the role to the very last scene.

The girls were fully beautiful and fully themselves at the recital.  And it was an utter joy to have the privilege of watching them as a spectator and fan.

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