Tale as old as time...

Here's your hint...

... of what I'm doing this fall!!

Summer Shows

Both kids performed this week in shows as the capstone to their summer theater camp experience.

My son was in an original play about Zombies at the Boardwalk... Here he is surrounded by said zombies...


And happy afterward from all the fun!


My daughter was in an original play called Where's Waldo? Here she is in an opening scene...


And ending a dance number...


I'm beginning to wonder if all we ever do around here is sing and dance...

It's true. We do.

And we're happy about it!

And even more happifying (for me anyway) is that after 16 years I am going to be in a show again this fall! Stay tuned...

More Summer Reading

Apparently I spent too much time doing something other than reading this month... Nevertheless, I found a few fun ones.

1. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Schafer & Annie Barrows - This one I can't say enough about! I really loved it. It's written in letter format and is the correspondence of a group of people in post WWII talking about their experience of being a German occupied island (Guernsey) during the war. It is splendid!

2. A Kiss In Time - Alex Finn - This is by the same author that wrote "Beastly" and it is just as fun. It's an updated version of Sleeping Beauty - boy accidentally stumbles across an enchanted castle on a European summer tour. I love that the princess decides to pursue a career in fashion design creating modest clothing for the modern girl!

3. The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner - Another historical novel, this time set during the French Revolution. I'm usually fascinated by this time period, but this novel left me depressed about the whole thing. Not to mention it jumped through about 10 different character's perspectives and I got dizzy.

4. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert - This is a real-life travelogue/inner journey of the author. She talks about pleasure in Italy, prayer in India, and a balance between the two in Indonesia. Some of it is very thought provoking.

Tour de Parking Lot

My daughter got a fair amount of birthday money and knew exactly what she wanted to do with it. She has been wanting to buy a bike for a long time now! She researched and today we went and picked it up.



She named it "Belle" (because we name everything of course... and it's light blue and white!) So she's off to have an adventure in the great wide somewhere (or at least in the parking lot until she gets the hang of the pedal brakes!)

Oliver!

What a weekend! We celebrated my daughter's birthday AND her show, "Oliver!" opened.


It was so much fun to see her play the role of Nancy.


The whole cast was fantastic! You could tell they were just having a ball up there on stage and it really translated into great energy. They are already talking about what show they're going to do next summer!

Brothers and Sisters and Babies, Oh My!

What a perfectly splendid weekend I just had!

I flew back to visit this beautiful new baby...

... and of course her amazing mom, my sister-in-law and kindred spirit.

I also got lots of good fun play time with my other niece and nephew...


... and I had loads of fun before I went making matching dresses for the 4 year old girl and the baby, with matching shorts and shirt for the 3 year old boy.

Isn't she a tropical cutie?

I had the AMAZING opportunity of seeing my brother perform the lead role of Don Lockwood in "Singing In the Rain"...


Here we are after the show. I am so proud of this guy!

And I got lots of super sister time with my two unbelievable sisters.


They both hosted me in their homes and we had entirely too much fun!


All I can say is I'm going back again soon!

My Country

Independence Day is my favorite holiday. It might have to do with the fact that it's blissfully warm on July 4th. It might be because swimming and ice cream is often involved. It could be because we get to stay up late and watch amazing fireworks shows. But it is definitely because I love celebrating the fact that I live in a free country.

It never ceases to amaze me what it took for things to get where they are today. The sacrifices people have made. The courage of brave new ideas. The willingness to forge a path into the unknown. I'm not saying it was done perfectly. But the beauty of the mistakes are the lessons that come from them.

A friend of mine is celebrating our marvelous country in his own unique way. Instead of heading off on safari to some distant land, he is heading to the heart of our own country on a six month safari that will take him by canoe down the great Mississippi River. He begins at Lake Itasca on Tuesday, July 6th. You can follow him at http://flashriversafari.wordpress.com/

I will be watching and celebrating the people and the land that I call home.