A Midsummer Night’s Dream

We have this awesome program called Shakespeare In School that comes to DBS and teaches the 4th grade a play. This is the second year they have done it. The whole class participates, they practice at school for many weeks, they do a performance at school, then they get to do a performance on a real stage in a real theater! This year the kids did A Midsummer Night’s Dream and it was AMAZING!!!

Eve has been practicing and rehearsing lines and worrying and crying and telling me a hundred stories a day about this play. I’ve read lines with her at the hair salon and in bed and in the car and she’s even asked others to read lines with her too. When she got worried or nervous I reminded her of her enthusiasm after seeing Shrek and she perks back up.

Tonight was the big night!

I wanted to record the whole thing and take a billion pictures, but the Northern Stage guy said that photography was not allowed. :( It took ALL OF MY WILLPOWER to not pull out my camera! Except this one picture I took before he made that statement. ;)

Eve was amazing!! Her classmates were amazing! They were funny and loud and expressive. Everyone remembered their lines, they paused for laugh breaks, they look at the audience, and made big movements. I spent the entire play with a smile so big it hurt. I cannot believe no one recorded the whole thing! I want to watch it a thousand more time!

Here is a picture of Eve as King Oberon from the dress rehearsal (I stole it from her class’s Facebook page.)

After the show they had a little cookie and lemonade wrap party. The energy was high (adrenaline and cookies!) and everyone was happy. It was great.

I love our school and I love her class and I love our community. Life is good.

Twelve is coming way too fast!

This handsome fella is turning twelve tomorrow and I a feeling very guilty about our complete lack of plans. I told him we wouldn’t be doing a big party this year, but I was hoping for a day trip or an activity with a friend, or something! But, alas, life is busy and 12 is coming up fast! He wasn’t very interest in any of my ideas, and tomorrow, his big day, I have a meeting after school, Alan has a meetings, and Eve has a concert. Everyone is busy, but him! We are going to sneak in a dinner at Panera between my meeting and Eve’s concert.

I was looking for presents to wrap yesterday and, though I swear I had a pile for him… umm… I guess I do not. :/ We have little toys that Eve bought and I bought him some PJs the other days, but nothing exciting. Alan decided to order him a big present (laptop! shhhh… don’t tell!). He had it overnighted, but that still leaves me with not much excitement for the big birthday morning. :/

Can we just skip birthday’s this year? He can be eleven for a bit longer. Next year I’ll have more time and brainpower to focus on him. I love him forever though, even if life is busy! I hung his birthday collages just now. He was such an adorable baby, and turning into a super handsome young man. <3

PS. Apparently 12 is the year the gross jokes birthday cards start arriving. He laughed and an unsure sort of way. :)