Chitty

Uncle Shad surprised us with tickets to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Hale Theatre!

Only Grandma, Aunt Heidi, me, and the cousins 6 and up were allowed to go.  It was a great opportunity for me to introduce the kids to this movie, which I hadn't seen since I was a child.  Over Spring break we found it on Netflix and had the kids watch it so they would know the story before going to see the musical.  I didn't think I remembered anything about it until I started hearing the songs...then I totally did!  I had forgotten how fun the songs are...both the words and the melodies. Super catchy!  We were singing the songs for days and sometimes still are :)

"Toot, Sweet!" and "Bang bang chitty chitty bang bang" and "Old Bamboo" and "POSH" 

Anyway, we LOVED this production.  LOVED!  Everyone of us.  Even my boys.  I look for opportunities to take my kids to the theatre and I am very grateful to Shad for planning this fun evening!

Beauty and the Beast

Our local Elementary school put on "Beauty and the Beast" and I knew this was a perfect chance to take Quincy.  I knew she would love the young characters.  I couldn't believe how good the musical was, considering it was Elementary age kids.  Belle and the Beast were 6th graders and sang their hearts out!  My cousin Mark and Courtney's kids Jenna and Brooke were in the play so it was really fun to watch them.  Thanks Quincy for a wonderful GNO :)

Quincy and Brooke with Belle and the Beast

December Doings Part 3: A Christmas Carol

We went to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center Theatre a couple of weeks ago.

This ended up being one of the best nights that we have spent as a family.  We had front row seats which really drew us into the characters and what was happening in the play.  All 6 of us enjoyed it very much (other than the Jacob Marley part, which freaked Quincy out)!  Hopefully the kids learned about giving and caring.  We were all so happy and it was so much fun!

After we went to another one of our favorite places to eat dinner - The Old Spaghetti Factory.  So yummy as usual.  Do you like how there is always some kind of good food involved in all of our plans? We will definitely make this a tradition! 

AMAZING stage craft!

 

With Ebeneezer Scrooge himself!

At the Spaghetti Factory

December Doings Part 1: The Nutcracker

At the Covey Arts Center to see "The Nutcracker"

It's been weeks since the last post - we have been busy!

As always, December brings lots of fun festivities that keep us going, going, going!  

This year, BS and I decided that the kids were old enough to enjoy and appreciate some quality time at the theatre.  The first one we went to see was "The Nutcracker" at Hale Center Theatre.  Initially, I was planning on just taking the girls to see this, but the boys showed some interest so I got them tickets too. We surprised them and went to a Saturday matinee.  We started off with lunch at The Brick Oven, then to 7-11 to stock up on treats, then finally to the theatre.

Note to self:  Do not tell your 8 and 10 year old boys that you have a surprise for them - if the surprise is to go to a ballet.  All morning they were all stoked wondering what the surprise was...and when they found out, there was major let down.  They tried to hide their disappointment, and Sambo did a decent job at it, but Will just couldn't hide his.  Imagine his upset when he found out halfway through that it was only intermission - not the end!  The boys did get a good chuckle when the human Nutcracker danced around in his white tights.  They are totally the age that anything to do with "nuts" is funny (even Sambo's "nut" issue last month)!  BS and I got a chuckle watching them try not to laugh when the dancer came out :)

Turns out, they decided the Nutcracker ballet was okay and something they could see every few years.

We finished the afternoon with some Christmas shopping for their sibling gifts.

Something funny about Will: Before leaving we told the kids to put something nice on.  Will put together a wardrobe of taupe cords, a red and blue plaid flannel shirt, and his nice khaki suit jacket.  He came downstairs and told us he wanted to wear a "sports jacket."  Oh Will you are a old soul in a boy's body!

That night, BS and I went to a super fun neighborhood Christmas party.  In fact, this month we were lucky enough to go to FIVE Christmas parties that involved White Elephants!  We are so blessed to have great friends and great co-workers!  The best white elephant I scored was 2 live goldfish.  Yay.  

Quincy was so happy to have a sleep-over with cousin Sadie!