Nutcracker 2010

Our family tradition continues. Amber was 3 when we started working on Nutcracker productions. It is now a family tradition spanning 6 years and we hope will continue for many more. This year was more special than most because the entire family was on stage. Although we weren't all together, we were all involved. All the children had their specific dancing parts and roles, and even understudied. Mom and Dad started out in one role and were changed to another. The last week or so has been quite hectic with changes in choreography, problems with costumes ... all the normal aspects of doing stage productions. But, as usual, it came together in a glorified ending and we have now entered into the holiday season. I don't know if it will ever seem festive unless we are involved in a Nutcracker production.

Amber backstage with all the other angels. Their teacher, Jenae Irwin, is making sure all their "whiskers" are tucked in (ties on their ballet shoes), tutus are laying flat, wings are on the right direction, and each one has a smile.Jenae gives Amber an extra spritz of hair spray. Her whispy curls keep escaping. Jenae danced the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Here Amber is all set and ready to go on as an angel.

Daryn was Herr Drosselmeyer this year, a last minute casting. He was given the part days before he had to leave for a week for San Diego! He did admirably and worked very hard with both Annanise Lowney and Jennifer Branner. This is the sleigh in which he pushes out Clara and the Prince.
Sitting around backstage waiting for the show to start.

Amber all dressed in her lamb costume and ready to prance with the other lamb, her friend Hallie Scott. They dance with Jade, who is Marzipan.
Ah, the Nanny and Drosselmeyer!
Evyn and Tyler Cantrell, the Prince, do some last minute practicing of their fight scene between the Rat King and Nutcracker Prince. Fine tuning like this made a spectacular battle scene!
Evyn two-swords it!And, in case you were wondering what he looked like to the audience ... . Of course, his "neck" piece was tucked in.
After the final production ... a moment in the sleigh. Evyn with his rat head, Ian as head soldier (he was also understudy for Nutcracker prince), Daryn as Drosselmeyer, Amber in her lamby costume, and Ethan, again, as Fritz. At the cast party at Sizzler, Tanya Bleil (the studio owner) said she didn't know what she was going to do if he wasn't Fritz. He has the part SO nailed down and his facial expressions are perfect. She envisions him at 15 throwing his temper tantrums on stage because he can't get a Nutcracker! I think it would be hilarious ... and then in his final production as Fritz, he should finally be awarded his very own Nutcracker!
And, our family shot. It's not the greatest. Hart to get folks to understand about getting the "whole" picture. The lady cut off Evyn's rat face mask. Ah, the price of having the entire family involved in a production ... you can't take your own photos!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Neither rain, nor rain, nor rain will keep us from our appointed task ... we're off to get our Christmas tree. The place we normally go to wasn't going to be open until 4:30, and even then for only an hour. So, we headed off down the road in high hopes we'd find another tree ranch ... and we came upon this place. The trees are beautifully maintained, easy to maneuver around, and we set off, yes, in the rain, to find our perfect tree.

Ian is not feeling well as he has a headache, chills, sore throat, etc. So, he stayed with me most of the time under the umbrella, only joining in for an occasional photograph.
It really wasn't very long before we came upon this tree and it had a wonderful shape. We brought along a tarp so the cutting job would not be a soaking wet one!
What you don't see between the last photo and this one is the tree falling in toward the kids! Ethan just caught the top of the tree, Amber screeched, and they began to juggle around the cart to get the tree on it. The tarp was folded up, and the trek back to the shed/barn was not a long one. They took the tree ... a 7 foot Douglas Fir ... gave it a shake on their machine, and then they plopped it on top of the van.
The tree is in a stand of water in the garage, drip-drying! Decoration photos to come. I doubt we'll get to it today, maybe tomorrow. Only time will dictate when ... we still have Nutcracker performance through tomorrow afternoon.

Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving

Daryn had the turkey soaking in a brine bath the night before. Then it was stuffed with herbs, an apple, and an orange.Basting the bird after it's been roasting a while. The juices were nice and dark and we kept squirting them up inside the bird to keep the white meat nice and moist.
Ellie (left) and Amber finished prepping the table at the Dawson's house. Each place had a pen and a tail feather. We were going to write on them the things of which we were most thankful. Then the feathers were put into the back of the pine cone making a beautiful turkey.
Here is the spread. Gray cut up the bird while Daryn made the yummy gravy. We brought the big bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, apple pie, and chocolate pie. The Dawson's provided broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, a couple pumpkin pies, and sparkling cider and wine, as well as coffee and other beverages. Carmen and her daughter provided another turkey, pasta salad, an apple tart pie and pumpkin pie.
Julie read from a newspaper clipping about putting on an original pilgrim feast in this day and time and then it was time to load up the plates. Ian, Evyn, Ethan, and Ely ate at a small table in the kitchen, while the rest of us dined at the table set for ten.
Gray and Carmen's daughter, Haley, begin to dig in. Julie can just be seen grabbing her plate for turkey.
Lastly, the chex mix I had intended on taking yesterday, but made this morning.

Our First Snow This Year

See anyone in the classroom window?
Daryn hung Christmas lights yesterday. When I woke this morning to the light dusting and realized it was still snowing, I decided to toddle out in my slippers to get a couple photos of the house. This is with the flash ... you can see the flakes coming down!
This one is without the flash. It is supposed to snow until 4:30 this afternoon, and then throughout the week until Thursday. But then the weather is supposed to change. Rain is forecast from Thursday through Sunday. Yuck!

Ian is 15 years old!

The first gift Ian opens is from Grandma Val and Grandpa John. They sent a check toward his savings for an iTouch. He's been saving for the better part of a year.
Ethan gave Ian two of his favorite things. Not a day goes by that Ian does not eat an apple.
Amber got Ian his other favorite candy bar.
Evyn saved up his money and got Ian a wheel for playing Wii games. He also got it in blue, Ian's favorite color.
This is Ian's cake. Sadly, it did not come out the way I had anticipated and fell completely apart and no amount of frosting was going to hold it together. Note to self ... leave construction to architects and masons! (The inside is hollow and holds a treasure trove of goodies.)
Ian invited his longtime friend, Samantha Gonzales, to come over for dinner, Wii bowling, cake and ice cream. Sammy gave him a gift card to Barnes and Noble. Ian is highly anticipating the next Christopher Paolini book.
Aaron also came over for dinner and dessert and gave Ian some cash as well.
Not much of a gift from Mom and Dad. The CD movie sound track for Pirates of the Caribbean. It is one he has asked for as band is playing a medley from this movie.
Ian makes a wish before blowing out the 15 candles. Any guesses on what he's wishing for? (I'll give you a hint ... it's an iTouch!)
And out they go!
Ian digs in and discovers ... an iTouch? No, I made a shrinky dink of it and put it in the middle of the cake with chocolate kisses and Rollo's. Our gift to Ian is paying for the remainder of it. He saved about $235. We will take him to the Bremerton NEX on Friday (Black Friday) after Thanksgiving when they have it on sale. We will make up the difference and get an iTunes card with the rest.

Egyptian Feast

Ian is preparing his crook. He initially wanted gold wrapping paper. If he was doing his study a month from now, I'm sure there would have been plenty available. But, could we find any NOW? No! So, I had a brain storm one day and said, what about electrical tape! And he had some with his stuff, so we sat down, I showed him the best way to do it and he started working on it. Then we were off for a hair cut, so he took the tape and his flail with him to work on it there while waiting. He completed it while Evyn was getting his hair cut.
Ethan is making his costume for the play. He has the part of the monster: part crocodile, part lion, part hippopotamus.
Pharaoh's completed crook and flail.
No sooner were we home at 2:45 then preparation for dinner began. The chickens were washed, a lemon and lime shoved in both ends of each, and then time to prep dessert. Ian made the bread the day before. Squishy white bread just wasn't going to work in a recipe that called for firm white bread. His loaf came out beautifully. We sliced it up, removed the crusts, and then he soaked it in two cups of honey. It would bake after the chicken and then have to chill. It would later be served with whipped cream (yes, we whipped cream). It was yummy!
The Davis family joined us for dinner. L-R: Amber, Tim Davis, (Maddie can't be seen between her parents), Laurie Davis, Daryn, Evyn, Aaron (their son), and the back of my head. Dinner consisted of: cucumber salad (which didn't go over well ... mixed with plain yogurt, and dill, among other spices), fruit (melon, purple grapes, stuffed dates), roasted chickens, and koshary (lentils, rice, and noodles) to be topped off with a sauce (if desired) (made from tomato paste, sauce, green peppers, and spices).
The remaining chicken.
Pita bread and fruit, and pomegranate.
Ian wrote a play for this unit called, "The Weighing of the Hearts." Evyn is Pharaoh, Ethan is Amemit (the monster), and Ian is Anubis, the god of embalming and the dead.
Obviously Pharaoh's heart was not pure. He was fed to Amemit.
Next, a slave girl came to see if she could pass into Egyptian heaven.
Her heart is pure, and she was allowed into heaven. (Seems Anubis has a pet dog as well as Amemit!)
The Bartlett Players: Evyn, Amber, Ian, and Ethan.

Mother Nature is Teasing Us

We had three glorious days of sunshine, nearly 70 degree weather for a couple days, and then rained on for two. Dark, wet, gloomy. Chilling to the bone weather.

Today?

Sun is out in full, nary a cloud in the sky, and a breeze rattling the trees to shake off the last vestiges of leaves.

Ian sits on the floor decorating the handle of his pharaoh crook and flail, the royal symbols of Egypt. Ethan is working on his costume for Ian's play. He is supposed to be Amenit, a monster composed of a crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus.

First up on our busy schedule today is haircuts for all the boys. Then a trip to Fred Meyer for another chicken and contact lens solution. Returning home, more laundry. At noon we head down for the dance studio. All the boys have practice between 12:30 and 2. I am meeting Sheila Joynes at Tullys at 12:30 to pick up another pattern and yarn for another test knit hat. She really liked the first one I completed. I'm not allowed to show it anywhere because it has not yet been published. When her book is published, I will be able to reveal photos of the work I've done for her. This is all very exciting and I'm enjoying it very much. But, I digress. We shall return home after dance rehearsal for Nutcracker to do more laundry, do some vacuuming (I hope for assistants), start dinner, and then Ethan has practice again from 5:15-6. Then it's home for the Egyptian Celebration.