Nutcracker

Auditions for Ballet West Nutcracker were before Clytie's this year, so I thought it would be fun to have all the kids try out, just for practice. Ptolemy isn't old enough for Clytie's, so he might as well try out for BW for the experience. Xanthe was looking forward to being in Clytie's Nutcracker, but nervously agreed to audition for BW, just to brush up on her audition skills. Freestone was obviously going to try for BW, since he wasn't at Clytie's anymore, but we were worried there wouldn't be a part for his height. Araceli ended up being sick the day of the audition.

So we went with three kids and low expectations. When results came in, I got an email that said Freestone had made it. BW created taller parts for the older boys, and he was a Butler and Mouse Minion. I didn't see anything about Ptolemy or Xanthe, so I thought they didn't make it. I told them, and they were disappointed, until we went through all the great reasons why it was better that they didn't make it.

So when I read the email later and discovered that ALL THREE KIDS were in, Xanthe and Ptolemy were mad. You can't win! I felt really bad for Xanthe.

A few weeks later, Clytie's auditions came up. By then, Clytie had called me and asked if Freestone would be willing to be the Nutcracker Prince. Would he ever! He was on cloud nine about it from September to Thanksgiving. So I was hoping that Araceli and Xanthe would make it into the production, since we were already doing it. I was pretty confident that Xanthe would make it. She didn't. Vilina didn't either! I really wanted her to have the experience. And Araceli didn't make it either. We were 0 for 3! Auditions are never what you think they will be. At this point, I felt even worse for encouraging Xanthe to try out at BW. Not only was she scared of the other dancers, now she didn't get to do her home school.

The next day, Sarah called me and said that they had a special part for Araceli, and would she be the Mouse King. Mouse King is always a chosen part that they kinda give to someone in particular. And she would be fighting Freestone in the Fight Scene! What a riot.

Needless to say, Nutcracker season, beginning in August and ending Christmas Eve, was utterly insane. We usually had between 6 to 8 rehearsals a week, on top of the 37 dance classes we have weekly in our family. I just laugh! For most of the weeks, Ptolemy and Xanthe had opposite days for rehearsals, since Ptolemy was a Party Boy in Party Scene and Xanthe was a soldier in Fight Scene.  Freestone just rehearsed when he was at ballet. And then Leslie or Sarah rehearsed Celi and Freestone for Clytie's whenever they could fit it in, in addition to fight scene rehearsals with the mice. We were at Ballet West every night, which isn't unusual, since Freestone dances there six days a week, but for Nutcracker, the kids often had one or two hour rehearsals, and it didn't make sense to go home. Scott and I both enjoyed driving them in and then sitting in Starbucks reading or something. We carpooled a little bit with the Jenkins, but for the most part, we have enough logistics of our own without throwing another family into the mix.

The week of Clytie's Nutcracker, it would have been a miracle if we hadn't made any blunders. Alas, a miracle did not occur. Thursday, opening night, our entire family was at the theater in Ogden. I was thinking how amazing it was that we were all able to be there together. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized Xanthe had missed a rehearsal at Ballet West! I quickly died and then emailed Heather, the ballet mistress. No sooner had I emailed her than I realized the Ptolemy had also missed a rehearsal! I cannot believe it didn't occur to me. I completely spaced it. Fortunately, Heather has a "three strikes" policy, and we were more than OK. I still hate when I make mistakes! Out of hundreds of rehearsals, I think we did OK. Plus, I have no idea how the kids would have gotten to Salt Lake if I'd remembered the rehearsal.

Even Main Street Music got in on the Nutcracker spirit.

Ridiculously, blogger won't let me upload pictures from my Google Photos more than one at a time, so I had to screen shot all these photos. Lame.  Anyway, I was a ballet mom instead of a teacher for the first time ever at Clytie's and I got to be on the props committee. I was backstage the whole time. I loved it. It was a hoot watching Freestone and Araceli swordfight.  I was worried Araceli would win the fight. She is headstrong and competitive and doesn't care about convention. Freestone, on the other hand, will go to great lengths, at his own personal discomfort, to make sure nobody is hurt in any way.  I breathed a sigh of relief when they stuck to the choreography.

More BW lobby photos. We went to so many performances! Because of Freestone's scholarship, we have to log volunteer hours, so Scott, Golda, Ruby, Araceli and I all got turns at the Academy table, the boutique and chaperoning. All those volunteer gigs come with free tickets, so we were lucky enough to see almost all of Ptolemy and Xanthe's performances. Freestone ended up doing 4 or 5 extras and understudying for many more.

An iconic Dopp moment: The Mouse King and the Nutcracker Prince.

Scott and I are in the BW Guild, so we get even more volunteer opportunities. This time, it was selling charms to raise money for the new Nutcracker costumes. This year, the sets and costumes were new, and turned out wonderfully.

At Clytie's, Stella and Freestone got scolded for PDA backstage. Oops! They had a pretty good run!

We hosted our traditional Nutcracker Lunch on opening day.

So many fans

I love being involved with Freestone's ballet world. LOVE IT!

This was his first year as Nephew, or as Jeff Rogers says, "the little porker." Or maybe that's his PArty Boy costume. I can't remember.

Celi and Kayden were dating, and Freestone and Stella were a thing, so the four of them had some fun times over the holidays.

I probably have about a thousand more pictures from Nutcracker this year. It was a lot, but it never seemed like it. It was just fun. Ptolemy loved being part of the boys' club, and Xanthe overcame her fear to be a great soldier. She made lots of friends. She was disappointed not to dance with her close friends at Clytie's, but it was a growing experience. You can't make every audition. When you do, you enjoy every second!

November 10, 2017

This morning, I woke up at 6:30 and stumbled to the kitchen, thinking about how I didn't want to get up, nor complete any of the thousand tasks that would start in T-minus 5 seconds. I thought about repeating this routine every day for the next decade: taking kids to school, loading the dishwasher, all of it. Impossible drudgery.

Then I looked up, and every window was ablaze with glowing amber light. Most of the leaves are gone off the trees now, yet somehow each tree was glowing. I remarked to Araceli, "Look at the light!" She smiled and said, "I know. I noticed that." We stood in awe for a brief moment, then walked outside, where the sky was rippled with pink and orange clouds, impossibly magnificent.

By the time we got to Davis High, the light was dead again, the sky a milky white. I said as much to Araceli. "What happened to the light?"

I felt differently than I had when I woke up, as Araceli hopped out of the driver's seat and I slipped in to drive home. I noticed beautiful things, like Celi holding a gift for a friend's birthday. High school students carefully pulling into parking spots. Leaves raked neatly into piles.  Yes, everything was grey and brown, but I knew that if I peeked just under the surface, I would see the divinity of all of it. I envisioned a warm, amber glow just under the skin of monotony on the surface of our day. I knew that glow was there because God created a glimpse of it just for me and Araceli to share this morning.

Araceli's Sweet Sixteen

Little Araceli Circe. She was so full of love as a baby and a little girl, and she still is. Look at that face!  She turned 16, and now she's even more beautiful and more spunky than the little 4-year-old who gave herself a haircut. She didin't want to go on a trip for her birthday. She didn't want to have a big party. She certainly didn't want to go out to a stuffy dinner with Mom and Dad. She wanted to get her hair done. Her appointment was at 6:30 in the morning, which turned out to be good, because it left time open for lots of other fun things.  The gorgeous hair, by Hair in the 801, Andrea Gibson, whom I've known since she was born. She was a fun person for Araceli to spend that much time with on her birthday. I love Andrea! This gorgeous hair cost more than a trip. ;) Hard for me to swallow, but that's what Araceli wanted for her big day, and she was happy! And it looks so pretty.

Celi did her traditional lunch at Orlando's (formerly Pepperbelly's) with Scott. He sent me pictures of all their lunches through the years. Celi really holds that tradition dear. PT and TZ wanted to go, and Araceli graciously invited them.

2016

2015

2014

2012

2011

After Scott's allotted time slot of lunch, Araceli worked at my store a little, then went home to get ready for dinner with Kayden. Our family tends to have scheduling worked out to the minute, and we run very on time. Kayden was 45 minutes late, and Araceli was mad. He did bring her thoughtful gifts of a watch and some lavender syrup to make Italian soda, so he redeemed himself somewhat. He was terribly excited about the gifts, so Araceli tried not to be upset. I picked her up at Kayden's house at 8:56 for my time slot. (I really did tell her 8:56. I love how my GPS tells me exactly when I'll be everywhere.) We went to a chick flick at the Kaysville Theater, Home Again, which was cute and funny. I love Araceli. There isn't a single person on earth who is anything like her. It will take me a lifetime to figure her out, and it may take her a lifetime to figure herself out. In some ways, she is supremely confident, though. It actually scares me. With Araceli, you live in the moment. You don't worry about the future. You're just grateful for the moment you have with this remarkable girl, and you sit back and feel the love. Because let's be real. Nobody can handle more Celi than what the present gives you. We'll let the future unfold in the future.