Opening night was magical.  All the dancers were perfect, Ruby's costume stayed on and the performance was lovely.  It's just such a fun thing to be a part of.  It's amazing to think of all the children and families who benefit from taking part in this production, and all because of one person's beautiful vision.  Thank you, Clytie!  Nutcracker is quite a gift to all of us.

Because I forgot that two of our tickets were separate from the other two, we had a little snafu at the last minute.  Freestone generously volunteered to stay home with Ptolemy, Grandma and Grandpa rather than sit by himself with whatever stranger we gave the extra ticket to.  So Xanthe ended up on a special date with Daddy in her fancy holiday dress.  Somehow, Scott never tires of seeing Nutcracker year after year, and he can always spot his girls, even when they look identical to the others.  He's a proud dad, and a dad his girls can be proud of.

The girls kept up their tradition of choosing a stuffed animal from the boutique that matches their part in the production.  I told Xanthe she would have to wait until she is in Nutcracker to get a stuffed animal.  Fortunately for Xanthe, Coco has no such restrictions on her boutique shopping, so Xanthe came home with a precious little bear in a tutu.  She told me that the bear didn't have a mom and it needed her.  I wonder if that's the line she used on Coco!  That's a good one.

This morning, three tired girls went to school in a fog.  I'm pretty sure they were all awake, but not sure how alert.  I wish we didn't have to deal with dumb things like school and geometry tests when there are dances to be danced and curtain calls to be taken.  I'd rather be a permanent resident in the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, if only for a week.  It's pretty there, and there are no homework assignments!