Willy Wonka

Well, it's done. Finally. And sadly...a little. It's always fun doing plays, but musicals in particular keep me up at night. The music gets stuck in my head and I lay awake playing it over and over. It drives me nuts. Even Les Miserables did by the end. 

This particular production was messy at the end--paint was drying behind me on our opening night. Yep. But it seemed to be a big hit with the viewers. We got decent turn outs each day on our first weekend, and then the second weekend (when we'd moved to another theater) we had more than 530 people our first night there, and another good crowd at the matinee the next day. 

Me and "Chalie"--Harlan--after our closing show. He was a sweet kid, and did great in his first big role! 

My biggest satisfaction comes from how much Madie loved it. I don't mean just being in the play, but actually being on stage! She is pretty shy, and it took quite of bit of convincing on my part to get her to even try out--she wanted to do it, she said, but she didn't want to have to sing or talk in front of anyone...

During rehearsals, she was asked a couple of times if she was enjoying being in the play. Her response was, "I don't like to sing. Or dance." So naturally I figured she was sticking it out because a. in the beginning I told her that after a certain point she couldn't really back out, and b. she had lots of friends from school in the play as well. 

Well, it turned out that when we got around to the actual performance, she was loving it! She was hesitant about her makeup--orange face paint and a green wig--but at the end of dress rehearsal she said she didn't even notice it. She even said, at the end of the last show, that she "can't wait for next year to see what the show will be!" I told her there aren't always children's parts. Regardless, it looks like the Drama Queen may actually have a future with her natural talent. Fabulous!

On stage. Look at that smile! Photo credit: Christopher Dougherty.

Madie at the end of dress rehearsal.

Easter

Last weekend, I planted some corn in the garden. And a couple rows of carrots. I was prepped and ready to plant more this weekend, but instead we got about a half-foot of snow the day after spring. Everyone (including myself) kept saying, "Oh, it won't last. It'll be gone in a day or so." 

Here we are, Easter day, and we still have snow on the ground. It's been in the 30s all week and overcast. Thankfully, the snow on the gardens has pretty much melted and the sweet little crocuses in the front are out in force.

For the record, they were here last week too--they arrived ON TIME. Spring just decided to ditch them. Lucky for us, they don't care much what Spring thinks.

Mike and I figured we'd at least take advantage of the snow since, really, we haven't had any this winter. Mike has been able to get out to ski three or four times this winter--all in the morning--but I hadn't gotten any. I usually only manage to get in one ski a year anyway, but with the bad snow this year, I kind of figured I wouldn't get any. It was nice to get out, and the full moon looked phenomenal as usual on the fresh snow and the lake water.

Here's a shot Mike took for @_Campfour_ from his early-morning ski after the spring snowfall.

To keep Easter Sunday more sacred, we do our egg hunt on Saturday. Here are the kids waiting in our bedroom until I tell them to come out. The youngest wasn't having it, so we called her stand-in.

Madeleine and Finn jumped to it, obviously. Petya was excited and laughing but really had no idea what was going on. I handed her a basket and showed her an egg behind the piano. She shook it, which was fun, so she shook it some more, and a little more. Finally she put it in her basket and I said, "There's more, P! Look over here!" I pointed into a shoe. Oh, that was fun too! Hiding things in shoes is one of her favorite activities! She took that one out and shook it too.

Saturday morning we had chocolate milk, fruit, and cheese tarts for breakfast. It's a pretty quick meal to get together, really, but nothing is quick when you've got a toddler growing on your front half. Mike took care of her mostly so I could get breakfast going, but he was also trying to get the house to look at least like we try not to live in a slum. Every time he tried setting her down she fussed. So he did what I always do when I'm in that situation: he set her next to Mr. Nuzzle Muzzle. 

The only other being in the house P regularly turns to in even the most critical moments.

We also spent Saturday dying eggs and hanging a paper-flower garland the kids made. Madeleine and I didn't have play rehearsal, so she was able to join Dad and Finn for swim. I even got a good session of writing done at the library. That night I went to the church for a potluck with the Relief Society before Women's Conference (more on that later, hopefully). I came home early though to get a little more work done before the Sabbath. 

Our original Easter plans were to attend sacrament meeting (the first and foremost of three periods of church for Latter-day Saints) and then head to my grandmother's for a family gathering. On Friday I found out my sister and Gram were both sick and my aunt and cousin wouldn't be coming. So we postponed until next weekend, which works perfectly, and we started talking Easter dinner at home. Mike called the missionaries and found out the Elders had nowhere to go, so he arranged to have them come here.

Mike requested pork tacos--a surprising request I thought, since Mike is something of a traditionalist. I asked him today, as he chopped cilantro and I rolled tortillas, why he chose this particular meal. 

"Well," he said, in a way that made me think the next words would be something like, I know you don't love ham, but I'm not wild about lamb, so I was thinking pork, and that took me to tacos--or something like that--but he continued with, *chop, chop, chop* "I think about eating tacos every week anyway, so I just thought we could have them today." 

Truth.

Dinner went well, despite the wonkiness of the carrot cake--it tasted great--but I was lazy last night and didn't flour the pans, so...

Madeleine had the treat tonight (for Family Home Evening), so she helped to make the frosting and decorate it. We didn't have enough frosting to do flowers like she wanted, but she did like the idea of Jackson Pollocking it with food coloring. We topped it with dyed blown eggs and stuck candles in it so we could sing Happy Birthday to Elder Schwartz, who turns 20 tomorrow!

I hope your Easter was fun, like ours was. Mostly though, I hope you and I both remember the significance of the day. Christ the Lord is risen. And because of that, I can be raised from sadness--despair, even. Because of that, I have hope to overcome my sins and find freedom and peace in the Lord forever.

Hallelujah.

Spore chamber no more

This room behind the garage was a surprise when we bought the house in 2013. We had no idea it even existed. That's what happens when you do your home inspection in February. The room was already in bad shape due to rot and mold. It was dubbed the spore chamber, which we didn't dare enter. We were actually hoping the roof would collapse from winter, which was realized in the following winter. Fast forward to 2016, we finally cleaned up the mess. 

Before. 

After. Thank you missionaries for your help! 

The (food) Revolution has Begun

With the mild winter and early spring we have had, we have definitely gone outside a lot and enjoyed some hikes. I even climbed Norumbega with Finn and Nella yesterday because it was 50 degrees! Madie has had the flu the past few days and couldn't come, otherwise I'm sure she would be leading the charge. We are trying to use this time to get ahead on spring cleaning and gardening. Hopefully that means less work and more play this summer. 

Hiking Cadillac Cliffs trail with Madie and Finn. I think this is their favorite trail because of the caves and rocks they scramble on. 

See! They do get along sometimes! 

Still s bit of ice, but not much compared to the past two winters. We were buried under 60+ inches last March. 

Ah, may I indulge for a moment? Mallory is leading this food revolution in our kitchen that has included homemade wontons, and many other great dishes. I love food. 

I love wrapping Nella up in a towel after a tubby. She likes it too. 

She also likes playing in Elvis' bed. I'm sure the feelings are mutual. 

Finn was one sharp looking dude at church yesterday. Haircut, new outfit, tie, dimples...just missing some shades and a blazer. 

This is from our hike up Norumbega yesterday. Finn was making sure Petranella was watching the camera for the photo (yikes!). Great hike. I'm working on Finns stamina. He often says he doesn't like hiking, just prefers climbing rocks. So I try to find more challenging hikes that allow him to scramble a bit. He is getting better. Hopefully we can do many summits this summer. 

Officially a Yellow Tag

Madie officially passed the swim test! She is a yellow tag, which means she is cleared to be in the pool without me being right next to her. It will be nice to have Finn and Madie in the pool at the same time with me. Now it's time to focus on Finn. He has gotten much stronger since the beginning of the year. 

Madie has really tackled some demons this year, such as learning to ride a bike and swimming. She has gained a lot more self-confidence because of it, and is learning a lot. Next step for her is getting the green tag, which means she can swim the length of an Olympic sized pool. 

Thank you, Mumma

This busy little peanut just started saying "thank you, Mumma" at the dinner table this week. She is really starting to mimic other words too, which you can identify if you really pay attention. On the flip side, she's also turned up the heat on her complaining and demanding. It's cute! 

Swimming Lessons