Update

Forgot to mention below that G has started his invitation only, advanced gymnastics class! There are only three children in his class (including G), so he's getting lots of quality gym time. Woohoo!!

Monkey Jumps

From this to THIS!

Last night, G had his first gymnastics recital. He did a marvelous floor routine (complete with cartwheel and handstand), the high beam, and the bar. He's definitely at the top of his class, and completely full of energy. After his recital, we went to Ben and Jerry's for an ice cream treat -- G chose a large cup of strawberry with rainbow sprinkles. We're so very proud of him!

Bilbo Baggins, at Your Service

Last night was an incredible end to a long and astonishing week. On Monday, K auditioned for and was cast as the lead character Bilbo Baggins in his drama camp production of "The Hobbit". He had an extraordinary number of lines to learn (more than I have had in most of my productions, in fact -- the show itself is 75 pages long), and only a week in which to do it. He worked himself silly to accomplish last night's performance, with 6 hours of camp every day (and no breaks for the star actor, as he was in every scene) and 3-4 hours every night of line work. Honestly, he worked harder and put more time and energy into this production than I have in many of my own shows. He was also 2-7 years younger than all but two of the other campers.

K LOVED doing the show itself, but was thoroughly impressed with just how much work goes into making a show happen. I'm pleased that he was able to see intimately what it is that I do, why I sometimes grumble about the work involved, and why I continue to do it in spite of that. I overheard him tell the director of the camp (who hoisted K to his shoulders while the other campers cheered for him) that he couldn't wait to do the camp again next year. It has been amazing for me to see how much the other children respond to him, too. Everywhere he went all week, he was greeted with enthusiastic claps on the back and excited "Hi Bilbo"s or "Hey there, K"s. He does have a bit of the director in him, though, as he found it difficult to not tell the other actors what to do on stage. We'll have to work on that whole concept of concentrating on the log in one's own eye! ;-)

Of course, I don't have great pictures -- but the show was videotaped, and there are pictures from the dress rehearsals that I hope to receive soon. The only pictures I managed to get before the cast members ran off in their post show excitement and glee to sign each other's scripts and programs were of the curtain call (K coming out last and alone in grand Hobbit style) and the group shot at the end. In all, about 20 children participated.

I'll post better pictures as soon as I get them. It's time for this proud TheaterMom to fold some laundry...

CSA Delight

We're totally loving our fresh veggies! Our "extra" time tonight resulted in a more relaxed meal. We had scallops sauteed in minced garlic, sea salt, and olive oil, kohlrabi greens gently cooked with olive oil and dijon mustard, sliced kohlrabi with grated parmesan and a bit of butter and black pepper, and salad with carrots, walnuts, easter egg radishes,romaine,mesclun, spinach, chopped garlic, sea salt, and lemon. Yummy!!

Beachy

So, we made it to Carolina Beach on Friday evening, but weren't able to get a campsite. Hopefully next time that won't be the case. At any rate, we stayed at a motel along the beach, and went out to swim first thing Saturday morning -- the boys woke us at 6:40 in the morning, so we were able to get ready and out in the water before the swimmers and sun bathers. The fishers were out much earlier than us.

After a few hours at the beach, and just before the sun would become a real issue, we headed to the state park for a picnic lunch, and then to the aquarium at Fort Fisher. After enjoying the cool sharks, jellyfish, etc., touching some sting rays, starfish, and sea urchins, and having some ice cream, and after G decided to leave through the gate of no return about 5 minutes before the rest of us were prepared to go, we moved on to the Fort Fisher historical site. It was awesome to see the boys so excited about the Civil War, and to hear K explain so many things to G. They were able to run off some steam at a park on our way home, as well as take a peek at the World's Largest Frying Pan, and so the drive was relatively quiet.

Tomorrow, K begins his week long drama camp. It will be interesting to see what part he gets, and how the week unfolds. We'll update after his performance at the end of the week!