We have had a busy day! This afternoon Granny and Poppy and I took the girls to see The Nutcracker.
This was an annual local production, with kids 3 through college age dancing all the parts. Since it's strictly an amateur performance, it has been condensed - the story is shorter and just the famous parts are included. It's the kind of ballet where baby angels get dizzy and fall over, the pre-recorded music sometimes stops abruptly, and no one minds if your 4 year asks 297 questions during the show. The perfect beginner ballet! The dancing was impressive, the costumes were lovely, and all the important characters were there - Clara, the Nutcracker, snow fairies, the dance of the wildflowers, Mother Ginger and her little cookies, the Sugar Plum Fairy. We had a terrific time.
Katherine has seen The Nutcracker several times and read endless versions of the story. She knows enough to compare and contrast the dancing. But this was Rachel's first ballet. She was totally enthralled with it all (and asked questions non-stop). I'm not sure she really followed the plot, but she "got" the magic. She was concerned about Clara dancing around in her pajamas for most of the show. And she was quite disgusted with the toy soldiers who shot all those poor little mice! (To be fair, the mice were way too cute to be at all threatening in their frothy gray tutus with pink bows on their tails.) I'm thinking we'll be seeing some dancing from Miss Rae in the near future!
And now for Santa...
This evening we went to my mom's extended family's Christmas gathering. There was time to play with the cousins and lots of goodies to eat. And then it was time for Santa. Santa has been coming to this party since before my memory. And it's a tradition my cousins have made sure to pass on to our kids. Because we love seeing our children sitting on Santa's lap.
This was a day full of Christmas traditions that I hope will never end.
