Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Weekend Roundup- The Little Mermaid Edition

Welcome to The Little Mermaid edition of the Weekend Roundup. 


It was a fun and hectic weekend for all of us but we just could NOT be more proud of Evie. She amazed all of us with her performance, her confidence, and her commitment! I am truly in awe of my little girl.



Friday morning Evie woke up feeling happy with the previous day's daycare performance but was SUPER excited to perform it for the general public. It was the final day of camp and she was ready for notes and final rehearsal.

I knew it was going to be a long weekend for Everett so I made a plan to take him and his friend to Houston Party Playland. I told him he would have to have socks to play and he came to the van wearing this:


Those two played long and hard. We were there almost 4 hours. I got EVERYTHING in my 'to do' bag completed! Yipee! 


I barely caught a few pics when they stopped for water breaks.


Once most of the little kids left, they began encroaching on the designated small child areas.


When I went to pick up Evie from her final camp day, people just clumped up hugging and wanting pictures. It was so sweet!



After an early dinner, Eric & Evie took off to get ready for opening night while Everett and I went to feed Mo. 


Eric sent me these backstage pics just before we left for the performance.



Finally in my seat and SO ready for show #1. Evie never lets me see any of her practices, dress rehearsals or run-throughs. She always wants me to see it for the first time when she does it for real. Eric is not subjected to these limitations!



When Evie first told me her character was a puppet, I thought we would never see her face on stage. She said that was only true for part of the play. That when all the characters were underwater, she would be visible. I still didn't really get it until I saw the show.



This is MY baby singing dancing and performing with a puppet on stage live. Can you FEEL the pride in my voice?!?!


She had figured out that the package that arrived a few days earlier was for her. She's too smart for me! But, she didn't know it would be this Flounder. She loved it! Her sweet friend also brought her flowers. Biggest grin! That girl is so happy! Performing is her thing.


Saturday my family came to see show #2 and I got to watch it again! 




She was so thrilled that many of her friends got to come see her in the show. It becomes such a big part of her life from tryout to performance.


Everett was feeling a bit done with the show so, after making a quick Chick-Fil-A dinner run for Evie & Everett, I took him home for the evening to give him a break.  

I told this girl to break a fin on performance #3! I thought she looked a little tired as I left but Eric said show #3 was one of the best ones and afterward they went out with several of the cast and crew for a late dinner. I guess she re-energized.


Sunday morning she didn't wake up until almost 9 so I stayed home from church with her. I asked her what she'd like to do to give her mind a break from the show and she chose scrabble! I had some coffee and she had some rice chex (no milk).


Time for the final performance! Show #4. I went up to see where they needed help for the final show and ended up selling tickets. It was exciting to see the line going out the door. It was our biggest crowd!


Here is what Eric has spent likely over 60 hours doing this week. Running lights and helping with all things tech for the performance. I thank him very much for taking on all the required volunteer hours the parents were committed to. (Plus many more!!)


Everett has not complained at all about the time he has spent at the venue. Playing his phone and eating goldfish have sustained him along with the occasional concession stand treat.


Last performance done! Evie has really truly enjoyed every aspect of performing. The actors always sign autographs for the kids and this took longer than usual with all the little kids at the performances.


Evie got some nice gifts from people who came to the show. It was so sweet of everyone.


Cast party! Last night was the last hurrah. They rented out a neighborhood pool and had a 3 hour swim party. Evie rescued Flounder from the cake. 


Poor Evie, back to real life. But, she will always be our star! She's still deciding what to do next but first she plans to enjoy the rest of her summer. Starting NOW!

Monday, June 29, 2015

What I'm Reading

This is my first 'What I'm Reading Post'! Reading is almost my favorite thing in the world to do. I have always been a huge reader and I only stopped reading for a while when Evie and Everett were tiny babies. I felt SO happy during the first novel I read after they got just a bit older. I had really missed reading!

One thing you may not know, I'm actually a very SLOW reader as far as reading speed. If you ever had to read over my shoulder you would literally need something else to do while you waited for me to finish and turn the page. As it happens though, I remember almost word for word what I read. So, reading with me- bad idea. Discussing a book with me- great idea!
Currently, what I like to read is Young Adult Fantasy Romance or Young Adult Science Fiction. Those are my two favorite genres. Think Hunger Games & Twilight (sorry, I'm one of them). But, it's not ALL I read. I grab titles all over the place.
 In the past, I have spent seasons as a huge fan of Chick Lit, Mystery, and Historical Fiction. I have never been a non-fiction girl. It's not my thing. I didn't even like Tina Fey's Bossypants! (I will pause while you rethink even reading this blog as I am, apparently, the only one in America who didn't love this book!

June did not give me as much time to read as I had hoped. I was off to a good start when my Mother's Day Out job finished for the summer. The first weekend the kids were out of school, I was thinking I had a whole empty week followed by a relatively empty month ahead of me. 


Then this happened!


As a result, my sister has been off of work for all of June and unable to drive! So, instead of endless days reading I have been hanging out and chauffeuring her!

It's a good thing....except for the lack of reading I have gotten done. So, for me, a lack of reading in the summer means I only got to read 5 books so far. That may be a lot to you, but my Goodreads reading goal is in a sad state!


Good reading! You have read 19 of 65 books. View Books ・ Edit
29%
29%
12 books behind schedule
12 books behind schedule! WHAT?! The other reason I'm behind is that I have been reading more 'grown up' books. You know, traditional adult fiction. They take me longer to read. I almost feel like I'm walking through drifts of dry sand while reading adult fiction books after having read several YA books in a row. (Higher reading levels will do that to you, I guess Hahahaha.) 

Let's get to this month's list!

Image result for me before you
I read Me Before You on the recommendation of both a blog and high praise for the author in general. This is adult fiction. I had never heard of this author before. It would be classified as a romance. I gave it 3 stars. I enjoyed the writing but thought it was too predictable. I am in the minority here. Most people loved it (and everything else she has written).
Unexpected bonus! This is going to release as a movie next year! So, if you are the type that likes to read the book first, you still have time. And will I be seeing it? Of course! It has Sam Claflin in it (who I loved in Hunger Games as Finnick) AND Brandon Coyle (aka Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey)!
Image result for ruby red
So, obviously, I immediately picked up a YA Sci-Fi book to make me happy. I read book one in this series, Ruby Red. I think a friend of mine told me to read this. But, I also gave this book only 3 stars. I liked it but didn't really find a thread of anything original in the story or characters. It was a happy read with some friendship and romance. I still might read the next one. It's just not on the top of the list.
Back to another 'grown up' book. A book about early onset Alzheimer's disease. The Day We Met is VERY similar to Still Alice (which has been made into a  movie). I gave it 4 stars because I enjoyed the writing. However, I did not care for the ending of this one (one story line in particular) and I thought it ended a bit too neatly. I have a very hard time not directly comparing this to the Still Alice book. The stories are SO similar. To differentiate, I thought this one was Diet Coke and Still Alice was regular Coke.
Next up, THE book everyone is reading this summer! The Girl On The Train reminded me why I like mysteries. This one was like a mystery combined with a Maeve Binchy novel. It's adult fiction for you non YA fans. I liked the ending and the fact that the main character was an unreliable source to her own story. A solid 4 stars. 
Back to YA Romance. This is book 2 in a series. I started out not liking book one, but finished it happier than I started. I think I liked book two better than book one! However, this is still just a 3 star series. It's a bit silly and a bit young. I would almost say this could have been in the Juvenile fiction section. I will definitely be watching this author though to see what she puts out next. 
Finally, my friend Britt hooked me up with a free copy of this book courtesy of the author (thanks Britt!!). I was eager to get into it as soon as I downloaded it, but, I do NOT like reading two books at once. My mom can do it somehow, but I can't. I am now about 30% in and so far I'm enjoying it. It already feels like a long character set up and I'm getting some Twilight vibes so I'm interested to see where she's taking this story. 
Whew! That was a long post. What are you reading? I'm ALWAYS looking for recommendations or just a good book chat!
 Reading is one of the best ways to escape my own mind and calm down. That's why it was one of my main summer goals!