As I was sorting the photos from the last 2 months, I realized I never posted about F's 2nd year in the Missoula Children's Theatre production. This year, over 120 children auditioned and only 47 made it--Finn was one of them. The show was loosely based on Robinson Crusoe.
Cast in the only role he didn't want, Member of "The Very Hairy Frowny Faced Tribe," he was thrilled to get a part when all of his friends who auditioned this year, did not! As the leader of his tribe, he did a fantastic job and he had the best hair of all of them.
For a child who as a young boy was so shy and reserved, he never ceases to surprise me. I was so proud of him, when he continued on when we knew no one else in the show and didn't have his buddies this year to hang out with at any of the rehearsals. He constantly amazes me as he tries new things, and usually succeeds.
At some point I need him to fail, just so we can have a "teaching moment" that sometimes things don't work out, even when we try our best. But for now, we relish in our own little world of never-ending triumphs, and 100%'s--because we know they can't last forever.
One our way to our first hunt the typical dancing with baskets on our heads broke out. Every year, once the baskets come out, the "basket hat" is a trick that resurfaces daily.
The hay ride at the Buchinsky's farm while the eggs were hidden was a big thrill (except that S fell asleep on it). It was great because for 3 hours the kids roamed freely, with no concern of wandering into the road, "stranger danger", or anything of the other current maladies plaguing my parenting.
(Our TJ grocery bags serve for everything--I highly reccomend buying several and just leaving the stash in your trunk...I need more!)
The hunt at Gma's house was great, because for kids, quantity always wins out over quality--and it was a cold, cold hunt putting the quality up for question. Although, the quality of the loot there was Cadbury Bunny certified.
Finally, the season came to a close where we went to church to celebrate, you know, the reason for Easter (which is NOT about matching ties, but I sometimes have to be reminded).
F gave an amazing talk on the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, while G whispered for the entire 3 hour block, his hopes and dreams of the location of his Easter Basket at Grandma Linda's (she hides them for the kids to find).
Next year I think we are going to rearrange our Easter priorities, but this year, the kids had one egg-stravagant (you knew it was coming!) Easter season!
It began with window shopping in the local hippy town of Floyd where we bought organic this and that, and clothes from Ecuador under the no-so-Hollywood-Label "Wear The Change You Want to Bring." (Didn't Gwenyth or Britney sport that on their last red carpet walk?) Then on to dinner at Oddfellas where we had salmon, scallops, and chimichangas. I think our table menu was Floyd-Mex Neuveau. Paula Deen will be coming out with a cookbook soon.
We proceeded to the Friday Night Jamboree at The General Store where we thought we were going to listen to bluegrass, but instead were blessed by the musical stylings of a gospel quartet who taught us that indeed, Today is Just Another Day in God's Coloring Book. Who knew?
We also learned why there aren't very many women in politics--it turns out it is to hard to put make-up on 2 faces! Oh, now I understand--I always thought it was chauvanism.
We headed off to our cabin and drove the parkway in the miserable rain, with the engine light on, hoping to not get lost. The cabin was great, with some eccentricities of its own...Amy turned out to be the brave one (but not brave enough to sleep up there!).
Saturday was spent walking the Parkway, at Mabry Mill, shops at Meadows of Dan (all four of them), lunch at the local diner for $9.98 for the 3 of us, and back at the cabin making cards, playing games, and eating lots of food.
(Turns out we are not so hot at the self-portrait shot)
Then last night as he was looking at the flowers, he laughed and said I could tell people because it was a funny story. When I was talking to Amy I told her the story and Jack's response. She was like, "What? People are going to think he is a bad husband because he brought you flowers just because he was overly thoughtful?"