Week in Review

Reading

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher-

I spotted this in the bookstore while shopping for someone else and knew I HAD to read it. I was familiar with most of what she was going to write about, but of course I was unprepared for how funny she would be when she did. I took me about three hours to read the whole book, it was that funny and that compelling. I love Carrie, and not just because she played Princess Leia once upon a time. I would definitely recommend this for a quick, entertaining read.

Listening

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Time to move on to book 2. This time, all the kids are excited about it and mad when I won't play it because one or two of them aren't in the car with me. I'm glad we are all enjoying it, even though it is probably my least favorite of the series.

Watching

Veggie Tales: The Ballad of Little Joe-

Yes, I really did just skip from a summary of how much I enjoyed reading the somewhat PG-13 rated writings of a woman who frankly discusses her struggles with being bi-polar and an addict to a cute little Christian cartoon. I am nothing if not eclectic. But THIS one I got to share with my kids, who all loved it. And, of course, so did I. But their spoof on Lord of the Rings is still my favorite.

Clean House: The Messiest House in America-

I often avoid these shows for fear of seeing too much of my own home depicted on-screen. Last night's house was SO bad though, that it actually made me feel better about mine. I loved what they did with the house, but I feel like these kind of shows don't properly address the issues that surround people who hoard their stuff like that and that as soon as the cameras stop rolling and these people are left to their own devices, the problems just start all over again. It seemed really clear to me that something like that may happen with the family they showed last night, in particular the mother. But...what do I know?

At the Movies

I'm sure I watched a movie at some point last week, but if I can't remember it now-it can't have been very good.

Out and About

The Gondolier's by CCOC Kids' Camp-

In case you missed all my glowing reviews on Facebook, my daughter is AMAZING!. At the beginning of the month, I was at Girls' Camp. I got a call one day from Natalie telling me that she was going to try out for the small, but very funny part of The Duchess after successfully auditioning for the company. (They audition for the camp itself, and then for individual parts during camp's first week.) She called me the next day to say the audition had gone well, but that they had also had her sing for the part of Casilda, the duchess' daughter and, as far as my wikipedia reading had told me, one of three female leads in the story. I just thought they wanted to hear how much her voice had matured since last year, because even my untrained ear knew that it had. I guessed that the roles of both the duchess and Casilda would go to older kids (I think they go from 9-16 years old or close to it) and that Natalie would be one of the "contadine." This suited me just fine because she is young and the "contadine" ("farmers' daughters") sing in Italian which I really wanted her to do. The next day, I got yet another call. A very excited call! Natalie had gotten the part of Casilda. I think I told everyone at Girls' Camp. Some of them even knew why that was a big deal. I was thrilled for her. And then I decided that because there were three female leads that it was a slightly larger part, but probably not as big as I was thinking it was because, after all, my daughter was still just 11. And with that, I spent the rest of June driving her to and from practice every day.
It was kind of funny to me in a "that's my life" way, no sooner did I stop driving the little girls to Sooner Theatre for dress rehearsals at Sooner Theatre then I had to start driving Natalie there for hers. But soon enough, Thursday came and it was time for the matinee performance. CCOC Kids' Camp typically does a split cast, so most of the lead roles had two people to perform them. In the matinee, Natalie was a contadina (chorus), and an older girl was doing Casilda. That older girl was VERY good. She had sparkling eyes, a strong smiling stage presence, and of course an incredible voice. I loved her performance and I was very nervous for Natalie to follow in her footsteps. I was reassured by another parent who had seen the rehearsals that while Natalie did the character differently, she was just as good and I would love watching her. I hoped so...but I did wonder what they were going to do when it was time for her to hit that 'super high note' (not being as musical as my daughter, that's what I called it-apparently, it's was a middle high C whatever that means).
So, before long the evening show came. Our whole family was there including both sets of grandparents and one of my sisters (the other was joining me the next day). The curtains went up, the opening number happened, and then...Natalie came on-stage. Was she sparkling and vivacious like her predacessor? No. She was demure, but it worked equally well. Watching her sing love songs with her 15 year-old co-star wasn't nearly as odd as I thought it would be, and did you all know my daughter can hit a middle high C? Because I didn't, but she sure can! (Yes, I cried) She was amazing. I didn't know she had that in her. She does still need a headset, but two of her music teachers assured me that her lungs just need to catch up to her voice and that, in time, she won't need that any more. (They also told me not to push too much with telling her to project because part of that is know-how, which she has, but that part of that is also physical maturity for her lungs, which she doesn't yet.) She was a little shy, she was a little nervous; but she is also 11 years-old and playing a leading lady who turns out to be a queen at the end of the play. So I was beyond pround of her and I wish I had done more advertising to get people to that show (Chris, you are excused.). All Natalie wanted was for her cousins, her friend Laura, her Dad, and her PaPa's, MeMe, and Judy saw her in the show; so she did not care. But I wish more people had seen her because she was wonderful. (And that's really my fault because I didn't make a fuss about it until the days of the performances.) In an aside, I find it amusing that she turned out to be queen in the show, because she is the only one of my daughters who does not fancy herself to be secret royalty. All in all, it was a big success for our summer and something I'm sure Natalie won't soon forget, because I know that I won't.

4th of July Party-

Somewhere in there, I managed to get the downstairs of the house presentable enough to have our annual 4th gathering. Even with the rain, we had some good food and managed some fireworks. The city cancelled the big show, but we had another gathering last night for that one which was also fun. For me, being able to sit in my backyard and go in and out of my house at will really beats the crowds at the park every year. Not to mention being able to put on some pretty neat shows of our own legally given where we live. I'm glad our party was smaller this year because between the pregnancy, Natalie's shows, and all the prep involved for all of it; I was pretty spent by the time people left on Saturday-and that was without sitting through the fireworks. Next year, I hope it doesn't rain, and I would love to see more people. But this year, I think it was perfect just as it was.