The One With Mary Poppins Junior

This past weekend, I helped out with the 21^st annual play at Kennedy. This year, we were piloting Mary Poppins Jr. What a blast!

Now truth be told, it is a fast moving play. Epically fast. So, helping to run stage crew kept us quite busy. But the crew was great. Even though it was a small crew – fortunately some of the 9^th graders came back to help – we ran it smoothly. Phew!  But, it was quite an event.

The play itself was fun. It is a version of the Broadway play, with more of the “Saving Mr. Banks” feel to it. The sets were great. The acting and singing was phenomenal. And the dancing was fabulous.

And, I made several memories. First, Bri and Kiff helped out on a play and worked several major parts of it, which was fun. Second, we were able to move in and out on more scenes then we ever have before. Finally, the students in the production gave me a fantastic Mary Poppins tie as a gift and a memory of this year….something I will always treasure.

All and all and fantastic play!

The One With the Peabody Essex Museum

This past weekend, we spent some time at the Peabody Essex Museum. It was a blast.

They had two exhibits that we were interested in seeing. Kiff has shown an interest in shoe design, so we explored the shoe exhibit (called "Shoes - Pain and Pleasure")  they had. It was quite interesting. They had a variety of unique shoe designs from the 1100s to present there....included two pairs I was most interested in - jeweled golf shoes and a pair of Elton John boots. We learned a lot about shoes, from "binding shoes" used in China long ago (those sounded harsh) to elaborate shoes that were hard to walk in, to shoes that were totally decorative (including an "invisible" ghost shoe).

Bri has come to enjoy space (as has Kiff), so after a quick lunch at the Cafe (I miss the old Garden Restaurant), we went to visit the Moon exhibit. That was a lot of fun. There were different images of the moon throughout time.

We were able to find out how much we would weigh on the moon:
Kiff = 12 lbs
Bri = 17 lbs
Emmie = 23 lbs (which was not quite right)
Me = 32 lbs (also not quite right)

The kids also made really neat star lanterns.

All in all, it was a GREAT time.

The One With The Wacky Week

What, what a wild week


There were warm days and cold days
We acted out the Battle of Crecy at school
It snowed
It was 60°F
I did a solo at Cub Scouts
We had flu and a concussion hit at home
We fixed the front door again
We figured out how to fix Emmie's back wiper finally


Good week....but exhausting

The One With The Dance Competition

Last week, Bri was part of a dance competition in Boston. And it was quite a fun - but busy - weekend. We stayed in Boston as part of the competition, which made for a fun time. We had the chance to stay in the Copley Westin, which was quite nice and not our typical stay. We had a great view overlooking Boston.

Friday was a day to get acquainted and we ate at California Pizza.

Saturday, Bri had dance classes and then two dances to perform in competition. Their performance came in first place for one and second for the other. Kiff and I did a little exploring.

Sunday was wrap up day. Kiff and I went a little early because he was feeling blah. Bri had more classes and then watched the pros dance. One of the pros that taught her was Ashly from DWTS and another was the famous shark from Super Bowl 41.

All and all ...a good time.