The Emperor's New Clothes

Children's Music Theater

June 18-23, 2012

The Emperor's New Clothes

This was my 5th year in a row of doing Children's Music Theater, what has turned into a 1 week summer camp in which we rehearse and perform a musical, and in which every child has at least 1 speaking line.  (that is a huge job!) This is the 3rd year I've gotten to work with my friend, Sarah, and it's SO much better than when I used to do it alone.  In fact, I don't think I would ever do it alone again.

For this year's CMT, Sarah and I went back to one cast and one play.  (So much more manageable.)  And we attempted our hardest play yet with this age group, "The Emperor's New Clothes."  It was tricky because there was a lot more staging than in years past when we could mostly have the cast all stay on stage the whole time.  This time there was definitely more on and off stage movement, and smaller groups of characters that required more break-out rehearsal time.  

This year we had over 60 kids in the cast.  (yowsa!) Thank goodness we had a couple of very responsible teenagers who were our assistant directors, (thanks Rachel and Beckah!)--they were amazing.  And another pair of sisters who just helped out with all kinds of other stuff.  (Thanks Hannah and Rachel!)  It was great to have so many extra hands to help with stuff.

We practiced from 9:30-12:30 for 5 days and performed on Saturday.  Friday's dress rehearsal was a complete disaster.  After the first run-through, I honestly considered not showing up for the performance the next day to save myself the embarrassment . . .  But the second run-through was more promising and I reminded myself that the beauty of Children's Theater is that NO ONE expects perfection, and pretty much no matter what the kids do, the parents will probably think it's pretty cute.

Well, Saturday's performance was BY FAR the best they'd ever done, and we were so proud!  And also very relieved to have it done.  And wouldn't you know it, Dallin asked me on the way home from the performance what play we are doing next year!!!   

Below, enjoy a bajillion pictures from this year's CMT performance, "The Emperor's New Clothes!"

The set

Sarah and I welcoming everyone to the performance.  I never know what to say for those things.

Sarah, that's all you if we do it next year. 

Hayden saying, "Thith ith the betht thoup I ever tathted!"  

(Is it wrong that I purposefully gave him lines that had lots of s's in them?)

Sean playing his wooden spoon trumpet in "Soup from a Stone"

We had the youngest kids in the cast do a 5 minute version of Stone Soup so that they could each have a line to say.  That way we didn't have to split up the older kids lines quite as much . . .

The Jr. CMT kids

Daphne and some friends during dress rehearsal

"Just an Average Fairy Tale Kingdom"

The Royal family.  Dallin was one of the mischievous princes.

(We turned 1 prince and 1 princess into 3 princes and 6 princesses to give more kids parts.

Kind of a large royal family, but it worked out just fine!)

The Farabutto Brothers--Daphne was Mario Farabutto.

Again, we split these parts.  There were originally 2 Farabutto brothers in the script, 

but we did 6 instead.  They were darling and basically stole the show.

me saying, "DO NOT CROth THIth LINE!"

(name the movie.)

"Raise your right arm above your head!  Lean to the left till you're turning red!"

Sarah in front of most of the cast.

I realized as I was looking through my pictures that we never got a shot of the whole cast!

Maybe just as well--they probably wouldn't have all fit!

Brooklyn:  "These are your majesty's trousers"

(remember, only the WISE can see them . . .)

Dallin, being mischievous

 

 

Enjoying refreshments after the performance

Sydney

Sarah and I sitting in our thrones that Sarah repurposed for the set.  

They looked pretty amazing.  And we are smiling very big because we finished another year!

Me and all my little performers after the show.

(Let me explain what's going on with Daphne's costume.  After the Farabutto Brothers sneak out of town, they open a swimsuit manufacturing company where they can charge large amounts of money for very little fabric.  And apparently they all retired in the islands or something because they took their bows in Hawaiian shirts.)

First Swim Meet

Dallin and Daphne and Sean are swimming on the Eisenhower City Swim Team this summer.  I did swim team when I was growing up and it's the BEST thing for learning how to really swim.  This is the first year I've put my kids on swim team.  I figured that having 3 kids on the team made it worth the daily trip to the pool at 8 a.m.  (Earlier than we have to have the kids to school during the school year!) It has been an adjustment, but I'm really glad we're doing it if for no other reason we get up and moving everyday.  In past summers--we really sleep in and sometimes don't even breakfast until 10 a.m.  Well now they eat breakfast in the car on the way, half the time, so we knock that meal out pretty early.

Anyway, here are pictures from the kids' first meet.  I was really nervous for Sean.  On the first day of practice the coach said, "Hop in the water and give me 25 freestyle."  Sean just stared at him for awhile and then asked, "What's a freestyle?"

All lined up for their first event, the 8 & under 25 Freestyle

Here is Sean racing his first 25 Free event.  He stopped and hung on the lane rope every few strokes, and you can see in his face, that he thinks he'll probably drown on the way over.  Poor guy.  He told me he thought that pool was definitely longer than the pool we practice in.  (It's not, but I'm sure it felt like it!)  I was so proud of him for finishing!!!  

(As a side note, he just completed his second meet yesterday, and only held on a couple of times in freestyle, and NOT AT ALL in his breaststroke race.  

And that is why I LOVE swim team--very fast results!)

Christian, Bobby, and Dallin

There were two races where Christian came in first, and Bobby and Dallin tied for second.

funny!

Kirra, Daphne and Loralyn came in one right after the other.

Here are the Schmutz swimmers and my swimmers with their ribbons for the day.

Go Hammerheads!

a Guck!

One day in June, I heard Sean and Hayden outside talking about a baby bird, and heard a lot of squawking from some not-baby birds.  When I went out to see what was going on, I saw Sean and Hayden taking refuge on our porch from a couple of protective dive-bombing robins.  They told me they'd seen a baby bird under the trampoline, and although I couldn't find it, I told them maybe they'd better stay inside so we didn't anger the parents.

Well later that day, we had some friends over who are nature-catchers-extraordinaire.  Kaitlyn caught that baby bird in no time and the kids began to make a nest for it, and dig for insects to feed it.  I was a little worried that the parents would abandon it once the kids touched it, but they continued to keep watch from their perch in our sycamore tree and feed that little bird for a couple of days in our yard.    Then one day, the bird became strong enough to hop right out of our yard, and I had to explain to a heartbroken Daphne that it was a wild thing and wouldn't stay in our yard forever.  But it sure was cute to see him hopping around our yard for those few days.  Hopefully he eventually figured out how to fly.

Oh!  And I guess I should explain my title.  "Guck" is what Sydney calls anything with wings.  (That's how she says "Duck".)  And she was pretty excited to see that baby "Guck" in our yard.  Good thing it could hop away fast or it's chances of learning to fly would have been severely diminished.

Way-Back Wednesday

Time for a Way-Back Wednesday.  Since the olympic try-outs are going on . . . .

Arthur and I were in school at BYU when the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City.  In retrospect, I can't BELIEVE we didn't make time to go up and volunteer or something.  Because how often in a lifetime do you live close enough to the Olympics to be a part of it?!?  But we were both wrapped up in school and trying to juggle classes and work, with being new parents, (Dallin was then just a couple months old,) and in the end, we watched it all on TV like the rest of the world, even though we were only 45 minutes away!

But we did get to see the Olympic torch as it was run right through Provo on a street not far from our apartment.  I was so excited to see the torch that had been passed from runner to runner and had been through so many countries and all over the United States.  So we bundled up and went outside to wait for it's passing.  It was cold, and Dallin was getting cranky.  I held him off as long as I could, hoping that the torch would come any minute.  The torch still didn't come, and Dallin was screaming his tiny little head off.  So finally, I decided to go in and feed him, and hoped the torch wouldn't come while I was inside.  And, of course, it did.

I couldn't find any pictures of the torch actually passing through, so either Arthur didn't take any, or they turned out so horrible I couldn't tell what they were--As you can see, the quality of our camera was rather poor.  That was way back when digital cameras had first come out, and all I can say, is that they have come a LONG way!

May Madness

I'm pretty glad I can check the month of May off my to-do list.  It gets pretty crazy with all the winding up activities. The fieldtrips, the parties, the performances and end-of-the-year recitals (two of which I hosted at my home).

Just figured I'd document a few things on the last week of school--the craziest week of the year in my opinion, and I only had two in school this year!

Sean's Kindergarten performance and picnic.  I got there at 11 so I could get a good seat.  I had to park around the block because apparently 1st grade was having some sort of soire at the neighboring park, and by the time I'd set up the stroller, and packed it with all our picnic stuff, and Hayden tripped and scraped his knee, and he was hastily comforted and then placed on my back so I could piggy-back him in, and we somehow hauled everybody around the block and to the Kindergarten wing, it was about 11:10.  I thought it started at 11:30, so I was doing AWESOME.

Well wouldn't you know it, I'd misread the email and it had STARTED at 11. (In order to get a good seat you should have been there before 11.)  As we got closer, I heard the singing and saw everyone with their phones and cameras out.  By the time we made it across the street, I caught just the tail end of their last song.  I felt awful.  When I showed Sean the 10 second video of his Kindergarten performance, he said, "THAT'S ALL YOU SAW?!?"  (groan--salt in the wound . . .)

I apologized profusely, and asked him if he would sing his kindergarten songs for me when we got home.  He said "maybe."  The cute thing about that is, he wasn't being a stinker, he's just very good at forgetting.  One day later that week, I found him sitting on the couch, deep in thought and mouthing some words. I paused and asked him what he was doing.  He replied he was trying to remember his kindergarten songs so he could sing them to me.

I still haven't heard his other songs, but enjoy "all I saw" of the last song of his cute kindergarten performance. (Sean's is right in the middle of the green t-shirts on the back row, and you can barely hear the kids over the wind.  sorry!)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

After the performance, the kindergartners all found their parents and we enjoyed a picnic lunch together out on the grass.  Julianne and her kids came to support Sean too, so it was fun to have them at our WINDY picnic.

The kids at the picnic

Sean with his cute little friend Jayden (who had a crush on him for a good part of the year.)  I was curious who she was, and when I asked Sean, he said, "Oh she's that tiny girl over there.  She's the smallest girl in Kindergarten."  She was pretty small.  And pretty cute, too.

And here is Sean with his teacher, Miss Phillips (R) and her teaching assistant Mrs. Hamlet (L).  We just LOVED them--they were such a great team.

Part of the stress of the end of the year is figuring out what to get the teachers for appreciation gifts.  We always give the teachers Books of Mormon at the end of the year, but I wanted to get them something else as well, (especially since Mrs. Hamlet already received a Book of Mormon when Daphne was in her class.)  So we did some gift cards, and I made these cute pencil holders for each of the teachers.

Ha!  Look at those crooked pencils.  Clearly, I need to refine my skills with a drill.  

This idea looked a little cuter on Pinterest.

Come to find out, some parent in Sean's class had organized a group gift because I received a thank-you email from the teachers about the wonderful group gift, and generous gift card.  Maybe that note is still at the bottom of Sean's backpack, because I never heard about it . . .

oh well.

I went in to help with Dallin's 4th Grade Banana Split party on the last day of school.  It was pretty fun. . . and sticky.

Dallin with a few of his friends.  I actually don't know who the guy on the far left is, but in the middle are his two greatest friends, Bobby and Cole.  They are both really good kids and it makes me so grateful for good friends for my children!

And here is Dallin with his teacher, Mrs. Fortescue.  Totally different than Sean's loud, outgoing teacher, but a really great teacher also.  

(And look how stylish she is with her orange "duty" vest that even matches her top!)

And that's the end of Sean's Kindergarten and Dallin's 4th Grade experience.

I blinked and it's over.

Another post will follow highlighting some of Daphne's achievements in homeschool this year.  

yes, that definitely needs its own post.

May Quotes

Earlier this month I took Hayden and Sydney in to get their immunizations.  When we'd talked about it before, Hayden told me,  "I'm not thcared of anything.  Not even chickenth." So when it came time to get shots I said, "Let's have you go first so you can show Sydney how to be so brave.  Because remember? You told me you're not scared of anything!" Hayden replied,  "Well, I think I'm gonna return that."

Playing games on my ipad together, Hayden gave me this advice:  Try not to die, Mom.

Sean:  We missed the cleaning hymn!  (aka, the closing hymn.  What he meant was, he was so occupied with his coloring, that he forgot to clean up all his stuff during the closing hymn, so he could dash out to primary as soon as the "amen" on the closing prayer was said.)

Dallin:  Hayden, good job!  You win the prize for not being the naughtiest.  I thought you were but it's actually Sydney.

Daphne:  Mom!  Hayden's whining is giving me a headache and it's making me feel like I'm gonna explode.

Dallin:  Daphne, that's how Mom feels every day.

Hayden (regarding Blues Clues):  I like "Steve"  more than "Joe"  because "Joe's" eyebrows bother Mom.  (I guess I need to be more careful about what judgements I pass on characters in the shows my kids watch . . .)

Daphne:  But Mom, what if you're wrong?

Hayden:  Mom's never wrong.  Right, Mom?

Sean:  The waffles are burning, get them out!

Daphne:  I'll get them in a minute.  They aren't burning.  When they pop up they are stabilized.   . . .  I don't even know what I just said.

Upon returning home one evening, we noticed the garage door was open.  (I wasn't worried because Arthur was home, and he'd probably just forgotten to close it.)  Dallin said, "Whoa.  This is like the perfect jackpot of awesomeness.  Someone could have stolen tons of stuff from here."  And Daphne said, "Um, it's not that awesome.  Just a bunch of food and junk."

Arthur:  Maybe I should get a new job.

Daphne:  Yeah!  Get a job at Disneyland or Hawaii!!!

Sean:  Sydney, that little rascal!

Sean, pointing to the Quaker Oatmeal box: Who's this guy? 
Me: I don't really know.  I think he's just the guy they put on all their boxes because he's a Quaker. 
Dallin:  What's a quaker?
Me:  It's a kind of religion, and they used to wear plain clothes, like that hat he's wearing.  (and maybe they still do wear plain clothes . . .  I have no idea.)
Daphne:  Oh, well I just thought he was the guy who discovered oatmeal.

Incidentally, this sparked some curiosity in me about the Quaker Oats Guy.  Who is he?  And why is on a cereal box?  So I googled it, and learned that back in 1877, one of the partners of Quaker Mill chose the symbol of a Quaker after reading about them in an encyclopedia.  He admired the qualities Quakers tried to embody--integrity, honesty, and purity--and decided a Quaker would be a good identity for his oats. (And in case you're wondering, I learned all this from "The Straight Dope--fighting ignorance since 1973.")

Hayden:  Can I have thome of that crathy (crazy) crunchy bread?  (those would be croutons)

Sean:  I'm very good at forgetting.