Sunday, July 5, 2009

Hot town, summer in the city...

Last month was recital time for Barfield School of Dance! The week of, went to Blair School of Music for rehearsal all day Monday, and I ended up taking four girls around Green Hills in between rehearsals. We spotted a Chinese restaurant and pulled in since we were all very hungry and had missed lunch. It was really good, and the girls got full. I took some of my food home, and Gia was holding my leftover box when she discovered that her pants were wet. The sauce from my teriyaki chicken had leaked out and had made a puddle in Gia’s seat! It was really gross, but it was very funny! Once we were able to stop we rummaged through the trunk and found some old shorts for her to change into. Thank goodness I don’t keep an immaculate car—she wouldn’t have found anything to wear!

We got lost looking for Whole Foods, and then I had to drag the girls away from the samples set up throughout the store, though they didn’t mind getting away from the three-milk cheese that made most of them gag! lol Then we went to the mall where the girls made a bee-line for Godiva, got their treats, and then wandered around for a little while before time to head back for more rehearsing. The girls were lots of fun, and I had a great time with them. After the final rehearsal I ended up with three of the four coming back for the night, so we ordered pizza and played Uno for a little while before calling it a night. The next day they girls watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and just hung out until time to go back to dance for their regular class.

Recital days are generally very busy and crazy, but this year Gia’s class only danced in two shows instead of three or four, so I was grateful not to have to camp out at Vanderbilt for the weekend. She didn’t leave anything at home this year (yay!), and she actually let me help her with her hair and make-up. Now, the bun she needed was a new style her teacher showed her that she hadn’t gotten down-pat yet, but I enjoyed helping her all the same, although I did mess it up once and couldn’t figure out what went wrong until I watched another girl do hers. Saggy-bun-disaster was averted! And then when she had everything she needed Gia said, “Thanks, Mommy, I’ll see you later.” I asked, “Is that my cue to leave?” Of course ;)

Lots of people came to support Gia at her recitals, and that made her very happy. She loves having friends and family come to watch her, and she looked as beautiful as always up there on the stage. Her class did a fantastic job in all of their dances. Those of you there on Saturday night missed all the tiny tots Sunday afternoon. They were so cute in their little fluffy costumes, and it reminded me of Gia’s very first dance recital where her first time on stage for the jazz song sent her into a meltdown. She couldn’t see the audience because the stage lights were so bright, and I had to leave from backstage, so she stood on stage with her arms reaching out like Helen Keller, bawling her eyes out until I could go back around and get her. That was the most heartbreaking yet funny to look back on things I have even witnessed. She certainly has come a long way, though, eh? Even after that first enormous bout of stage fright, she was ready to rock ‘n’ roll through her dance gymnastics routine, and I’ve never seen her more than just a little nervous since.

Summer Days, Drifting Away to Uh Oh Those Summer Nights...




Uh well-a well-a well-a huh; tell me more, tell me more...

Ok! The summer has flown by so far. I can’t believe we’ve been out of school for over a month. Our garden is gorgeous, and there are many veggies almost ready to pick (including a Siamese squash) and some we’ve already devoured. The other plants are budding and growing so fast— the growth is amazing every day, probably thanks to the organic fish fertilizer we’ve put on the garden. I’m almost afraid of the food that is coming! I can’t imagine that we’ll be able to eat that many cucumbers, corn, squash, tomatoes, peppers, etc., but what can’t be canned will be given away. That’s good new for you! :D

Gia and Corinne attended Camp Forget-Me-Not, sponsored by Alive Hospice. Gia never really wanted to go by herself, so Melissa and I talked about sending both girls this year together since Corinne is in for the summer. They LOVED it! I think it was great for both of them to work out and talk about feelings they still have from losing Patrick. It was very therapeutic for them, and what’s even better is that they had a blast. The girls even suggested that they change their names so they can go back again next year! Lol They made masks to represent the feelings we show on the outside vs. the ones we keep inside, they shared a blanket and wrote their feelings on it to show them that the campers are all connected, and they cut it apart on the last day to take their own pieces home. There was a butterfly release ceremony that Gia said was really beautiful, and they showed a slide show of the camp activities throughout the week. Apart from all the tough work they did working through grief and the feelings that come with it, they had tons of fun on Water Day, with the petting zoo that came to camp, and on the playground just hanging out. Thank you, Alive Hospice, for providing such a wonderful program for children!

We’ve been going each week to Movies Under the Stars. Most nights during the week a big screen is set up at a different location around town, and they show older movies. Parks and Recreation provides this service, and they even have sodas and popcorn for sale, or you can bring your own picnic. We usually raid the fridge after tumbling, grab a blanket, and met Katie and her parents at Siegel Park. Gia and Katie promptly go to the picnic tables away from everyone else to talk and do girlie things. Glad we get to hang out ;) lol

Speaking of tumbling, Gia has decided to add that to her repertoire of activities. The kind coaches at Elite have allowed her into Katie’s Nitro class even though Gia hasn’t had a lick of gymnastics in about 8 years! She is working on a back handspring and is willing to do what it takes to learn at an advanced pace, but I cringe every time she falls and have to push images of broken bones out of my head! The great thing about gymnastics is that it will help her in her dancing, increasing her control, muscle coordination, and strength. If we can just have these things and no injuries I’ll be a happy person :)