granting wishes

September is typically a crazy, crazy month; a jump-start to a new school year full of activity and frenzy. I find myself verbalizing phrases like "we live from day-to-day" (or hour-to-hour), or "we're flying by the seat of our pants."  My good husband paused us both for a few minutes last night in the crowded High School auditorium where we were embarking on an evening of meeting our two daughters' teachers to gently remind me that even though we feel carried away by the tide of September-ness, ultimately we are making choices about whether or not we're in charge of the journey.  It's true.  We make choices that throw us face-first into a maelstrom, and also decisions about how we handle the commotion that happens as a natural consequence of choosing it.

With that as a preface, mid-September has to be the most chaotic month to have a birthday. (I have a daughter born five days before Christmas. I stand by my word.)  Planning ahead (WAY ahead) for a celebration in the midst of all the upheaval that is September always feels like the right thing.  This year we made plans.  In July.  We knew that in addition to the bedlam we could predict, there would be the disruption of moving a college student to Idaho.  Purchasing tickets in advance felt right. So we did. Who knew that on the list of events we would not be able to predict, would be a pre-birthday girl stricken by a LONG bout with a mysterious cold virus turned into pneumonia?  Not her.  Not me.

Miss Rooney's solitary birthday wish for a momentous 16th birthday observance was a trip to New York City to see Alice's Adventures in Wonderland performed by the National Ballet of Canada.  The company would be in town for one week only.  I thought we could take a day off from school, have a day in the city, and cap it off with the ballet before driving home the same night.  It was a good plan. Until she missed a week of school because she was so sick.  We consulted with her doctor, and he insisted we go. She was on the mend. We decided to forego the day in the city, lest she miss so much school work she became buried under it. 

The enthusiastic birthday fairy (that's me), picked her up at school during her last class of the day, and whisked her into the car for our four hour ride into the city.  We got there with time to spare, so we took a walk into Central Park and visited the Alice in Wonderland sculpture. It was the perfect way to begin our evening.

 She loved it.  We both did.

From there we made our way to Lincoln Center.

By way of scenes of New York which we love:

Brownstones.

 Man on a park bench.

 The Guggenheim.

 Moroni atop the Manhattan temple.

Even though we were short on time, we tried to squeeze as much out of New York City as we could. After the park, we ducked into a Starbucks to change our clothes. I felt very happy to find on-street parking, and we walked a few blocks to the theater.  Rooney was SO SO excited to discover that our visit coincided with New York's fashion week!  Too bad we didn't have more time to explore all things fashion; we did get a kick out of some Drag Queens-for-hire who were staging a mini protest to Fashion Week.  Hilarious.

 

 Rooney was eager to get into the theater.

We opted out of dinner for fear we might miss something, but neither one of us felt hungry--we were too anxious for the ballet.  Another good reason to return: for a bite (in) the Big Apple.  

 The theater was gorgeous.

The setting was perfect.

We had front row balcony seats on the right.  We felt like VIPs in our own box. It was a very intimate setting.  I don't think there's a bad seat in the house.

 We especially loved having a birds eye view of the Orchestra.

It really was amazing.

 The dancing was exquisite, the cast was fun and full of personality, and there were some entertaining surprises.  Bravo!  The National Ballet of Canada nailed it.

It was a perfect night.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was breathtaking and my blonde ballerina can't wait to come back.

Turning sixteen at the ballet was magical.

Twelve and 1/2 school days left

This morning it was TOUGH to get out of bed.

We can DO this!

#upupup

Sunday snapshots

Sunday morning came EARLY.

I had to be out of the house for an early morning meeting, but realized that getting the crew to church was going to require some planning. (not enough seats in one vehicle to accommodate everyone for the later trip) I asked Leeli if she wanted to come along; she was a good sport.

When we arrived to an empty parking lot, I knew I had missed a memo.

(How could I miss a meeting cancellation email?!?)

Church is a 30 minute drive from home, so we had an extra 90 minutes of quality time together in the car.

Maybe that was her quiet time quota for the day, because there wasn't a lot of concentrating in church:

We bid a bittersweet farewell to Enrique in the same parking lot. He went back to Amherst in the afternoon, where he'll spend his summer working as a New Student Orientation guide.

 We accepted a spontaneous invitation for lunch and games, and then went home to feed the missionaries, entertain an eight-year-old

 and turned the dining room into the campaign headquarters for Rooney's political debut. We listened to her speech and practiced cheering at the appropriate parts.  We also put together some personalized campaign favors:

 Sticks of gum taped to shipping tags that say

"CHEWS Roonie for Vice President!"

college-shopping: Dream BIG

Sweet Mesquite and I flew to Utah last Thursday to spend a weekend looking at colleges.  She's a junior this year: so grown-up and willing to travel to faraway places.  She will apply to colleges in the Fall... she already knows she wants to go to school in Utah.  This was a trip to help shape her dreams; and because we have Utah connections, it was a super-fun getaway for both of us.  She toured three universities over the course of the weekend:

 The BFF moved out of Massachusetts a few years ago (sad) but now happens to live less than an hour's drive from each of the schools on the list (happy!) and was able to come along. 

 They attended a geography class with Yonder

 as well as an English Class taught by Uncle Z:

(attending his class made me wish it were ME going back to school)

 There was also the obligatory stop at The Malt Shoppe just off-campus where cousin Naomi works.

Of course none of this was without plenty of introspection and pondering on MY part... even though Mesquite is our third little bird in line to leave the nest, it really isn't any less heart-wrenching. When the three of us popped into a Sunglasses Hut "just for fun," it may or may not have been a convenient excuse to mask some of my emotion behind those big ol' Pradas.

making progress

As they were painting the sides of the fort tonight, Morning boy confessed to his dad that he didn't think the fort would ever get done.  It's hard to wait for something great.  They're getting closer.

Timber!

 In our neck of the woods, felling a tree is a notch on the man card.

It also means being one step closer to

a 10 year dream.

 we gathered to watch (from a safe distance)

 The tree went down... and then got caught up in another tree.

Mr. Dub thinks it's funny when he calls this scenario the widow-maker.

Me?  Not so much.  But I'm married to just about the most cautious man on the planet, and he also happens to have some decent tree-felling skills... and a few manvotionals about his experience in the woods, a good friend who loves to help, and Big Betty(his trusty chainsaw). Call it the art of manliness.

Or just call him Uncle Buzz.

Two trees for the price of one, and they hit the mark.

Now Dub's got a couple of seasons to prepare the timbers and frame up the blacksmith shop.  He's living his dream.

the tree fort

 I know one little boy who is having a proper summer, complete with the experience of building a tree fort with his dad.

 The rest of us are getting a little hang time in the tree, as well.

my ambrosial bench

Opening Day: RAINED OUT

But I'll bet he's hitting a homerun in his dreams!

sugar and spice... everything nice.

That's what little girls dream of.