Annie!

This morning I drove the kids down for Nadia's final Annie rehearsal. I took the boys to one playground, the library, and then we fed ducks at another playground before picking Nadia up and taking her home. We were home for a little over an hour when my parents and Maurice arrived at our house. We hung out for about three hours before driving to Texas Roadhouse where ten of us had dinner before her show. Nadia had to be there at 5:45 to have her hair and make-up done and get her microphone on.  The rest of us arrived at 6:30 for the 7:00 show. I discovered as we walked in that I knew a woman there to see her grandchild (playing the part of Molly). She had kids in the school where I was principal years ago. I also ran into a former student from Bloomsburg University who was there to see two of her students performing (she's a public school teacher), and I ran into another mom from one of the homeschooling groups we are part of. It's a small world after all! Jenn and Holly were there for Nadia, and they gave her flowers at the end. How sweet! Jenn's husband was Paul's advisor when he got his master's degree at Bucknell (and one of his colleagues now). There were 11 people in the audience (including the nine of us who are related to her) who came to see Miss Nadia!

She did a FABULOUS job. I know I am biased, but I really believe even if she wasn't my daughter, I would say that the girl playing Pepper did a very good job. She didn't have a big solo like Annie or Miss Hannigan did, but she had a few very short solos and she sang them beautifully. I thought she did a good job with her speaking parts and choreography as well. Nadia has shown improvement with her skills at basketball, soccer, and gymnastics, but she's still usually near the bottom of the pile in those arenas. I think swimming is the physical sport in which she seems to have shown the most innate ability thus far. I think that music and drama might be more her "thing" than athletics. I was very proud of her. I wonder what musical they'll do next summer? She really wants to do it again. I am grateful that this church provided this opportunity for young children like Nadia. It was a great learning experience for them! I took lots of pictures, and Paul took several videos. Here is a taste (4 pics and 3 videos). I will share more in the coming days. Time for me to get some sleep. My dear parents and my brother drove for 7 hours (round trip) today to be here for Nadia. That's true love!