Take Me Out to the Ballgame....or NOT!

Courtney's school choir was invited to sing the National Anthem at a Portland Beaver's baseball game. There was a lot of coordinating that went into planning when/how the kids would go. A date was finally decided on and it just happened to fall on my birthday. Early on, Courtney didn't want to go as she didn't want me to spend my birthday that way, but I insisted that it was fine and we could celebrate me turning 37 another day. How many times would a group she was with be invited to sing the National Anthem at a ball game? It is a neat opportunity and not one that many of these kids would get to do again. Well, the 22nd of April arrived with rain, wind and hail. However the teacher checked with the Beavers and they said that the game wouldn't be called until right close to game time because their field could absorb a lot of water. She was assured the group would sing anyway and if the game had to be delayed or cancelled once the first pitch was thrown, at least the group would get to sing. So off we headed to Portland with Grandma & Grandpa that afternoon. The whole way there was showers and we had all taken long underwear, blankets, gloves, etc for the mid 30's night we were going to endure. Tom was meeting us there since he worked close by. We got there, paid for parking, etc only to arrive to the box office with a less than energetic response from the girl working in it. A sign on the window said the game had been called. Are you kidding me, after all this and after we drove over an hour to get there! The bus was just pulling up too to learn the news. What a disappointment for all the kids and parents that had come to take part. Although, frankly, none of us were totally surprised since the rain really had not let up. Grandpa suggested we not waste the trip into town and go out to Olive Garden in Lake Oswego for dinner, so we met up with Tom and had a great birthday dinner (Grandma & Grandpa's treat!). Details are still being worked out on when/if the school will be able to coordinate a game with the Beaver's to do it again, but hopefully if they do it will be a sunny day and at least 60 degrees!

Circus L A

My colleague Laura always likes to do something special and out of the ordinary to thank me for the travel business I coordinate with her. The last two Christmases my family has been treated to seeing the Christmas lights in a limo which is very fun! This year in addition to that, she decided that she wanted to take some of my clients and my family to Cirque du Soleil when they came to Portland a few weeks back. With Courtney being involved in theater and dance, my family has been to several theatrical shows. This was something we had never seen before though and we weren't really sure what to expect. I was afraid that the storyline would be in a foreign language or too hard for the kids (and the adults) to follow. We were treated to the Tapis Rouge experience, which was absolutely amazing! It is a private tent reserved just for Tapis Rouge guests where they serve drinks, food, private shopping, private restrooms, etc. We had great shrimp, turkey sandwiches, skewers of seasoned fish, fresh carved prime rib, etc. before the show. Then during intermission, we went back to enjoy the huge chocolate fountain with a selection of fresh strawberries, marshmallows, graham crackers, cherries, etc to dip in it. It was excellent and chocolate heaven. The kids were really enjoying themselves. Now for the show...we all agreed that it far exceeded our expectations. Little did any of us know that we wouldn't really even be concerned with the storyline and rather be captivated by all the tricks and talents on the Cirque stage. These performers had skills that just took your breath away. They twirled on a chandelier in the air with no harness, showed amazing flexibility and courage and were just overall such a talented group. They had a scene that the performers bounced on beds doing acrobatics and Ryan first of all was just surprised that "the people were even allowed to be naughty and jump on the bed". We told him it was part of the performance and he quickly settled in and just sat still and clapped with everyone else in the audience. He also loved when the angels came flying down. Courtney loved the whole performance and can't wait to see it again someday. (although at $205 per ticket for the Tapis Rouge experience it may be awhile!) Each of us received a souvenir program, a keepsake (the adults a CD and the kids a mask) and just a lot of fun memories. When we got home, Ryan was telling us he just loved "Circus L A" and that he wanted to go again tomorrow. Evidentally he overcame the issue with the bouncing on the beds scene too. Later that night, we caught him bouncing up and down on his bed humming the theme song from that night with his arms flapping up and down like he was going to do some sort of acrobatic trick. We quickly told him that those tricks were reserved for the Cirque du Soleil performers and couldn't be done at home. He laughed and said "But Mommy, I just wanted to be in Circus L A and fly." Hopefully I'll have several years to convince him that he doesn't want to join "Circus L A" and that a nice, safe job is the way to go rather than performing death defying acrobatic tricks for a living.

"I'm Like a Bird"

A couple of weeks ago, Courtney's dance team had their second competition, Thunderstruck, held at Tualatin High School. There are four girls: Eliza Payne (7), Erica Johnson (13), Audrey Pattishall (10), & Courtney (11). Courtney has competed before, but the rest of the performing company has not. They have all really improved and come a long way this year under the direction of their Artistic Director Kimberly Harris. They do three competitions per season and the first one was held in Oregon City called Spotlight Events in February. Most of the competitions run on an adjudicated points system so each group is assigned a points score that falls within first, second, third, fourth place range. Then within those groups, there are overall winners with the highest scores within each category. At Spotlight, the team received a Ruby award, which is the equivalent of the first place award placement. This was very good for their first time out, especially considering all the girls were nervous and not sure what to expect. Aside from the parents, it was the first time they had performed this group number in front of an audience. The judges at that competition also awarded them a "Joy of Dance" special recognition award. These awards are given to dance numbers that really stand out in a particular way and each of the three judges only awards two or three special awards for each division. At the most recent competition, Thunderstruck, the girls improved even more. They received a Thunderstruck Gold which also is the equivalent of first place. In addition, they were rated #5 overall out of 18 routines in their division of junior novice small groups. Way to go girls! All of us are very proud of you!