The Nutcracker

This weekend, Gigi took the girls and I to see the Nutcracker!  Gigi had been wanting to take Handley to see the Nutcracker at the Fox since she was born and was thinking about it this year.  However, after checking into tickets we decided that a smaller scale production might be best for this year.  We saw a performance put on by a local ballet studio at a new, state-of-the-art high school theater.   It was absolutely perfect!  

We all met Gigi and Papa for brunch and after that Robby and Papa took Hudson home while the girls headed on to the show.  Handley and Harper had both been talking about going to see the Nutcracker all week and Gigi had even given them a storybook we'd been reading together so they would understand the ballet.  The first half of the show ran 30 minutes, followed by a short intermission, and then another 30 minutes.  It was a  Harper loved seeing the actually nutcracker and applauded when everyone else did, but her attention span wasn't quite ready for a theatrical production.  Handley, on the other hand, LOVED it and stayed interested the entire time. When the show was over she told us she wanted to be the Sugar Plum Fairy because she had the prettiest costume.

After the show we met up with one of Gigi's friends who was part of the production team and she gave us a back stage tour.  She showed them how they make it snow, all of the props, and even took them into the control room and let them check out the spotlights and turn on the mirror ball.  It was fascinating for all of us.  

checking out some of the props

Handley turning on some of the lights

Back at Gigi and Papa's house Gigi had special nutcrackers for each of the girls and they promptly put on a show for us, dancing around with them.  A big thank you to Gigi for such a special day!