Annie and Autographs

When I was a young kid and had a sick day I would always have my mom rent me Annie starring Carol Burnett (she's a genius) and I would watch the musical numbers over and over and over.  I always felt much better the next day ready to go to school and take recess by storm as I casted my friends in my very own production.   I came to the playground prepared having spent the day before doing my own personal homework and would hand out to my cast their very own handwritten lyrics along with their lines.  

(please somebody tell me I wasn't the only one who did things like this at recess)

Annie is just one of those musicals that should be a part of every one's upbringing and when the girls were 2 I finally made it part of theirs.  I always dreamed of one day getting a chance to see it performed on Broadway and this past Thanksgiving while watching the Macy's Parade I saw one of the songs performed and began dreaming of one day taking the girls.  For Christmas my husband decided to make that dream come true and he told me when we went to New York I could take them. 

We decided to leave Daddy behind and brought cousin Emily with us for some extra special girl time.  

I always buy my tickets from the TKTS discount booths, I have to make a special trip to stand in line (sometimes in the soaking rain) but I'm able to get better seats then if I had payed full price online.  I wasn't really sure where we would be placed I only knew that the ticket lady said that they would be good seats, so imagine our delight when we ended up here.

Yup, second row!  It was a raised level, not quite a box but close.  We were at eye level with the actors, had a special window at our feet where we could watch the orchestra play and the best part, nobody sat in the row in front of us!  We could see the actors sweat!  

The show was awesome!  The girls were singing along and screaming wildly after each number.  My favorite was when Miss. Hannigan sings "Little Girls."  The choreography was outstanding, all the little orphans danced around like marionettes.  

The show ended around 10:00, the girls where wired with live theatre adrenaline and begging to get some autographs.  So we bundled up and stood outside in the cold as the girls waiting patiently with their playbills to be signed.  I think the evening show worked in our favor because there wasn't as many people waiting outside as there had been at Newsies.  At Newsies there were lots more people and they girls were too short for the actors to notice them, here they were right up against the gate and even the same height as one of the orphans.

One of the orphans mentioned to someone about having been in Billy Elliot.  I looked at the girls and said, "Hey girls, she was in Billy Elliot with your teacher Miss. Natalie!"  A bunch of the other orphans said, "You have Miss. Natalie?  We had Miss. Natalie too!"  How cool is that to have had the same teacher?

The actress that played Molly was the same size as the girls and she looked at the girls and said, "oh my gosh you girls are so cute!"  Emily and I had to laugh because she appeared to be the same age.  We asked her how old she was and she said "I'm 8, I'll be 9 next week."

It was interesting watching these young kids, they walked through the line autographing the playbills and when they reached the end of the line they met their mothers and other siblings and walked off through the streets home to their normal lives.

Here we are meeting Annie!  Coppelia didn't believe it was her because her hair was no longer red.  Coppelia looked at her and said, "who are you?"  Very sweetly she said, "I'm Annie, I know the hair is confusing."

Visting the Statue of Liberty and Remembering my Grandpa

The one thing the girls really wanted to do for their birthday was see The Statue of Liberty.  Unfortunately we missed the last boat by 2 minutes so it wasn't till Saturday that we were able to take the ferry.  My feelings were indifferent for visiting the statue and it was only because our little crazy's wanted to see it so badly that we made the effort...and I'm so glad we did.

I began this blog with the purpose of documenting my process of passing down a legacy to my children.  Just as my mother taught me to play the piano and use artistic expression I will continue to poor into my children those skills along with the gifts I was blessed with.  One very special person who I see reflected in my family, and hopefully someone people can see reflected in me was the man I had the privilege of calling Grandpa.

My Grandpa was an immigrant from Holland.  He was born in 1929 and grew up during WW2.  His life was a story you would want to read about in books.  His mother died when he was 10, he left home at the age of 14 with only a 5th grade education and got a job working on a farm.  When he was 17 he set sail for America.

I remember him telling us about his journey to America and him seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time.  As I stood there looking up at the statue I couldn't help but remember all those stories he shared with me and feel a new connection with him and responsibility to pass those stories to my children, because his growing up and being an immigrant is a part of my story too and therefore a part of my children's story.  So as we sat on the boat I told the girls about their Great Grandfather and him seeing that statue for the first time.

It's been a week since we visited Lady Liberty and I feel like a treasure trove of stories has just been discovered.  I'm having fun telling my girls all about their Great Grandpa and hopefully in the process Coppelia Kai Ray is discovering just how special her middle names are.  I hope someday the girls can say, with the same amount of pride as my Grandpa taught me, "If you ain't dutch you ain't much!"

A few days ago I found this video from his memorial.  In the middle of it you can hear him talk about his coming to America.   Just the sound of his voice with that heavy dutch accent makes me smile.  I was a lucky little kid to grow up with such a wonderful man and a blessed child to be a part of his legacy.

A Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

We left are house early to navigate our way through the subway's in time for story time at the Met.  Sometimes plans just don't work out, we arrived 15 minutes early and Nolan's Library was already packed to capacity.  The girls were disappointed and honestly I had no clue what to do or where to start in this ginormous building.  I had packed sketch pads and colored pencils thinking they may like to use their own abilities to recreate the art but as I looked up at the space around me I felt completely overwhelmed as to were to even begin.

I had no idea how the girls would do or if we would last 30 minutes but I decided to spend the little extra money and get them their own auto tour and once we were all situated we set off on a treasure hunt.  Every time one of the girls found a code to enter into their head sets they would say, "I found treasure," and then we would enter the codes and dive into learning about the art.

We actually went on a search to find some Degas and Monet but the harder we looked the more lost we became.  We ended up giving up on our search and decided to just roam around and go with the flow.   As I looked around I couldn't help but be charmed by the museum itself, It reminded me of the estates in a Jane Austin novel and I wondered if this is what she had in mind when she wrote about Mr. Darcy's Pemberley. 

 Some of our favorite exhibits where some furniture pieces from Louie the xiv, the hall of rare musical instruments including some of the very first piano forte made during the early 1700's,  the department of arms and armor and the period rooms from different era's.

Estee in the department of arms and armor

I think the girls favorite section was the department of Egyptian Art.  Coppelia is a bit obsessed biblical stories and some of her favorites are the ones of Moses.   If you ever visit my children you may be asked to play the 10 plagues of Egypt, this has become a common act out in our home.  The girls entered the room, saw a giant statue and began calling it the Pharaoh and Moses room.  

At one point Coppelia asked me to read what one of the plaques said and I began reading about Ramesses and she says, "Hey Ramesses is Moses's brother."  I'm not sure if we were reading about the same one there were a few Ramesses, but I was impressed none the less that she knew that.  At another point we walked into a room where a tour guide was giving a speech and with the mention of Moses the girls ran straight to the tour guide and finished the lecture.  

We ended up spending 5.5 hours at the museum and we would have stayed longer if it hadn't been for the fact both of their audio tour's batteries had died.  It was a wonderful day and place we will have to revisit on our next trip to NYC.  Maybe next time will catch the story time but even if we don't make it I know that we will be able to spend a day finding and learning about all sorts of artistic treasures.

My Baby's turned 5

It's crazy to think how little they were 5 years ago.  I remember looking at them wondering what their personalities would be like or what they would grow up to do.  Now that they are 5 I can see through pictures and video's that their personalities have been their all along just gotten more defined with time.  

I'm kind of obsessed with my little dynamic duo.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't give thanks to God for these miracles and not a day goes by that I'm not awed by his creativity and his knowing us so well that he allowed Tyler and I to be their parents.  It's amazing the things you learn about yourself while parenting it becomes a constant process of refining ourselves.  

These little girls have a way of keeping me on my toes.  I've had so many people comment on their over the top enthusiasm and hilarious antics and although I think they are both individually dramatic I think as twins they got a double dose of awesome with their built in side kick.  They play off each other   so well and the moments and comments escalate until I either want to rip my hair out or laugh till I pee my pants.  I think that's how it goes with over the top personalities it comes with an equal amount of Mom wanting to pull her hair out moments, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!!!   

Coppelia,

You woke me up at 6:00 on your birthday ready for a bath, you wanted to get glamorous for your big day.  That's how you are, you wake up early and go from 0-200 in a nano second ready to take the world by storm.  When you learned to walk you never toddled, you walked like you were 16 and ready to take the runway and that's how you still are, physical.  I love watching you dance because you don't just twirl, no, you actually do real ballet moves, complicated ones that are not normal for someone your age.  You started riding a two wheeler bike and swimming at age 4.  You love to hula hoop but one hoop wont do, you can do up to 3 but maybe I should buy you more hoops to see if you can do more. You asked for a pogo stick for Christmas and you bounce on that thing as if you could have been born with one spring instead of feet.  You are a one person circus!  

You also remind me so much of your Daddy.  Some people would say the question "why?" is rude but your Daddy thinks "why?" is the best question.  If your always asking why makes you more like your Daddy then I hope you never stop asking it. You also ask some of the best questions and are really good at cross connecting ideas so if things don't add up you'll call us out on it.  You also happened to be obsessed with religion so sometimes your questions leave me with headaches. 

I love you Coppie!  

Estee MoMo,

You are so sweet!  From the moment you were born you had a way of connecting with people, someone would hold you in their arms and you would look deep into their eyes and just connect, I'm not sure how else to describe it.  To this day you still connect with people in a personal way.  You can go from the life of the party to sitting back taking it all in.  You are pure sunshine and warmth and your heart is big and beautiful you make my heart smile with your songs.  You tell me, "God made me a singing girl because I love to sing." I tell you, "I love the song God put in your heart."

You have natural grace and flow in your movement and I love watching you.  Your gymnastic coach called you a bar girl because you do kick overs with ease, you understand it's the rhythm and flow of your body that makes the movement.  With that same grace you dive into a pool and swim on your own and with your amazing rhythm I wonder if you'll be a dancer.  You are incredibly smart and with the same focus you give a puzzle or any problem solving activity you picked up on piano playing and music comprehension quickly.

You are SO funny!  You are a sarcastic mumbler with perfect timing.  I sometimes feel bad because if I retail a story of something you did or said it would never do it justice.  Your delivery is on point and you have your Daddy and I up late at night laughing as we talk about our days.  

The only way to describe you two is similar but different.  For instance you both love the movie Princess and the Pop star but Coppelia's favorite version is Barbie and Estee's is Veggie tales.  I think that is the best example I can give to your personalities.  

We went to American girl today where you made your final decision on which doll you wanted and it came as no surprise that the term "similar but different" was very much evident in your decisions.  Coppelia went with the now a day's doll and named her Stacy Sparkle, then later changed it to Charlotte Sparkle.  Estee chose a historic doll from the Great Depression era named Ruthie.

After our big purchases we headed home to pick up Daddy for some more fun.

We started by taking the girls to watch the helicopters land and take off.  The girls really wanted to go see the Statue of Liberty but we missed the last boat by 2 minutes.  So we took a walk to World Trade Memorial (you need to get a pass in advance to get in) and then we went out to a fancy dinner where we met up with cousin Emily.

After dinner we came back home for some Baskin and Robins ice cream cake!

Their First Musical On Broadway - Newsies

Today's artistic adventure was to experience their first musical on Broadway!   I wanted their first experience to be one they'd remember forever so I chose Newsies because Andrew Keenan-Bolger plays Crutchie.  

During this past summer's Mommy Performing Art School, one of our weeks was Broadway and during this week we watched some of Andrew's video from behind the scenes of this Broadway musical.  Andrew also has a really awesome YouTube channel that the girls and I randomly watch and if your a theatre nut like me or just someone who is entertained by theatrical people you should definitely check it out!  

The show was AMAZING!  

It had 8 tony nominations and won for best choreography!

The girls did wonderful, but how could they not? they were on the edge of their seats the whole time completely entranced.  Estee kept looking at me with big eyes during the show saying, "they are such good dancers."  

When the show ended the girls clapped harder and screamed loudest for Andrew!  I think he has life long fans.

They waited for him outside to get an autograph but he didn't come out.  I think Coppelia was most bummed that she didn't get a chance to invite him to their 5th birthday tomorrow.  

So glad we choose this as their first show on Broadway and I look forward to the shows we will see in the future!

Radio City With My Future Rockettes

I can officially say that Coppelia has wanted to be a Rockette for over half her life so when I heard that you could get a backstage tour of this art-deco historical gem I knew I had to take the girls.  When we showed up to buy tickets I had some looks from people like "you really plan to bring 2 little kids on this tour" but those concerns were quickly gone in the first few minutes.  The girls walked into the theatre with eyes as big as saucers and they both kept saying how gorgeous it was.  

lobby

The girls have done their homework they of course have seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular movie, own the soundtrack and have gone through a timeline of video's and photographs many times but still wanted more.  For over an hour the girls took in all the information as they explained everything from the design of the carpets which they call "visual jazz" to the hydraulics used under the stage.  This tour is full of history and art and a must see for anyone taking a trip to New York.  We happened to come at a very good time, there is only about 5 or 6 times a year where it happens but we actually got to go on the stage and visit under the stage and see the hydraulics system (side note: also the place they turn into a barn for the animals that appear in the Christmas Spectacular for 7 weeks)

Us on stage

She was too excited for a normal picture

powdering her nose in the women's lounge

The statue was called "The Spirit of Dance" 

Costumes

She really liked this costume

We also got a chance to meet a real Rockette and ask her questions.  The first thing Estee said to her was, "My sister wants to be a Rockette when she grows up."  We were not able to use our own camera so I'm not able to upload that picture right now.  

Radio City wasn't the only thing we were able to fit in today we also made a trip to FAO Schwarz.

Build a muppet... way cooler then build a bear!

ferocious

The nursery

Dancing while playing

It was quite the day, this mama is beyond tired.  Time to get some sleep, because tomorrow is another day full of new artistic adventures to explore!

Final Musical Theatre Lesson

Today the girls had their final lesson with Miss. Natalie.

We stayed around our house for the majority of the day because the day of our last lesson we walked all over the city and the girls were ready to pass out by the time they arrived.  They did much better today!  Coppie usually is the one to bring the drama and energy and Estee on the other hand is much more focused, she is the one who struggles with her speech so theatre has been a great way to get her to focus on pronunciation. I was very proud of Estee she did a wonderful job memorizing her lyrics in preparation for her final lesson.  

The girls worked on the song "Sisters" from White Christmas.  In their two lessons they were able to learn the song and choreography and then today in the last 3 minutes were able to perform it for us.  It wasn't performance ready of course but sweet and precious and it brought a huge smile to my face. Estee was singing her heart out and Coppelia insisted that she wanted to use her inside voice because we were inside.  She later told me that singing that long made her voice tired.  

Who knows where life will take them but there is so many important lessons to be learned through drama I hope it remains a part of our lives for a long time.  All in All I'm glad the girls took these lessons and I hope that next time we come back that they can do something like this again.