Fam road day-trip! You already know there'll be some a-ha blasting on the car radio! There's no end to the lengths I'll go to....
Anyhoo, upon insistence of the LLDD-Hyphen-L, we ventured to Hunter Valley, a picturesque region about two hours drive north of Sydney best known for its wines, wineries, wine tastings, wine tours, wine estates and, yes, wines. Sounds great, sweetie! You got this all sorted out! Fun for everyone, right?
vino, vino everywhere, but not a drop for the designated driver to drink
Humbug. At least we also planned out a visit to the Hunter Valley Gardens and see their Christmas Lights show. But this is still mid-summer in Australia, and it's hot and won't get dark until late. What did the LLDD-Hyphen-L think we could do in the area to kill the time, something that can at once cool us off and quench our thirst.
dammit. so close.
But even the LLDD-Hyphen-L has her limits, so we staggered on to the Gardens bright and early and took in the sights sans lights
And as the sun finally went down, the lights blew up, and we got the sensory overload buzz we had been searching for
although I still think I would have enjoyed everything more if I were plastered
No doubt inspired by my sustained backyard dad-dancing lessons...
...the LLDD-Hyphen-L and I are pleased as punch to report that the LLDD-Baby has kept up her passion for ballet at the neighborhood dance school
inspirationally located right behind said backyard
The kid has truly enjoyed every moment with her friends and teachers at dance school. If only I had the skills or inspiration to do a highlights montage I would, but I don't, so just enjoy these callbacks over the last year to:
*** Her first ever RAD exam
RAD, like totally
It was a challenging day, but with her greatest dance teachers and influences on hand to give support...
(in no particular order of importance but yeah the last one usually's the most inspiring, right?)
...the kid danced away With Distinction.
(I take credit for teaching her the Billy Eliot "electricity" speech with proper accent)
***Her dance school's musical production of "Ratatouille: Anyone Can Cook"
This was so awesome. The whole thing was so well made and laid out and presented I honestly wondered if Disney itself had actually produced it. The coolest part for me was how the school was able to give out key roles to all of its students by masterfully bringing to life dozens of small but essential details of the movie. So you had the lead character/dancers, but you also had whole squads performing as "Michelin Stars" or as "Menus" or as "New Creations" or in the LLDD-Baby's case as (*checks program*) "Soup Ingredients"
everyone knows you get your street cred performing as "Scraps" or as "Rat Poison"
And at the end, to our utter surprise and joy, the LLDD-Baby was called out to receive a bunch of special awards and citations!
including for her role as (*checks program*) "Cheese Mousetrap"
*** Her Grade School's "Got Talent" talent show
So the LLDD-Baby's Grade School happened to stage a "Got Talent" talent show and we got the inspiration to audition the kid using some of her same costumes and routines from the "Ratatouille" production. (by now you've figured out that I use "inspiration" interchangeably with 'cheap') And it worked! Out of dozens of try-outs from the entire school, the LLDD-Baby and a squad partner were one of just around 15 students selected to go on "Got Talent"
reprising their roles as (*checks program*) "Colette's Sweetbreads"
The show itself was a total hoot, and the kids were really good! Standout talents included a boy who played the guitar as cool as Clapton, a girl with a song-and-dance number straight out of a Broadway audition, and a slowly deflating Britney sumo-wrestler
(*checks program again*) Yep
And, of course, the LLDD-Baby and her partner also gave it their everything and did us sooooo proud
(dance parent squeal)
So who went home with the "Got Talent" prize? Well, it's all politics kids. It's all politics.
just kidding. it's like comparing apples to deflating sumo wrestlers. we're all winners here.
*** Her Year-End Reward of Seeing a Classic Ballet Performance inside the most Iconic Sydney Venue
No, not that one (although this was a lot of fun too)
This one.
Cinderella at the Opera House! A truly magical evening for someone who's loved ballet all her life! Keep at it sweetie! Keep the passion for dance alive!
