Broadway is Back!

After I took the girls to Frozen on Broadway exactly 23 months ago TO THE DAY, we finally returned today to the same theater to see the musical, Anastasia.  Natalee actually purchased these tickets right after we all saw Frozen together at the beginning of March 2020 for June of that same year.  Although Covid was about to explode and we all knew that some sort of restrictions were coming, we thought that we were safe purchasing these tickets for a few months later.  Oh, how wrong we were!

After everything was shut down the middle of March, Ticketmaster quickly reached out to Natalee and informed her that this show was being delayed 1.5 years until January 29, 2022.  We both laughed as were totally surprised by how far out this Broadway production was being pushed back, but decided to just keep our tickets and put it on the calendar.  Little did we know that we would be required to show proof of our Covid vaccinations and wear masks in order to enter the theater two years later.  

Regardless, I am so grateful that I was able to finally have the chance to take my girls back into Seattle to see another Broadway musical in the beautiful and historic Paramount Theater.  We had such a great time joining up with Natalee, Riley, and Trenton and watching this musical.  Since I had made sure to have Lia and Ella watch the animated movie a few days earlier, Ella understood the storyline and was totally engaged the entire time.  It was so much fun to sit next to her and watch this show with her while she asked her little questions and made cute comments throughout the entire production.  She really did such a great job for being a little, seven-year old!  After the show was over, the six of us dashed out of the theater during the encore and raced down the street to the Cheesecake Factory where we had 5:15 dinner reservations.  Luckily, I had thought to make these reservations a week in advance or we would have had a 1 to 1.5 hour wait which just wouldn't have worked.  We then enjoyed eating a delicious dinner and finished off the evening with some cheesecake while singing "Happy Birthday" to Riley as today is his actual 15th birthday! It was the perfect way to end this fun, mommy-daughter day with my two girls!

Lia and Ella walking down the hill to the Paramount Theater behind them.

The large marquee outside the theater.

The three of us pausing for a quick photo before heading into the Paramount.

The beautiful stage all lit up and ready to go before the show started.

Mommy-daughters selfie.

Cousin photo!  Trenton, Riley, Lia, and Ella all seated in a row and ready to go.

Sisters waiting for the show to begin.

The six of us enjoying our dinner afterwards at the Cheesecake Factory.

Emmett's 3-Year Old Photos

Emmett and I headed into the JC Penney photo studio today to have his 3-year old pictures taken.  Since I never know how my children will 'perform' in this environment, I had no clue what kind of pictures Emmett would produce.  Luckily, he was fairly responsive to the requests of the photographer and would obediently stand on the red light on the floor and smile upon demand.  The only problem we had was Emmett's smile.  His current, forced-for-pictures smile consists of this huge, cheesy grin with very squinty eyes.  So, the photographer had a bit of a difficult time trying to produce a genuine smile out of Emmett over and over again, but I think that she managed to get a few that are worthy of framing.  So, this is what she managed to get...

Ella's Gymnastics Winter Showcase

After first learning that Ella's gymnastics facility was hosting a Winter Showcase in January, Ella came running over after class with the hugest smile on her face begging me to sign her up.  After reading the flyer she had been given, we marched right over to the front desk to pay the fee and register her for the meet.  Ella then counted down the weeks for the showcase to arrive and was so excited today when she woke up.  After watching church online, I quickly fed her lunch and got her ready in her new, team uniform that we had just picked up a few days earlier.  Since Ron was recovering from a sore back from a snowboarding fall, he opted to switch places with Lia and stay home with a napping Emmett.  As a result, Lia and I drove to Sumner with Ella and spent the next two hours at her gymnasium watching her compete in the four events of floor, vault, bars, and beam.  Ella did such a great job and just had the best time.  Every time she looked over at us, she would flash us the biggest smile.  In addition, Ella was just so excited to have her best friend, Elise, there with her mother who we had invited to join us a few days prior to the event.  Overall, Ella had a great experience and couldn't stop squealing on the car ride home!   

Ella's first event was the floor.

Ella's moved on to the vault for her second event of the showcase.

Since we sat closest to the bars, I was able to get this darling picture of her while she stood in line waiting her turn.

Ella competed on the bars for her third event.

A close-up picture I took of Ella after she finished on the bars and returned to wait in line with the rest of her teammates.

Lastly, Ella performed on the beam as her fourth and final event of the showcase.

After the showcase was over, the coaches handed out beautiful medals and certificates with all of the girls' scores from their four events with ribbons attached.  Ella was so excited and proudly held them up for me when I took her picture.

Ella posing for me at the end of the event.

Ella showing off her ribbons.

Ella standing next to her dear friend, Elise, before heading home.