Girls Outing to See 'The Crack Nutter'

I have been taking Lia to see a version of The Nutcracker ballet every December since she was four years old.  Last year, when Ella was finally four years old, we decided to do something different and went to see Disney's new movie version, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, instead.  This year, I decided to go back to our tradition and bought tickets a few months ago for the three of us to go and see it today.  Needless to say, Ella was so excited.  When Ron asked her this morning what she was going to see today, Ella replied, "The Crack Nutter."  How cute is that?!  We got her all dressed up in one of her pretty, Christmas dresses and headed out to see a matinee performance.  We enjoyed perusing the gift tables before the show started, watching the entire performance together, and posing with many of the dancers afterwards.  Ella quietly talked to me throughout the entire performance.  It seriously was just the cutest thing to me (but probably not to the people sitting around us).  Ella was so mesmerized by the entire performance that she constantly asked questions or pointed out things that she saw on the stage.  After all of the different dancing groups were done performing for Clara and the nutcracker prince while visiting the Land of the Sweets, I asked her which was her favorite.  Without blinking an eye, she answered back, "Every single one was my favorite."  It just melted my heart.  What a great way to spend an afternoon with my girls!

Lia, Ella, and I posing in front of the picture backdrop.

The girls framed by the large nutcrackers.

A close-up of my cuties.

The girls sitting in the theater waiting for the show to begin.

The girls posing with Clara and the prince.

Posing with the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier.

Standing with the Snow Queen and the lead Russian dancer.

One last shot of Ella with the lead Spanish dancer.