An Afternoon of 'Culture' at the Nutcracker

Rebecca and Gregory at the Nutcracker

This afternoon, my Mom and I took the kids to The Nutcracker Ballet at the Hanover Theater in Worcester. I hadn't planned to bring Gregory, but I had an extra ticket (and no babysitter), so Mom and I bravely decided to give it a try. We figured we could always take turns out in the lobby with him if he got too unruly.

The most amazing thing was Gregory actually sat still through the entire first half, and most of the second half of the show. I was stunned at how well behaved and enraptured he was during the show. He was actually quieter than his big sister (there's something to be said for seeing it the 1st time - this was Rebecca's 4th year). Rebecca did OK, but all the excitement of Christmas, getting dressed up, snow on the ride to the theater, and an MnM cookie in the lobby was a little too much for her.

Grandma shows Gregory the
orchestra before the show

The dancer's were great - especially the sugar plum fairy and her consort. Our seats were in the 2nd row, which has both advantages and disadvantages:

• Disadvantage: When you are further back, it looks more like the dancers are gliding on the stage - when you're really close, you can see how hard they are actually working.
• Advantage: you can see really well - especially important when you are with really short people, such as the kids and my Mom (just kidding Mom!).
• Disadvantage: you can see really well. Yes, this can also be a disadvantage. Sorry if this is too much info, but if we can put a man on the moon, don't we have the technology to create a pair of men's ballet tights that you can't see through? I had to resist the urge to put my hand in front of Rebecca's eyes.

On the way home, we went around the van and everyone talked about their favorite parts. Grandma and I loved the final dance of the sugar plum fairy and her consort (they were both really wonderful dancers!). Gregory's (surprise, surprise) was when the Nutcracker killed the mouse king. He briefly declared he was going to grow up to be the Nutcracker so he could kill the mouse king, but has already returned to his previous ambition of becoming the abominable snowman (see Wednesday's post). Rebecca's favorite part was when "the toy soldier shot the mouse in the butt". Nothing like a little culture for the kids (this was also Grandma's second favorite part!).

In other news, our misfit toys are back downstairs in their box, dreaming of next Christmas. This development was the result of a misfit toy throwing episode the kids had with our TV yesterday. Also, today is Greg's 38th birthday. Happy Birthday honey! How does it feel to be in your late 30's? Sorry - I have to milk it for the next 20 days - XOXOXOX!