Adara's really very early 2nd birthday party

We celebrated Adara's birthday this past weekend as it was the only weekend day that we all had together until mid November. We had some friends over with their kids and just hung out in the backyard and house, had some food, adults drank some beer, kids played with playdough. All in all, very low tech and easy.
The highlight of the event was definitely this cake...
When I asked a week or so a go if she wanted a cake for her birthday she said yes and promptly went and got a magazine that we had been looking at earlier that week and pointed out this aquarium cake that she wanted. Fortunately, it was super easy and Adara loved helping me mix the batter and put on the little fish.
When I lit the candles and everyone started singing happy birthday to her, it was like it was the best moment of her life. She was in complete awe of the fact that she was the centre of attention and this was her moment. I, of course, missed videoing it, because I was busy holding the cake and such.

So, we're going to do the whole cake and candles thing again when my parents come for thanksgiving, only with pie ('cause none of us like cake, except for Adara) and this time with a video camera ready and running. I can't wait to catch some of that two year old pure joy!

Weekend of Play

Here are the long ago promised pics of Adara at play at Kristen's house with Griffin and Liam. So many cute babies, so little time to remember to post!


And before you ask me Liam, I have no idea why the photo of you and Adara is so small. If you were here I'm sure that you could fix it in a second smarty pants, but I'm newish to this computer thing ya know! Sheesh, nine year old tech geniuses! :)

Phantom Fantastic

Last night was the 20th anniversary party for the original cast and crew of The Phantom of The Opera, a production that took Toronto by storm, upped the standards of commercial Canadian theatre and transformed many peoples lives. Len, as a very young man, worked on the show. I, as a highschool student came to see the show while he was working on it, although I did not know it at the time.
So, Len went to the amazing party last night with lots of wonderful folks, and came home, amongst other things, with a phantom of the opera reunion t-shirt signed by Neve Campbell, Rebecca Caine and Colm Wilkinson. I accepted it as typical theatre swag, threw it on and merrily went on doing the dishes.
Until it suddenly struck me. As a fourteen year old, seeing Phantom was life changing. I couldn't stop talking about it. I bought a souvenir poster and a ridiculous pendant necklace. I was completely swept away by this bigger then life, romantic, gorgeous production, and by the idea that people lived their lives and made their living by creating these fantasies. It's one of the reasons (along with Anne of Green Gables at Charlottetown, Cats at the Kitchener arena, and The Black Bonspiel of Willy Macrimmon at Blyth) that I went into theatre. To create this kind of magic.
So, here I am twenty years later, being all "been there, done that" about a phantom tshirt signed by two of it's stars, and one who became a great star after the fact. Amazing actor/singers who have played all over the world. Damn, that's exciting! So, I'm going to put my super casual, never star struck producer persona to the side for a minute. I'm going to take a moment to be star struck, to be grateful and stunned for how the world brought me to marry this man, and to remember how it feels to be fourteen, in love with theatre and life and convinced that making theatre would be the best job in the world. Because, really, it is.

Today, Adara and I had a great morning out with Zoe and Alex for Alex's second birthday at Whittamore farm.

We drove tractors, played in houses and ran through tree houses with very large slides that Adara fearlessly threw herself down headfirst.

Adara also went into her 2nd bouncy house ( a pumpkin actually) and it went far better then the one at Christmas where she simply cried her head off until I took her out. This time she didn't want to come out and I felt very guilty when I pulled her out, only to go on to other fun.
We didn't get a chance to do the kids racetrack (on rider vehicles), the corn maze or the spiders web, so we'll definitely have to go back again.

Fountain Fun

Tonight Adara wandered into the middle of the gushing founts of the local water park. I thought about stopping her because it was cold and we didn't have other clothes, and all kinds of other things. But then, as I watched her leap in the water in sheer abandon, I remembered a wonderful evening in Goderich when I was about sixteen. I found myself spontaneously diving in the town fountain with my best friend and some older teenagers who I really admired and was kind of scared of. It was an awesome night that I had forgotten until I saw Adara leaping into foreign and forbidden waters today. So, we came home very dirty and very wet.

Here's some pics from our weekend in Owen Sound. More to come with the gorgeous Griffin and Liam in them too.

Magic

If I hit you with my wand, you WILL turn into a frog! So don't even think about "time out"....