Family Vacation from Ballet

For the first time in five years,

our family took

an extended family vacation

during a season of ballet.

While the kids

had ten (10) days

of no ballet,

a costume project

did make it into the car.

On the first day of vacation,

five hours of the twelve hour drive-

in between navigation duties- 

were spent taking off beads

from a couple of costumes

in order to reuse some

 of them in the beading rework

for the costumes.

My husband patiently helped remove

the remaining beads

while sitting

at Nutcracker rehearsal

the day after returning from vacation.

My son had thought

that he would have time

to do some stretching exercises

during vacation.

Alas,

this was a twelve hour a day,

go all day at full steam

vacation.

Of the six days

at Disney World, Florida-

two days were spent at EPCOT;

a midnight swim

and getting up very early

the next morning;

two days at Magic Kingdom;

a day in torrential rains

and at Downtown Disney;

a half of day of packing

and leaving.

Then a quick trip to put our feet

in the Atlantic Ocean

before continuing on toward

Savannah, Georgia.

A day in Savannah

included a Girl Scout Pilgrimage

to Juliette Gordon Low's Birthplace

and the Birthplace of Girl Scouts

in order to celebrate

100 years of Girl Scouts USA

and ten years of my daughter

being a Girl Scout,

as well as, my ten years

as a Girl Scout Leader.

A day in Atlanta

included the High Museum of Art

and a quick drive around

the Capitol building.

(On the way to Disney World,

there was a quick stop around

the Capitol building

in Tallahassee, Florida.)

The only ballet that was done

during this trip was a quick,

and a little reluctant,

pose in the Canadian area

at EPCOT

for our ballet family friends

who live in our hometown

but are originally from Canada.

(They gave us great advise from

their Disney World experiences.)

It has been a month since

we started out on our vacation;

reality is just now starting

to impose on my

vacation euphoria-

there is soooo much

to get done before

Nutcracker performances.

Family Memories

made outside of ballet,

imagine that....

Spring Break?

Spring Break

Vacations

A break from the usual routine...

Not so much this year.

The first Saturday of Spring Break
was spent at rehearsals.

On the first Sunday,
our family managed a couple of hours
on a nature hike
(which was a requirement
for my daughter
in celebrating the
100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts).

The hike was immediately followed by
a trip to the home supply store
for supplies needed
to paint a backdrop
for a fundraiser
for the ballet studio
during the Spring Performance.

On Monday,
my children and I,
with the help of a couple
of young family members,
painted a backdrop,
complete with
a castle
in the mountains,
a pumpkin
(for Cinderella),
a friendly dragon,
and, of course,
a winding path to the castle.

On Tuesday,
there was a number
of things accomplished:

1) There was a ballet class
and rehearsals.

2) Errands to buy much needed
household cleaners
and
some aloe
(for our sunburn patches
from painting the backdrop
in our driveway for eight hours).

3) An hour before sunset,
prop wooden boxes were painted
by the whole family.

It should be noted that,
due to these prop boxes:

a) My husband has had
many sleepless nights
trying to envision how
to make them sturdy enough
to bear the weight of dancers
and big enough
for dancers to pop out.

b) Spent countless hours
and weeks making the boxes.

c) As well as,
taking two days off from work
last week to make them smaller
(and not allowing him to take off
during Spring Break).

On Wednesday,
as well, there were quite
a few things accomplished:

1) My email was checked by noon.
(Gasp, yes, I have been so tired
and falling asleep around midnight,
instead of several hours afterwards.)

2) School work meant
attending a homeschool
yearbook training meeting.
(Alas, homeschoolers
rarely ever get breaks.)

3) Errands for going out of town
for ballet classes, which included
a trip to the dancewear store for
more pointe shoes.

4) The whole family
was able to attend to church
because regular ballet classes
were canceled for Spring Break.

5) Our family had a supper picnic
with homeschool friends.

6) Pointe shoe ribbons
and elastics were sewn.

7) Girl Scout plans were made.

On Thursday,
my son packed the car
with the bags that three of us
had packed the night before.

While watching the kids take
an extra ballet class from
one of their favorite teachers
at our home studio,
my blog was being updated.

Then, we hit the road
for a two hour trip,
which included just over
a half hour of rush hour traffic,
to another favorite ballet studio
for a ballet class.

On Friday,
because we stayed with family,
we only had a twenty minute commute
to take classes at the out-of-town studio.

A drive home in pouring rain,
rush hour traffic,
and eleven miles
of stop-n-go traffic
due to a wreck,
made a two hour trip
take four hours.

The last two days of Spring Break
will be spent
at the ballet studio
in rehearsals and
finishing costumes and props
before Tech Week
begins on Monday.

Note: Pictures will be added at a later date.
This month has been so hectic
that there has been little time
to teach me a new trick.

Hours at the Ballet Studio

When asking my teenagers
the other day
what my next topic should be,
they said,
"The hours we spend
at the ballet studio."

My last blog started out
with this topic in mind
and ended up being about
free pizza!

The original intent of the post
was to talk about the number
of hours our family spends
at the ballet studio each week
and
what we do during that time.

So, here goes.

Mondays:

Usually it is just my daughter and I
that travel to the studio.

She has two and a half hours
of classes and
I help out in the office;
this means we are there
for about four hours.

Occasionally, my son skips his
weekly Boy Scout meeting
in order to attend special
partnering classes
and/or
rehearsals.

Tuesdays:

Three of us have dance classes
and we are there for about
four to five hours,
more if there are rehearsals.

Sometimes, my son
has a morning rehearsal
(which he is able to attend
because he homeschools);
on those days,
we either spend the hours
between returning to the studio
on school errands
or
stay at the studio
and work on school work.

Wednesday:

Usually it is just my son and I
that travel to the studio.

Between the two of us,
we are there for about five hours.

Occasionally, my daughter comes
for make-up classes or rehearsals.

Thursdays:

A very busy day of the week.

Three of us have classes
and I also help in the office.

At least two nights per month,
I have to skip my classes
in order to attend meetings-
one for Girl Scout planning
(which my daughter
usually attends too)
and
one for my GFWC local club.

Total hours at the studio
are around four or so.

Fridays:

We like to say that
we have Fridays off.

However, more often than not,
this is not true.

If the Friday afternoon class
is not canceled, then
my son and often my daughter
attend the class.

Often, there is a rehearsal afterwards.

Recently, about every other Friday,
our family has traveled
about two hours away for ballet classes
from a former Soviet ballet dancer.

So, Fridays, too,
are often up to four hours
at the studio.

Saturdays:

Our whole family, my husband included,
spends about eight hours at the studio.

My son and daughter have company class
and rehearsals that last all day;
though they do have breaks,
they are rarely long enough to leave.

My husband and I run errands
for food and props and costumes
and/or
stay at the studio and work
on props and costumes.

Sundays:

Rehearsals last up to six hours,
especially the closer it gets
to performances.

Of course, the whole family
is usually there
(see Saturdays).

Week in Review:

If I counted correctly,
our family spends just under
40 hours per week
at the ballet studio.

Is that a full time job-
minus the pay and benefits?