Mother's Day

This year my Mother's Day had it all.  The night before, I went to see Aida with my mom at a local high school, just the two of us.  On Mother's Day itself Solomon made me breakfast in bed.  We did that funny little dance where he tried not to wake me up, and I tried not to come downstairs so that he could give me breakfast in bed.  Nova and Charlotte made drawings and a Happy Mother's Day banner.  After a morning shopping for plants on my own, we all piled in the car and drove east to Willow River State Park.

The falls were as beautiful as I remembered, but with a lot more water rushing over than the last time I'd seen them.  Swallows dipped and wheeled in the rounded hollow of the cliff behind the falls.  Rock climbers inched up neon cords a few feet away.  We sat and soaked up the sun and enjoyed our trail mix as long as we could before it was time to head back.

This is from the banner Nova and Charlotte made me.

We all tagged along to Charlotte's dance class, getting there in the nick of time (the next weekend was the recital, so she sort of needed to be there).  Afterward we went to a Los Arcos, an authentic mexican restaurant in our neighborhood, for an early dinner.      

Recital Weekend

May 19, 3:00 p.m. was recital time for not one but three of our children.  Nova and Solomon had their Spring violin recital, and Charlotte had her first dance recital.  How to do this?  Well, we split up.  Grandmas and Dad went to Charlotte's.  Grandpas and Mom (and Aria) went to Solomon and Nova's.  We met up for hot chocolate afterward.

Solomon, Nova, Ariadne and I were able to get in on the dress rehearsal of Charlotte's recital and snag a little video.  Charlotte is the one closest to the teacher (video quality does improve as the dance progresses).  The song is about a charming mosquito.  Charlotte's dance school, Zenon, is very casual.  The lessons are drop in and the kids were allowed to wear whatever they wanted for a costume. Offerings range from ballet to hip-hop, which makes for a delightfully varied recital.  Below is a group warm-up.

Solomon played Gavotte by Martini.  He had dynamics!  So fun to see them progress!  Nova played Witches Dance by Paganini, quite the favorite at our house.  She worked hard on her high 3s and 4s, and bowing.