Road Trip

  On Sunday, I was up at 6am (see previous post to see how rare this is!) feeding Luke and preparing for our much anticipated road trip to Palmerston North to see "Angelina Ballerina's Big Auditon", performed by the NZ Royal Ballet.  This was organised by wonderful Aunty Cheryl last year (who lives in Palmie), and we had a whole gaggle of giggles (this is what you call a group of 2-7 year old girls) with us, all excited to see a dancing mouse.  

We picked up the girls out of bed and straight into the car, still in their PJS, and picked up Aunty Shona and Brianna, who had to sneak out of the house so little brother wouldn't grumble - this was a girls only ballet trip.... although Luke needed feeding, so he had to come...and that meant Marty had to drive us down so Luke had a babysitter.  Marty didn't really mind - he got to go and play PS3 with the boys while us girls were at the theatre!   It was a chatty trip down as the excited girls giggled with each other at being up so early.  

Treat number one was McDonalds for breakfast in Dannevirke.   Hot cakes and Hot Chocolate - yummy!     I had mine cold after doing all three girls hair in 'very special zig zag' plaits for the occasion. They hopped into their most beautiful dresses and gave us a quick ballet demonstration of what they might see.  Kate is determined to be a ballerina when she grows up, but she doesn't want to do ballet lessons at all, so that could be interesting.  

After breakfast, we continued the journey with the now rather impatient girls wiggling in the backseat as we winded around the road, making me feel rather sick...I don't remember the last time I had McD's for breakfast, I find it sits heavy in my stomach all day long, which it proved to do yet again. Ah well, we would soon be there.  

At the theatre, we met up with the rest of our group, including our good friend Anne-Marie and her daughter Ella, who is in Jaimee's class.  The girls were all bouncing up and down by this stage with excitement.  I caved and purchased a programme at $15 (crazy what they can charge), but it proved money well spent as I was able to fill my girls in on the story of the ballet they were about to watch.  We had to make promises to the other girls in the group that I would photocopy the colouring in pages in the middle for them all upon our return home!  Next exciting bit - the seats.  Forget the ballet, it is much more exciting that the seats flip up and down.  It's like a fun park in here.  

A gaggle of giggles awaits the ballet!

 They were a little confused when after the first 10 minutes there was still not one word spoken by the dancing mice.  Jaimee whispered to me "Can't they talk mummy?"  I explained that in the ballet, they use music and dance actions to tell the story....but then of course, I wrecked that by whispering what was happening into their ears during each scene.  At the end of the first act, they turned to me with panic in their eyes "is that it mummy?".  Nope, I reassured them there was another act to go.  

"Oh yeah, the dancers are just practicing" Jaimee said with a look of smugness on her face as she explained confidently to Kate.  I gently told her that actually they are probably resting and having a drink after all that dancing.  I was most impressed that they sat through it all like little ladies, although quite possibly this had something to do with their going to bed at 10pm the night before while we were at a quiz night...

After the show, our gaggle of giggles danced and twirled all the way to the shopping mall, to the great amusement of every passerby.  We met the boys and had subway for lunch (I couldn't handle fast food after breakfast) and then the girls were allowed to go shopping with the pocket money they had been saving.  I had made a shopping list for Jaimee with all the things she has been saying "I want..." over the last few weeks, so with list in one hand and her handbag in the other, off the girls went to the "1,2,3 mart" where a whole shop of fun awaited.   She managed to get just about everything on her list (a white board, a chapstick, glue sticks and headbands) and Kate choose to get the same things as Jaimee (how predictable, but fine by me - no fights!).  They paid for their purchases, and then I attempted to go shopping for myself with a bunch of little girls in tow. Yeah, that is not so easy.  They played hide and seek in the  clothes racks while I tried on a couple of things.  I think we did about 2 shops before we gave up and headed home.  

What a great day it was though! The kids all slept on the way home, no doubt dreaming of dancing mice and shopping malls.