We Survived...I Think...

Last week is over. Totally, officially, and completely over. And we survived. Mostly. I think.

Yes, A's ear pain was, indeed, an ear infection. After starting antibiotics (and continuing ibuprofen and decongestants) she hasn't complained of any ear pain since Saturday. Yea! I haven't called the ENT yet to tell them about the ear infection. I'm afraid of what they might say. So is A and she keeps asking me not to call them.

The Girls' Camp Walkathon fundraiser for church went really well Saturday morning, although it was FREEZING cold. Yes, even Georgia gets cold. It was about 40 degrees outside but the wind was blowly horribly. It was cold. But almost every girl who participated did the full 10 miles. A did her 10 miles in 3 hours 15 minutes. I am so proud of her. All of the girls were complaining of being sore at church yesterday, and A was even more sore today. But she did it. They worked hard but they all had a good time together. They also realized how much work will be involved in doing our stake pioneer trek this summer (10 miles in July -- think heat and humidity!).

B had her first soccer game on Saturday. Her team didn't win but DH said she played really well. The other team was apparently made up of 10 year old giants (B thinks they were actually 12 years old) who were, in her words "aggressive." Apparently one boy kept running her over...so after the first time she decided to be "aggressive" with him, too. I'm not sure she ever actually inflicted any bodily harm on him, but she said it was frustrating that the other girls on her team wouldn't get "aggressive." She said next time they play that team she's going to kick him in the shins! Uh-oh...we'd better work on sportsmanship!

A's two play performances on Saturday were great. She did a wonderful job with her part and she looked adorable. OK, so she was supposed to look like "trailer trash" (no offense intended for anyone who lives in a trailer!)...and this is not a look we normally try to achieve in our family. But she was cute! She had fun with the whole production and then went out after the last show with a bunch of the other cast members....didn't get home until after midnight so she was exhausted (still is!). She had a lot of fun and is already looking forward to next year's drama production. I've included several pictures from the play. On Thursday and Friday she was Violet, the Blueberry...for the two Saturday shows she had the Violet speaking part. I've posted the "before" and "after" pictures. As you can tell, it took a few people (and some contortions) to get her into the blueberry suit!

Doing hair and makeup on a cast that huge was quite an undertaking. I'm still exhausted from it. Please remind me next year that some of the students in the production will need a tutorial in "Personal Hygiene 101" -- including the use of deodorant, dandruff shampoo (heck, just shampoo in general!), and the importance of showering on a daily basis (or more often, since this year the week of the play happened to be the same week as baseball tryouts). Nasty! I also forgot to take air freshener. Closing up 62 excited, smelly, costumed middle school students in one hallway makes for some pretty stale air. Fortunately we were able to prop a door open and get some fresh air circulating. I teased, curled, pinned up, sprayed gray or blue, and braided lots of heads of hair. I'm grateful to the 2-3 high school students who did hair and makeup on the Oompa Loompas -- that took care of a huge part of the workload right there.

It's over...and while I say I don't ever want to do it again, part of me is looking forward to next year already. Just like last year, I really had a lot of fun spending this time with A and her friends, and as long and smelly and sweaty and hard as it was (and as sore as my feet, knees, and back are), I'm glad she wants me to be involved.