“The Part I’ve Always Wanted”

One of the best things about being retired is that we can visit family more often especially when something important is going on.  Amelia told us the last time we were there that the children’s theater workshop that she attends was going to do a play and she was going to be the Little Red Hen, which according to her is “the part I’ve always wanted!”  Wow!! Can you imagine an actress getting her dream role at the age of seven?  Well, of course, we wanted to be there for this momentous occasion.

In preparation for the visit, I baked her (us) a Texas Sheet Cake which is a very moist chocolate cake with a very rich chocolate frosting.  I could tell when I tasted the frosting that this was going to be a cake that Darryl and Bubba would not like so I jumped in and made a sour cream pound for them.  I had bought a can of decorator’s icing so that I could write on the chocolate cake for Amelia.  Just let me say that I now have great admiration for cake decorators everywhere.  You can see that I was too shaky while trying to write with the icing.  It looks like I had the palsy or something. When we arrived, I handed Amelia the cake and told her it was hers.  She said, “Awwww, thank you.  That is so sweet!”  It has only been a month since our last visit and she already seems older somehow.

I promise.  It was better tasting than it looks!

We gave her the clothes rack and doll clothes we had made for her and she seemed quite pleased.  She dressed her dolls up in their Halloween costumes for a picture.

Amelia seems pleased.

Dolls are ready for Halloween.

Her Aunt Judy had made French berets for her dolls.  (She says it only took 45 minutes for each one.)  We also had to get a picture of those.  Thanks, Aunt Judy!  They were a hit.

It's hard to believe that she can make these so quickly.

Darryl grilled some delicious hamburgers for dinner and of course we had dessert.  Amy had made one of my favorites, Blueberry Yum-Yum.  She and I enjoyed a sampling of the chocolate cake and the yum-yum.

Amelia’s costume for the play was complete other than something for her head.  Amy ad I went to Joann’s Fabric Store and bought a tiara type headband and a red feather boa.  I tacked the boa to the headband with thread and needle in several places so that it would stay together.  It made the little red hen costume just perfect.

Monday, I had lunch with my cousin, Vicky, while Bubba stayed at home and took it easy.  I also did a little shopping on my own and was able to find a cute pair of shoes to wear Easter.  It should be noted that after Bubba counted my shoes in 2009 and called me at work to tell me how many pairs I had, that I got rid of every pair that was too worn or hurt too much to wear which left me with very few shoes.  Now that I’ve got some new navy shoes to wear with my new navy blouse and pants, I need another top to wear with my navy pants so that I can wear my new navy shoes more.  It’s like a never ending cycle.  It’s like painting a room and then having to buy new furniture.

Tuesday we met Amy at the high school where we left our car and picked up Amelia. Then we went to the Aurora Theater and met Darryl for the play.  I am totally not prejudiced in any way.  Amelia had the longest speaking part and she spoke clearly, loudly, and slowly enough that I could actually understand what she was saying.  She did great!  I’m glad she is getting this opportunity.  She is a very confident little girl and speaking in front of an audience doesn’t seem to phase her.

Amelia stomps her foot and is angry as she tells the lazy farm animals why they will not get to help eat her fresh baked bread. 

 The Cast and Their Teachers

I think our Little Red Hen is adorable!

Flowers from dad for the actress! 

 Amy, Amelia, and Darryl

Paw-Paw, Amelia and Nana

After the play we went to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner.  I guess acting made Amelia ravenous.  She ate almost all of her mac and cheese and her fruit cup.  Of course, when we got home we enjoyed more chocolate cake and yum-yum, called out spelling words, and went to bed.  It was a fun day and well worth the seven hour drive up there.

The next day we headed home.  Usually we wait until 9:00 EST to leave, but we thought we would try leaving earlier.  That did not work.  We were in the worst traffic ever.  It added an extra hour to our drive that we could have spent relaxing and drinking coffee at their house.

We are so proud of our Little Red Hen.  In addition to being a great actress, she recently won a writing contest for first graders at her school.  There are about 15 first grade classes and her story was selected for first place.  Her mom, the English teacher and a writing contests winner herself, has apparently passed her writing gene to her daughter.  I’m hoping Darryl has passed down his math gene!