Monster Trucks Vs. The Ballet

I've been waiting to post this blog till I could upload the pictures. It seems we are always having computer or internet problems lately.

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to have the BYU Ballet come and preform at a high school near us. I bought tickets nearly the second I heard. I was so excited for Princes to see and experience the ballet. She had shown some interest in the past and we had even planned on taking her to the nutcracker but it didn't work out for various reasons.

After I bought the tickets Mithrandir wanted to know what he and the boys would be doing that night. He looked at the local events websites and found that the monster truck rally would conveniently be showing the same night. We both thought it was a great idea.

Shockingly the boys had to be talked into it. They just wanted to stay home and watch a movie or play wii. Seriously? That annoyed me so much I insisted they go. We went into great detail explaining just how cool this would be. Maybe we did to good of a job because then Princess was all upset she had to go to the "stupid ballet" instead of the monster truck rally.

It didn't help that Taz started talking about how lame the ballet would be and how she was missing out on the cool trucks smashing cars. It took all my persuasive powers, and a promise to take her (or at least let her go with Daddy) to the next monster truck rally. I convinced her it was worth waiting for the trucks to see the Princess Ballerinas that are sure to come around a lot less often.

So the night finally arrived with a somewhat disgruntled Princess and very excited boys. We started out with a family dinner at a local restaurant and then went our separate ways. The boys were lucky enough to walk to their venue from the parking lot of the restaurant. Princess and I had a 15 minute drive to a country high school ahead of us. By the time we got there she was convinced I had no idea where I was going, that was only partially true.

Princess was very impatient to find her seat and see the Princess and Fairy ballerinas. She picked a good seat and then chatted endlessly about when it would start and what the dancers would look like until the lights went out. She waited with baited breath. I had warned her ahead of time not to talk, but if she needed to say something to whisper quietly in my ear.

Sitting on my lap so she could see over the heads of the people in front of us she whispered quietly in my ear from the second the curtains opened until the last ballerina flitted off the stage. She was so excited and loved every minute of it. Except the parts with boys. She does not like male ballerinas, especially their ugly suits. On that point I have to agree.

Her favorite part was during intermission when they invited all the children to dance on the stage. She was certain they were inviting her to be part of the show as a real ballerina and nothing could have pleased her more.

Her excitement and enthusiasm were priceless and truly rewarding. I'm so glad we were able to go, and that I persisted in talking her into it. Now all I have to do is worry about the hopeful ballerina I have on my hands.

The funniest part of the evening was her telling Taz that he has got to see the Ballet, "[he] just doesn't know what [he] is missing!"

The boys had a thoroughly enjoyable time as well and didn't talk about anything else for days. Princess didn't even care, but just told them they didn't know that the Ballet was better because they hadn't seen it yet.

posing before dinner

waiting for the show to start

twirling on stage, this was the best shot I got around all the other kids dancing

She was sure the girl in the big white dress was a real ballerina and followed her around mimicking her dance moves :)

Unfortunately I didn't' get any pictures of the actual ballerinas. Obviously we couldn't take pictures during the show, and Princess was to tired afterward to get pictures.

The truck rally goers

Some of the awesome trucks jumping cars and things