Cirque in New York

Last summer, Sweet Pea was invited to join an adult cirque company here, as they prepared a show to perform in New York at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference. This past weekend was the trip, and Sweet Pea did great!

Leading up to the trip, there was only one rehearsal. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I had been warned that professionals don't need as many rehearsals as students are used to having. And the other performers in the group lived across the US; they only all came to town once to rehearse together before we all met in New York.

Sweet Pea was the only child in the show, and in fact, she was the only child we saw all weekend out of thousands of performers in hundreds of shows. She was a little shy with everyone else, but the other cast members were very kind and gentle with her.

We arrived at noon on Saturday, and all had a nice lunch together at a deli (Sweet Pea had a burger, and immediately declared that she loved NY delis). After lunch, we had about an hour to ourselves before the first rehearsal. She and I walked around midtown, and were thrilled to see that the Rockefeller Christmas tree was still up! We also walked through FAO Schwartz, which was packed but fun, and she picked out a few miniature Jellycat stuffies for Little Man and CC.

Rehearsal that evening was rough. It was in an empty studio, so the apparatuses weren't available. Sweet Pea was dropped several times, and there were a lot of last-minute changes to choreography, costumes, and timing. She left feeling very nervous -- the performances were the next day! But we ended on a high note: grabbing some New York pizza for dinner ("It was bussin!") and getting to bed early.

Early the next day they did a tech rehearsal in the theater where their performances would be. It went much better, and they had the chance to get on the lyra, trapeze, and rope. I sat in the audience to record the show, and prayed hard that she could clear her mind of distractions and remember all her notes. The show went great! She came off the stage afterwards with a big smile of relief. 

Here's a video of her major scenes:

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/CLnWUq-OLls

We had a few hours before the next show, so we took off to walk though Times Square, get lunch at a different deli, stop by Magnolia Bakery for dessert (the banana pudding was delish!), and visit the top of the Rockefeller Center for some amazing views of New York. (She loved that the elevator to the observation deck was on floor SIX SEVEN!)

The final show again went very well. Afterwards, we packed up and headed to the airport. Sweet Pea had a window seat, and got some great nighttime views of the city as the plane took off. We got home late but happy, and I let Sweet Pea sleep in a few hours before going to school the next day. It was an exhausting but incredible trip. So many performers would give anything to have such an opportunity! I'm so proud of her hard work, which led to this invitation. She loves cirque, and it's wonderful to see her rewarded like this.

Christmas Part II

On the 3rd, we got together at Patrick and Karen's house to celebrate Christmas with them. Pepere had moved from our house to theirs, so he was with us as well. 

Unfortunately, Karen had the flu, so she stayed upstairs the whole time to keep from infecting us. And MJ woke up that morning feeling sick, so we all tested for flu as well, to make sure we weren't bringing it to Patrick or the boys (or bringing a different strain). Fortunately none of us had Flu A, Flu B, or Covid -- MJ just had a cold -- so we had a smaller visit, without MJ or Karen. 

But it was still nice. We exchanged gifts, had a nice meal, and just enjoyed each other's company. The boys played video games together, and CC was surprised to learn that Braxton and Bryson share a love for the Keeper of the Lost Cities books! They had quite a lively conversation, debating their favorite characters and plot points. Little Man loved the Zelda Encyclopedia he received, and coincidentally Braxton received a Zelda book that Little Man already has, so the two of them immediately curled up on the couch to dive in.

Outing with Alice

One of my favorite outings each year: our Christmas afternoon with Alice! This year we went after New Year's, because we had to wait for CC to finish Drivers Ed. Unfortunately, that meant the gingerbread house exhibit that we usually visit afterwards was gone, but we still had a great time.

Sweet Pea went back and forth between several books, but ultimately picked The Summer of Broken Rules. CC was agonizing -- there are so many books she wants! -- but she selected the first book of the Crescent City series, which is on her "To Be Read" list. And although Little Man was initially disappointed that they didn't have any Zelda books in stock, he was excited to find a Minecraft book that he hadn't read yet.

Afterwards we had a nice lunch at our usual place. CC is always excited to get ribs, because there aren't very many restaurants we frequent that offer ribs! Pepere came with us, because he had been visiting for New Year's (and his birthday!), and we were so happy to include him in our adventure. 

Lastly, I asked Alice to take a picture of me and Pepere with the kids. And then my dad took a picture of me with Alice. I don't think we've taken a picture together since my baby shower in 2011!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Pepere was here, and we celebrated his birthday with an ice cream cake while we rang in the new year. MJ and I attended a swanky NYE party at the house of our tennis friends, Lauren and Justin (I forgot to ask someone to take our picture, and I'm really bummed about it!). But we ducked out a little early so we'd be home for the stroke of midnight. MJ went straight to bed, but Pepere and I and the kids watched the ball drop together.

2025 was hands-down the worst year of my life. But it's still hard to say good bye to it, because it was the last year I saw my mom, hugged her, and told her I loved her. I don't want there to be another year without her, another year of milestones and memories she wasn't a part of. But I know she's watching us all, cheering for us, and celebrating every event with us. 

I'm not usually one for New Years resolutions, but this year I actually have one: to update this blog more often. I've gotten way behind on a lot of the big events (our beach vacation last summer, for example) and most of the little ones, too. My mom loved reading updates and seeing so many pictures of our family, so I'll try to be better about it. You'll be seeing a LOT of old posts and pictures for the new few weeks!

Here's to a better 2026. Cheers!

Car News

We had several major developments in our family's car situation over the holidays:

First and most excitingly: CC started Driver's Ed! She wanted to take it in person, instead of virtually, so she opted for a class that is 6 hours a day for five straight days at our local high school. She reports that it is boring, but she's happy that she already passed the practice test. After she's done, she just has to wait a few months to take the behind-the-wheel portion of the class, and then she'll be ready to get her permit.

(MJ has been flouting the law, and taking her to our middle school parking lot and allowing her to drive my car. She was relieved to learn that she can, in fact, reach the pedals.)

Also, MJ bought a new car! I've been after him for the last year to shop for a new one. His old one was 14 years old and wouldn't pass inspection, so he needed to replace it before his registration renewal came up. He saw a pre-owned BMW M440 that he really liked; we test-drove it one afternoon; and came home a few hours later having swapped the old Mercedes for the really peppy BMW. Good for him! He really enjoys driving it, and he deserves to have a nice new toy.

Nutcracker

Fortunately, Sweet Pea's wrist healed in time for her to perform for the third year in her cirque company's version of The Nutcracker. It's one of the shows that she loves the most -- it's not intimidating, because she's done it before (she's always the middle monkey, among other miscellaneous roles); and she's with a group of close friends. 

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/curbvQaRLxE

This year, the show went on the road to several neighboring cities. We traveled with one of Sweet Pea's best friends, Joni, and her mom, Brynne, who's become a good friend of mine. And one of the trips required an overnight stay, which was even more fun -- Sweet Pea and Joni shared a hotel room! It adjoined the room Brynne and I shared, so we could keep an eye on them. We just love how close they are; they have such a sweet friendship that brings out the best in each other.

One of the locations they performed was close to Pepere, so he came to see her final show. And that one ended up being their best performance! The audience was great, and all the performers gave it everything they had. Pepere was very impressed!

After the show, we went home with him and spent the night there before driving with him back to our house on Christmas Eve. Talk about cutting it close!

Christmas Recap

We had a beautiful Christmas. It was hectic and a little last minute, due to Sweet Pea's Nutcracker schedule (she and I and Pepere arrived back home the afternoon of Christmas Eve, for goodness' sake!). But we all attended Mass together, had a lovely dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's, and came home to leave out the kids' Santa sacks and head to bed (wearing their new "six-seven"  pajamas!). Fortunately I had worked hard to have everything ready and wrapped before Sweet Pea and I headed out of town, so MJ and I didn't have much work to do the night before Christmas.

Sweet Pea was exhausted and fell asleep immediately (a first for Christmas Eve!) but the other two naturally had a hard time sleeping. Bright and early the next morning, everyone was downstairs for smiles and laughs and hugs. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, candy for the kids, and mimosas for the grown ups. We even made punch in our new punch bowl, which was given to us by Grandma Jean. We hope she was smiling down from heaven, watching us enjoy fancy drinks from her crystal bowl! Grandpa and Grandma joined us in the afternoon to complete the day.

Sweet Pea's favorite gifts were the Ugg boots Pepere gave her, a sweatshirt from Grandma and Grandpa, and a fleece jacket from Santa. Little Man loved the Zelda game and accessories he received, some glow-in-the-dark filament from CC, and plenty of Army-Navy swag. CC obsessed over her new books, a pair of leggings from Grandma and Grandpa that fit her perfectly, and a beautiful new phone case.

We played a new game called Uzzle that Sweet Pea received from Santa -- super fast-paced and fun! It was easy to learn, but hard to win. And we had a delicious beef tenderloin meal that Pepere helped me prepare. Little Man did a great job helping us dry dishes and crystal afterwards, and even polished some of the silver.

We were all stuffed and merry and tired when we went to sleep! I was comforted knowing that Memere was with us all day, watching us and loving our together time. She was always such a big part of our holidays, so there will never be a year when she's not with us in spirit.