I'm Here to Make Much Ado about...Much Ado

It's almost here...The Big Night, the opening of our commonwealth school's play, "Much Ado About Nothing!" Hannah and Jonah play the leads Beatrice and Benedick. Here's a little sneak preview of the hilarity that comes from older sister playing opposite younger-but-finally-as-tall-as-brother.

Cody plays Claudio, the love-smitten wooer of the fair Hero (in this case a name, not a literary archetype). I'm so proud of my hair coloring talents! Each of the twins totally matches his partner. I knew I should have gone to beauty school. ;-)

I can't wait to see what happens when three of my teenagers get to take over the stage. If you're here in town, don't miss it!

Silly Bubbies

Anyone can see that these boys haven't changed a whole lot in the last 13 years, so it's kind of entertaining to get to color their hair for their upcoming Shakespeare play. Jonah plays Benedick and Cody plays Claudio in the upcoming production of Much Ado About Nothing. Their directors want them to look different so this was our solution. What do you think? I think it's quite novel to be able to tell them apart at a glance, that has certainly never happened before. =)

P.S. Do you know which one is which? (scroll down for the answer)

Jonah is on the left -- the "Dark" one and Cody is on the right the "Light" one.

Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

Some of the monkeys after playing in the splash pad.

What a perfect day for the zoo! Hanging with our beloved Mitchell family, seeing the orangutans get fed, feeding the stingrays fishheads and scoring free hot dogs. It almost makes us forget the magnificent whining we heard on the car ride to Phoenix. :)

Gid, Lindsay and Eli

Gid, Lindsay and Peter feeding the Stingrays

Curtis, Thomas, Katie and Eli feeding (themselves?) to the stingrays.

Gid doing his stingray imitation. Ha, ha!

Happy Gardening Everyone!

My herbs and flowers with a few peas along the back. Happiness!

I know I must be shifting generational gears when I realize that I love my blossoming tomato plants more than shopping or American Idol. Or is it just the tonic of spring breezes, warm sun and the smell of dill and cilantro emanating from my hands as I merrily putter around my garden boxes? Whatever it may be, age or season, I'm having a ball!

The kids have joined in too. Every day Gideon accompanies me on a tour of the back forty (feet) to inspect the crops. He's especially interested in his wa-kini (Zucchini) plants and was most upset when I thinned the eight little sprouts he planted to two in the same box. He'll understand very quickly when they transform into behemoths producing ten zucchinis a day!

Eli planted peas, alas they went in too late for our freakish seasonal patterns. We might get a few early pods before the sun burns them up. He also planted cantelopes which will be so fun if we don't kill them (always a possibility around here).

Hannah planted wildflowers. Curtis, Jonah and Cody planted a random selection of carrots, cucumbers, onions and peas. Jonah was pretty mad to discover that little green caterpillars find new little pea vines divinely tasty. He picked off dozens of them and Gid relished the sight of green gushy insides squirting on the ground. Yummy!

When harvest time comes I can't guarantee the boys will love the crops as much as the process, but I sure will. Soon enough they'll grow into veggie loving adults with gardens of their own. =)

Tomatoes and onions and Ren, oh my!