Happy 16th Birthday, Marc!
I’ll get to that part of the fun for the
day in a bit, but the top story of the day was the school Christmas pageant; so
let’s start with that news.
Michael and I were busy all day with
pageant set-up, practices, and the actual show.
All of the primary and middle school classes performed a group song or
act; the concert band played two songs plus the warm-up carol sing; and there
were a dozen special acts – solos, duets, or groups singing or dancing or
performing a skit or other activity. I
won’t go over all of those acts; but here are my highlights for the
afternoon. First up, Ethan and Ehlana
had a duet; they sang the Elf of the Shelf song, Christmas Is, with me on
keyboards for them; and they sang after their Kindergarten group song while the
stage was transitioned to the next group.
That, by the way was how we did all of the stage transitions; so the
entertainment was pretty much non-stop for the audience.
Ryan Bassett did a guitar solo that was
really awesome, so it was one of my favorites too, and while I’m not including
our duet because I need to brag about it; Michael and I had a lot of fun with
our duet of ‘As Long As There’s Christmas’ from Beauty and the Beast Christmas –
and it was a hit with the audience too.
Finally, the pageant wrap-up song and act was the added Elena of Avalor
Christmas song, Let Love Light the Way.
Michael and I led the Parranda; playing our guitars and leading the
singing; there was a lyrics video with scenes from the Elena Christmas show;
and all of the kids following us into the gym from the main entrances; and they
each gathered one person to join the Parranda from the audience – usually a
parent, grandparent, or younger sibling.
We continued until we had a ring of kids and adults two-deep surrounding
the entire gym; wrapped up the song; and then moved on to the meet and greet
that included snacks and drinks in the main hallway outside of the gym. That was a highlight for me too; since I got
to share those moments with Michael, most of our families; and our friends and
neighbors. Having Dad there had been
especially great; and that will likely be the one and only time he’ll get to do
that with me – or the odds are at least against me for my last year of high
school.
Okay, moving along, my morning before going
to school was fairly normal except for the extra time that Ehlana and I spent
getting ready for school and dressed up a bit for the pageant. As I already mentioned, Michael and I were
busy all day, but that also meant we missed all of our classes too. We did stop for a quick lunch that included
some birthday fun for Marc; but that was the only real break in the action
through until we were set free from school for the day. We split up and came home to get cleaned up
and ready for a cameo visit to Marc’s party, but then we basically just went
out to his place for the social hour before dinner; and then we hurried back to
town to help out at the Inn because Miranda had a half-dozen Christmas parties
on top of the usual Thursday dinner business.
We worked until close; Michael came home with me; and then we did a Magi
lesson with Mom and spent some time with Ethan and Ehlana before they went to
bed and Michael and I got to have a bit of cuddle time in the lounge before he
went home at eleven-thirty.
My work and studying started after that, but
I used a time phase for most of it; and put a two o’clock time limit on that
because I’d have worked most of the night if I didn’t do that. That does mean that I’m not quite where I
wanted to be before taking the weekend off for the holiday, but I’ll deal with
that problem as soon as I can. For now;
I’m just ready to crash, so let’s do the Christmas music video songs; and I’ll
go and do that while you’re enjoying the entertainment.
First up, Christmas Is; from An Elf on
the Shelf.
Our duet was based on this version; but
Michael and I gave it an update and some different harmonies.
Finally, the show-stopper for the pageant
today was the newest; and we all loved the audience participation that really
made the Parranda so special!
Okay, I’m out of here and off to
dreamland. Three more sleeps to
Christmas – and just one more to the last day of school for the year!
Until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
