What a weekend!

I think I'm actually glad for Sunday night and getting back into routine after a busy weekend. 

On Friday night, Matt and I were off to church to rehearse for the Youth Valentine Variety show.  I found myself in charge of the show (but thankfully not the dinner!), so I was admittedly a little stressed.  We were missing kids, everyone was bouncing off the walls and I was praying that the old saying that a bad dress rehearsal would make for a good performance would hold true. 

One of those missing kids at rehearsal was this one . . .

Gracie was all dressed up for her LAST father-daughter dance.   I didn't actually get a picture of the two of them because I left before Bassam was dressed, but someone snapped this of them in the hallway to satisfy me until I get the "official" picture that was taken at the dance.  I love this tradition and will miss it.  They make a whole night of it with a dinner date before hitting the dance. 

Word on the street is that these two WON A DANCE CONTEST.  I know . . . let that sink in a minute.   The handsome dude pictured above does NOT dance.   Does.  Not.  Dance.  But the girl standing next to him is a competitive and persuasive, so when they announced the twist contest, there was no way she wasn't entering, which meant he was, too. 

What I wouldn't have given to be a fly on the wall.


Saturday morning rolled around and Matt was off to take the ACT.   I could tell he was nervous about it, even though we assured him there was no reason to be.  I had thought all the 7th graders in the Duke program would be taking it one room, but Matt says it was alphabetical and the kids around him all had their drivers licenses.   I suspect 7th grade Matt will beat my 11th grade score. 

I spent the majority of Saturday doing odds and ends to get ready for the show . . .script changes, note cards, last minute costumes and props.   The kids and I had to be there by 4:15 to run their routines (baton and trumpet, natch!) and then I ran a quick rehearsal for all the kids when they came at 4:45.  The show came off very well, despite an accompaniment glitch for Matt,which he powered through. 

Today we went to church and then went to pick up Bassam's new car.  Finally!   Gracie had a birthday party in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day cramming for a test tomorrow.  Matt has a big test Tuesday, so we also tried to the majority of his review done today, too.   

Meanwhile, inspired by our trip to New Orleans, Bassam made a huge pot of gumbo.  This took a large portion of the afternoon. It wasn't as good as what we had there (he calls it a "good first effort"), but that would be expecting a lot, don't you think?  The thing I hate is that the house smells like seafood.  Big time.   Big HUGE time.

So that's the weekend in a nutshell.  I'm tired.  The house is a mess.  The laundry isn't done.  But overall, I think we had a good time.