And now, for your enjoyment, a beautiful piano and accordion duet.
Because nothing says “Spring!” like “Jingle Bells”:
(Special thanks to our videographer, Oliver!)
Evie Update
Scavenger
Due to general business, I’m very late in posting this. However, we recently took a (very) quick drive to Rochester, NY to visit Sara’s brother Ben (and his fiancée Jen!).
The kids also happened to have a role in Uncle Ben’s new short, “Scavenger“.
The kids were so excited to do this. They both did a really good job. When the camera came on, Evie went ramrod straight, and delivered her line exactly consistently, take after take. She is just a very *precise* girl, and I knew she would do an excellent job.
I wasn’t so sure about Ollie, but he did a great job too. On the very first take, Ollie was feeling a little silly with all the crew standing around watching him. He’s such a class clown. He walked over to the camera and said, “HI UNCLE BEN!” Everybody cracked up, which made him feel a little embarrassed. After that, though, he got down to business.
Even when I thought he wasn’t paying attention, he would hit his line exactly on cue every time. Both kids practiced so hard, and I think it showed. I know some of the crew had not worked with children before; I think they were spoiled by this first experience! Don’t expect to have such good actors next time!
It takes a lot of people to shoot a movie, even a small one. It’s sort of funny how specific the jobs are, like “the guy who pushes the camera dolly” and “the girl who listens for ambient noise”. It was fun to be in the room and watch. Can I just say again how great the kids did?
The hardest part of the weekend was the drive. We had originally planned this because the kids had off on Friday, but Evie had practice for an opera she was going to be in, so we couldn’t leave until late. Like, 5 p.m. late, and it’s a 9 1/2 hour drive. We got there very, very early in the morning, and it was very, very difficult to stay awake. Then we had to get up early the next morning to shoot! Which is all the more reason it was impressive the kids did so well. It did make for a rather quick trip: drive, shoot all day, eat breakfast, and then drive home. (We did sneak in a trip to Dogtown!)
We are all really looking forward to seeing the movie when it’s finished, especially the kids!
The Age of Pokemon
Recently, Evie’s class has been swept with Pokemon fever.
Yes, that’s the same Pokemon that’s been around since I was a kid (first published in 1996). Apparently, it’s still a thing. The boys at Evie’s school have been talking about it non-stop, trading cards, and quizzing each other about various Pokemon.
I’m not sure why Evie in particular got so excited about it, but I’m happy to encourage it for three reasons:
- I’m so happy that she hasn’t seemed to notice (or at least doesn’t care) that this is apparently a “boy” activity, and she’s the only girl,
- Collecting cards, comics, and things was a particular nerdom of mine, and who isn’t thrilled to have their daughter follow in my footsteps?, and
- As a former, pretty heavy Magic player, Pokemon seems pretty familiar (and fun!)
A few of her classmates had donated cards to her on a charity-case basis, and the cards quickly became her prized possessions.
The other day, I decided to get her a little reward for being so helpful to me on school mornings, so I bought her a package of Pokemon cards.
HUGE parenting win.
She was so. excited. You have no idea. She probably thanked me about 10 times throughout the day. She was so excited to have cards of her own, and to be a part of what everybody else was into for once, and to show everyone at school. I made sure to pick the package with a deer Pokemon on the front (deer are her favorite animal), and the one with the Pikachu coin.
So, of course, what does she pull from the pack? A ultra-rare Mega Charizard EX card, which is worth about $50.
She is NOT interested in selling.
I do hope she sticks with it; I would like to learn how to play with her. I don’t think it would be something Sara would have any interest in, so it would be a special thing between the two of us.
Pokemon. Who knew it could be such a positive familial force?
On the resourcefulness of my daughter
On the morning of my birthday, Evie presented me with a birthday card. Fairly straightforward, right? But this was a card just from her, not from the rest of the family, and from a store, not homemade. Surely, if Sara had bought the card, she would have signed her own name, and Ollie too.
I looked at Sara but she had never seen the card before either. She was as puzzled as I was. I was thinking maybe a grandparent had taken her to the store or something…?
No, of course not. It turns out that she had actually found it in a book she had checked out from the library a month or two before. She secretly asked the librarian if she could keep it for her daddy’s birthday, since there were no names or identifying marks on it.
So, once again, she comes up with a surprise. It’s not SO amazing, I guess, and probably wouldn’t have been a big deal if it hadn’t fallen on the heels of so many other resourceful surprises.
This girl continues to mystify me with her ability to follow through on things and her general cleverness / resourcefulness. If I had to pick a few skills that would help you in life, those would definitely be on the list.
Evie’s Big Surprise
We had quite the surprise on Saturday morning.
I’m sleeping peacefully, minding my own business, when suddenly the door bursts open, the light from the kitchen shining directly on my face. Is there a more horrible way to wake up than a light suddenly shining directly on your face? I squint over at the clock: 6:30 a.m. I’m feeling extra grumpy, but before I can put the pillow over my face and yell at her to close the door, Evie says brightly, “Happy St. Lucia Day!”
It was one of those Sixth Sense-moments, where a hundred little flashbacks run through my head and all is made clear: her insistence on making scones the day before, the way she asked the date 3 times a day every day that week, her desperation over not being able to find her old white dress, her panic at not having clean leggings when I was tucking her into bed.
She had secretly assembled this costume and prepared for St. Lucia day, without so much as a whiff of this tipping us off. Look at the detail on that crown: she finger knit the main part and then obtained her own materials to make the holly leaves and berries. I’ve never seen those holly leaves. This girl is a 7 year old; to say I was surprised doesn’t say the half of it.
But it goes back *so* much further than that.
Now, if you’re like me, you have no idea what St. Lucia Day is. Allow Wikipedia to explain:
The custom involves the eldest daughter arising early and wearing her Lucy garb of white robe, red sash, and a wire crown covered with whortleberry-twigs with nine lighted candles fastened in it awakens the family, singing Sankta Lucia, serving them coffee and saffron buns (St. Lucia buns), thus ushering in the Christmas season.
And arise early our eldest daughter did, waking up at 4:55 a.m. so as not to miss her chance to surprise us. “Sorry,” she said, “I couldn’t make the coffee. And they’re supposed to be St. Lucia buns, but I have scones instead. And I didn’t think I should light candles.”
Until about a year ago, I had never heard of St. Lucia Day. However, Evie read a book about it, and it really captured her imagination.
(I found this picture when writing this post, but now that I look at it, I can’t help but notice the pose is *identical* to the one Evie struck above. As we’re talking about Evie here, I have no doubt that even the picture was part of her plan.)
She has talked endlessly of St. Lucia Day since reading that book. She read that book last Christmas. She has been planning for this moment since last Christmas. My 7-year old daughter has the wherewithal and attention span to plan a surprise and keep it a secret for A YEAR.
Don’t believe me?
You see that red ribbon she used for a belt? You know how she got that ribbon? She asked for it for her birthday. Last August. I really couldn’t understand why she was insisting on ribbon. “What do you want it for?” I asked. “For my projects,” she replied. What she didn’t say was, “I have a surprise planned four months from now, and that surprise takes red ribbon. I’m 6, just turning 7, and I can’t exactly just borrow the car and get what I need, so I’m going to have to find other ways.”
How can I compete with that? What is she going to be able to accomplish when she’s older? How can I keep her from pulling the wool over my eyes when she’s already capable of year-long con jobs? HOW DO I EVEN KNOW SHE’S MY DAUGHTER AND NOT JUST SOME EVIL MASTERMIND USING ME FOR HER OWN DIABOLICAL PLANS?
Sara: “Isn’t it nice when all your plans work out?”
Evie, ominously: “That’s not ALL my plans.”
Shane Halbach 