Seizing the Day

We started our new series, "Good News" today, and it was a great beginning to the month of April for KidPak.  I always like starting something brand new, although this set is identical to the one themed to Sherlock Holmes, and even the costumes are pretty similar.  We just got some cheap satchels, bought some papers, and suddenly our Baker Street Irregulars are now Newsies!  

It works though!  The period costuming was pretty similar, which is why I was wanting to go with a "Newsies" series, because it blended in well with everything.  But all that work on the new series was there with the writing, including a 48-page new booklet with all-new writings in it, plus of course this opening skit.

It got a lot of lines and material from "Newsies," of course, and only those who have seen the play probably know any of that, and only those who are passionate about the play or movie would recognize a lot of the lines.  But I still put all that material into our skits, no matter what the theme.

It went really well today, with the four above absolutely nailing their parts.  It's just so satisfying to see this next generation rise up and do so well on stage.  Frequently during these busy seasons, we'll have these gems pop up, these new series that no one was expecting.  And just as frequently, they're pleasant surprises.

We got home later today, after a bit of callback for our auditioning actors for some Easter production details.  We're doing some filming soon, and so we need people to be in the shots, people being healed and so forth.  But when Maddie and I got home, we were ready to have some pasta, and maybe a shower for Maddie and a Sunday nap for me. 

Tonight we played a modified version of a board game we got at Christmas, a Blockbuster game where players had to guess a movie based on different types of hints given, sometimes one-word hints, other times a full quote, and finally a silent acting out of anything that can give your partner an idea of what that movie is.  My favorite moment was watching Maddie try to act out a scene from "Cool Runnings" so that Mom could figure out what it was.  It didn't work, not until I also hopped in the imaginary bobsled.  Maddie and I started pushing forward an imaginary bobsled in the kitchen, and then both of us hopped in, our heads leaning to wand fro as we navigated the imaginary curves.  It was hilarious!

One minor task of the day was putting out Hoppy Hollow again, which I have now played out on three different pieces of furniture in the piano room there.  The Hoppy Hollow city limits have expanded somewhat in the past few years, but the residents seem happy and active in their daily lives, hopping to and fro from the florist shop to the birdhouse store or down to get groceries or off to the eggery.   

We concluded our Star Wars movie marathon tonight by watching "Rise of Skywalker," which again is a completely bonkers movie.  It was as if a lot of people were involved writing in a bunch of ideas and no one ever said things like, "Wait, that doesn't make sense."  We've determined that we can enjoy the movie just for what it is, perhaps something from an alternate timeline, or a "What if?" story.  It's too bad too, because the first of the sequel trilogies showed such promise.  Maddie didn't even want to watch the these last two movies, but we got through "The Last Jedi" with the idea that we'd try and look for the good in things.  For example, the visuals of the Battle of Crait are pretty astounding when you don't stop to think about it too much.  And Kylo Ren joining Rey in a lightsaber battle against those red Elite Praetorian Guards was pretty cool.  Similarly in this latest movie, the speeder chase on Peasant was fun, as were the visuals of the Death Star ruins on Kef Bir.  Once you throw logic completely out the window, and seal the window with the hope that logic will not return for a few hours, it's more fun.

I'm not sure what marathon we're watching next.  Maddie and I were talking about a Studio Ghibli series, which would be fun.  She wants to revisit some we've already seen as well as catching some of the others that we haven't watched yet.

Okay, moving on!  We went to bed after this, because that movie is pretty long.  I've injured my foot somehow, perhaps walking a little more than I should have yesterday.  So no walking today.  But I am actually hobbling pretty well.  I hobbled up the stairs, and there I was reading Kingdom Keepers to Maddie again, and after that, prayers of course.  Maddie had the whole crew here with us for reading, including Morris, Putnam, Chuck and our little plush Poop Emoji.  We all went to bed after that, and tucked in for a good night's rest.  We've got some appointments in the morning, and Maddie's got a fun day ahead of her!