Willy Wonka Weekend

{Riley wearing her onesie - Getting her "grandpa on"}

What a weekend we had! 3 shows in 3 days.
Plus a cast party and management of 22 squirrels.
Phew!

We are becoming a family of thespians and
"thespian enablers."

The boys LOVED being in the show. Opening night I worked behind the scenes
and, not only got to supervise all 22 of them, but also
got to be backstage and scoot them on & off on their cues.

Backstage is a whole other ballgame than watching the show from your seat -
there were oopma loompas running amok,
props being grabbed,
people rushing on & off stage,
sets to navigate around,
plus the "flying team" in position for the Wonka Elevator
and the "Fizzing Lifting Drink" Scene.

You could feel the adrenaline in the air
and it made me appreciate even more all of their hard work
to put such a great show together.

Here are the little vermin waiting in the hall to go on stage,
nuts & all!

{Ian... a bit unsure about taking a picture with Lindsey,
a little girl in his class at school}

Grandpa George with the other grandparents -
they were so funny!
And got to share a bed onstage.

Posing with Mike TeeVee and Willy Wonka.

Giving Charlie Bucket a hug.

The Day & Gantt kids!

The Michels' gang came all the way from Cincinnati to see Riley.

Hannah is their biggest fan!
She sat through a handful of dress rehearsals
and all 3 shows.
(You can see her in "Death By Dessert" at Oak Valley Middle School
on April 16th.)

And the Wonka Bars - worth every calorie!
I think we bought & consumed at least
half a dozen.
Yum.

What I didn't get a picture of:
Planning the cast party for 95 people.
All of the sets Jeff helped construct
(and de-construct yesterday).

All in all, it was a great experience for the whole family.
Riley has a super group of friends and
I'm so glad that Jeff & I got involved this year.