THE SMITH FAMILY: Oliver!

Well, we have survived our first serious theater production. Both girls made this year's high school musical and boy, oh, boy did it take over our lives for a while. In the final two weeks of tech and dress rehearsal it was the play, the play, the play. Ashley's rehearsals ran from right after school until 7 or 8 in the evening. Often, I would have to pack her lunch and dinner; pretty long days for a girl who starts seminary at 5:45 am. Paige also had to be at daily rehearsals although her rehearsal time was shorter. I pretty much was driving to and from the school constantly, picking up and dropping off. A couple times I even had to check Paige out of her school early, so she could get to the high school rehearsals on time.

I also became an expert at this hairstyle--a tucked French Braid, which is no easy task consider how thick my girls' hair is! I had to do this for both my girls, plus Paige's friend Riley everyday for over a week. Between all the dress rehearsals and actual performances, I was pretty fast by the end!

Anyway, we all survived and the girls loved it. The production was also very good. There were 4 performances. I went to three and was really impressed by how good they were. And of course, I love my darling girls. Ashley particularly enjoyed being part of the cast, so she's hoping there will be a few more high school theater productions in her future. In fact, she's decided to do community theater this summer, has already auditioned, and been cast in "Shrek! The Musical."

But back to Oliver! Here are some pictures from backstage and on-stage dress rehearsal: