Flat Mindy Goes to the Ballet

A little late on this post. The day after Halloween a ballet touring company came to campus and performed Beauty and the Beast. I bought tickets last August for Ellie and I as a sort of early birthday activity. We thought people would be understanding if we brought a certain two-dimensional buddy along. We couldn't let Alive Mindy have all the ballet fun.

Ellie did want to make sure Flat Mindy was dressed appropriately for the event. The skirt also doubles as a tutu, just in case the company was in need of an extra ballerina (you'll note Ellie's bun--similar rationale there).

So we were all ready to go. The performance started after bedtime. Serious stuff. We took a rest in the afternoon, just like fancy ladies getting ready for a ball, so we were up for it. Charlie was also ready for us to go. (We couldn't get a picture without him. Not even a sly photo bomb. Just an assumption that he is to be in any group picture being taken.)

They were pretty strict about photography during the performance, so I was not able to get a fake cameo shot of Flat Mindy with the dancers. We did sneak some during intermission, but were wary of using the flash.

You can see that Flat Mindy and Ellie were quite enjoying themselves. It was a good ballet for the novice audience member. Short scenes, lots of narrative, good comic relief. Ellie was awake and interested the whole time. When her interest started to lag a bit in one of the longer dances (after the beast transforms into the prince) I told her to watch for any pirouettes and see how many she could count. So good thing Mindy taught her that move before she left for Europe.

The pictures I didn't get and wished so much now that I had somehow captured happened after the show making our way back to the car. We had a bit of a walk to get there, and the whole way Ellie was still pretty hyped up from the show, demonstrating her best moves: "Watch me do a pirouette now!" "I'm going to leap over all of the lines in the sides walk!" "Watch this!" One flat-footed, clompy jump and twirl after another, accompanied by grunts and "hi-yah!" and "hoopla!" on the landings, with and occasional yank to hoist up her tights in between moves. I thought about how I didn't see or hear any of the professionals doing any of this, but I bet they were thinking it all.

So now Ellie is pretty excited about being all "ballet-ey." She's planning a Thanksgiving ballet and told me she needs a lovely blue skirt--to be a Thanksgiving water drop, she explained. Not a turkey. Mindy gets to be the turkey. (Alive Mindy, by the way, not Flat Mindy. She was clear on this, so don't think you can doppelganger out of this.) She told me I could be in the Thanksgiving Ballet too, if I wanted. I asked who I would play in it, thinking maybe a pilgrim or something. "Hmm. Maybe a Thanksgiving bag, or something?" I politely declined.

In which Flat Mindy meets the baby.

The boys thought flat Mindy was riding baby Sam. She's clearly just hanging out with him.

Also, Flat Mindy should never cross her own timeline.  Looks like it may be the theme of the next Christmas special, guest starring snowman Jon!

Halloween!

Ellie and Charlie were sorry to hear that Real Mindy didn't get to participate in many festivities for Halloween, so they thought Flat Mindy should at least get to dress up.

Ellie went as Princess Anna from Frozen, so Charlie was going to be Olaf. But when I was getting Ellie's costume out of the bag, Charlie saw the blue shiny fabric on the skirt and thought it was a cape. His face lit up and he said, "A superhero? A superhero costume for Charlie?" He would have been a great Olaf, and would have been a good sport about it, but he was just so excited, I thought we better find a superhero costume for him. So it turns out neither of them had a sidekick for their costumes. Luckily, Flat Mindy was happy to oblige both of them.

Can't have Batman without Robin.

Sorry, should have used something darker than colored pencil for the costume. But Flat Mindy wore it well.

And I do think she made quite a good Olaf. Ellie was delighted.

Not bad. Let us know if you want one too, Real Mindy.

Thanks for helping us celebrate Halloween. We had lots of fun!

Mid-Singles Conference

Flat Mindy was interested in having some awkward social interactions, so we headed to St. George to visit my friend Heather and attend the Mid-Singles conference.  

Highlights of the conference included:

LDS stand up commedians:

Rock climbing:

 (Flat Mindy has some questionable belay techniques...)

Prophesy Wall 

Driving:

(Flat Mindy doesn't have her license yet, so she can't drive without an approved adult)

Fancy seven course dinner:

(I don't care for shrimp, so Flat Mindy graciously ate mine)

I think it was a lovely time overall.  Not everyone was aware of Flat Mindy's presence, but it made for fun conversation with those she met and people had great ideas for pictures, I just didn't get to all of them!

I look forward to her Halloween adventures (of which she will have none in Springville since the plan here is to pretend I'm not home).

Sometimes I accidentally leave flat Mindy in the car… So this post is more for all of you who don't have Facebook that I am trying to convince to come to the Utah desert or at least let me bring your children!

Flat Mindy and I thought this sign was interesting - do you think it's for two different people or are the sheriff and attorney one and the same?!

The parks and rec bus is pretty exciting! 

About a quarter mile into the hike there is a railroad crossing.

I want to ride the train that comes through this canyon!

Since I left Flat Mindy in the car in my rush to get on the trail before it got too dark, I had to rely on selfies.

Just a little help where the trail gets narrow.

The cairns are strategically placed since the trail isn't obvious on the rocky surface.  And in case you miss this one...

There are plenty more behind it to make sure you don't get lost!

You don't have to hike in the parks to find amazing rock formations!  This is about a mile in.

More safety precautions on the trail!

A ladder for your convenience.

Corona Arch.  The trail goes through the arch, but this is my evidence to any concerned parents that I do make good choices hiking and stuck to my set turnaround time based on daylight.

Obligatory cheesy photo with an arch.  Again, since Flat Mindy wasn't there to take it, I had to rely on a selfie...

Sunset on the hike out.

Moab has amazing sushi - who knew???

Seriously, I did mean to take Flat Mindy on my adventures.  And I still wanted to post because I forgot how amazing the Utah desert is and I know most of the family has not spent time in Moab.  I kept thinking how fun it would be to take nieces and nephews on hikes there and to get gelato on Main Street, so figured I would shamelessly plug it as a future destination for anyone considering coming to Utah.  Or you come as far as Draper or Springville and I will take your kids the rest of the way!  With Flat or Actual Mindy!!

Preschool and Pumpkins

Finally, finally, preschool started for us. It was a long wait. After Flat Mindy's educational pursuits in Twin Falls were so unsuccessful, we thought maybe she could learn a thing or two at the open house for the kids' preschool.

First priority: dress-ups. Flat Mindy and Ellie both did really well at this one.

They found Ellie's cubbie (which Ellie pronounces "cuvvy") on our way out of the classroom. Ellie is blocking her name, so you can only see the name for the other class.

We had to hurry over to Charlie's classroom since their open house times overlapped. He was super excited to show Flat Mindy all around Toddler Lab (or "Tuggler Lab," as Ellie calls it, no matter how often we tell her otherwise). Charlie and Mindy spent some time "doing colors," lining them up carefully one at a time, rolling them over, lining them up again. I think the kid next to Charlie thought Charlie and Mindy didn't really know how to color. He just isn't aware of the many ways of playing with crayons, I guess.

Ellie, being the pro at preschool wanted to show Charlie everything. Here they are rocking in the boat see-saw. I couldn't get a picture without one of them having a blurry face. Sorry. I really liked Charlie's expression in this one. And luckily, Flat Mindy did not get sea sick.

Ellie was excited to see the playground again. Flat Mindy was sort of "Meh" about it, apparently.

And a perspective shot. Ellie really liked the picture where Hannah looked little and Mindy looked big, and asked if we could do one of those. I only stood on the other side of the sidewalk, though, because I didn't want to go out in the parking lot.

Going to preschool sure does wear everyone out. The kids like to relax on the new porch swing these days, while the weather is still nice.

It suddenly dawned on them that Flat Mindy could fall through the slats, and they became a little concerned.

Charlie took her to see the pumpkins instead. Totally safe now with the giant cat head and ghost pirate. Good thinking, Charlie.

So glad Flat Mindy could come along as we've been getting into fall. It's been fun.

Homecoming

Hannah allowed Mindy to take some pictures with her Homecoming date, Ty. However, Mindy was not allowed to accompany her to the corn maze, dinner at Olive Garden, the dance, or cinnamon rolls afterward. 

The last picture is pretty dark. here is a brighter yet creepier one with glowing eyes.

Side note

I was eating Kashi cereal with almond coconut milk this morning.  Ian wanted some and ate several spoonfuls.  He also made sure Flat Mindy got some, too.

Corn Belly's and Conference

First order of business at Corn Belly's is always the giant rocking chair. Just the right size for four boys and a Bindy Doll.

 This is where we put Tommy when he's not listening...

 We had to ride the wooden school bus.  Tommy made sure Mindy had a great seat.

 Jon took Mindy on a little cow train ride.  She loved it!

 Ian buried her in corn!

 Everybody buried Tommy in corn...

 And don't forget Jon!

Mindy loved the Animal Kingdom themed pumpkins.

 Ian couldn't get enough of the band.  He was even singing along...

We took lots of walks between conference sessions.  Ben found a statue and imitated it.

Tommy found a friend to read books with.

 And Ian finished the day sharing cookies with Bindy Doll.