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Hi, I'm Annie.

Mother of 3,
spouse to G,
writer of things,
former batgirl,
sister,
daughter,
lucky friend,
and American
living in Australia.

Basic Joy = my attempt to document all of this life stuff, stubbornly looking for the joy in dailiness. 

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Mama, Ph.D.: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic LifeMountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the WorldThe Sweetness at the Bottom of the PieThe Island: A NovelThe PassageSecret Spaces of Childhood

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« Down to the Cod | Main | Confetti »
Sunday
Apr152012

An absurd little bird 

...is popping up to say cuckoo. Cuckoo! Cuckoo! This is me dipping my toe back into the blogging pond. Helloooooo! Anyone out there?

I've missed this, missed you.

The Sound of Music is in the air around here ever since Sam began his role as Friedrich, the oldest von Trapp boy, for his middle school musical not long ago. He rocked it. Plus, he was a true team player and all around good sport*.  Here are a few selected moments for the grandparents and others who asked. Please excuse the iphone video quality (and if only I had turned the camera the right way...).

Oh, and I want to give a shout out to Madi, our Maria, who was amazing.
Hard to believe that's a 13-year-old girl singing those notes. 

Listen carefully for a Friedrich solo at the end:

My mom and aunts loaned many of the dirndls shown here. Thank you!
Another Friedrich solo here:* 

 

*First, they gave him the high notes, which is not necessarily thrilling news for a 13-year-old boy. Sam has a pretty low speaking voice but he has a terrific ear and falsetto so they made him gave him the opportunity to use it. The director said that his favorite part of the whole play was when Sam did the octave jump for: Good night! (you can hear my chuckle and scattered applause on that last video if you listen closely).

Good sport item #2: They rented the sailor costumes from a theater and when they arrived one of the boys' outfits was too small for both of the boys. By a few years. Since the other (younger) boy was a little bigger width-wise, Sam got stuck with the small one. You'll see. There are some Winnie-the-Pooh moments.

Good sport item #3: Take a look at the play clothes made from curtains. They made floral suspenders and pinned them to their shirts. Tightly. He was, however, delighted that he escaped wearing lederhosen. You've got to draw the line somewhere.

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Reader Comments (7)

bravo! that high note was impressive! I'm a little jealous that they got to do Sound of Music. Such a great musical. My boys are doing Schoolhouse Rock in 2 weeks. Fun and nostalgic to hear those songs, but not quite the same as Sound of Music...

04.16.2012 | Unregistered Commentersevensmiles

Oh, that goodbye was fantastic!!!! He is awesome. What a great kid there, mama.

04.17.2012 | Unregistered CommenterChristie

P.S. I'm glad you're back. I missed you.

04.17.2012 | Unregistered CommenterChristie

Oh how wonderful! That girl really CAN sing. Amazing.

04.17.2012 | Unregistered CommenterRochelle

Spot on Sam!!! Excellent and I'm sure you were a tad teary eyed Annie. PS We sold the house. CLosing date June21st. YEAH!!! :)

04.17.2012 | Unregistered CommenterLiz

I love it! Sam's octave leap was just crystal-clear. (I was going to say 'graceful' or 'beautiful', but 13-year-old boy ears probably don't want to hear that!)

04.17.2012 | Unregistered CommenterMatt

i am always desperately envious of people who can sing. even 13 year old boys with falsettos. this was a really nice production... it's always a relief when a high school group actually sings on key. you can breathe that sigh of relief and enjoy the show.

04.18.2012 | Unregistered Commenterandrea

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