Since We Last Spoke...

Sunday afternoon is a great time to do a little Blogging. Ready to finish off 2018 and move on to 2019. 

This last Friday we had our last date night for 2018. This time we drove to Florence, Kentucky to have dinner at City Barbeque. So good. This we drove on into Cincinnati to the U.S. Bank Arena where we would watch the Cirque du Soleil show titled Crystal. This program blended all the athletics and magic that is Cirque du Soleil with the athletics and grace of ice skating. We were very curious as to how they would blend these two things. I can just report that this was an exceptional show. We had seats on Row A which is closest to the rink so our view was super.

A little bit of history on the importance of the next picture. When I was a little girl, my Mother's Mother had a plastic tree that you put gumdrops on the ends of the branches at Christmas. I loved the tree and remembered it as being huge. Many years later my Mother gave me her Mother's gumdrop tree. I was surprised that it was only about 9 inches high. It seems so big to me as a little kid. Eventually the plastic broke and I was heartbroken. I went on an Internet search and found a metal tree that was larger than my Grandmother's tree but the same idea. I purchased several and kept one for myself, giving the others to my kids. They have put everything on their trees from cheerios to grapes to whatever. This year I set mine out and didn't put anything on it. I seem to be the only eating the gumdrops and I didn't need them but having the tree out was important to me. When Claude and I looked at the staging on the ice before the show began, what did I see but an enormous gumdrop tree right in the middle of the ice rink. I told Claude this was going to be a great performance if it started with a gumdrop tree in the middle of the ice. I took this picture and posted it on our family Facebook page for our kids to enjoy.  

The show started with some Cirque musicians playing for the audience as some of the Cirque skaters came out to skate. I really think this was how they did the warming up of the skaters. As always, they made this part fun for the audience. At one point a clown came out with a bucket full of snow balls. He would toss them into the audience. If someone caught one he would have them throw it back at him and he would try to catch it with the lid to the bucket. Great audience involvement. 

One of the things they did was an ice hockey game bit. It was so much fun. We just knew Drew, our grand son-in-law would have loved this part. They had ramps for the skaters to go up on and jump off. There were ramps on the big stage at the end of the ice and the hockey players would skate off them into the ice. It was amazing and so much fun to watch. Raelyn would have loved this 'Daddy Ice' part.

The performers did lots of the things you would expect a Cirque show to have from things on the ice to things in the air. This was the balancing chair act.  

Another bit of staging I found amazing was the crystal piano they rolled around on the ice while the man played it and the girl, "Crystal", performed on top of the piano, in her ice skates. How do they do that? 

The show was wonderful and we would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good Cirque du Soleil performance or watching ice skating. Such a fun last date for 2018.

Saturday morning we did some final things at City Hall. Claude is Mayor until Monday at midnight. He wanted to clear his desk and I wanted to take down the Christmas decorations one more time. We got the Warring Pavilion and noticed a young couple standing at the Sadieville sign. We parked as they were walking back to their car. We struck up a conversation with them and found out they were on their way to the Ark Encounter. They noticed a town named Sadieville on the map and came to see what it was because the young woman was named Sadie Cope. She wanted to see a town named after her name. She had recently become engaged to Justin Irvine and they were from Manhattan, Kansas. This was just great fun. We shared with them about the Rosenwald School in Sadieville. They had never heard of these. Claude had his keys and we asked if they had time to go and see it. They were very happy to get that invite. We drove over and they toured the Rosenwald School. We share the connection between the Rosenwald School, the African-American's leaving Sadieville on the train that stopped here at that time and going to establish Nicodemus, Kansas. How amazing these two came with a connection to the name Sadie and the state of Kansas. 

Claude invited them to stop by City Hall and have a look at the original train depot. They were happy for the invite. They were very happy to see these pieces of history in Sadieville. We were happy they came off the Interstate to see what they could see. Such a good life lesson. Pause in the midst of all that commotion in life and see the neat things of which life is made. 

After Sadie and Justin left, we got to work accomplishing that for which we really went to City Hall to accomplish. When we finished and headed back to the Jeep, I started to laugh. Claude was curious as to what was so funny. I told him to look up on the very top of Warring Pavilion. Yep, somebody took somebody's winter hat with the ear flaps and put it on the very tip top of the Warring Pavilion. I posted on the Facebook page so someone might know where to find their hat. There is a lot of winter still ahead of us. So very funny. Claude said, "Teenagers will be teenagers!" If this is the worst they do, we are not in any real trouble. 

Claude took me to Hardee's for a bite to eat before we headed home. I would curl up on the love seat and crochet for the rest of our evening. I am working on an intricate baby afghan for the next great grandmonster. I have until May to get it done and, at this rate, I will need every bit of that time. I can truly feel the effect that crocheting is having on what is surely arthritis in my poor old hands. But, I shall persevere...one more time.

I shall close this post with some Raelyn pictures. We call Andie and Michael's children the Mini's because they are Mini versions of their parents. Me thinks Raelyn might be a Mini version of her Dad and her Mom.

First, Raelyn is like her Mom. Katelyn loves to read and is a strong advocate for books in her life and her child's. For Christmas we gave her a gift card to Barnes and Noble. This is Raelyn at Barnes and Noble with her Mom. Be still my heart!

Second, Raelyn loves the ice just like her hockey lovin' Dad, Drew. Today they took her to the ice rink. This is our soon to be 3 year old with that ice skate on her foot. She is one happy little girl. There is a picture of Raelyn and Drew in their ice skates and one of Raelyn in a car on the ice with Katelyn and Drew. What a fun family outing. Raelyn does love Daddy Ice.  

This is probably my last post for 2018. It has been a full year with lots of good things in it. Here is to filling 2019 with lots of good things and recording those memories in my Blog so I will remember them and have that record for my family. Happy New Year!!