This afternoon we went to the SANCA Benefit show at the Moisture Festival... saw some amazing circus acts and ate giant pretzels.

The benefit is for my job's scholarship program. I don't talk much about my job on the blog but it is a really really cool place. The show highlighted our instructors' talents and our gifted students' talents, but what I love most about the school is that it's a place where everyone can have fun and improve their skills and feel proud of what they do; there is no competition in circus. Sophia was really uncomfortable on the aerial equipment when she first started taking circus classes and now she gets up on the trapeze and stands up and stands on one foot! She gets to conquer fears! It's great - I wish I had circus in my life as a kid.










































Bedtime tonight:
So our ritual is:
pjs, brush teeth, pick out 2 books each, read, tuck into bed. Tuck into bed awhile back became a fun imagination moment as each girl got to pick out a thing to be as a way of getting into bed. It started with flying baby owl, bat, ladybug, and then morphed into balloon (blow up, float and suddenly lose all air (make raspberries and dramatically lunge around the room) and plop into bed, and Sophia's latest craze it to be a rock climber to get into bed (climbing on one of us at her ladder as if we are rocks). Stella mostly doesn't care.
Tonight after everyone was in bed (phia had rock climber her way up) Stella decided she wanted to be a flying monster (we read It's a Monster Party before tuck) so I got her out of bed and flew her around the room. Of course then Sophia wanted it too and Jeff flew her around the room. I was finishing our third round of 'good nights' when I heard Stella say that she wanted to be a FARTING CAT. Jeff said, "sorry we have one of those already". I nearly peed my pants.

AND then finally they were tucked in, I came downstairs, turned on the monitor - heard ruckus and then Jeff talking to them and then clearly Phia was needing to pee and then there was a volley of "Hi" back and forth: Stella must have declared that she too needed to pee and she sits on the potty in the hall while Sophia sits on the toilet.

Tucked in for the second time, overheard on the monitor, telling each other to be quiet.
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
Phia: "Stella, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!"
Stella: "Phia be quiet I'm listening to the radio!"
(there are times that I -or Jeff- actually try to hear NPR... apparently Stella wants to listen to the Says You show on NPR too!)

I go upstairs and tell them that it's time to be quiet.
Now Stella is babbling away and I can clearly hear on the monitor that Sophia is shhh-ing her.

Phia was complaining that this part of her and that part of her were hurting so we were shooting for an early bedtime tonight. HA!