I’m glad we opted out of the Sunday swim meet session and got home Saturday. Leading into Thanksgiving week, I needed Sunday morning to regroup a little bit.
Ethan had to work at 7, so I ran him over there at 6:45. Ivan and Asher were up pretty early too because the World Cup was kicking off! Asher especially is super excited about this- he’s been talking about it for weeks. The Opening Ceremony was on, so I took my laptop upstairs and sat by them in the living room and half-watched, half did some stuff on the computer.
It’s being hosted in Qatar. The opening ceremony was beautifully done and a very interesting tribute to a region/ culture I really don’t know too much about.
Shortly after, the first game between Qatar and Ecuador started. The guys watched that, too. I had a bunch of misc stuff to do around the house so I went off to do that. After the game, Ivan and Asher left to go run a few errands, so I enjoyed a quiet house (for the last time for a while :)). My parents were arriving Sunday afternoon and would be here for most of Thanksgiving week, so I wanted to get things cleaned up, etc.
Sunday evening we had tickets for Come From Away downtown! Ever since the boys were little, we usually always try to go to some sort of professional theater or musical production as a family in the November-December timeframe. Sometimes it’s holiday related (we’ve done The Grinch, A Christmas Carol (multiple times- the kids love this one!), and even a performance of Handel’s Messiah). We have also done the Nutcracker once, too. (That’s kind of a tricky one, because it’s so beautiful, but also kind of…boring, for kids, in some parts.) Other years we have done non-holiday shows, like The Lion King.
I am happy that the boys have grown up being exposed to musicals and theater and the like. Now at their ages, I feel like they both truly enjoy and appreciate it all.
We made it through about 2/3 of the book The Day the World Came to Town before the show. (The book the musical is based on.) It was very good! We just ran out of time.
I don’t feel anything was lost by not quite finishing the book. I also don’t think reading the book was necessary to enjoy the show, but I’m really glad we did. Knowing the storyline of a play or musical in advance just helps fill out the context a LOT better, especially for the kids, I think. I always make a point to read the book or watch the movie of things, if possible. We also always try to read books about places we will visit whenever we travel! 🙂
I love snapping a few family photos at these events- a little timestamp of our yearly tradition. 🙂
The show itself was GREAT! I loved it. Very different than many other Broadway musicals, but I felt like it really made the 9/11 story (and this very unique angle) just really come to life. I was rather mesmerized by it all. Apparently, it’s on Apple+? (Someone commented this the other day.) So if it’s not coming to your town any time soon, see if you can check it out on TV.
Downtown is festive this time of year, and cold. lol.
We stopped for a late bite to eat at a place on the near east side, which was not busy at all later on a Sunday night. We sat in the bar and the boys blew through many $1 bills’ worth of darts games. haha.
It was a great night!! Really fun.
The boys actually have this entire week off for Thanksgiving break. I think this is the first time they’ve had the full Monday- Friday off!! I’m kind of digging it, actually. It’s nice to have a bit more relaxed feel leading up to Thanksgiving.
Ethan has basketball practice Monday/Tuesday from 8:15-9:30 a.m. though, and he is working this evening for a while. Asher still has swim practice as well, so the week isn’t a TOTAL break. But it’s nice for them to be off, since my parents are in town. They don’t normally come quite this early before Thanksgiving, but with the show Sunday night, it didn’t make sense for them to come, go all the way home, and then turn around and come right back Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Extra family time- bonus! 🙂 ❤
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for the 2023 version of the Wonderland 222 planner/ notebook A5 combo being in stock when I ordered my new ones yesterday. I feel like I ordered earlier last year, but I remembered seeing that they ran out of stock soon after. I kind of forgot about it, and was nervous they might be sold out already or something when I logged on yesterday. Planning to stick with what I’ve been using- will be Year 3. I’m not a big fan of lots of change/ planner hopping, so for the foreseeable future, this system works fine for me. 🙂
GRATEFUL KAE 
This sounds so wonderful and festive and family centric! Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving week all together.
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What a lovely tradition. We used to go to see the Milwaukee Symphony play the Harry Potter movies every December, but we’re still not super comfortable being in crowded places, so we haven’t been for several years. Maybe next year we’ll bring it back!
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We went to a musical this weekend, too! Paul and I saw The Grinch on Sunday and it was just amazing. He loved it! And I did, too. I’d see it every year! Paul was so enthusiastic about the whole thing so it was such a fun experience.
I re-ordered the W222, too, but I think I ordered it way back in like August! I like ordering early for some reason. I won’t move into it until January even though it has December in it, I think.
My husband’s coworker and his family are in Qatar for the first 7-10 days of the world cup. But get this – when he got his hotel reservation, he had to fax over a copy of his marriage certificate in order to share a room w/ his wife!
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That’s crazy about the hotel! They definitely have some, uh, different customs over there…
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This looks SO fun. And I love everyone all dressed up to go see a show. It really elevates the experience. Your coat looks so chic and lovely. You look gorgeous and so happy.
I love being out after dark for shows, too. Somehow it just makes the whole evening feel magical?
I LOVE live theatre/musicals. John and I debated trying to get to NYC – just the two of us this winter – mainly to see a few more shows solo.
Glad you enjoyed the musical; I read the book, but haven’t seen it yet. Every review I’ve heard about it has been overwhelmingly positive.
My husband was in Barcelona a little over a week ago and brought our son back a Barcelona hat; which he is currently wearing, along with a Barcelona jersey! We are in World Cup mode over here.
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Yes, it’s so fun!! I feel like the whole world is so much more casual in general these days, so it’s kind of fun to at least dress up a little bit and feel like we’re going out for a “night on the town”. 🙂
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How awesome that you have a theatre tradition! I’m so glad you had a good time at Come From Away! I think one of the things I loved so much about that show is that the people onstage looked like… normal people. Like I see so many shows where everyone is clearly a Broadway singer/dancer/actor triple threat, and they all kind of have the same look, but Come From Away has such diversity onstage.
Such a great way to kick of Thanksgiving week with your family!
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Yes, I hadn’t really realized that, but it was really cool to see “normal looking people” as the leads. Obviously that fit the reality of the situation in this case, but it made the show unique, compared to other Broadway shows with glamorous looking people starring in them.
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what are the benefits of a planner than a regular notebook? do you feel restricted in what you can put on? I haven’t used a planner for a long time so I wonder if I shoud.
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For me, the main things I use the actual planner for are: the built in habit tracker, the calendar page (this is a huge difference versus a notebook- I am talking about the regular calendar with the squares, where I can list times and places we need to be), and the weekly pages, where I also list the boys’ practices, games, lesson times, etc., along with things I need to do that day. A notebook wouldn’t be able to capture all of that the same way, since the planner is pre-printed with the calendar boxes and the hours of the day (on the weekly page). I use the blank notebook as a journal mostly, where I write down things I did or what I ate or things like that.
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Thanks! Next time I go to the US I’ll order one to try.
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Ooh!! So much good in this post!
We also try and see a theatre show each festive season. This year we’re seeing Elf the Musical just before Christmas!
I would love to see Come From Away – I read and really enjoyed the book!
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We watched a little bit of the World Cup (so much upset, though), but my arrangement was nowhere near as cozy as yours in front of the fire place with a blanket 😉
And how fun you got go and see a show 🙂
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