Ooh la la

Last night, Andy I got our culture on and went to see Verdi's Aida. Neither one of us had been to the opera before so it was an exciting experience. There was so much to take in I feel like I am still processing it all. According to Wikipedia, here is a very brief synopsis:

Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return her feelings.

The story actually gets a lot more complicated than that but I have neither the time nor the patience to go through it here. Ask me about it next time I see you and I will bore you with all the details while you smile politely and pretend to listen.

Last night was a first for us so we learned a few things:

1) Aida is long. Loooonnnngggg. It started at 8 and ended at 11:45. (On a side note, I didn't have to pee the whole time we were there. Very unusual for me. They used to call me Tiny Tank in high school. Probably because I was still dehydrated from the night before, but that is another story.)

2) Do not go to the opera when you are very tired. Your husband might become dangerously close to falling asleep.

3) Dress up! Not everyone did. Come on, people, how often do you go to the opera?!

4) Cross your fingers there will be a screen with English subtitles; otherwise you will have no idea what the hell is going on.

5) And, last, but not least, preorder your intermission drink before the show starts so you don't have to wait in line at the bar!!!

Seriously, I really enjoyed the show and would love to go back again. I'd like to go see La boheme next year.

Wii are the champions!

The Guitars and Buffingtons challenged us to a Wii tournament. After several nail-biting games of Wii Mario Kart, Sam emerged the winner (His father and I are so proud!) and was awarded his very first trophy! It is now on display on a shelf in his room ("where Lily can't get it, right, Mom?") for all to enjoy and admire his Mario Kart prowess. Here is the little champ:

The Taylors come to town

Rachael, Will, and Claire came to visit us this weekend. It was so much fun! Friday we took the kids to The Center for Puppetry Arts, where we saw a puppet show called Rainforest Adventures. They really loved it. Even Lily sat (semi) still and watched quietly. Afterward we checked out the Jim Henson exhibit where they were able to recognize Big Bird and Ernie, Kermit the Frog, and Sid the Science Kid. We also saw some Fraggles (remember them?) and some other crazy cool puppets made by Henson. There were copies of his sketches everywhere so you can see how he envisioned the puppets and how they were operated as well. Really neat. We took home a Make Your Own Puppet Kit because we were too hungry to stay for the puppet making class.
Then we went to the The Varsity (What'll ya have? What'll ya have?) for lunch (along with every class on a field trip in the city of Atlanta). It was sooo crowded but the kids were really patient and finally got to eat.
When we got home, the kids made their margay cat puppets and put on a puppet show for us.


The kids and their puppets


Saturday we went to Piedmont Park for a picnic and to play on the playground. The weather was gorgeous and lots of families came out to enjoy the day too.


Claire and her crazy hair in the bouncy house!

Snooki, is that you?

Who needs a Bump It anyway?

Dunce