School Talent Show 2019

Yesterday, the kids' school had its annual talent show, which is part of Catholic Schools Week, and what a show it was! The show is always on Student Appreciation Day, which this year, was their "crazy clothes day", too. Mix and match those patterns, my loves! MIX AND MATCH!

As you may recall, dear readers, that for past shows, our children have demonstrated such talents as singing while doing a headstand, whistling, making banana bread, and doing a stand-up comedy routine with a puppet. This year, Conor opted to demonstrated how to make a few balloon sculptures and Annika (pre-broken arm) planned to do a little Irish dancing). Once we got word that Annika would be able to avoid surgery on her arm (wooo hooo!!!), we recruited her to be Conor's assistant for his routine. Ta da!!

Conor (with a little guidance from home and with OK from his principal) opted to make a balloon heart and two different swords. He practiced very hard on his creations (the hills of balloon corpses left scattered around our home is a testament to his practice!) and what he could say during his act. 

When it came time for them to take the stage, the kids were amazing!! Conor adeptly created the heart and amazed all of the kids in the audience. (His deadpan instructions were probably the piece de resistance of the routine, if I'm being 100% honest.!! Without trying to, Conor embodied the comedian Steven Wright to a T.) Conor then moved on to the more difficult of the two swords (the trident sword) and really showed how much poise he has ... and Annika provided a great deal of moral support. We prepped way more balloons than we thought he'd need, but he wound up needing every one of those balloons because more than ever before popped during the sculpting process. Much to Conor's credit, the popping balloons didn't phase him or ruffle his feathers. He simply tossed the popped balloons aside and started over. Meanwhile, Annika would lean in to the mic to explain that "even if a balloon pops, that's ok! Just try again. It just gives you more practice!"

After quite a few attempts, Conor conquered his trident sword and (out of a sense of generosity?) opted to throw it to the audience, which basically created a mob that surged for the stage. As the the teachers jumped in and got the crowd back to their seats, the kids were still on stage with Conor at the mic saying "No! No! I'm not done yet!" (By this point, I was shaking with laughter... tears streaming down my face!)

He finished his next sword and, apparently not learning from the first time, also threw it into the crowd .... creating another balloon-focused mob rush toward the stage. The teacher, once again, jumped into defensive mode and got the kids wrangled and back under control. I'm pretty sure my laughter subsided around 10 minutes later after the last acts wrapped up. (Best ab workout ever!)

We are incredibly proud of our kids for having the courage to stand on stage in front of their entire school. They had poise, charisma, humor, and a great rapport. 

To our sweet performers, you two did a fantastic job!! We love you and are impressed by your bravery and love your creativity!