The Nutcracker

Last week I took Aly and her friend to see The Nutcracker. The year before I had taken Aly to see it in San Jose and she absolutely loved it! She talked about it all year and wanted to go this year too! I wasn't sure if we would be able to go since I was so sick with the pregnancy but when I started feeling better I purchased tickets. I purchased 3 tickets hoping to take KK as she had been wanting to go too!

A week or so before The Nutcracker we went to the movies to see The Princess and the Frog. KK could not sit through this movie so I knew there was no way she could sit through a ballet. So I decided it would be best to invite Aly's friend Maya.

I didn't tell Aly about it until we were in the car headed to pick up Maya. I didn't want to tell her any earlier because it would hurt KK's feelings to know that we were going and she wasn't. When we were in the car I let Aly know where we were going and why I kept it a secret. I asked her not to brag about it in front of KK when we got home later as it would hurt her feelings.

So we left our house at 10:00 a.m. to go pick up Maya. We picked her up and headed to Round Table Pizza for their all you can eat lunch special. I don't know why but I am craving Round Table practically everyday! One week I ate there 3 times and was not even getting tired of it! Plus I knew the girls would eat pizza so it was an easy decision. They had a great time having lunch together. Next it was off to the Nutcracker!

We were about 20 minutes away from the Theatre and had 50 minutes to get there. I thought for sure that would be plenty of time. I was so wrong! I made the mistake of listening to my navigation system and taking the 16th street exit. This exit was backed up to the freeway--this should have been clue number 1! I am just not familiar with downtown so I though I better just listen to the navigation system. Due to all the traffic getting off the freeway and all the lights down on 16th street and the backup, we had ten minutes to get from the parking garage to the show which was three blocks away! I decided we better do a light jog to ensure we got their on time. Here I am, pregnant lady holding two 6 year olds hands jogging down the street in our nice clothing! I bet people were laughing at us! The girls thought it was funny. You know the ballet, if you don't get there on time you have to wait until intermission!

The girls were absolutely perfect during the show! They had amazing theatre manners and didn't talk at all. They loved watching the snowflake kingdom part. It was definitely different than the San Jose Performance. The Sacramento performance uses 500 children so it is very child centered. The San Jose performances uses mainly adults except for the gift opening part and the mice part.

Aly and I decided despite how cute it was with all of the children in the show, we liked San Jose's version 10x better! They used far more scenery changes, their dancing was more technical, and they did a better job telling the story! It was much more clear what was happening. So next year, if baby can handle Terry babysitting, we may see the Nutcracker in San Jose and see a special shortened version which is only an hour lone. This way KK can join us and should be able to handle it. Plus if she makes a little noise it is to be expected since it is a children's matinee.