Acting! Genius!

There are no small roles, only small actors. I think my Trueby may have rocked both today. If you haven't seen a Missoula Children's Theater production yet, get yourself to one. Aces. They roll in on Monday, audition and cast the roles, and Saturday...boomski! A whole freakin play! The Trube loves it, she's been looking forward to this week since early July.

 The play this time was Snow White and my girl (the small actor)  was cast as a skunk (the small role.) Seriously the cutest thing on legs.

  I know my bias is so staggering that I would probably campaign her for a Tony, but really...look at the cheeks! She had a lovely time. They run on and off stage, have a few songs and a couple lines. Love it. There were just under 60 kids and they did two shows. Aunt Jessica and cousin Leila came up to see the matinee which was nutty exciting.

Super fun to watch Leila's eyes grow ginormous with all the weird lighting, costumes and people yelling on stage. She dug it. What a happy baby! Between shows we went to dinner and the kiddo got to explain to all the servers why she was wearing face paint. Added bragging bonus!

 

 So she doesn't get a Tony, but she was totally content with some diva flowers and ice cream at Mallard's afterward. She's a star I tells ya!

Road Rash

She finally let me take a picture! Kinda had to trick her a little bit though. So, Sunday night there was a giant commotion of screaming and crashing and burning rubber...well, not that last, but still. The Trube laid herself out on her bike, face first and skidding on asphalt, and good lord what a mess! Her buddy had been riding behind her and went down in the wreckage but only hit palms and knees. My girl came in so bloody is was like a horror movie. Her lips are all cut up inside, front tooth knocked loose, elbow and knee are literally oozing through the super giant band aids we had to go buy to cover the massive skin grafts. It was so awful! She's still gimping and stiff but recovering. I've been DYING to take pictures but she wasn't having it. She's totally embarrassed that her face looked like ground beef. This is bugging her a lot because today she went to daycamp and she said everyone is going to ask what happened and she'll be embarrassed by all the attention and feel bad. So I suggested we make a T-shirt she can wear to explain it, and that way no one will need to ask. She loved the idea and I got to take a picture of the shirt without her cursing my camera! Win win!

 

I'm Unable to Bash a Squirrel in the Head With a Shovel

This weekend I was helping the Trube get her bike into the basement when we found a squirrel laying in the grass, panting but otherwise motionless. Our cat was poised above it with, I swear, a smirk on his face. There were two largish puncture marks in the squirrel's sides and it clearly couldn't move, I'm assuming it's spine had been snapped. Of course my girl is all sympathy and wants to help but doesn't know how. I'm equally clueless. Worried what she'll think I toss out the possible, though wildly unlikely, scenario that a dog got it, using the size of the holes to add weight to my conjecture. "No, Ringo couldn't make holes that big. His mouth is too small."
"Well, what dog was in our yard, Mom?"
"You know, I bet a dog got it in the woods, and it managed to get away and crawled into our yard." She's skeptical, but let's it pass in favor of the more pressing question, what are we going to do? I go to the basement and get the shovel, but there is just no way I can pull it off. Instead, I cravenly scoop it's totally limp body onto the shovel and tell my sweet kid that we're going to put him in the woods so his family can see him. She's all for it!
I'm sure he isn't suffering, he can't be able to feel anything, and I simply don't have it in me to try and brain him in front of my daughter while he's laying there with his little black eyes staring at me and his sides heaving in and out. It was horrible.
When we went to pick up Gordon for dinner and told him about it, he asked if we'd smacked him in the head and True threw her hands to her mouth in horror and gasped, "NO! Why?!" I explained it to her, but can only imagine if she'd actually seen me try and do it. As it happens, I'm a coward and my kid thinks the squirrel visited with his family before closing his eyes and drifting off to squirrel heaven.