Pageant Week

Well, as usual, it is late so this will be brief. We had an amazing, yet exhausting week in Bath, NC last week, preparing and performing in the Promised Land pageant. The pageant traces one family's history and struggles from the revolutionary war (battle Guilford County, NC) to the church history events in Missouri, Nauvoo, and the trek west with the Mormon pioneers. I play Elizabeth Patrick Taylor, AKA my hero. Bath itself has two claims to fame, it's NC's oldest town, established 1710, and Blackbeard used to dock and live here, between robbings, plunderings, and killings. However, not much has happened in Bath since then, but we still love spending our week there. I usually pull the plug for the kids....no "screens" of any kind for the entire week, and it's a great step back in time for us. They play in the dirt, dig for shark teeth, and play with other LDS kids their age, all day long, which is something they never get to do here in Raleigh.

Mason was tired this night. He complained a lot, but when I mildly suggested maybe we should take a year off next year and not do the pageant, he was totally shocked that I would even mention it and protested vehemently. He assured me that loved the whole experience.
These are some tiki hats they got at lunch one day. That was a fun, new thing...each day the lunch (which was catered in and was really GREAT food!) had a different theme. This day was Book of Mormon day, so there was sort of a South American feel, with Mexican food for lunch, and cool decorations.
Here are the kids in their costumes....Samuel and Mason as Nephites and Lucy in the Colonial era. Lucy loves that pose, you'll see...
This is kind of how Samuel looked when I told him that we have to stay for TWO dress rehearsals. Yes, two! We didn't finish until after 1:30am Thursday night.
Closeup of Samuel....when I asked him if he enjoyed the pageant he replied, "Not really." I asked him what might have made it better for him, and he said, "I wish I could have found more shark teeth." Some kids have simple needs.
Here is a cool rainbow, actually a double rainbow if you look close.
Another beautiful sunset.
And another.
Here we are outside the Ruritan, a multi-purpose type building where we met for lunch and lots of daytime rehearsals. The kids started really hating this place by the end of the week, but to me it was a lifesaver...we rehearsed here during the hottest part of the day. Much better than sweating it out, outside.
Amazing sky. I think any sailor seeing this might need to be sedated, or he may have cardiac arrest from sheer "DELIGHT."
I had tons of help from the cast, especially with Lizzy. I was really nervous this year that something might happen to my little Blue Eyes, but I'm so grateful that we got through the week unscathed.
Lucy and her little visor.
Pretty Lucy, closeup.
I love this picture of Lucy and her best little pageant friend Lily. They have been friends for the past three years, but we really only see them at the pageant since they live kind of far from us.

Angel face.
Cute girl. So hot and sweaty.
Lizzy loves Gatorade, and always knew which jug had it and which had plain water. She drank her weight in it about every day. And all those trips to the outdoor bathrooms were so much fun, too.

Eess ma shoo! Ma shoo!
Cute kids in costumes.
Here's us dishing up at lunch.
Here we are gathering at the ampitheater. I love the setting and the size of this theater, it couldn't be more perfect for our cast size, about 150 in all.
One more amazing Bath sunset.