The Rexburg Larsens: August 2012

Well, Maggie's 11 and in 6th grade, Sophie's 7 1/2 and in second, and Spencer is officially a kindergartener. Which means, duh duh duh dum, that all three of my children are gone to school every day! At least until Spencer gets home at 11 AM.

To prepare for the onset of the school schedule, my kids put themselves on a rigorous schedule since Monday morning. Wakeup at 7 AM, make beds, get dressed, eat breakfast, read scriptures, do chores. Wow. I didn't have to do anything! They were amazing, and it really made this morning easier as they were already on the schedule.

We celebrated the beginning of school by going bridge jumping up in Chester yesterday (to tire them out), doing pre-school pedicures last night, and eating pie with the Fransons. This morning we had the traditional neighborhood breakfast at the corner down the street; my Nutella crepes are in strong demand every year, and the kids look forward to this all summer. Everyone was excited - Spence and Sophie were jumping up and down with enthusiasm for the first day of school! bless'em. Maggie, as befits her years and wisdom, was more sedate in her ebullience, but she was still just a bit bouncy as her bus finally pulled up. And I only cried a little this year. I do love summer and hate to see it end! But new beginnings can provide new opportunities.

Spence and Ammon

Maggie sporting her new glasses. She has contacts too but we decided to go for the glasses today. And yes, that is the Festival team hair piece she's got on. It's gorgeous on her, and I may never have to curl her hair again. I can just clip in the curls!!!

Spencer and Parker the Ricks, sporting a mighty fine faux-hawk.

Sophie in her sparkle shoes and rock star hair do - yes I'm slowly learning how to do hair - with BFF Charlotte

Ew mom, don't hug me!

Sophie guiding Spence through his first official bus ride. She's such a good big sister!

So Soph and Spence had awesome first days, loved their teachers, loved school, loved everything. Maggie, well, didn't. She came home sobbing because when she got to school she wasn't on anyone's homeroom lists. She had to walk all over the school to find the principal who got her to her class. Then her locker would NOT open and the teachers had to unlock it with a key which made her so embarrassed. Her gym teacher told her her new shoes were not gym-worthy, and the choir teacher let them out late so she had to hurry to the bus and tripped on the way, scraping her elbow. So sad! So we gave her some loves, made her a smoothie while she got her homework done, and took her to Taco Bell where five tacos soon eased some of the pain. Then we topped it off with the long-awaited cupcake from the Cocoa Bean (yum!) and by head tickles at bedtime tonight she was all smiles. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow!

Two weeks. 28 dancers, including a fiddler and a couple of asthematics. 14 adults, including those with gluten intolerances, fibromyalgia, and a paralyzed stomach. A wonderful, crazy, hectic schedule. Lots of unknowns, lots of nerves. Big hopes. All realized. Fourteen incredible days of miracles, memories and magical moments.

I loved:

*watching the kids perform in front of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. The crowds loved it, and so did I! Though Keri King and I were cracking up when they did 80's a'capella at the Eiffel. That's one dance that kinda needs the music to produce the full effect. But they didn't let that daunt their energy!

*our mad, mad dash through Paris (RUN, everyone, RUN!) to get into Notre Dame before it closed. We didn't know it closed so early (6:45 PM), and from the Palais Royal Gary and I estimated that it was about 3-4 blocks away. Lesson learned - never listen to Gary and Mindy when distances are being discussed! It was actually about a mile and a half away. But we sprinted the whole thing, and almost all of the team made it in! Us slow pokes missed the first wave, but it all worked out. While walking around, waiting for the rest of the team to exit (and after my lame attempts to bribe the door guards failed), we found another line that would take the whole group to the top of the spires. Ya-bing! Trial is often accompanied by Opportunity.

Also, it gave me the idea for my new exercise web series that's going to make me millions: Paris, the Workout! Between climbing 700 Eiffel Tower stairs, speed walking through the Tuileries, our dash along the Seine to get to Notre Dame, then climbing those spires, you can lose a lot of weight in the City of Lights!

*Celebrating that I got next door neighbor and awesome friend Brenda out of the US and to France. She's never left the country before. It was time.

*Watching the kids' faces, above, as they looked at the shimmering Eiffel Tower, below.

*Eating French food. Esp. Nutella crepes.

*Loved being at a festival again - they are such unique places to learn, grow and share everything from your meals to your music to your faith! Opening and closing ceremonies were in Rodez, but every other day of the festival we were bussed out to outlying villages, to do a parade or street show, meet the mayor and exchange gifts, and perform in the evening. The festival was so pleased with our show, they decided have us end every show we performed in as the grand finale. A huge honor (though later we realized it was just because we helped put away the chairs... :-) ), but it did mean that our young little dancers were going on stage at 11 and 12 at night. Oh well - we can sleep when we get home, right? Our biggest thrill was the one night we got to do an all-American show, in Belmont where we stayed with our host families. Five encores, and they were still stomping for more. The night was marred just a little when Hannah had a huge asthma attack near the end, but again, we saw miracles as she had a blessing, some essential oils and her breather medicine, a walk in the cool air for an hour, and a good night's rest. The next day she was as good as new... or at least, pretended she was! Miracles!

Dancing in Arvieu - we all did line dances together, the Bulgarians, Arevieunois dancers and us. Then we taught them Ninja, Dip Dip Dip, and Bunny Bunny. Oh these crazy Americans, they're always doing strange (yet strangely entertaining) things!

*We liked all the teams, ten in all from different countries, but particularly enjoyed getting to know the Brazilians. They were lively, entertaining, and such eye candy! Plus they made us roll with laughter with their "I like your bangs" song. Long story. And we were deliriously tired by then which probably made it all the more funny at the time. But I'm still laughing.

*I loved watching Maggie on stage. She really struggled with the schedule, lack of sleep, and becoming "seaweed", adapting to any situation. But when it was time to perform, she did what she needed to do and was DYNAMITE on stage! It helps that she's the smallest and rather adorable, but her personality truly does shine when she dances. People always wanted to take their pictures with her after the show and would point her out. Technically she has plenty of room for improvement, but she's one of the best showmen we have.

*So grateful to the Festival for getting us off the beaten path to see things most Americans will never see, even well traveled ones. I love the Aveyron region. Conques, Rodez, Belmont, Roquefort, Chateau-le-Brousse, Arveiu...

Above and below, Rodez, home of the festival, and to Gary, who lived there for five months during his mission. He gave us the city tour and by the end of the week we were very familiar with its streets, laudromat (thanks Carole!!!), supermarket, cathedral (a blend of styles - so fascinating!), and shopping district where I got Maggie some school clothes.

Chateau le Brousse, above and below, which was just a pit stop we stopped when people got sick on the bus. If this place existed in the USA, it would be a national monument and treasure. Here it's just one of numerous little hidden villages with a crubling castle, charming corners, and scenery which made me almost cry with joy every time a new nook or vista became visible.

My new favorite village, Conques, is below. Didier our Bus Master knows all the good sites and took us there en route to the village we were performing at that day. Bless him. Again, words fail and photos lack the magic of this little town famous for its perfectly Romanesque cathedral and pilgrimage stopover on the Santiago del Compostella trail. I just want to retire here.

*thanks also to this experience for introducing us to and taking us into the homes of wonderful French people who helped change my opinion that most French people are unfriendly, stiff, and haughty. I've never met lovlier people than Didier, Marilyne, her brother Guillem (he loves Napoleon Dynamite!), Pauline, dear happy Anais, our host family the Lafoys (Clementine!) and the adorable groupie French girls who followed us to all our performances. Merci a tous! Je vous aime de tout mon coeur!

Anais, Didier, Pauline, Marilyne

Maggie and Anais, who was darling and cheery and emotional and very fun to be with. She wore the American bonnet we gave her the last two days of the festival.

Our host family - we love you!!!

* I loved the group of young people we took. They were so great! Friendly, funny, cheerful, spiritual, kind, no cattiness or mean-spiritedness at all. They loved and supported each other, and shared that love with everyone we met. They made people cry with their songs, and lifted their hearts with their smiles.

So many people asked me what made our group so happy and, well, luminous. I said the answer has two parts. Being American makes us industrious, optimistic, and confident. Being Mormons gives us knowledge of our divine heritage, a goal in life, direction to get us there, and hope for even better things to come. The kids shared the light of our gospel whereever they went just by being themselves. From our guides, to to Alain the Festival Chair, to Francois the Festival volunteer in Le Truel who couldn't get over how "sympathique" we were, the two sweet ladies who served us churros in Barcelona who cried when we sang to them... everyone was touched by our wonderful, strong, joyous Mormon dancers. We gave away numerous Books of Mormon and passalong cards, to people who really wanted them because they saw who we were and what we were about. Missionary work has never been so fun!

And yes, we do know how to have a good time. No drugs or alcohol needed when you're already high on life! And have crazy costumes at your disposal!

CONCLUSION: Did this team and this trip suck up my brains, my energy and six months of my life? Yes they did. Did I stress for weeks about flight prices, flaky travel agents, hair pieces, jackets, logos, tshirts, feeding crowds at super Saturday rehearsals, new pioneer costumes, last minute choreography, and delinquent tour payments? Yes. In fact, the day before we left on the trip I was so exhausted that I didn't care if I actually got to go on the trip or not - I was pretty beat. But in the end, I concluded that some things are worth it. The most demanding challenges pay high dividends. This trip was SO worth it. I am so so proud of what this group as a whole was able to accomplish.

oops I forgot something - Barcelona was a revelation to me! I fell in love with Gaudi, tile mosaics, and the Mediterranean all over again in visiting this lovely port city for the first time. The Sagrada Familia left me speechless - I was so overcome with the creativity and the novelty and the ambition and the zaniness of this rare and complex edifice. And so proud of the Barcelonans for investing in this unique vision on such a large scale! I've never seen anything like it - I could sit and ponder that building for weeks! They've been building it for over 100 years - 27 more to go!