The Daily Hailey

Well, friends, that is a wrap for Frozen Jr!!!
The kids put on three performances – Thursday evening, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening.

A large crew of us attended on opening night. By our “crew” I mean Brady and I and our kids. Cher. Tom and Rae. And the Dahlsjos, who drove two hours to see it 💜

We REALLY missed my mom, and I know she was very sad to miss this all, as well 💜 No bad feelings, mama. You’ll catch the next one 😘

Opening night was positively incredible. My Laela girl had been nervous as she left the house. Not bad nervous. Excited nervous. But still nervous, haha!

I reassured her that she would likely feel nervous until she was actually on the stage, in front of the crowd, and the play has begun. At that point, it just flows.

And it did 🥰 Laela scored a place in the very first scene, singing the opener. She stood tall and faces the audience with confidence. I saw her see me. She smiled and then averted her gaze and focused on the job at hand.

So naturally, I cried. I was overwhelmed with pride for her! She either had shed her nerves, or she just faked it and made it!!!

Laela played a few smaller roles in this production. She was in Oakens family. She was part of the hidden folk. And she was a guest at the coronation. She was granted two solo lines in her songs, which she was both completely thrilled about, but equally as nervous.

Her first line, was was given a mic to wear, and she aced her like. The key, the timing, the confidence. Her second line, she didn’t have a mic, and she stepped forward and sang loudly and confidently, again, crushing the music part of it. I just cried. It was unreal how natural she was at being on stage!

Production one ended with bows, including all the background workers running out front as well. Dekker was on the stage crew team, and though it was not the role he had hoped for, he was beaming, and clearly having SUCH a good time!!!

Pictures during the play with strictly prohibited, but the fast came into the crowd afterwards to greet their guests. It was AWESOME.

I couldn’t not go again 😅 Brady and I worked super hard Saturday afternoon, and all the packing was done in enough time for me to go to the finale!

The dynamic between the premiere and the finale was evident. The kids were so much more comfortable on the stage. They were louder, and projected their voices stronger. Some of the bugs that come along with a first performance were worked out. And some kids just couldn’t control their giggles, which was terribly cute 💜 it was such a good performance!!!

Again, Laela found me right away. It helped that I got a front row seat!! Ack!!!

I got a little sneak peek at Dekker once also! Not all the backstage kids were so strict to the rules like Dekker is, and some of them were getting pretty visible. Or as Dekker would say, they were “stage happy.” At one point, I saw a member of stage crew step too far out onto the stage, and I saw half of Dekkers body as he reached around the kids waist and hauled him back behind the curtain 😅 It was such a Dekker move! Hahaha!

Needless to say, the children earned and received a big fat standing ovation. Rightfully so. They worked SO HARD, as did all the staff, parents, community members, etc. It was a giant group effort, and I am so so proud of my children for being part of it. I’m proud of all the children in it, don’t get me wrong. But it was a new stretch for my kids, and they chose to be involved in something big and new.

Dekker has grown through this experience by learning better how to work in a team, which is not his preferred method of getting things done. He had fun, and it showed. None of his friends signed up for the play, and he still did it, even though it was new and different. I loved that so much.

Laela has grown, as well, through doing Frozen. She learned a difference endurance than she had before. But most notably, she has come out of her shell and become a goofier, louder, singsongier, funnier little girl. She sings out loud and makes jokes and faces. She teases. It’s so so fun to watch her open up this way!

I’m very curious to see what happens in the years to come, but for now, I’m just terribly grateful for this experience for our kids. I loved theatre as a child, and while I had no intention of pushing anyone into anything just based on what I enjoyed as a kid, it does thrill my heart to see my two oldest testing the waters 💜

Thank you Lord for the opportunities You give us.