Star of Wonder

Last weekend we were invited by my sister-in-law and Brother to join them in going to Phoenix First Assembly's annual Star of Wonder Christmas Show. A friend of hers from work was in the show and she thought it would be neat to go and see it. So being that it's free she extended the invitation out to our whole family. My parents, and my family, along with my aunt and her family had went last year for the very first time and LOVED the show. So I for one was excited to go again. Plus this time the kids are older so I knew they would enjoy it more.

So we rounded up our crowd, my family, my brother's family, my sister and nephew, and my Aunt Kika and cousin Paula. (Yes, my parents bailed last minute... fun suckers!) We had planned on going to the 3pm showing. Which meant they started letting the general admissions in at 2pm for seats. We got there like right at 2... and it was packed full. Not an empty seat... and with our crowd we just didn't fit. We deliberated sitting in the aisles, standing in the back, and going home. Well I overheard a man telling some lady that their last and final show was at 7pm and that doors would open at 6pm. So I relayed the info to my sister in law and since she lives not to far from the church we decided to go to her house and come back super early to wait in line and get us some seats!

We ended up going an hour before they opened the doors. It was freezing and we were all bundled up. The kids started to lose patience so we took them to see Santa while my brother held our place in line. They were all excited to sit with Santa and Mrs. Claus for a picture... all except for Alayna that is. Not unusual. She was so embarrassed to go over by him. I literally had to push her into the picture.

Finally at 6pm we were let inside. We found some nosebleed seats on the balcony (same exactly place we sat last year but except for the front row... we sat in the last row)... and we gathered our herd and took up the entire row. Then we had to wait another hour before the show even started. Now the kids were more confined and WE were starting to lose our patience. And why did it have to be the 3 oldest girls to cause all the problems? Shouldn't they behave because their older. The 5 little kids did a much better job! Ok maybe not Ducky. My 3 kids behaved so well I was so proud of them. I only had to ask Diego to keep his voice down like twice... but that's because he scream talks when he gets excited. Luckily I always come OVERprepared and I packed like 10 granola bars, a bag of goldfish, gummy snack, and cookies for all the kids. And that bought us some quiet time for like 10 minutes.

But the show was just as amazing as last year. I had already seen it and knew the whole story line... and everything was pretty much exactly the same... but it was great! They do something that appeals to everyone. It's not only a play, but a musical as well. And they include songs like traditional Christmas carols, some 70's, some Bing Crosby, some High School Musical, and some hip hop step music. It's really a good collaboration of music and styles and stories and songs... mixed in with some ballet, cirque du so lei, laser lights, fireworks, and dance. The only difference beside (obviously) different people playing some of the characters. Was that last year they did a medley of high school musical songs in one of the scenes... it was 3 songs... and this year they did 1 High School Musical, 1 Hannah Montana, and 1 Jonas Brothers. The kids went WILD and Alayna was star struck... she thought it was the real Hannah and she's a BIG fan.

I was amazed to see how into it Alayna was. She got tired halfway through and wanted to go to sleep but she kept her eyes open. She paid a lot of attention to details. After the show on our quiet drive home, I asked her what her favorite part was... thinking for sure she'd say Hannah Montana... and she said... the Ballerinas. Then I asked her why. She said because they were so pretty with their dresses and they did an arabesque. I was in AWE that she said arabesque. I couldn't figure out how she knew that! Diego informed me that it was probably the show Little Einsteins on the Disney Channel. One of the character is a ballerina and she uses a lot of ballet terminology.

So here's some pictures:

And a video:

I figured I'd post the High School Musical Section from last year. (This year I couldn't film with a baby in my arms... it was hard enough taking pictures) Cuz remember this year it was... High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and Jonas Brothers. I really wish I would have known or I would have been ready to film.

So we ended up watching the last and final performance of the season. But they do this show every year. And if you want better seats you can actually purchase the tickets. (Which we're doing next year) but General admission isn't all that bad. Check it out! It really great for families, Kids, Teens, or even on a date. I encourage you to catch a show next year!