FRODO SEVEN : A Nice Surprise

So, as I sit down at the computer tonight, I have enough blog topics to keep me busy until the new year. I consider that a blessing--frustrating though because I know I'll never get to them all. I'm going to start by telling you about something that happened last night that really made our week.
A few weeks ago, Chris found out that he would be traveling to Seattle the first week in December. He has been traveling quite a bit with his new job--the one that is allowing us to move to Virginia--eventually. Because of all of his trips overseas, Chris has been racking up frequent flyer miles and has been looking for an opportunity for a weekend away for the two of us. Interestingly, in the course of my research for Culture Day, I came across information about a traveling Picasso exhibit that will be in Seattle during Chris' trip. It's a special joint collection that is only coming to a few cities in the U.S. So between that and a special benefit concert being given by Mr. Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, we decided that a trip to Seattle would a be a great Christmas gift to each other. The way the benefit concert works is that the entire cost of the tickets can be donated to any charity on a specific list. We assumed the list would be narrow and favor liberal organizations. We were pleasantly surprised when we checked it out last night and were 100% wrong. Not only were organizations like The Arlington Catholic Herald and Catholic Hospice of Florida listed but we actually found the small crisis pregnancy center in Manassas, VA where my mom and I have volunteered. So now, we are going to hear Dave and Tim in a 2900 seat opera theatre and all of the money we paid for our tickets is going to help mothers and save babies. Oh--and we get the tax deduct too. I am incredibly impressed by Dave's generosity and respect for his fans. It blows me away really. I put "write Dave Matthews a thank you note" on my to-do list.
In other news--and in the pics that follow--Saturday morning, we surprised the kids with a trip to see Disney Princesses on Ice. The guessing where we were going may have been the best part. Chris kept them in suspense till the very last minute. It was great family fun.

Meeting Cinderella

I'm not a big fan of Ariel as my girls know well. I mean really--what's the take-away from her story? Be stubbornly disobedient and make a deal with the devil and you'll get a prince? I think a spanking would be more appropriate. And her poor father--first, a pitiful creature in the witch's garden and then having to turn his favorite daughter into a human and lose her forever. Not my idea of a happy ending. (And I didn't even get into her wardrobe issues...)