We ventured into the unknown and decided to take our family's living-room and car-based on the road with just the two of us...and we wound up at the Fair Park Music Hall for a young professionals.
I guess it wasn't exactly a 'bad fit'...because you are young... and I'm a professional!
We had so much fun on our little evening together.
.. and we kinda crushed it on stage!
Or to put it this way: A fellow attendee, who just so happened to work at Broadway Dallas, told us later that when he saw us ask someone else to record our first duet said that he "knew we were gonna see. a. show!"
First we sang our go-to duet that we belt in the car and in the living room all the time: Suddenly Seymour!
Then, you sang "Think of Me" from Phantom...and had a surprise visit from the same attendee who sprinted down to his office for what was, as it turns out, a very valid "Cloak Emergency!"
Aidan, you were recognized by your teachers for your hard work at the Upper School Awards Ceremony!
Not just everyone won an award, I want you to know; and you were honored with two.
Now the categories are definitely important here, but more importantly is what these awards represent: you have worked so hard, and so diligently, with such a big heart, and an open mind.
You are committed to school and learning, and it shows!
We are So proud of you!
Mr. D., your STEAM teacher, said that YOU put in the work in STEAM and not many others do and that he's very proud of you!
Coach C. said that you put in the work hard every day and you're a great kid!
These are the two main lessons from Seussical and man are the whoppers that hit me right in the feels when I look back on your spring 2026 performance.
This is the play that we hadn’t really heard of and definitely hadn’t listened to any of the music from and then it quickly became some of our favorite music of all, with the most feels and chill inducing lines of all… Solla Sollew!! Anything’s possible! A person’s a person no matter how small!
This is the play that you, Julia, got call backs for nearly every role and you had to stay up late learning a million different songs on the night that our London family left for home…and you were convinced that you didn’t do well on any of them!
This is the play that mom taught you both the dance call back before auditions.
This is the play Aidan that had an opening for a big juicy role mid- production and you busted your butt on to learn and choreograph and audition for.
And… anything’s possible!
Julia, you got cast as the Cat in the Hat! The mercurial emcee; the nutty narrator; the impersonator. You channeled your Louis Armstrong, your zany Looney Too spirit, and you commanded the stage whether you were singing a solo, a duet with Jojo, holding down harmonies, or singing off stage. You also really got to do a lot of cool dancing and ‘magic tricks’ and you really just … sparkled! You were an amazing Cat in the Hat, and an amazing lead for this musical! Mrs Bonnie Jean came to see you and she was SOOO proud! Singing, dancing, acting… it’s no wonder that you won the ‘EVERYTHING’s possible’ award!
Aidan… you GOT THE PART! Your most substantive role to date with lines, monologues, and your first singing solo! You were General Genghis Kahn Schmitz… and you scare children out of their wits! You practiced so hard, taking lessons with Mr Coffin, taking your role so seriously even amongst a heavy classes at school. And you nailed it! You were so serious that you were funny! And seriously talented. Everyone was raving about how good and how funny you were! You channeled this silly drill Sergeant so well that you even won the ‘committed to the bit’ award! And don’t forget, you pulled double duty… working the curtains behind the scenes and also having a cameo as ‘Vlad Vladikoff’ the evil black bottomed eagle… you had one line as him and got huge laughs there too! Which just goes to show you… a person’s a person no matter how small! But I’ll never forget how after your song you held your hands high above your head and soaked in your victorious applause. THAT is a young man who can do anything!
You also made a lot of new friends with this one; since this play included a younger cast that joined you for the last week, you got to work with the littlest littles and … Julia… you even volunteered to help with them at rehearsal for one session. you gained some groupies with this play… all the little boys especially followed you around and looked up to you! And at the end of one of the shows a little young lady came up to you and said that you were her favorite part!
Aidan, you commanded your cadets with an iron fist and an open heart, and some of them became big fans of yours earning you lots of hugs and new stature as a senior statesman of EDA.
We are all so proud of both of you, and watching you shine and grow with each play makes me excited to see (oh) the places you’ll go!
Imagine this: after a long and fun week of road tripping across Texas and New Mexico, a family stands in the parking lot of a national park after sunset gazing toward the sky.
All together they see a shooting star race over their heads and through the sky in front of them until it ultimately disappears.
They can't see each other but look around any way to verify if they all saw what they think they saw...and if everyone else saw it too. One by one everyone comes back to earth and announces they saw the magical moment. They ALL saw the shooting star together. Some cheered; some leaped up and down with excitement. Some ran toward each other to hug and embrace and cement the love and amazement of this magical moment.
That family was us. We stood in the Carlsbad Caverns visitor center on the last night of our road trip before we headed home. And we saw the shooting star. together.
I didn't need to make a wish, because mine had already come true.
This was the best spring break...and our first major road trip... and one of our BEST vacations of of all time. I will cherish it forever!
From the mid-way point of Route 66 and slug bug ranch and feldman's fried steak. To hiking Palo Duro canyon in the cold mega wind (and almost getting lost). To eating at Big Tex's Ranch.
To exploring the mountain side and galleries of Santa Fe...to exploring the intersection of Victorian houses and weird dreaminess at Meow Wolf.
To the zany kitschiness of Roswell and the majesty of Carlsbad Caverns...
Hot tubbing on the roof and swimming in the pools with you Aidan; hiking to the cross of the martyrs with you Julia; sharing all these memories together with Mom, me, Aidan, and Julia...this road trip definitely lived up to New Mexico's state slogan...we entered a land of enchantment... and part of me never wants to leave :)
Julia, I LOVE singing in the car with you! One time when you were feeling blue, I suggested that we go drive around white rock lake and just sing Broadway together. You agreed. And we sang and sang and sang. We stopped singing when we came across the bald eagle hatching ground. And then we sang some more. And you said it was just what you needed! No one was feeling blue after that!
Other times, we've been singing and gotten thumbs up from other motorists with their windows down.
We sing as a whole family too, of course! Les Mis! Hercules! Something Rotten!
I really cherish singing with you :) One of our go-to's is Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.
One day after thrifting and comic book shopping we decided to record ourselves :) Not too bad!
Seymour may be Audrey's man suddenly.... but I'm always and forever your Dad and your biggest fan!
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme.... you know the rest.
This fall you both worked very hard at EDA in the production of Beauty and the Beast.
I know we say this every time, and since I'm writing this from the future I can definitely tell you we will... but this was one of our FAVORITE plays (musicals) that you all have put on.
Julia, you were Madame de la Grand Bouche- the enchanted dresser- and you literally disappeared into your role. This was the first time, for me anyway, that you became a true "actor"... Madame didn't have a lot of screen time, but when you were there, whether you had a line or not, you WERE Madame. You were 'face acting' even when you didn't have lines or notes. And when you DID have lines and notes... holy enchanted cabinetry... you SOARED. Lyrical operatic amazing show-stopping descants, hilarious lines, spot-on accent work, flawless comedic delivery, Ride of the Valkyries, surprises in your drawers. You were an amazing Madame! And we saw this show on Broadway Dallas shortly thereafter...and you were - in my opinion- a bigger, brighter, funnier, bolder Madame than the pros!
And Julia, you were awarded the LEGACY AWARD!
Aidan, you were the butcher, the bloody, bloody butcher. The one who shouts "Kill the Beast!" You drunkenly hoisted your tankard to Gaston, you scoffed at crazy old Maurice, you helped to lead a mob attack and... in this show... you really began to flex you COMEDIC muscles. During the attack on the castle, when Babette the feather duster seduces you to distract you, your "ga ga" face was hilarious... and when Lumiere burns you in the butt you screamed in a spaghetti Italian accent that would make Mario proud... "Mama Mia!" A line which you improvised in rehearsals which Mr. Tom decided to add permanently to the show. You got the HUGEST laughs each night! There are no small roles, and you personified that in Beauty and the Beast! And... you're kind of a hero... don't forget that like 2 weeks before this performance... you had your tonsils out! You recovered fully, rallied like a hero, and took the stage without missing a beat!
And most importantly of all... you spent the semester and shared the stage having FUN with your friends; learning, growing and performing together. And THAT'S the most important thing of all!
We are so proud of you... and when I say "we"...I mean.., "WE! Oui Oui!"
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