It's a Jungle Out There

The 3rd grade class at Plano Elementary put on their spring musical tonight. The title "It's a Jungle Out There". I hope they didn't pick that title because we live right next to the school and our yard has looked exactly JUNGLE-like. Thank goodness dad got our lawnmower fixed this week and Matt was able to mow. All the props and costumes were made by the 3rd grade parents and faculty/staff. I made the adorable monkey mask (and 8 others) that Karson is wearing. I thought it was pretty crafty until I saw some of the other masks--TOO CUTE.

Leah, Karson and Kayla monkeying around.

More jungle friends.

Feel free to skip this segment--it's a little wordy--I do want my daughter to read it one day though especially if she's taking a public speaking class in college =).

I was confused when most of the jungle kids came into the gym and seated themselves. I expected to see my Karson among them but couldn't find her. Believe it or not, my 9-year old daughter can sometimes be confounding. From the minute the spring musical was announced, she's been excited. I know she had her heart set on a speaking part (she MUST get this desire from Matt because I DO NOT enjoy speaking in large crowds). This musical only had a handful of speaking parts. Lo and behold, Karson did not get one of those. She came home one sad, SAD day after school and was in a MOOD. She buried her face in the couch pillow and wouldn't talk. All I got out of her is that she had NO IDEA if she was a monkey or not or whatever and that she didn't have a speaking part and life as we knew it was OVER! I was completely baffled because the week prior she had told me she was FOR SURE a monkey. I had been scrambling around trying to find her a brown outfit (the leggings we had, the shirt we needed). I tried to console Karson telling her that she got a speaking part in last year's Christmas play, and that there are probably a lot of kids that would like speaking parts--blah, blah, blah. I'm sure all she heard was dead air. I was so confused. I texted her teacher and emailed her music teacher trying to figure it all out. Her music teacher told me the next day that Karson was a monkey but did not have a speaking part. SO, I simply assumed she would be part of the jungle crowd this time and not have any distinct part in the musical--NOT TRUE. Although she didn't get to speak, she was part of the opening number walking in and part of a foursome of monkeys that had their own "bit" in the musical (see "Goin' Bananas" video below). AND, she even had her name printed in the program. Sheesh, all that drama for nothing.

~NEXT~

The musical premise: King Leo is a victim of the corporate jungle! He has money, power, and fame, but he still has not found happiness. His trusty servants, Spot and Stripes begin a quest for the key to happiness.

Do the cheetahs know the answer? Nope, they are just a bunch of party animals.

What about the monkeys? *Well I have to tell you my sweet Karson has a heart of gold--speaking part or no speaking part--and fortunately, at this point, seems to be a happy young lady.*

The monkeys spend all their time "Goin' Bananas".

Maybe the hyenas have the secret? Nah, they tell jokes and laugh all the time. Karson's friend Leah was the lead hyena and did a wonderful job.

I believe the elephants have found the answer. Good friends and life's simple pleasures, such as stopping to smell the roses are where true happiness is found.

C-UTE!

Karson and her friend Kaylee after the show.

The entire 3rd grade cast. We are fortunate to be in the company of some of the finest people in Plano. I'm thankful for the friendships Karson has made along with our family. A special thanks to the talented music teacher Ms. Tiffany Cothran for working so hard on this. We are incredibly grateful for you!