Puerto Rico...my heart's devotion

West Side Story has made it's way into the lives of my children. Sawyer and Eliza are 6 and almost 4. You might think that's too young to fall in love with Tony, Maria, Riff, Bernardo and Anita...not so. A few months ago a friend sent us the "Web Site Story" viral video and I watched it with the kids. So I had to show them some actual clips of West Side Story. They immediately took too it and Eliza began asking me daily to "see Tony and Maria". Since then we've been watching bits of the DVD daily and both kids are often heard singing the songs while they build with legos, eat a snack, wander aimlessly around the house. Eliza sings, "Always the hurricanes blowing...always the 'pop-li-o-shun growing" And as a result of this latest obsession Eliza has learned to effectively trill her r's and does it with fervor as she sings like Anita.
Now a bit of back information...I have loved West Side Story since I was about 8 or 9. Nick played A-rab in the Philips Jr. High School production and I thought it was AMAZING. A family friend gave me the album and I spent the next 10 years listening to it. So now I know all of the words to each song. I believe that the movie is simply the best movie ever made...ok, I don't really have enough information to make that claim and no, I haven't really watched Citizen Cane and Shindler's List was amazing...but I implore you to watch West Side Story now and again if you have already seen it and maybe, just maybe you'll love it as much as we do.
Ole!

Eliza Dolittle

"Mommy, wanna see my ballet? Now wanna see my other one?"
"Mommy can I have a apple?"
"Mommy can you put me up here?"
"Mommy can I have a gummy vitamin?"
"And that's when I go to ballet class. And that's my ballet. And do what the teacher says I need to"
"Coffee...ooh, and that's ooey for children"
"Sawyer is a girl"
"Mommy do you not like this lady?" (referring to Sarah Palin on the cover of Newsweek)
"I'm going to suck your blood...I'm going to suck your blood" (voice like a vampire)
"Do you have a headache...like that lady? (again, ad in Newsweek) Are you starting to get one?" (while she rubs her feet on either side of my head)

No kidding, she has said ALL of these things this afternoon. And she's running around in her underwear. It's like living with a crazy person.

Ok, but she's kinda cute too.

Hal

Country Folk Part 2

Hurricane Hanna came and went without too much trouble. We did have this one big tree looming ominously over our driveway and compost bin, however. So here's a video of the Chapman - Cherry tree service taking care of it "Country Style".




And if you haven't seen Country Folk (part 1) please check out my archives - for your viewing pleasure!

Tiny sculptures

Can I just brag for a second about my kid? He has this unusual talent for creating tiny sculptures out of clay, foam, noodles, sesame sticks, etc. He especially loves sculpey clay which you sculpt and then bake. (I used to make beads out of this when I was, like, 15. Sawyer is 5 and makes far more interesting and inspired creations.) I've included a photo of a few of his most awesome sculptures. The one on the far left is a person made of clay, mounted onto a penny and he used one petal from a clover to make the heart. Mixed media...love that. The rest are sculpey with the exception of the standing figure in the back which is made of foam (like packing peanuts). I think that one is a robot or a "guy". I just love this talent in Sawyer and who knows, maybe you will too.

Man with flower - sesame sticks and a m&m.

Thanks for reading.
Hallie

A fully blooming Cherry Tree

This is just NOT ok. If anyone is still reading The Cherry Tree, please accept my deepest apologies for the long hiatus.

So here I am. I thought I'd offer a few updates and hopefully a picture or 2 if I can manage it. Meanwhile, thank you for reading. I've noticed other's blogs getting more and more fancy and techie and for the 3rd time today I'll say "I'm not a techie". In fact that whole world of i-this and i-that and downloads and bluetooth whatever is totally lost on me. I have a cell phone but no one knows the number. I waver between feeling totally uncool and simply satisfied. But back to my point: I apologize for the lack of fancy tricks on my blog. Read along and maybe you'll feel inspired to go jot down your grocery list on the back of a junk mail envelope.

Now for the updates:
-Busy / not busy summer here. I worked 3 weeks of camp and am now enjoying some unstructured time with the kids and occasionally the husband. The summer has been uneventfully pleasant.
-Ooh! This is a big one! I am now Hallie Montgomery Cherry. Ok, so I waited almost 7 years to actually become a Cherry and then did it in one afternoon over in Burlington. A little surprise to Dave. Eliza said, "Are you a Cherry kid now too?" So I expected some kind of life changing moment. Maybe sitting on a big ramp in my keds and long skirt as I sing "Goodbye to Hallie M..." only to reappear the next day rockin' some pumps, spandex tights and a perm. But alas, Sandra D. I am not. Hallie C. I am, however. Thinking it'll settle in...
-I'm finding I don't have quite as many updates as I thought. So here are some pictures.

We rode the train
to Camp Cherry!

The other day Sawyer was eating a fortune cookie that he got from the candy jar. I was making the bed and he came in and handed me the wet fortune and asked me to read it. I asked him if he had accidentally eaten the fortune. Yes.
The fortune read: "A great man never ignores the simplicity of a child."

-Hallie Cherry

"Spring is Free"

In case you haven't noticed...it's Spring! Sometimes I get tired of living in Chapel Hill. After all, I've lived here for about 30 of my 35 years. But somehow every Spring I am surprised by the beauty, the green, the birds, the tadpoles. And this Spring I am especially excited to see that we are getting some lovely Spring rain too. Chapel Hill is really beautiful in the Springtime too. So in honor of my love for Spring I give you my list of a few of my favorite observations of this season.

Welcome Spring!
Puddles
Unfurling Ferns
Tadpole eggs
Baby Grass
70 degrees and higher
Green where there were once limbs and fallen trees
Printemps...Primavera
Sitting on the porch in the fading sunlight as it gets closer and closer to bedtime
First barefoot days

This afternoon it's rainy. Eliza is napping and Sawyer is hanging out inside watching a cartoon. He looked out the window and said, "Spring is Free". All the best things in life are after all.

numbers

35 - the number of years I am old / am I old?
4 - the number of people living in my house
30 - the number of years I have lived in Chapel Hill
12 - the number of years I have been a teacher
2 1/2 - the number of mugs of coffee I drink each morning
13 - the number of countries I have visited
58 - the number of months I have been a Mommy
31 - the number of years I have known my best friend
17 - the number of friends I have on facebook
53 - the number I find lucky, and is always popping up
4 1/2 - the number of years I took to finish college
6 - the number of years I've been married
7 - the number of vintage Pyrex bowls I have in my collection
1 - the number of siblings I have
3 - the number of languages I speak
3 - the number of mortgage loans I've had
4 - the number of nephews I have

And here's a picture in case you found this post strange and lacking substance...

Lizzie and Lily laughing on Easter

Thanks for reading! Stop and smell the pollen...