Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

It is way past my bedtime (no, really, since I have to work tomorrow, unlike you spoiled sleeper inners), but I am okay with it, because I just spent an evening singing "Edelweiss" with seven children, just like the number in the Von Trapp family.

Three families from my church gathered for this long awaited and planned for event, plus me, and combined we numbered five adults and seven children. We followed the rule similar to that of Jewish tradition, where Shabbat prayer can't begin until x number of people are gathered in a Synagogue. Well, for us, we need seven kids and then we can commence the Julie Andrews festivities. After assigning the obvious adult roles of Maria and the Captain, the remaining parts were divvied up. I called dibs on the Baroness, even though people don't really like her. But she wears some pretty rockin' outfits for "the final golden days of the thirties."

Marta's counterpart (i.e. second youngest) spent much time in my lap, which made my evening complete. He quickly discovered that if he scrambled out of my lap onto the coffee table, only to jump back toward me, I would catch him, and I believe this game of "fly and catch" made his evening complete.

Sigh. Dreamy Georg Von Trapp, with his dual-toned suit jackets. Austrian vistas. Clothing made from drapes. This, friends, is my Utopia.