Right Under Our Noses

Two weekends ago our family loaded the van with bikes, helmets, a picnic dinner, and excitement.  You see, our six year old had just taught herself to ride a two-wheel bike, and it wasn't without the help of one very flat, large surface- Heritage Park.  I snapped a picture, posted it to Facebook, and within two hours, we run into some friends of ours.  They had never been to the park, even though we had met in the YMCA, which is right in front of the park.  My friend is an avid runner, and to find a route that is without hills is sort of an anomoly in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains.  Within minutes, she said, "I've lived here eight years and have never been here!"  Well, in the past week, I would venture to say that she has already been back two or three times.  A well cared for park, right under our noses...

I don't care for black beans.  Red ones, white ones, or purple ones.  I don't eat beans.  However, in an ever-frustrating meal planning moment, I decided to head to Pinterest and find some new meal ideas for dinner.  I found one dish that looked healthy, easy, and inexpensive.  Yup- it had beans.  I decided that I just had to try, as my children need to see me eat things that I might not like, but am willing to try, as I ask of them, often.  Well, the children also don't eat beans, so tonight, I opted to make the dish, as well as a casserole-type dish that I thought would make for a more fitting option, just in case the beans dish was a flop.  Guess what- all four of us loved the dish, and the children and I chose the bean dish OVER the casserole dish as our meal last night!  Beans, right under our noses...

I won tickets through the local Macaroni Kid blogger.  (Look Amiee up on Facebook, check out her blog at http://canton.macaronikid.com/subscribe/, find out what is happening in the area for your family, and enter to win TONS of local giveaways.)  The tickets were to see Elaine Barber, a harpist, perform a concert at the Falany Performing Arts Center for last night.  First, I had to look it up.  I've heard the name, but had no idea where it was.  Oh- at Reinhardt College.  Hmmm, that's not too far, but even that was out of my range of knowledge, so, to the internet I went.  Oh, about twenty minutes away?  We can do this!  

We ate our lovely chicken and bean dinner, got dressed into our Sunday best, and loaded the almost seven-year-old girl and newly turned eight-year old boy up in the car, and off we went, for our adventure.  The ride was pleasant, and the Falany Performing Arts Center was magnificent!  We were greeted warmly by the director, ushered to the ninth row, centered seats, and after finding them, I walked the children up to the stage to get a closer look at the harp.  Both children seemed genuinely excited, and I was at a loss for words when we were asked by a volunteer if this was our first time coming to a harp concert.  (The sarcastic in me had jokes.  The refined and grateful for a night out for some culture to incorporate into our homeschool curriculum was on her best behavior and said nothing.) Our children were fawned over, and I was given WAY too much credit for sharing this experience of the arts with our young children.  (The average age of the concert-goer was 71.4 years old, and the row of students in the back that were taking notes and attending for extra credit don't count.) The performance was very relaxing, and when asked at the intermission if the children wanted to stay for the remainder of the show, both agreed to stay! 

When we learned more about the Falany Performing Arts Center, we got more and more excited to learn that while a harp concert might not be everyone's "cup of tea," there certainly is enough variety to engage everyone from young families all the way up.  We decided that we will make it a priority to make it to one of the three performances of " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas," where a "special guest" will be available to show-goers to meet and greet and take pictures, after the show.  

During the announcements, we also learned that tickets to the Fox Theater are sold through Falany at a discount, prior to ticket sales to the public!  WOW!  The tickets are all reasonably priced. From classical music to children's theater series, this really is a close to home, can't miss attraction.   Children's tickets are incredibly affordable, starting at $5 a ticket.  This performing arts center is a hidden gem- right under our noses.  

*Also right under our noses?  The sounds and smells that were coming from one particular eight-year old as I remembered the bean dinner I served, mere hours before.  The volunteer we were speaking with was nothing if not gracious as he danced and created his own "music" as we discussed everything from education to the arts.