Part of me wanted to share all about the ballet of Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor the moment I returned from Colorado at the end of the November…but I decided to share health stuff first. And then I figured I’d save this one for the week before Christmas, because it’s just so festive and fun.

So here we go! The rundown on how awesome and amazing the Colorado Springs trip was!

First…I was excited, y’all. I had an appointment at the hospital in Morgantown the day before we left, to get the staples removed from my head before traveling (ahhhhhhh, relief!), and by the time we left the hospital at noon, I was pretty much skipping my way everywhere I wasn’t dancing. As David said, “That’s when you started vibrating.”

I was excited to see my P&P girls. I was excited to explore a place I’d never been. I was excited that my good friend Karlene, whom I haven’t seen in years, had decided to make the 8-hour drive from Utah to see me and the show. And of course, I was sooooo excited to see my characters come to life!

Thursday, we drove over to my parents’ house around 7 and joined them for the 2.5-hour drive to the airport. We flew out of Dulles in DC, had an uneventful flight to Denver, during which I got the synopsis written for my next novella from Tyndale (you’ll hear more about this in the new year!), which left me feeling great. We had a fairly long layover in Denver before our very-short connection to Colorado Springs (it was cheaper to fly to the Springs than to Denver, otherwise we just would have driven it), which gave us time to enjoy some delicious pizza in a little Italian restaurant in the airport whose staff was fantastic.

Hilariously (or not?) that second flight sat at the gate for an hour while they tried to deal with a weight and balance issue. It was a tiny little plane. And eventually, they had to ask someone to volunteer to take another flight. Or, as we joked, “They actually kicked someone off!” Once we were airborn, it was practically a blink and then we were in the Springs. It was dark and raining by the time we landed, so that 20-minute drive to our rental house was a little not-fun, but then…then we arrived.

So this was our third retreat with the P&P group, in our fourth year. (We had to skip last year’s thanks to cancer.) At the first retreat, there were 5 of us. At the second retreat, there were 12, but not all at the same time–we broke it into half-weeks for those who couldn’t do a full week. I think the most there at once were 9. This time, there were 15 of us (this does count spouses and my parents), by my count at the Saturday night ballet. And from the moment we entered, there was a definite air of celebration.

The house was gorgeous, a historic one with tons of bedrooms, gorgeous old fixtures (clawfoot tub, old kitchen sink…just darling), and so much charm we just couldn’t get over it. (Great job picking it out, Caroline!) I thought, when I walked in, that the owners or management company had already decorated for Christmas, because there was a cute little tree decorated on an end table in the living room, miniature stockings hanging…but no. Candice (the official “in charge of retreat” member of the group) had packed it all in her checked bag! Yep, she brought a Christmas tree with her, with nutcracker ornaments that we all got to bring home, and those stockings? They were for us! Each one had our name on it, and she added stickers and bookmarks and a pocket prayer quilt each night.

Our previous retreats have been “creative retreats,” where we work on our creative projects during the day and then hang out and socialize from dinner onward. We knew that wouldn’t work for this one, so instead it was just three straight days of laughter, sightseeing, exploring, talking, eating, baking, seeing the show, playing games, and just generally having the BEST time. Seriously, I don’t remember the last time I laughed that much.

We went to the US Figure Skating museum on Friday, Zoomed with some of the ladies in the group who couldn’t make the retreat on Friday afternoon, which was SUCH fun too–and we got to meet one of our newest members and put a face and voice to her name, which is always amazing! We set a date for our members-only tea party book club for The Christmas Book Flood too. Friday evening, Cali Hannah made us a fantastic dinner (at this retreat there was Hannah F from California and Hannah A from Texas in the house, plus Hannah Currie from Australia who came to the shows, so we had Cali-Hannah, Texas-Hannah, and Aussie-Hannah there–it was hilarious! Also, those first two Hannahs were my first two P&P members when I started the group!). After dinner, we played Fishbowl, which was HILARIOUS, and then did a white elephant style book exchange.

This gets its own paragraph, because, hello–BOOKS! 😉 We each brought a book to share, wrapped and anonymous. We had sheets printed out to give hints about the book, and since this was a group of friends, Caroline (who organized it) came up with a rating system specific to us. The romance meter was guaged by Bethany, who usually likes only one Disney-style kiss in a book; the violence meter was by Julie, who doesn’t care for such things in her stories. Two little details that just made my day because they spoke to how we’ve become such a family. (My poor mother, who isn’t officially in the group, had no clue what those meant, LOL…) We set a rule of 3-steals-only and a book was locked in, and I am happy to say I got to be a third steal and take my first-choice book, mwa ha ha ha. Though I would have been perfectly content with the one I’d first opened, had someone not stolen it from me. 😉 It was also fun to read the vague descriptions on the books and identify about half of them, which I’d already read and so knew well enough to guess. It was also rewarding that the books I brought–I totally cheated and brought two, The Lost Girl of Astor Street and The Secret Investigator of Astor Street with their new, matching illustrated covers, by my best friend, Stephanie Morrill–were also stolen the maximum number of times.

Also on Friday, the fantabulous Candice surprised me with sugar cookies decorated to match the book! (Purchased, LOL. We made many cookies while there–well, Deanna made many cookies while there, LOL–but these specialty ones were purchased by a local baker. See the photo carousel for pictures! And they were as delicious as they were gorgeous!)

Saturday morning a bunch of us went to Garden of the Gods. My group was the “can’t do to much or we’ll pay for it later” group, so we picked and chose where we explored, and it was breathtaking! We ended up at one point just settling on some rocks with an amazing view of Pike’s Peak and lots of birds to watch and just fell into chatting again. We saw two horse tours go by, so that was fun too. Then back to the house in time for lunch, because the first show was at 2:00, and I intended to be there!

So…socially awkward author here. I’m great at being “on” when it’s for a purpose, and as long as I was standing there signing books, I knew my place, LOL. But once all the books were signed, I had a few minutes of “Okay, I’m just gonna stand here at the table and blend in with the concession workers, I guess…” But I needn’t have worried. The families of the dancers soon picked up on the fact that I was there, and there were folks who came JUST to see/meet me, so that was such fun. I personalized some books, took some photos with readers, and then my husband ushered my vibrating-with-joy self into the auditorium and we found our seats.

The show…THE SHOW. It was simply AMAZING. That first time, I watched with curiosity, constantly asking myself, “Now how are they going to handle this bit?” And then watching their choices and going, “Ah! Perfect!” (I mean, obviously there was no frozen river for Mariah to fall into, and they had to make plenty of choices about what to leave out versus keep. But I 100% approve ALL those choices!)

Mimi McKinnis did the adaptation, and she did it brilliantly. (THANK YOU, MIMI!!!) The performers were so much more than I’d envisioned–not just dancing, which they did so well, but acting. The leads were all so expressive, their faces perfectly portraying the emotional journey for each character. I love how they showed backstory, especially with the story of how young Mariah and young Cyril wrote the story the cast later performs…the story that we know as the Nutcracker. And so when familiar Nutcracker music began to play? I got a completely idiotic grin on my face and just couldn’t shake it.

Also…SO MUCH PURPLE! Obviously, this purple-loving girl was thrilled to see all the purple lights, the purple costuming Mariah wore, and so much more.

During intermission and after the show, I was out at the table again, signing and personalizing books. I met more readers, more families of dancers, and after that first show, some of the dancers themselves.

And here’s the funny thing. For me, it was both humbling and ecstatic to see my characters live and breathe, so to my mind they were the stars. They were the people giving the gift–to the audience and to me. I was a little starstruck to see Mariah and Louise, Fred and Professor Skylark, Cyril and Soren all right there in front of me, living and breathing and smiling, in gorgeous costumes. To my mind, they weren’t just student performers. They were something more. They were dreams come true.

Of course, to them, I was the author who brought this fun story to them to begin with, and they approached me with wide eyes and bouncing excitement, asking me to sign their books, take pictures with them, and give them hugs. And it struck me, then–how there’s never just individual creating. It’s co-creating. We create first with our creative Father, the Creator of the universe. And then we create with those around us. As an author, I create with my editors, my cover designers, my marketing team–and my readers. As dancers, they create with their bodies but also their fellow cast, their director, their choreographers. We created something together, something bigger than what any one of us could create on our own. And it was beautiful. So, so beautiful.

I stayed there between the two shows, since there was only about an hour to kill, and then my people all showed up, so more giddiness ensued. The performance was just as fantastic, and afterward we got a group picture for P&P.

It was also after that second show on Saturday that one of my favorite moments happened. Jackson (who played Cyril), Anna (who played Mariah), and Lacy (who played Professor Skylark) came over to meet me, and Jackson pitched me a sequel. Hannah Currie was there and caught a photo of it (also in the image carousel below!), which I absolutely LOVE. On Sunday, before that final show, we got a group shot with the whole cast and me, and after that, Jonah (who plays Fred) and Jackson told me a bit more about their idea, and it just made my day. My weekend.

I made a thing that got these kids so excited, they wanted more. I wrote a story that captured their imaginations. I gave them a plot for a show they so enjoyed, they wanted to do it again, see what happened next. For this creator’s heart, that’s just…amazing. It shows me, yet again, that it’s bigger than me. It shows me the power of story, and how I’m just one participant in it.

It shows me why it’s worth it. Why it matters. Why it’s important. After one of the shows, another of the dancers, Ellie, found me to reiterate exactly this, which brought tears to my eyes. That my story matters. My writing changes lives. 

Before each big scene, there was a voice-over narration that told a bit about the story we were about to see unfold through dance, and in the second act, most of the lines were taken straight from the book. And guys, tears filled my eyes again as I heard my words over the speaker-system. As that narrator’s voice spoke about choosing to embody joy, choosing to cling to the miraculous, choosing not just to plod through life doing the expected, but to live, to live with cheer and happiness and delight, my heart just overflowed with exactly that. Because this ballet did exactly what the whole point of the story was–it brought people together and gave them a reason to celebrate.

At the end of the show, it’s Christmas music they’re dancing to, and the audience was invited to sing along to “O Come, Let Us Adore Him.” Such a wonderful final call to leave us with–the whole point of the season. The whole point of everything.

There were readers who came to every show just to see me, and to you–thank you. It was so, so wonderful to meet you all, to sign your books, to give you hugs and take photos with you.

To Mimi and the entire cast of the show, you have made my year. My decade! I will never, ever forget the joy of sitting in your audience and seeing our story come to life. Anna, Mariah will always have your face in my mind from now on, and we’re still talking about how you conveyed so much with your eyes. Jackson, you were an even better (and taller!) Cyril than I had imagined, and I loved watching you bring so much humor to the role. Corban, you played an awesome Danish lord with the gravity that suited him…and then the discovery of joy that made him into a hero too. Lacy, your crazy and expressive Skylark was a brilliant adaptation of my slightly-nutty old man, and you lit up the stage each time you stepped onto it. Lauren, I know it was against your happy nature to keep from smiling so long as you played my grieving Louise, but when you finally could let that smile shine, it moved my heart and was such a moment of victory! Jonah, when Fred hoisted that key high and then jumped into the toy line…I still laugh when I imagine it. Jessica, you are SO much nicer than Pearl, who you played so very well, and I love the guys’ idea to give you a redemption story! 😉 Also, all those pearl accents on your costume were just genius. Natalie and Dustin, when you brought the backstory to life, it was sheer delight! Ella, Rachel, Megan, Olivia, Ellie, Evie, Adeline, and Catie…all those Nutcracker callbacks, the mice and Mouse Queen numbers, the flowers and dewdrops and Sugar Plum Fairy and Nutcracker prince…more moments when I was grinning like an idiot.

I realize I’m writing a book here, because words can’t quite express how awesome it was, so naturally I have to pile more and more on to try to convey it. 😉

After the final show on Sunday, my friend Karlene came back to the house with us. A couple of the girls had already left, so she ended up crashing there for the night, thanks to snow in the passes on her drive home. Which was lovely. We ended up having a hair-braiding party in the kitchen (which was hilarious too). We told final stories. We exchanged final hugs. I had one final night of not-sleeping (I could NOT turn my brain off the whole time I was there–I was like a 5-year-old at Christmas for 5 days straight!), and then it was off to the airport ridiculously early, and my euphoria finally, finally began to settle down into contentment.

I knew I’d crash when I got home. Seriously, I was running on pure adrenaline, barely sleeping, from Thursday through Monday, I was darting around, I was talking a mile a minute, I was running up aisles and down stairs, I was making a whole lot of jazz hands in an effort to show my enthusiasm, and “vibrating for days,” as David said. It took me a solid week for this introvert to recover, LOL.

And as my mama wrapped her arms around me Sunday morning in the still-dark kitchen of that so-charming rental house as we waited for the men to come downstairs, she said, “It was so good to see you with your friends. So good to see your joy.

And that’s what it was. A weekend of friendship. A weekend of euphoria. A weekend of giddiness. A weekend of laughter. A weekend of discovery.

It was a weekend of joy. Pure joy. And that is so fitting…because that’s what Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor was all about.

And good news! 😉 You can purchase the recording of the show and see for yourself what a fantastically amazing job Fidele Youth Dance Company did in bringing it to life!