This post will be all about Oscar-worthy performances, so pull out the red carpet and warm up your hands for clapping! Since our last blog post, these girls have won hearts, minds and even trophies–and they’re about to win yours.

But first, let’s get real. One day, I hope my daughters will read this and be impressed I loved them enough to blog–and forgive me for the huge lapses in writing (last post: Feb 23). Maybe I should consider quarterly or biannual blogging? Ok, got that out of my system. On to the show(s)!

ICYMI: The 97th Academy Awards (The Oscars) happened on March 2 of this year, and to continue a tradition I love, Zoe and her friend Kiki MADE a red carpet dress for little Ella. We took our annual trip to Joann (RIP) for the designers to select their fabric and materials. As you can see in the picture above, this year’s color was a very regal green satin. Simple, yet elegant design.

What you won’t see above? Ella was still on crutches and is balanced on her good foot–and there’s a long off-white, roughly attached zipper in the back (you can kind of see it bunched up on her left). Pay no mind to that. Look at that DESIGN! One of my favorite handmade Oscars dresses from these designers was a beautiful red one back in 2022, but they are awesome every year. Most importantly, the artists have fun. And the Oscar goes to…Zoe, Kiki and Ella!

And next, we’re heading back to Hollywood as we wrapped up another successful Girl Scout Cookie Season (thanks to many of YOU). This year, Ella joined the Scouts as a Juliette (a Scout without a troop who gets to do the fun stuff; she can’t join Zoe’s troop due to age group). Though she didn’t take on individual cookie sales, thank goodness, she was ready and willing to help, even after breaking her foot. Below you can enjoy some fabulous booth photos from a Starbucks (Zoe outside, Ella inside) and from Rock & Roll Ralphs in Hollywood (yes, that’s a thing), where the girls sold 90 boxes of cookies!

Notice the handmade sign up top showing every cookie (those are hand-drawn by Zoe!), and the always neatly arranged rainbow of cookies on the table (ignore the terrible tablecloth). Ella doing her part inside the Starbucks to guilt people into buying cookies send patrons outside. And the fancier table at R&R Ralphs with the nice goods, along with another handmade sign that’s doubling as shade. It was really, really, really hot that day–the last of Cookie Season–and we rewarded the girls with a trip to actual Hollywood for dinner at Miceli’s (singing waiters!) and shopping at Funko Pop and Amoeba Records.

In mid-March, Ella rocked it in her piano recital, where she regaled the crowd with riveting performances of Cossack Ride and Ode to Joy. As always, every student starts off with fun facts and a props that teach the audience something interesting related to their song. In case you’re not familiar with it, Cossack Riding involves performing stunts while riding a galloping horse. So for her prop, we printed a picture of my mom on her horse, Victor Man; while we’re not sure if she performed actual tricks while galloping, I like to believe that she could have. Isn’t raising twin daughters while putting yourself through two college degrees a lot like that? I’d say so.

All the students also dress for the occasion, and I personally loved Ella’s outfit this year. You can even see the boot on her foot on this one. What a memory! Hot Tip: If you must wear a boot, be sure to offset it with a shoe of similar height. That will explain the platform high top on her other foot. The doctor thought we were brilliant. (Aren’t we?) And finally, to reward students for all the hard work they put into getting to that recital, they also get a trophy, which Ella loves to show off. What a SHOW!

Miss Beth doesn’t play around when it comes to trophies. Now, onto the last show of this season (yes, we’re still back in March). Zoe was one of only two high school freshmen on stage for her school’s production of MAMMA MIA! As part of the ensemble, she performed in 12 scenes, each with its own song and dance, and a whole lotta costume changes. This director doesn’t play around when it comes to his shows. The cast rehearsed 9-15 hours a week, and all that hard work paid off in an incredible show!

Speaking of which, they put on 5 shows for the public, and a dress rehearsal just for parents. I attended 5 of those, minus the one that was at 4:30 pm on a Thursday, pretty much for high school students. In true “me” fashion, I organized gatherings of friends for each show (yes, there’s a Google sheet), made a folder to manage tickets, and even created a Mamma Mia bingo card based on the show, mostly to convince Ella to attend a third time, but it ended up being fun!

Yes, Ella got a blackout and won BOBA, a coveted prize. Due to rights, I can’t share any video from the show itself, but I’ve got some publicly shared pics and a few stills I got from the dress rehearsal for you to enjoy. That will wrap up the Johnson girls’ Oscar-worthy performances, from March…

That’s Zoe in the back on someone’s SHOULDER! I watched that bounce 5 times and was impressed every single time–and relieved. HA!

That’s Zoe closest, in the center, looking like an adult…

And last but not least, here’s a candid shot from the lobby where they had a backdrop, and Ella joined in!

Yes, I’ve got a lot left to blog about (Spring Break, Puppy Yoga, a Tasting Bee, a Summer Trip), but for today, I’ll just be proud I got a post out. Cue the applause!