Our Musicians

After long, painful hours fighting with various video editors and codecs, I finally got a montage of our boys doing their musical thing.  Maybe it would be worth a few bucks to buy something that would make video editing easier, but I'm cheap. :)

All four of these guys have done fantastic work in developing their talents. It has been very enjoyable to hear them perform, especially the high school Jazz Band. Makes me wish I would have kept going on the trombone myself!

In Rusty's Defense

Well, he may not be fancy, but Rusty can make a mean chocolate chip cookie, and does so almost every Sunday. In fact, he's baking cookies right now. Mmmmm. Can't wait. Also, he was named the Jazz Band MVP at the Fine Arts Award Banquet. He and his friend wrote a song for their Ender's Game book project (with piano, sax, and vocals) and it totally rocked! As you may know, Ender's Game is one of my favorite books ever, and I was quite impressed with their song. I'll try to get them over here so I can record it.

Ryan tried out for and was chosen for Drum Major of the marching band this year. Way to go Ryan! He'll be awesome. (That kid on the trumpet in front of him in the picture is the assistant drum major.) I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but he was also given an Outstanding Soloist award at the State Jazz Band Festival, and he scored an impressive 32 on the ACT. Just three and a half more days of school, and he'll officially be a senior. Oh. My. Goodness. I'm not that old am I?

Sam performed in the sixth grade talent show. He played "Dark Horse" by David Lanz. Not an easy piece at all. (Heck, I couldn't play it.). He played it all from memory. It wasn't perfect, but it was still pretty impressive, especially for someone his age. I know his friends were all very impressed. Yes, we did capture this on video, but I have not yet figured out the secrets of posting videos, so you'll just have to wait. (Tracy is creating video montages of the kids performances. They are going to be awesome. We will post them soon, I hope.) Sam also received a certificate for being nominated by his teachers for the Kiwanis club Terrific Kid award. (Rusty won that award when he was in fifth grade.) Good job Sam!

Ankle update: It's improving. I can walk without crutches, but I think I used it too much this week, because it was so sore and swollen after Ryan's band concert last night, that I just wanted to cry. In fact, I did cry. But I made it to church today. Tracy held my hand while I slowly limped through the halls. I think I will still have to rest it quite a bit, but I'm heading into my fourth week of lameness, and yeah. I'm not really that patient. I have missed May! But at least I have been able to get to all the kids performances and awards banquets. Can't wait for school to be out. Thursday is the last day. Summer fun awaits!

Fancy People

Today at dinner, Camary asked, "Are fancy people real?" She's been asking about lots of things lately, like, "Is Disneyland real?" and such. I told her that yes, fancy people are real. "Where do they live?" I told her they live all over. In fact, we could probably find some fancy people right here in Elk Ridge. (This is more likely in "upper" Elk Ridge, not down here in "lower" Elk Ridge, where we live.) Rusty jumped into the conversation with, "I'm fancy." Camary quickly rebutted that idea. "Fancy people don't fart and stink all the time. Also, they keep their rooms clean. Your room stinks like a skunk!" Yes, indeed. It would seem that Rusty is sadly not fancy.

I missed blogging last week, because I just didn't feel like it. Shortly after posting on the 2nd, I came down the stairs with Xander in my arms, missed the last step, and sprained my darn ankle! (Blast this family ankle curse.) Tracy and I were at the ER in Provo until one am that night. So, basically I've been laid up on the couch for the better part of two weeks. (I blogged about it on my writing blog, if you want to read that.) Thank heavens for good friends and a kind, helpful husband. My ankle is improving. I still have to use crutches, but I can put a little weight on it, so the crutches aren't so hard. I can also walk a short distance without the crutches, which makes getting around the bathroom and kitchen a whole lot easier. It's been a pain, but at least I can see improvement.

P.S. About that "upper" and "lower" Elk Ridge remark, I really do love this town. I  haven't ever met anyone snooty. It's really just an indication of elevation and not social status, but with the big houses up there, the term has always made me smile.

May 2, 2010

Three weeks in a row! Aren't you proud of me? Yes. Yes, you are. Speaking of pride, I was inordinately proud of this:

 It's a pretty sloppy french braid, but I did it! It took me four tries to get it to look this good. I know I used to be able to french braid. I remember doing it as a teenager, but I've lost the skill. Camary so rarely wants her hair done that I don't get to practice, either, so I was really happy to do it for her today, even if it doesn't look the best.

This week was Ryan's Nebo Youth Philharmonic concert:

Rusty had a couple of soccer games:

And I had my Musettes concert:

Yes, it's concert season. This week we have Rusty's concert and Ryan's jazz band concert. Speaking of jazz band, Ryan's band teacher suggested that he take some private lessons from Mr. Burton (don't know his first name) who teaches jazz at Snow College and is the best trombone player in the state. He agreed to give Ryan lessons starting this Friday. The best part? As long as Ryan practices, the lessons are free! He has to drive out to Ephraim, but still. That's just awesome. What a great opportunity for him.

I'll leave you with a picture of Xander cooking lunch for us:

What a sweet little chef!