simply livin' it up
Mari is an awesome tuba player! Here is her first band concert from 2018, well, one song. The tubas actually get to play the melody for part of the song, which is cool
Two notes:
For the past month or so Mari has been staying after school to work on a mime show. She worked with a group of kids on a few different mimes.
Mari played the Sousaphone at Valley’s homecoming game tonight. She likes playing the tuba, but she does not appreciate holding the sousaphone for any extended period of time.
Now that Elliot is in the 6th grade, and we live a normal existence, he is joining the band. He decided to play the saxophone. He sounds great from the start and already has a smooth transition between notes. One of the great things about being home is enjoying the kids practicing their instruments.
Mari and Andrew are both playing for mid-level competitive teams this year. That means a little more practice, more serious games, and an overall higher level of play. So far, so good.
In a week full of school supply shopping, open houses, and first practices, we kicked things off with Andrew’s first cross country meet. He has been training since July with the cross country team and really enjoying it. He looked good in his race and was happy to meet his goal of finishing in under 20 minutes.
Andrew had his final orchestra concert of the year tonight. Just like Mari’s band concert 3 weeks ago, I couldn’t make it because I am in Cincinnati for work. Susan tells me it was a good show.
The kids had their drama performances this week. I had some technical difficulties during the recording. Someone called during Elliot’s and I had to leave during Andrew’s because Rose was ready to explore.
This year for Christmas we gave the kids a one-month membership to Climb Iowa, an indoor rock-climbing gym about 10 minutes from our house. Yesterday we made our first trip. The kids had a great time. We hope to go about twice a week for the month of January.
This week the kids had their drama performances with their homeschool enrichment classes. They all love drama and enjoy being in the plays.