A Few (Musical) Notes

Music is a big part of my life. It's the same for Kev. So it's not unexpected that our kids love music as well.

Daniel decided he wanted to take band sometime in fifth or sixth grade and decided his instrument would be saxophone. Two years ago Kev's dad passed on his old clarinet and before we knew it, Daniel was a two instrument kid. He is equally good on both and when I ask him which he would choose if he were forced to do so, he honestly doesn't know. He has spent this year splitting his time between the two instruments and part of the drama involved with his plans for high school have revolved around which bands he would be accepted into. All except the beginning bands involved an audition and he auditioned on both instruments not know where the band director would place him. Due to the fact that he has only been playing for three years (and only two for clarinet), I was honestly surprised when he was accepted into the advanced wind symphony and the advanced symphony orchestra on his clarinet and the advanced jazz band on his sax. There were definitely some hard choices involved. He finally decided on early morning seminary, wind symphony and jazz band so he could have one ensemble with each instrument. Oh, and if all that is not enough, he is teaching himself to play flute as well.

Nathan has known he wanted to play piano since he was four. He's been taking lessons for four years now and is good enough that he feels comfortable playing for choirs. In fact, he has gotten good enough that his piano teacher told me that his skill has surpassed hers and they have shifted their focus to organ. We have found a new teacher so he can continue to improve and will be able to reach the skill level that he desires. He sang with the elementary school choir until we switched schools and choir was no longer an option. This year he has been back in choir and has absolutely loved it. He is looking forward to having a full year of choir next year and one of his current piano goals is to get good enough at "The Maple Leaf Rag" that he will be able to play in the school talent show in the fall.

In addition to growing up in a musical family, I was involved in music all the way through school. I started playing violin in the fourth grade and sang in the elementary school choir. In junior high I was in the orchestra. In high school I was in choir, madrigals, orchestra and AP music theory. And as a music major at BYU, I was still eyeball deep in music. Since I got married, my musical involvement has differed depending on a variety of life circumstances. I’ve sung with a number of ward and stake choirs as well as having many (let’s face it, almost all) music callings. I’m currently the choir director (for the third time) and I don’t see myself being released any time soon…

But over about the past year, I’ve found myself longing to have more music in my life. Directing the choir is not the same as singing and I hadn’t played my violin regularly since high school. I'd love to sing with a choir again but with my kids' needs and the nagging migraines, I don't think I can commit to that yet. On top of that, I haven't had any serious vocal training in a long time and I'm not as confident as I once was. In spite of all that, a little thought in my head told me that getting my music back would help me be happier and so I pulled out my violin. I knew things would be pretty rough, not having played regularly for nearly 24 years, but my skills were even more lacking that I thought they would be. And my instrument was in desperate need of some maintenance.

Kevin took my violin to Summerhays for some touching up, and unfortunately, it was in worse condition than I thought. I knew it needed new strings and that the tuning pegs needed lubrication so they could turn, but the actual needs were new strings, new pegs because the current ones are no longer round, a new bridge and a new bow. And all that was going to cost around $300, far too much for how much the violin is worth. I was left feeling a bit glum and disappointed until Kev suggested buying a new violin instead-an entry level student violin, of course, but I honestly don’t need more than that. And you know what? When I picked up that new violin, I realized that my skills, although rusty, were not as abysmal as I thought. Having a violin in decent shape changed a lot. It was definitely a pick me up.

So for the past few months, I’ve been practicing as I find time and I’ve been playing with the boys. Piano, clarinet and violin is not a really common ensemble so finding music had been a challenge (and the fact that Daniel is better than both Nathan and I provides a challenge as well) but we’ve found a few things and are attempting to learn them. As a result, music time has become a more regular thing for me. It's not that I'm not busy anymore because if anything, my schedule is crazier. I may not be changing diapers or chasing toddlers, but I've become a carpool queen. The point is, my kids have gotten older and I'm reaching a point where I can think about what's next for me. While I don't have an answer for that yet, I do know that I want my music back. A lot of that has been set by the wayside while my focus was on raising the little folks. Now that they are more independent, I can actually sneak in some time for me (sometimes).

It has been fun playing with them. And it’s filling up a little empty part of my soul.

Now I Have Two Teenagers...

Nathan’s birthday was really low key this year. He had his friend birthday party two weeks ago since we have learned from years past that no one is available for a party on Memorial Day weekend. He met a whole new crew of kids while he was in “Annie” and he wanted to invite them all and play improv games. This group is not a small group and we do not have room for 35 or so teenagers in our living room, so we scheduled the gym at the church and held his party there. He planned all the games and everything. All I had to do was provide food. So it was a totally easy party for me.

The night before his birthday was a trip to Desert Star Playhouse. He received this trip as one of his experience gifts for Christmas but when he was hopelessly torn between two shows, we offered to take him to see one for his birthday in addition to the one for Christmas. I didn’t think this show was as funny as the last one we saw, but Nathan enjoyed it thoroughly.

On his actual birthday he received his presents from his siblings and that was about it. He got his present from Kev and me (a stack of sheet music and the Desert Star trip) in advance so there wasn’t even anything from us. I usually try to get at least some balloons and a treat of some sort, but I was really off my game this year and totally missed that. So it was low key.

We celebrated with my family this evening. Nathan has a fondness for carrot cake so that was what I made, but he didn’t even care about having it decorated this time. I guess that’s just one more sign that he’s not a little boy anymore. Everything has been so laid back that I didn’t even take any pictures. Kev snapped one while Nathan was blowing out his candles and that is all we have.

Nathan has grown up a lot in the past year. He has found his place at the middle school and is doing well there. He is learning a lot and loving the learning. He is not as stressed out about the changes in homework and such and even his teachers have mentioned that he has relaxed a lot. He has found himself a big group of friends who have the same interests and hopefully, he will be as lucky as I was in that area and will find these friends sticking with him throughout high school and even beyond. And-one of his favorite accomplishments of the past year-he is taller than I am. ;-)

The End of the School Year Whirlwind

It always seems a bit backward to me that the end of the school year is so busy. But as class work is winding down, special events are revving up and our calendar has been booked solid for the past two weeks. I’ll try to summarize all the best events.

Daniel had his final band concert of middle school. He has really enjoyed his time in band and his teacher has been great. I’m extremely grateful for her as she has helped Daniel develop his skills and his love for music. He also had his final concert of the district youth symphony, another group that he has enjoyed. At the annual awards assembly, he was selected as the outstanding student in band. Lagoon day and yearbook day finished up his middle school years. And now summer marching band is in full swing!

Nathan had his final choir concert of the year. He was especially excited because he was playing piano for two of his choir numbers. He did a fantastic job! Really, I couldn’t be prouder. He received the award for most outstanding student in Math…although it was originally presented in the 8th grade assembly because he is in 8th honors math and had to be presented again in the 7th grade assembly. He auditioned for and was invited to play a piano piece at the 7th grade assembly. He played "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." He also had his very first yearbook day. Nathan has absolutely loved this year and is pretty sad it is over.

Malia finished up preschool. She had a short program that showed off what she had learned over the year and received an award for always being happy and always looking for a mystery. She has loved preschool and her social nature has been completely content with her little group of cronies. Her final activity was a picnic at the park with all her preschool friends. She had a great time. Next up for her is kindergarten. I think she is completely ready and she is totally excited!

And Matthew…poor Matthew goes back to school next Thursday and has two and a half more weeks of school.

All Hail, Sir Matthew!

I know I’ve already mentioned it, but we have absolutely loved our new elementary school and Matthew’s third grade teacher. Our latest bit of delight was the program the third grade teachers put together to help celebrate the children’s accomplishments in memorizing the multiplication tables. When the kids pass off a certain number of timed tests, they are “knighted” and become Knights of the Multiplication Tables. For those who go further and pass off division as well, they are given the keys to the kingdom.

Matthew has passed off his times tables and today was his knighting ceremony. We received our official invitation about a week ago and Matthew has been looking forward to this. Let me tell you, the teachers and the administration definitely went out of their way to make this neat for the kids. The kids all filed in, those who would be knighted having the spots of honor in the center of the group. Then, as the royal music began to play, the children all rose to honor the entrance of the king and queen (the principal and vice-principal). Each knight-to-be was called up one at a time and knelt before either the king or queen (they took turns) who recited to oath of knighthood and then knighted each child with the official sword. Seriously, they played it all up…and the kids loved it. I’m totally proud of Matthew for working hard to learn his facts so he could join the ranks of the honorable knights of the multiplication tables!

Yeah, typical Matthew. What can I say? He keeps us laughing. :-)

He's a Winner!

Our middle school has an award they call the Diamondback of the Month. Basically, one boy and one girl or selected by the faculty each month to be honored. Every three months they hold an assembly to honor the six most recently selected students. Daniel was selected when he was in 7th grade and this month was Nathan’s turn. Unfortunately, the parents of all the boys notified in advance like usual. This morning the phone rang at 8:45. It was one of Nathan’s teachers asking for a brief bio or some stories about Nathan. The assembly was already underway and they had just realized that there were parents who had not been notified. She told me they would leave Nathan until the very end and I blasted out the door, dropped Malia off at preschool and rushed over to the middle school to arrive just in time. When the assembly was over, the teacher in charge of notifying the parents found me and apologized profusely. She had been on maternity leave and today was her very first day back at school. Totally acceptable excuse in my book. Anyway, I’m very proud. Nathan is a good kid. And I’m so glad I was able to get to the school in time…even though I was in my yoga gear. :-)

Twinkle Toes

Malia has started taking dance lessons. I have been checking out options for a while, but had not made any decisions mainly because the cost associated most of them is pretty high. Just a couple of months ago a friend from the ward told me that her daughter takes lessons from a lady who has converted her garage to a dance studio and only charges $35 a month for an hour long lesson once a week. We signed up for the summer “dance camp,” mostly because we were told that those who sign up for the summer session get first choice of classes for fall and because her prices are so super, her classes always fill up quickly. In dance camp there is a theme each week. They do a craft and then dance to music that fits the week’s theme. It is more relaxed than a regular lesson and I think it is a great way to introduce the littlest ones to dancing.

Malia has been super excited about dance and has been asking regularly if we had reached the appropriate day. Today was finally the day and she had a great time. I’m not one of those moms who will make my daughter take dance lessons just because she is a girl, but I’m hoping she enjoys it as much as I did when I was a kid.

Break a Leg

Daniel and Nathan are both in the school musical this year. Nathan has been anxiously awaiting 7th grade so he could participate and Daniel thought he should try it once so he could see if he likes being on stage or in the pit. The production was “Annie Jr.” Daniel was cast as Drake, the butler, and Nathan was Louie Howe/general man on the stage. This was the first time they had experienced the long hours of rehearsal and although they were both pretty worn out by the end, they both loved the experience and had a great time.

Daniel and His Staff (which included Nathan)

Daniel and Oliver Warbucks (Caleb Sweet)

During the Friday night performance, Mr. Warbuck's overcoat had a sleeve turned the wrong direction. He and Daniel struggled to get the coat on, encountering multiple difficulties. They covered it well, however, and Daniel learned a bit about faking it onstage.

Nathan as Louie Howe with President Roosevelt (Connor Kellis, one of Daniel's good friends)

 The Cast

 Nathan found a picture of Daniel that was taken at exactly the wrong moment. Nathan pulled it into Photoshop to make sure no one could possibly miss the crazy expression. Ahh, brotherly love at its best.

The Manly Art of Stage Makeup

Daniel and Nathan are in the school musical this year. Today was their first full dress rehearsal and tomorrow is full dress and make up. I thought I had some stuff I could send with them, but when I went digging through all my stuff, I discovered that I had been a good little girl and thrown out everything that was old. Now the drama teacher at the school said they could share makeup with others (although they would want their own sponges), but honestly, ewwww. So this evening, Daniel, Nathan and I took a little excursion to Walgreens.

Due to some difficulty with a broken light bulb and a corroded base stuck in one of our kitchen floodlights, our Deacons quorum adviser (and friendly neighborhood general contractor) was in our kitchen. When I announced that I was taking my big boys to buy makeup, there was a definite pause with the accompanying “Did I just hear that right?” expression. And I laughed. When we got to Walgreens and had “guy-liner” in hand, one of the counselors in our bishopric and his 14 year old son walked in. They were looking for candy, a manly nighttime excursion, and there was some definite laughter and light mocking about our own reasons for an evening shopping trip. As we stood there trying to find good foundation shades (I’m not great at that part), some unknown gentleman began walking down out aisle, saw us trying foundation on two boys who are both bigger than me, gave us the “you are a bunch of complete weirdos” look, and walked the long way around to avoid us. All three of us laughed our heads off.

Yeah, it was pretty hilarious. Although my own experience should have clued me in to the fact that the boys would need makeup, it is honestly not something I had thought about until this evening. I figured I had 8-10 years until I needed to help one of my children pick out that perfect shade. But it was an entertaining experience. And as Daniel says, at least they don’t need “man-scara.”