recital videos

Recital 2011

Look at those gorgeous girls! And they played beautifully, too. :) Katie played The Old Rugged Cross and Russian Prelude. Jenna played Snow Castle Waltz, Nightwind (duet with me), and Come Bless the Lord. One video is below and there will be more on the next post.

Below is all the students that played in the recital. I had one not show up (found out later that she was sick with bronchitis). One refused to do the recital period (first time that's happened to me). And 4 of my school students didn't do it this year; I'm hoping to get them into it next year.

Every year, I dread this. It's a huge stress for me-- worse than any other performance I'm involved in. But I also know involvement in recitals was beneficial for me when I was a piano student; and the parents/grandparents always really appreciate it. I think it's good for encouragement and inspiration to keep going. Plus, I always play something at the end, and maybe it's good for the parents to see that the piano teacher can actually play the piano, too. :)

Anyway, it went very well. No one had huge mistakes, just tiny ones that are to be expected when factoring in nervousness. And several of them just did an outstanding job.

And the cookie reception afterward went very well as well-- thanks esp to Anita who came with some goodies to add to mine and then served people while I yakked. And also a big thank you to my husband who helped me pull it all off without getting upset while I was not real warm and fuzzy. :)

Snow tubing

A week ago or so, Chad had planned to go tubing with the girls-- it was a school outing, so there would have been lots of friends there-- but Jenna got sick that day, so they didn't go. On Saturday, he decided it might be one of the last days possible for them to go, so they went as early as possible. Had a terrific time! Neighbors Josh and Taylor went also.

Claire-ism

Last night, Claire had a bath before bed. For some reason, none of the girls really like baths. At least not before and after-- they usually don't mind when they are actually in it. So, when I was tucking Claire in, she said:

"Do you know what I really wish?"

I said, "You wish you were a fairy and that you could fly." (Because this is what she tells me about every other day)

She said, "No, that's not what I'm wishing right now. I wish I had the magic to change myself into any other person."

I said, "Why? Who would you change yourself into?"

She said, "I don't care-- just anyone who didn't have to have a bath today."

Jenna's Date with Daddy

Jenna and Daddy went to Monkey Joe's yesterday. This is a favorite dates spot lately-- for Jenna and Claire, that is. :) They also got to go to Bob Evans-- and Jenna had pancakes and eggs.

Daffodils!

Couldn't believe it! There are daffodils sprouting in front of our house! Feb. 3. Daffodils. They are the green spouts in the center of the pic. And this is the way the rest of our yard still looks...

Dr. Cameron

Dr. Cameron was Claire's heart surgeon. A month ago or so, she sent him a thank you letter (below). Most fascinating to me is that she included a knife in his hand-- when we talk about the surgery and she wonders how they cut her open, she can't believe they used something like a knife. But she drew it, and both she and the dr still have a smile on their faces. :) Then, he sent back a great reply...

In case you can't read it, it says, "Dear Claire, Thank you so much for the nice drawing of the two of us. I was particularly flattered that you drew me with hair on my head-- but maybe those were dog ears. You have grown up to be a beautiful (and talented) young girl. Best wishes, Dr. Cameron"

Yes, he's bald. :)

When this came in the mail, Claire tried to read it out loud to us, and she's not real great at reading cursive yet. So, she read something like, "I was perfectly fluttered..."