Merry Christmas!

We had a lovely Christmas this year!  While my mom was the only one joining us in person, we had all of you in our hearts.  Thank you for all of the calls, cards, gifts and thoughts that made our day so special.  

Our tree, all ready for the morning unveiling . . .
The two big gifts were the "surprises" for Katy and Emma.  (I did a pretty good job wrapping the guitar, don't you think?)  Katy had absolutely no idea what it was.  The look on her face was priceless.  I was so busy watching that I forgot to take a picture . . .

Cute, silly hats from Aunt Carlye, who lives in Hawaii.  Emma and Katy wore them nearly all day.  

Emma, in another animal hat, building her "surprise"-- the Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle.  (She is still working on it!  It has been a few hours since she started construction . . .)  The purple triple decker bus is also a Lego Harry Potter item.  She and Eric assembled it earlier in the day.  She now has set her sights on the Diagon Alley set.  I think we are out of room . . . 

Taking a break from the festivities to play "In a Pickle."  

A songwriter in the making!  We have to save up for lessons now . . .   

'Tis the Season . . .

Flowers from my mom! The display is sooo cute--looks like someone named Eric will have to refill it for me once in awhile because it is unlikely I will be packing this guy away for the season . . .

All we need is music, sweet music . . .

A quick note to let you know we are all doing well here in Boise.  The girls received their report cards several weeks ago.  Straight A's all around!  No big surprise there--We are proud of them.   Katy has three accelerated classes (reading, math and English) that keep her extra busy.  Her scores were high enough to earn her first official 4.0!  Emma has made great progress in math and reading comprehension.  Neither are her favorite, but she works hard to maintain her grades!

Emma is involved with the choir at school this year.  This was a shot from their program for Veterans Day.  It was a sweet performance.  They sang patriotic songs and several students recited quotes related to America.  Emma's quote was from Thomas Paine:  "These are the times that try men's souls.  The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country: but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." She did a great job.

For the Christmas program, they will be singing several songs that I have never heard.  I believe they will be covering every winter holiday!  For the song about Jesus, Emma will be dressed as Mary.  Much to her chagrin, she told me she was "married" to a sixth grader--the kid who is portraying Joseph.  I am fairly certain he feels a bit "chagrined" himself . . .  I am looking forward to finding out who this guy is.  She does not remember his name--she tells me he is new and he might have brown hair.  Not a lot to go on, but I hope to capture it all on camera!!  Despite the whole "husband" setback, she loves participating in choir.  They meet every Wednesday/Friday at 8 a.m. so I guess you'd have to love it . . . 

Katy is also involved in music this year.  One of her electives is band--specifically, Cadet Band.  The junior high band is significantly larger in participants than elementary band.  I believe there are seven girls who play flute as opposed to three last year.  Katy enjoys her instructor, Mr. Sprague, and fellow band mates.  This is a photo from their fall "Informance".  Mr. Sprague calls it such because it is an opportunity for the band to "inform" the parents of their musical progression from the elementary level to junior high.  We enjoyed the music.  It was obvious they had a lot of work to do, but the flutes sounded fantastic!  Katy tells me they will sound even better at the holiday concert next week.  Looking forward to that performance!  She would have liked to have tried out for honor band and/or jazz band (playing piano) but her schedule is pretty full with horse lessons/barn chores and homework.  We'll see what next year brings . . .  

Speaking of music, I have yet to write about the fabulous night we had in Seattle when we visited Washington a few months ago.  We enjoyed the evening with Eric's mom, Etta, his step-dad, Kem, and his brother, Troup (he is hiding behind his camera!)  Kem and Etta treated us all to dinner at Mama's Mexican Kitchen and a concert.  This picture was taken inside the Moore Theatre, located downtown, while we were waiting for the Seattle Rock Orchestra to take the stage.  It was no ordinary concert.  It was an event!  What makes the SRO so special, besides the fact that my sister-in-law, Karen and her husband, Danny, are members of the group? (Karen plays the cello and Danny, the euphonium) The SRO is a full orchestra that plays with a rock band!  How cool is that?!  The night we were able to attend, they presented an amazing tribute to Stevie Wonder.  They played 30 songs, with 10 different singers on vocals.  Each artist sang three songs.  It was incredible.  That old, beautiful theater was rockin'!  I provided a link to the SRO website--no description I could give would really do them justice!  They have done a tribute to Queen and will be hosting a night dedicated to the music of The Beatles next spring.
  Thanks again to Kem and Etta for the great experience.  We all had a wonderful time!  

Here is a clip from the show.  This young man was awesome!  Hope you like it . . .