First up was Jake's final 6th grade Band Concert - the improvement in the band's performances over the past year is nothing short of miraculous. They've gone from squeaks and honks to sounding really great! Jake has loved playing trombone and plans to take lessons over the summer to keep up his skills. It's fun to watch (and listen to) him expanding his musical abilities.
Haley entertained herself and Alex during the concert by illustrating the creatures in the songs...
Thursday was Haley's Spring Choir Concert, where she sang with the Freshman Chorus as well as the Chamber Choir (an audition-only group). She also accompanied the Freshman Chorus on the piano for the song, "Farvel." It still astonishes me that she is willing and able to do such a thing...I wouldn't even be able to remember my name in front of an auditorium full of strangers, much less play piano. She said she didn't play it perfectly, but it sounded great from where we were. Haley loves to sing (in fact she's humming as I type this), and we looking forward to many more choir concerts in the coming years.
After cold temperatures and heavy rain late in the week, Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny. It was a perfect day for a soccer game. Alex played hard, kicked a great goal shot (that sadly the goalie caught), and played some good defense. During the game Bo and I debated the merits of team sports. At this age I feel like the whole point is that they are being active and having fun. After every game or practice he says, "That was so fun!" so I guess it's working. It's nice to have an activity for this high-energy kid!
'Tis the season for outdoor cooking, and we took advantage of that this weekend. Friday night our friends John and Tierney spoiled us by bringing over some amazing shish-kebabs, grilled pineapple, and peach cobbler. Seriously delicious stuff right there!
On Saturday the kids worked hard all day with the promise of our first bonfire and s'mores - now that the burn ban has been lifted (Haley and Alex walked next door to the fire station to be sure). We trimmed up all the spruce trees in the back yard (with the hope of saving the lawn, which is dying due to heavy shade), removed 2 overgrown - and long-detested-by-me - shrubs, and hauled it all out to the curb for the city to pick up this week. We were exhausted by evening but kept our promise and the kids had fun making s'mores and playing "night games" with friends. We hope it will be the first of many this summer.
We can see the sunsets again (as well as the hockey rink) with our newly-trimmed trees.
Late spring in North Dakota is a truly glorious thing. We have two flowering trees in the front yard and they are in full bloom this week, along with the tulips & daffodils. It feels miraculous after our loooong winter, and we try to take advantage of it all we can.
