Arts Gala

On the Thursday night of Women's Conference, Eva's school held their annual Arts Gala. The choirs and orchestra performed, and the children's artwork was displayed all around the school. (I had been dreading it because I didn't want to have to tear myself away from my girls' weekend, but it ended up being pretty cute.)

I worked with the junior choir all year as their accompanist. We met on Fridays before school. It was difficult getting Eva ready and out the door so we could be there at 8:00, but it was always fun once we got there.

Max and Lucas both had other engagements that night (Thursday nights are crazy for us), but Mim and Bob came with Marc and I to show their support.

This is Eva's poster. I also worked as an art volunteer this year, teaching art to Eva's class every Wednesday. It was really a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to know all of her classmates. The children selected their favorite art works from the year for their posters.

This was a collaborative effort by students in the upper grades. I love all of those colorful circles!

Each grade had a "masterwork" — a project inspired by a famous artist. For the first grade, our inspiration was the collage work of Lois Ehlert. One week, the children painted papers using layers of color and texture, and the next week they cut those papers to make a bird collage. The masterworks were collected and displayed as a group. (Eva's is the red bird on the lower left.)

Despite her slightly bored expression, she had a great time. I think she was exhausted because it was a long night!

a too-short visit

My parents came into town from Philadelphia last Thursday at midnight. They came for a brief visit to celebrate Lucas's birthday and Priesthood ordination. I was so glad they could make it, especially considering the stressful time my mom is having with her business right now.

I was not so glad when they had to leave on Monday. We don't see them often enough, and the time just flew by.

As I have already established, my dad spent the entirety of his time here making trips to Home Depot and working on handyman projects around the house and yard. He's a wonder.

Mom and I ran errands, did a little shopping, and cooked together. (I love having a cooking buddy.)

Here are a few random photos from their short visit:

Mom let Eva borrow some of her bracelets for church. She was thrilled, of course. She sometimes refers to my mom as "Grandma Queen" because she is so fancy.

Eva came up to my mom on Sunday and said, "Have you ever dreamed of having a choir of two?" Mom replied that she had not, but was happy to join when Eva invited her to form their very own choir of two.

They snuggled in Eva's bed, making their selections from the Children's Songbook and practicing.

Max was their accompanist. There's not much I love more than family making music together.

So sweet.

After the choir concert was over, Eva sang Read Me a Memory for Grandma and Grandpa. I still get choked up every time I hear it.

Mom came with us to the junior high when we paid Lucas's fees ($145!), got his locker assignment, and practiced with the combination.

(Sadly, his schedule is royally messed up, so we are still waiting for a new one and he has not had the chance to walk around the school and find his classrooms yet.)

We always take an airport self-portrait (usually because I have forgotten to do one before that point). I have the cutest parents.

I hate it when they leave. Especially when I don't know when we will see each other next. sigh.

school plays, part II

Eva's kindergarten play was on Wednesday night. She has been looking forward to it for ages.

Over the weekend, I decided we had better practice her part, just to make sure that she really knew it, knew her cues, wasn't speaking too quickly, etc. She informed me that it was too embarrassing to practice with me. Okay, then. I suggested Lucas as a script partner. She latched onto that idea and wouldn't practice with anyone else.

Bob and Mim came with us, which made it a bigger deal and more of a celebratory event. Yay, grandparents!

{Eva is the chick on the far left.}

Her class sang this song, which I had never heard before - Read Me a Memory. While I was recording it (with a rather shaky-cam, sorry), I thought it was lovely. But yesterday, Eva's friend Savannah was here playing and they were coloring at the table and singing the song together. Sitting here, just listening, it brought a tear to my eye and a catch in my throat. I think the lyrics are so bittersweet, and the melody is very pretty, too.

Read Me a Memory
Music and Lyrics by Jay Richards

Read me a mem'ry, tell me a tale.
Speak of wondrous adventures,
together we'll sail off to forests enchanted and lands far away.
Fairies and kings, and magical wings,
My heart has wings
When I sit at your knee and you read to me.
Years turn like pages, soon I'll be grown.
Maybe someday I'll read to a child of my own.
Though I may not remember the stories we shared,
I always knew, through time spent with you
That you loved me, too;
For I sat at your knee and you read to me.
Childhood like summer days; dews on the grass
Soon will be yesterdays. Don't let it pass
Til you read me a mem'ry, tell me a tale,
Speak of wondrous adventures.
Together we'll sail off to forests enchanted and lands far away.
Fairies and kings, and magical rings.
My heart has wings!
When I sit at your knee and you read to me.

{sob.}

*Edited to add: yay! I found free printable sheet music! Eva and I have been singing it together, oh rapture.

**Edited to add: Eva decided to play the xylophone along with the piano. Rapture slightly diminishing.

***Edited to add: Eva spent half an hour writing out "music" for her xylophone part. Then when we tried our duet again, she kept crying and telling me to start over because she couldn't keep up with her "music." Rapture gone.

new baby & miscellany

My newest niece, Sophia, was born last night! Marc's sister Lisa delivered her 7th baby (what a woman). Incidentally, she has two grandchildren that are older than this latest child! So happy that mama & baby are both doing well. They live in California, so it may be awhile before we get to meet Sophia. {photos from niece Michelle's Facebook}

I bought myself some memory foam slippers last night when I ran to the grocery store. They were on sale for $7! The verdict: very cozy, but I don't know if my feet can handle that much warmth.

I may have to make these cookies/candies this weekend. Swoon.

Eva learned how to write her full name correctly. It was kind of a sad day, as I was rather fond of the "Owliveay" version...

I took Max to audition today for the American Fork Symphony's Young Artists concert. He was nervous, of course, but looked very dapper in his suit and tie. (Here he is warming up in a practice room.) I thought he played very well, but we have to wait to get the results.

This sign was on one of the practice rooms. Ouch!

Eva just told Lucas that she is the princess, he is the prince, and Mom is the maid. !!! I knew it. But Lucas stood up for me and said that I am the queen. He is my favorite child right now.

Snowbird

Our annual trip to Snowbird was last week. Marc took the boys up and I brought Eva the next day (we had to stay behind for dance photos).

When I arrived, Grandpa was working on a color mixing chart of his watercolors. He's had a renewed interest in painting lately, and I found his charts to be so pleasing.

My doctor called in some more prescriptions for me that I picked up on my way out of town. I was excited to take the cough syrup with codeine, thinking it would help me sleep. Instead, it kept me awake. So I decided to take it only during the day, but it made me incredibly ill. So dizzy and nauseous that I couldn't even move. No more of that for me! (And why is it even more miserable to be sick away from home?)

Michelle brought a new 1000 piece puzzle. We both really enjoy working on puzzles on vacation, and the kids occasionally help us as well.

Grandpa brought two guitars and was giving lessons to any interested parties. Max, Lucas and Kristen were all interested, and as there were more players than guitars, they were in hot demand! I couldn't believe how quickly they picked up the different chords and strumming patterns (can you tell I don't know anything about the guitar?). I think my boys are both missing it and wishing we had one of our own.

The first night we were there, the kids all watched Alice in Wonderland in Michelle's room, but I had to stay with Eva because she was feeling fearful. Lucas knew I was somewhat disappointed, so he watched it with me the next day (I spent a lot of time recovering in bed).

Lucas took the treats I brought and arranged them to look like a hotel mini-bar. Until he did that, I hadn't realized how much junk I brought!

Last year, I bought Eva a lifejacket to give her a little more independence in the pool, but she wasn't having it. This year something changed and she loved it! Grandma and Michelle were so nice to swim with her since my lungs weren't up to that yet.

I sat by the pool and read. I couldn't believe how good it felt to just be outside after being cooped up indoors for such a long time.

Grandpa joined me.

an Olivier sandwich

After swimming one day, Eva put herself down for a much-needed nap. Hallelujah! (I never want to nap in my bathing suit...)

It was different for me this year, with no swimming and no working out in the spa with this beautiful view:

Still, I was able to use the steam room and relax in the solarium afterward (truly blissful). Bob and Mim were so kind to play with Eva, prepare meals, etc. so that I could just rest and try to get better. And the kids had a wonderful time, as usual.

We had great weather this year with warm, sunny days and stormy nights. (One night we had a gigantic storm which Max declared to be the coolest thing of his life.) Max was sad that he had to leave early for Trek, and Lucas was sad that Max was gone, but all in all, it was a very nice week in the mountains.

five for friday, photoless edition

I seem to have taken amazingly few photos this week. I can't explain it.

1. On Sunday evening we went to see Marc sing in the Young Ambassadors' 40th anniversary fireside. It was held in the small theater of the Conference Center and was open to the performers' families. The fireside was recorded for broadcast and DVD, and thus we opted not to bring Eva. I could just hear her yelling, "This is too long!" or "I want to go home!" in between numbers... (Thanks, Aunt Michelle & Uncle Bob, for staying with Eva.)

When I told her she wouldn't be coming with us to the performance, she said, "That's okay. I just like listening to Daddy sing downstairs." He had been rehearsing all week to learn the songs, and it was like a continual serenade for the rest of us. The boys agreed that they had enjoyed hearing his practices, and so did I.

At the conclusion of the fireside, we were informed that they needed to redo two of the numbers (I hadn't noticed anything amiss), so it ran longer than expected. We didn't get home until after 11:00! But Eva did have a 3 hour nap on Monday...

2. I took Lucas and Eva to the dentist this week for their 6-month checkups. Lucas has 2 cavities; Eva has none. She is gloating quite a bit and keeps telling Lucas, "I told you you should brush your teeth!" Needless to say, Lucas is not enjoying that.

Also, the dentist's office is now selling Sonicare toothbrushes (at a discounted rate), and they said that someone like Lucas (teeth prone to decay and a lazy brusher) could really benefit from one. Lucas told me he wishes he could have one. Well, so do I! Do you think he'll save up $125 of his allowance? (it should only take a year or so...)

3. Last night I had a hard time getting Eva to get ready for bed. She was too busy making up songs on the piano about Mr. Ickle Dickles, her latest drawing creation. (He's a creepy guy with spikes who has minions of crocodile-like creatures.) Most of the lyrics are along the lines of, "he is creepy, he is scary," but there are some other details about what makes him so creepy/scary. Max was accompanying her, fleshing out the songs with appropriately eerie chords and runs, while Lucas was actually drawing his own staff paper and notating the repetitive chorus.

Can you blame me for moving bedtime a little later?? I only wish I had thought to grab my camera and get some video before the whole thing ended.

4. Yesterday I was vacuuming, and I noticed that the dirt cup was not filling up. With Jack around, it's just not possible that the carpet isn't covered with dog hair, so I knew something was up. I looked online for some troubleshooting possibilities and then downloaded the manual for our model. I diagnosed the problem, took apart the hoses, and discovered what was clogging up the works! I felt like a super hero: DIY Woman.

5. Wednesday's second-to-last meeting of our organization class was unexpectedly emotional for me. It was about teaching children to work, but ended up being a lot about parenting. It really got me thinking. And worrying that I've made too many mistakes already, and what if it's too late to salvage things?

And then, Jill and I ended up going and talking to the teacher for a few minutes afterward. The conversation took an unexpected turn which left me practically sobbing. I did not see that coming. I've been feeling emotionally fragile ever since, like I could start crying at any moment. I am not used to this! As Jill would say, "what is this salty discharge?!"

Jill mentioned that this class appears to be a defining event in my life -- perhaps down the road we will think in terms of before the class and after the class. I think she may be right.

p.s. I made some double chocolate banana bread last night to use up all of my overripe bananas. This morning I had a piece with a smear of peanut butter (a new innovation). Oh. my. gosh. As my aunt Denise says, "That is sure to make my pants fit better!" Yikes. I fear they may never fit again.

victory!

Once we were back from London, I had to get serious about finding a cello for Max.

I called the most recent shop I had found on one of my walks, the one where I was told that the deposit would only be 350 euros, rather than 500. This time, I was told the deposit would be 1000 euros! What the?

Max and I got ready to go, and I said a prayer on the bus that the shopowner would be kindly disposed toward us and that my French communication skills would be up to par for this transaction.

Jean-Claude told me that because we are foreigners and don't have a French checking account, he would require the 1000 euro deposit. He said that he didn't have any way of reimbursing a foreign credit card, and so would need cash. He was none too pleased that I didn't have proof of our address, either. I explained that the occupants of our apartment change frequently, and thus an outside person pays the bills and receives all of that type of mail. I told him that I had 500 euros in cash for a deposit, but that I couldn't do 1000.

It took some doing, but my prayer was answered.

He took the 500 euro deposit. I paid for the minimum 3 months' rental (even though we will only have it for 2), bought a music stand and some rosin.


All I have is this dumb blurry picture of Max practicing, but I think it shows his excitement. If possible, I think I was even happier than he at the end of it all, as I was beginning to despair. It was a victory for sure.

p.s. I learned some new vocabulary as well: un pupitre is a music stand (also a pulpit); un arché is a bow. Cool.

Sunday thoughts

Many good things were said in church today, but my thoughts keep returning to the opening hymn in Sacrament meeting (one of my favorites):

Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene--one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.

So long thy pow'r hath blessed me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!


I am always touched when we sing this song. I can really identify with being prideful, with wanting to choose and see the pathway ahead. Yet it is so hopeful, so faith-affirming. I want to be able to look back sometime and say that those things are in my past! Perhaps I should start singing this song weekly...

this is awesome.

If you already know about Pandora.com, you can delete this now. (But not before you feel a tiny pang of guilt for not filling me in on this amazing knowledge.) If you don't already know about it, prepare for a music revolution.

Jessie happened to mention it when she was over yesterday, and when she saw my blank stare, she explained how it works: you register at the site, and for no cost, you can set up any number of radio "stations". You tell Pandora a song or an artist that you like, and the site gathers songs and artists similar in style for your approval. For each song that comes up, you can tell Pandora if you like it or not, and this helps to guide future selections. If you don't want to listen to the current song, you can skip it.

Imagine the possibilities! This is the perfect thing for a person like me. I love music, but I get in music ruts all the time. A big stumbling block for me is not knowing how to find new music that I will like. This is the perfect music discovery tool! I can see how I could spend a lot of time making lists and exploring new artists.

As my mind was reeling with wondering how they possibly put this database together, I found this on the site telling how it came to be:

"On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.

Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.

Since we started back in 2000, we've carefully listened to the songs of tens of thousands of different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.

It has been quite an adventure, you could say a little crazy - but now that we've created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe."

Cool.

earworms

A couple of weeks ago, while driving to Amy's house for book club, I heard a fascinating show on NPR about music. The thing that jumped out at me the most was the term "earworms". Gross name, I know, but a very interesting topic.

Apparently earworm is the official name for a song that gets stuck in your head. More accurately, it's a portion of a song that gets stuck in your head -- the expert on the show said that it is most often a short segment of a song that usually has a very simple tune and/or is repetitive. I'm guessing that creating an earworm is the pinnacle of an advertising firm's career!

Marc happened to catch the same show, and when we were discussing it, the boys overheard and joined in the conversation. It was fun to compare notes on our individual earworms. Lucas's most persistent one is a song from the most recent Willy Wonka movie.

Here are just a few of mine:

theme song from The Wonder Pets
several little ditties from Sesame Street
theme song from Blue's Clues
theme song from Dora
theme song from Go, Diego, Go!
several songs from Wii games
(gee, can you tell what my musical influences are these days?)

A couple of other interesting points that I caught: the guest was talking about the special camaraderie that forms when you play music with other people -- so true! It's like the best kind of teamwork or collaboration. He compared it to being on a sports team, only without the competition. I had never thought of it in those terms before. No wonder I love making music!

He also mentioned that often people have what he called a "personal tempo". This would dictate your walking pace, your affinity to certain styles of music, possibly even which earworms wiggle their way into your brain!

Oh, and another thing! He said that any Sting song is a good earworm antidote because they are so catchy. (Of course, then they might turn into earworms...)

So I'm curious: what are your earworms? Other thoughts?