Day at the Farm!

We spent the day out at Dan & Rebecca's house helping them catch up from moving in. Jeff and the girls worked on glazing the textured living room, and Karla spent a good part of the day working on their computer.

And yes, we did go back and touch up the white trim. :-)

There was also plenty of baby watching.

The younger ones had a blast running outside in the warm (finally) weather.
Of course this is a farm, so they had many adventures such as:
counting the snakes in the well...
discovering an opossum by the silo...
and looking at an autograph written
in 1911 down in the cellar.
Sara went on a photo shoot with
the kids and got a few shots.
Justin up in the loft of the barn...
Kayla,
Joey,
children playing school in one
of the barns,
It was such a blessing for them to be able
to spend the day in the beautiful weather,
as us "older folks" helped get Dan and
Rebecca more settled in.

Springs A Comin.....or so they tell me!

Here is what the 1st day of Spring looked like in Kansas!

We had hoped for some sledding, but alas it was too soft.
That did not keep them inside though!
One of these days I'm sure I will be able
to set out my tomato plants. I experimented
with newspaper pots this year. The
verdict is not in yet concerning those pots....

Yesterday Jordan got bored and decided all the kids needed

swords and shields. So he got out his trusty tools, as well
as some of dads and provided them all with entertainment for
many weeks to come....assuming they don't hurt each other
too badly. :-)

Spring 2010 Youth Orchestra Concert

Youth Orchestras presented their Spring concert this past weekend. It was a wonderful concert featuring all 3 orchestras as well as 2 soloists.

We began the concert with the Chamber Players. Kayla
enjoyed sitting Concert Master for this performance.

The program included:
Brandenburg Concerto #3.....Bach
Nocturne........Hofeldt
Mantras..........Meyer
Rondo in Blue......Longfield
Here are a few clips of their performance

Next on the program was the Repertory Orchestra.
Jordan is sitting on the front row, but because he is
still a bit short, we don't get to see him very well. :-)

Their performance included:
Cello Concerto.........Lalo
Soloist--Liann
Capriccio Espagnol.........Rimsky-Korsakov
Here is a condensed version of the Capriccio--

Finally, Sara & Anna, with the Youth Symphony
finished out the concert.
Youth performed the following pieces:
Hoedown from Rodeo.........Copland
Violin Concerto in E minor......Mendelssohn
soloist--Sarah Jane
Capriccio Italien......Tchaikovsky
Here is the condensed version of Rodeo:
(does this sound familiar Jake?) :-)

Finally, a much condensed version of
Capriccio Italien. Youth Symphony did a
fabulous job on this exciting piece, receiving
a standing ovation at the end. I had a
difficult time condensing it. Hopefully, I
can add some youtube links for those of you
that would like to see the pieces in their entirety.

It was a wonderful concert.
Great job kids!
Towards the end of the concert many scholarships
and awards were given out. Sara received a $300
scholarship from Simon McHugh Violin Shop. Anna
received a $150 award for being the string runner-up to
the Youth talent competition, and Kayla received a
camp scholarship to Chamber Music at the Barn!

For those of you that would like to see any of the pieces
in their entirety here are some youtube links to those
pieces. Keep in mind that these are home videos
recorded by parents. They are not perfect quality,
and they certainly feature our own children. :-)
Chamber Players Brandenburg Concerto
Chamber Players Nocturne
Chamber Players Mantras
Repertory Capriccio Part 1
Repertory Capriccio Part 2
Capriccio Italien Part 1
Capriccio Italien Part 2

Jordan turns 13!!

Happy 13th birthday Jordan!
What a blessing you are to our family.
Your joyful countenance, and willingness
to serve, is an example to all of us.

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example
of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in
spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12