Seriously though, five kids makes for a lot of hopping back and forth. Some days we had multiple events to attend. (I'm impressed with Tyler for getting to all the important ones, often during the middle of the day.)
I thought about putting these in order of child, but I finally caved and went with chronological, because that is the order they are on my phone. Let's start at the very beginning...it's a very good place to start.
The first performance doesn't even involve my kids, unless you count that I took one of them with me. I know a few people in the High School Ballroom company, so I got tickets and took Robyn. It was a very cool performance, if not a little long. Everyone did such a great job.
We kept ourselves entertained taking weirdies. (I've dubbed these pictures 'weirdies' since they are like selfies, but stranger.)
We laughed a lot and had a wonderful evening together.
Next up, June had a orchestra concert. Turns out it was also Tyler's work Christmas party. We went and scarfed a delicious meal and came back quickly to hear the concert. The Keen's saved seats for us, but the side I sat on only gave me a perfect view of Hannah.
Ironically, Chris had a better view of June, so he sent me a picture. I also grabbed a picture of June and her stand partner Brooke after. They have a great time in chamber orchestra.
I love when we can get the whole family to an event. We all try to support each other as much as possible.
At the Elementary school, they had a performance called Christmas Around the World. It was truly amazing. All the grades had different songs to sing from different countries. There were a lot of new songs I hadn't heard before. I was running late because I had lunch with Angela before (notice how we cram things in everywhere) and I got there right before it started. It was SO packed. I decided to stand against the wall on the side. Fortuitously, a teacher asked me if I wanted to sit in the front. There were some reserved seats that weren't being used, so I suddenly had killer seats right by where all my kids ended up singing. (Christmas miracles do happen.) Pearl was up first since they had the grades sing in order.
I promise that we had her hair done very nicely before she went to school. (sigh) There was this really cool drum number with yoga balls and hampers. It was pretty sweet. I bet Robyn would have loved it.
Daisy's grade sang several songs. They were all so cute.
Ivory's grade sang and played the recorder.
I got a picture of her at the end.
Luckily, parents left as grades were finished singing, so it wasn't as crowded by the end, but the weather had turned terrible. It was hailing and snowing and raining all at once. I ran to my car parked half a mile away and changed before coming back to pick up the kids from school. Crazy weather.
Pearl had another first grade program. They also do cute unique songs. My favorite was one about wanting a snake and mice for Christmas. (Funny.)
The next day, Daisy had a concert during school. Her Vocal Motion group was also performing in the evening, but we had a concert conflict, so Tyler and I made sure to attend the morning show. Daisy did such a great job. Her 'solo' was really good. Most of the kids you couldn't understand or they were quiet, but Daisy sang perfectly. The teacher had kids sing together, so there is another girl singing with her, but you can't see her. (Daisy is the first singer in the light jeans.)
In the afternoon, Ivory had a small performance for her strings group. They are still new, but doing a great job. She seems to enjoy the cello so far.
In the evening, we had the split concert. Daisy went over for Vocal Motion, and Robyn had percussion. The seventh grade percussionists play with Beginning Band, so we went to the first concert for that. Robyn did a fantastic job. She played Snare Drum in the first piece.
Next up, she was on Temple Blocks to imitate the sound of a clock counting down to Christmas. Mrs. Taylor (the band teacher) told Robyn to play a bit so everyone could hear the sound of the 'clock.' She had the whole audience chime, "Good job, Robyn."
You can see her over there on the right. This is the Beginning Band and they sounded pretty good for beginners.
In the last number, Robyn played Bass drum. It is fun that she gets to do different instruments for each number.
After the first concert, there was a small break, so I ran over to see Daisy and pick her up from her concert. She was near the end, but I got to hear her solo again, and take pictures of the group.
Then back over to see Robyn perform with the percussion group. Their number was amazing. Robyn played Marimba. It was great. (I should have recorded.) The teacher really likes Robyn and feels that she is doing very well. She is putting together groups for competition and Robyn is in a group she calls her 'dream team' made of mostly 9th graders, a few 8th graders and one 7th grader -- Robyn. (Cool huh?)
Almost done. Are you tired yet? We were about performanced out! The last day of school, the elementary kids did a sing. I wasn't going to be able to attend, but it turned out that I was free after all, so I went to see Ivory perform cello again for the school.
I had to laugh because there was an elf contest. Kids were supposed to dress up as elves? I had completely ignored this because we had plenty other things to worry about. They called up the winner from each class, and Ivory was up there. What?
She had dressed festively, but not like an elf I thought, but her class voted her the best. Funny. It was a good end to the busy season. No more performances for a while.
We know why we are so busy though. (Besides five kids.) Bea Jo sent us a Christmas card that said, "May you have more fun activities than you have time for." (What a curse!! It sure worked.) It was a great season and it is a blessing to watch all these kids enjoy and excel at their interests.
You were perfectly right. This grandma went through the entire post slowly, picking out each child in each picture. Loved it! Wish I could have been there to hear them play. Maybe sometime in the future....
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