Concert Mania

Are you ready for this?? I have never put so many videos into one post as far as I can remember. These are from our winter concert season. If you recall from the last concert post, this is the YOU DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO DO THIS SEASON CONCERT. December is so packed, but we managed to get it all done. Granted, I think the band concert and orchestra concert were the same night, but that is why you have two parents. So we have snippets from everything. So let's get going...

First up. Choir. I really love the choir concerts. Have I mentioned how happy I am that Ivory is taking choir. They did some really fun numbers this time around. They even dressed up in fun winter clothes for a few songs. Here is Ivory just to the right of the middle with the black and red cap. She didn't play the chimes in this one, but you can see the chime players on the side.

Here they are prepping for their next number, The Little Drummer Boy. I loved this version with the boys singing a counter melody in between parum pa pum pum.

This next number was very cool. I believe it is called Come to Bethlehem. They turned off all the lights so you can't see anything, but if you hear the triangle, that is Ivory.

Ivory seems to really like choir and I hear her singing the alto part naturally on so many songs. I may require her to be in choir for the rest of Junior High and High School.

Next up was band. Ivory played first in Beginning Band. She is on the sleigh bells in Sleighride. Jane was rocking the slap stick.

Ivory got to play a couple other instruments as well including snare and marimba.

Next up was Robyn in Symphonic Band. They did a Nutcracker Medley that I really liked. I don't love the Nutcracker Ballet, but I love the music.

Robyn got to help out on a special number. The Concert (middle) band played African Bell Carol and because she and Tim had played it in Honor band, they were invited to help out with the drums. They did a great job.

Next up, my favorite, the percussion. They played a song called Jingle Bells? The question mark is part of the song.

And finally Jazz Band. I missed the number where Robyn had a solo. They didn't announce it beforehand. But I did get a picture of this cutie on the piano. She really enjoys playing.

The student teacher that helped out during the semester said goodbye. Miss Marble was awesome. She will be missed. I think she will make a great band teacher somewhere. (And hello AJ, our neighbor who let me take a picture of him too.)

But, don't you worry. I found out that Robyn was playing the same songs at the end of year concert, so I snuck in during school and recorded her solo. Yes, I am a sneaky mom. Enjoy Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Are you hanging in there? I feel sorry for the blog book who can't listen to all this great music. It really is fantastic, and there is more to come. Next up is Orchestra. This is the concert that I missed, but Tyler was kind enough to record some songs. Sadly, his sound isn't as good as mine, but I think you get the picture.

Mr. Bowman had a lot of the groups playing together at different times. Here is June playing with the wind symphony.

And here is the Advanced Orchestra taking their bows.

This is the song they played with the student teacher. It was so different and really a fun piece for orchestra. It is called Wizards in Winter.

Also done that night was a group event with orchestra, some band instruments, and choir. They did the Hallelujah Chorus, which is awesome. I happened to see it again later on during an assembly and recorded it. So with better sound, here it is.

Not to leave out the cute littles, they did their Christmas sing event, but I didn't record anything. But see if you can find Pearl and Daisy in these pictures. They did a cute job.

And just like that, you have survived the winter concert series. Except of course, the ballroom performances, but that is for another post...

Pizza Meet

Pearl has been doing tumbling for a while now, surely over a year, but I couldn't tell you exactly. Sometimes I am sad that I introduced her, because after Ivory quit, I was looking forward to a break, but I still drive out there multiple times a week. But seeing the joy it brings Pearl is totally worth it. She really loves to tumble as evidenced by her jumping and vaulting around the house all the time.

She is on a pre-team right now. These are the kids that will most likely be on team next year. I'm still not sure how the program works. Pearl has been working hard. She has learned her little routines and in December, they gave the kids a chance to show off. They did an in-house meet.

They have a competition leo and Pearl is so proud to wear it. She was also told to wear socks because they need some kind of footwear on the tramp. We didn't have a lot of options, but you can pick Pearl out easily enough because of her long white socks.

For Pearl, there are three events:

Double Mini
Tramp
Tumbling Pass

This is different than gymnastics obviously, but some things are still similar. They start and end with a salute. They do their designated routine. They are scored.

Pearl started on the Double Mini. This is a trampoline that is used for big individual tricks. It isn't a routine as much as a pass they have worked on. Pearl did a great job. Her passes included straddle jumps and pike jumps. She got some great height.

Although they were given scores, the parents couldn't see what they were. So I think Pearl did well, but I really have no idea.

Next event was tramp. The kids have a set routine that they go through. We were sitting on the other side of the gym, so I snuck over to get a video.

The last event for Pearl's group was tumbling pass. For more advanced kids, this is where you see the back hand springs, and whips, and big air. Pearl does know how to do a back handspring, but that wasn't included in their routine. She did a back walk over, and some backward rolls. She did two passes and they were different. We got some pictures and a video of the second pass.

We got to see all her events and then the majority of us had to leave to attend Honor Band. But I'm so glad we got to see Pearl in action. She did a fantastic job and she is very excited for her upcoming meet in February.

Here is the group shot Tyler got at the end. Can you find Pearl? If you divided the group in half, she is in the middle of the left section.

p.s. It was called a Pizza Meet because they all had pizza afterward. I hope Pearl got a piece. I know they left quickly to go see Robyn.

Filtered Crazy

In December I got a new phone. It was way overdue. My old phone, even with a new battery didn't hold its charge very well, but more urgent was that my apps were slowly expiring. My phone was so out of date that it didn't support apps I used almost every day.

Tyler was kind enough to get me a new Galaxy A6. I love my phone. It is amazing. And I finally put a lock on it so my kids can't get into it constantly. Robyn was still the first to find the phone filters. We played with them for quite a while. They are weird, but they make me smile.

Robyn says the old man is her favorite. I like the deer. I certainly don't use the filters often, but it is fun to know they are there.

Painfully Clear

I've always had back problems since college. I don't need to go into the whole story right now, but most likely it is because I was dropped on my head. (That isn't just a phrase.) My life consists of my back going out every few months and me having to deal with pain and stiffness while muscles heal and release their painful grip on my life. It is no fun, but it is part of my life and workable.

Until this year.

It all started on the 1st of January. Normal day. It was evening and I was puttering around the kitchen helping June make some strange onion tarts. I leaned over to get something out of a cupboard and my  back disagreed about the whole thing. Typical.

It was the normal tweaky feeling, but somewhere between that happening and bedtime, everything stiffened up into a mass of pain. I couldn't lie down in bed. It took me half an hour to get into bed. It was a sad state of affairs.

But even worse was trying to get up the next day. I couldn't move without incredible pain. There was no bending or sitting. It was all just pain. After an hour in bed, struggling to find a way to rise, Tyler gave me a Hydrocodon. That didn't seem to do much, but in another half hour, I was vertical, until I passed out. Then I was vertical again. It still hurt. My head was in a fog. There was cotton in my ears and everyone was speaking far away. So much crazy pain. I knew I needed to do something, so I called Jeff and he scheduled an MRI. While I waited to go in, I tried to catch a nap on the couch. I look like death.

The MRI was louder than I thought. It wasn't uncomfortable at all...just a lot of weird beeps and bangs and clanks and squeaks. I kept my eyes closed the whole time so I couldn't see how small the space was. In about half an hour, I was finished.

Here I am getting my earplugs in, and then they put a blanket over me, which is nice because it hurts to shake when I'm cold.

It wasn't until two days later, I got the results from my chiropractor. Five bulging discs, two which were basically herniated, and one torn. My back is a huge mess. But knowing what is wrong doesn't take away the pain. I moved slowly each day and everything hurt, whether sitting or standing. I could sometimes get in a somewhat comfortable position, but I could never stay anywhere for long. Pip is a good snuggler though. She doesn't care that I am broken.

On day nine, I was supposed to leave to go out of town and things were worse than ever.

I called Jeff in a panic and he ordered an epidural shot for me. It seems like shots are only for people with chronic pain, but that was quickly becoming me. Every day was just full of pain. I went in and it didn't take long to get me in. Happily, it did just what it was supposed to. Pain is gone, I was able to travel. I really am having minimal or no pain each day.

It is a huge blessing, but I know it didn't fix the problem. It is only masking the symptoms and I am nervous every day that the pain will come back and I won't be able to function.

I'm going to try several things and naturally get some advise from experts. I think this is just the beginning of the road. I just hope it is a little less bumpy for a while.

Who Slayed Santa?

One of our favorite things during the Christmas season is the Scoresby's party. It is always a blast. This year, Keri decided to mix it up a little. She did a murder mystery. Tyler and I were totally on board. I know some people don't love dressing up and acting like other people, but we dig it. We are naturally kind of loud and annoying.

The story of the party was that someone killed Santa...gunned him down on Candycane Lane in  Christmas Village. Who could have done such a thing? Was it Norma Nightshade? She hosts a late night horror channel. She is macabre and morbid. It seems right up her alley.

Or could it be Carney Vale, that really loud, rude, carnival ride worker? He has nothing nice to say to anyone and no one has anything nice to say back to him.

And did you see the tattoo that Carney has? Anyone who likes creepy clowns is probably not a great guy.

Tyler and I had a lot of fun putting together our costumes. Oddly, I feel like I look like my sister because she wears black much more often than I do.

We arrived in style and Tyler added the last element of his costume...the crazy mustache. It has a personality of its own, but sadly, it wouldn't stay on his face very well.

We spent most of the evening mingling with others and learning secrets and intrigue. We had our clues about ourselves and things we needed to learn about others. For instance, I killed my late husband. He wasn't a nice guy and was always yelling at me. I am very happy with how quiet my house is now.

I can only imagine what Tyler's clues said. He was not a nice guy and everyone hated him. As I walked around, I realized that Tyler was going to be killed and the killer would be the person who hated him the most. (I hated him because he found out about my husband and was blackmailing me.)

Sure enough, Tyler confessed to murdering Santa and moments later, he was killed in the hallway. He came back in with a white face and flopped on the floor. He even put some salsa on his neck later to make it look more authentic. Yuck.

I tried to figure out who killed him...so many of us had motive, but I never really talked to the person who did it, so my guess wasn't right. Doesn't matter though, the evening was very fun. Keri took some pictures, so I'll add people on here.

Crystal and Evan

Suzy and Brad

Julie and James (Julie was a professional victim. Her costume was great. She came in a boot and I totally thought she has injured herself in real life. Awesome.)

Cheri and David

Becca and Doug

Marnie and Steve

Barb and Rich

Trudy and Oz

Jenny and Craig

Tyler and Maleen

It was a really fun evening. Funny story: We were supposed to contact people before the party and say some things to them. I had Barb and I told her she was one of the worst nurses I had ever had. (I guess Norma, my character, had a bout with the flu and didn't like her care.) Barb thought I was a real person sending hateful texts. She told me I was a horrible person, and I felt awful and confessed that it was for the party. It was actually kind of funny since Barb does work in the ER. She said she thought she would remember someone called Norma Nightshade.