The Finale

And this is it! Better late than never! I got the footage done yesterday, but didn't get the computer to post it. The second to last song in the Suzuki 1 book is called Allegro. Emily will now play it for us!

And now for the drum roll..........................................................the last song!!! It is called Musette.

Yea Emily! Take a bow and now... on to Book 2! :)

Episode Three of Book 1

Well, it's been delayed, but here is the next series of performances! Emily will now favor us with a piece entitled Chant Arabe.

Her next number will be Allegretto 1.

For her third number Emily will now play Good-bye to Winter.

Allegretto 2 comes next! Goody goody!

And our last number of the day is called Christmas-Day Secrets.

That's it for today's concert. The last two pieces in Book 1 will be posted tomorrow if all goes well!

Emily's Book 1 Party, Episode 2

Well yesterday I got sick so we weren't able to get the next segment done, but today we did! (And I'm feeling much better!)

The first song is "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

The next song is "Go Tell Aunt Rhody"

Our next selection will be a tune entitled "Au Clair de la Lune"

We will now be favored with "Long, Long Ago"

And last, but not least for today is "Little Playmates"

The show goes on...

Come Celebrate Emily's Suzuki Book 1 Party!

I have been "teaching" Emily piano for the past year. She took piano from a Suzuki teacher in 2005 and had almost completed Book 1 when we stopped taking piano. So when I started up again, we started over and have taken a longer time because I am not as consistent as an appointed lesson. But we made it and she knows all 17 songs from memory. When the four older children finished their Suzuki Book 1, the teacher had a "Book 1 Party" and we did it at our home, the children invited any friends they wanted and I provided refreshments. They played all the songs in the book and it was a nice finale to their accomplishment.

So I have decided to have a Book 1 party for Emily on the blog to memorialize the Book 1 for all of posterity, since all of my children have accomplished this feat and I am so proud of all of them! This post will be the first 5 songs, tomorrow we will post 5 more, Friday 5 more and the last 3 we'll finish on Saturday.

The first song is called "Honeybee". Hold your applause till the end:)

The second song in the book is called "Cuckoo"

Next comes "Lightly Row"

Fourth in the book is "French Children's Song"

and finally, the last song of the day: "London Bridge"

That's it for today, check in tomorrow for the next five songs!

Taylor's Triple Terrific Tournament

Taylor loves basketball. That is the fact. As I type, he is out on the driveway shooting and dribbling a ball. Since being in Katy, he has played in the Katy Youth Basketball program for the past 7 years and loved every minute of it. This year he couldn't play because he is too old. BUT! The stake put on a nice basketball season and Taylor was able to have enough basketball to semi-satisfy him.

Our ward did well enough to make it to the finals and on the last day (Sat. 3/7) we played three games. The first game Taylor scored 23 points in a 63-52 game! That was the game against the favored stake champs; they had been undefeated up to that point. The next game Taylor couldn't be stopped. He scored 25 points swooshing about 6 3-pointers. The last minute of the game we were down by one point and then the other team got the ball and drove it down for another basket. With 14 seconds left we took the ball down, and threw it to Taylor and he shot in 3 point range and made it, to tie the game. So in overtime, we lost, but it was pretty amazing. The final game we played the same team for the championships and they won by 2 points and heavily guarded Taylor the whole game so he only made 4 points. But what a great day for Taylor! It was great to see him in his element and on fire.

The first 9-second clip shows an assist by Taylor and a pick by Spencer. Spencer played the first of 3 games, but had a party to go to for the last 2. He played a great defense! The second clip is a basket Taylor makes. He is wearing a red shirt under the black jersey and Spencer is in a turquoise shirt (for anyone who doesn't recognize them).

Welding 101: The Union of a Girl's Bike and a Weedeater Motor

Spencer has become fascinated with motors in all shapes and sizes, and motorcycles in every variety. So we sacrificed Emily's bike and our weedeater and let him be Mr. Edison for a week. He had to learn how to open up a bike chain, reverse the braking mechanism and weld. We rented a welder for a day from Lowe's. He hacksawed the pedals off the big gear and welded the motor onto the gear. It was pretty exciting, with each new obstacle and each new breakthrough, and he got it all the way put together! But he can't start the thing! He pulls the cord and the motor starts to turn, but because it's connected to the gear and rear wheel, there is too much friction and drag to get the motor to start. Uggh! He tried having Taylor spin the wheel holding the bike tire up and pulling; and he tried rolling down the driveway and yanking on the cord (now that was a funny sight!), but to no avail. So a very deformed-looking girl's bike is now gracing our garage. Don't know what the end of the story is... so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Heather!!!

When Heather was born, I made up a little song for her that goes:

Hello Heather,
How's the weather?
Let's go together
To the park!

Now she is 20 years old and I want to celebrate in this post by writing another poem to her.

Heaven sent for me to love
Everything glad in a girl
A perfect gift from above.
Time ripples fast in a swirl
Happy memories all whirl
Entwining my heart and mind
Round Heather to ever bind.

When she graduated to college, I put a slide show together of her, one picture for every year. I think one year is missed, but this is the slide show in a mini collage, plus three pictures from the last three years.

Heather, you have been a joy to raise and love. I love you!

Heather, the self portrait taker. This is a very typical, delightful picture I caught at Niagara Falls November 2006.

Heather the Beautiful! This was taken in Fort Walton Beach, Florida August 2007.

Heather and her sibs. She is sporting her stylin short haircut. Taken December 22, 2008.