Just Keep Swimming

Topher loved taking swim lessons this week. I didn't know what he remembered from a lessons few years ago, so I enrolled him in the beginning level. On day two he was moved up to level 1. At the end of the lesson today he was moved to level 2. He's skipping next week, then jumping back in the week after. I was pleased to see how quickly he picked it back up.

Linguists

Right now I'm listening to Peter speak Spanish while Cooper speaks Portuguese in response.

It's pretty cool.

Wakey Wakey

"Mom, I have a song for you. Can you put it on the blog?"

Musicville

Sophie's school musical was this past weekend and she was marvelous as the villain! 

The show was Musicville and each character was musical notation or the embodiment of some piece of music theory. There were characters named Counterpoint and Syncopation and Forte. Sophie played the Sorcerer of Silence, a whole rest who wants the constant music to stop. (Yes, the irony of Sophie playing someone who thinks music is awful noise was not lost on us.) She poisons the water to take away each persons voice. The two heroes go on a quest to undo her magic. It was kind of The Little Mermaid meets The Wizard of Oz, with music theory.

Sophie owned the stage whenever she was on it! She had fantastic presence and wonderful song and line delivery.

All of her Young Women leaders came to see her on opening night! They brought their kids with them, hence Sophie's crowd of fans.

We were there to support her on opening night as well. Peter stayed home sick, but he was able to see her in her second performance as the Sorcerer.

The show is always double cast. She played the villain for two performances and was in the chorus as a townsperson and a tangero (the inhabitants of the part of Musicville where they love Tango) for the other two.

More sweet friends, from church and our children's choir, came to see her second night as a lead.

She got to hang out with castmates at Applebee's after one of the shows. This is a great group of girls.

Here she is in tangero mode during her final show.

After the last show, the kids were invited to come take pictures onstage. 

The whole cast did a great job! And, of course, Sophie was my favorite person on that stage!

Well done, Sophie!

That Early Morning Air

Our Thanksgiving started out cold and early. Cooper had registered to run in a 5K that started at 9:00 and we came out to support him. The temperature was right around freezing when they started running and didn't get much warmer while we were outside.

I snapped a picture of Cooper at the starting line.

Can you see him? I'll zoom in. He's wearing a hat.

Bryan got a video of Cooper crossing the finish line, but I was so focused on cheering that my phone wasn't even out of my pocket.

He placed 6th in his division and 24th overall with a time of 19:24, not bad considering how very cold it was. He appreciated the free donuts at the end of the run. 

Another Evening in Wonderland

Sophie, Cooper, Peter, and I saw the final dress rehearsal of Phoebe's show tonight. The show was even tighter than it had been the first night. From the moment Phoebe entered the theater from the audience she moved like she owned it, which felt exactly right for the Queen of Hearts.

Off With His Head!

Tonight we saw Phoebe perform in Alice in Wonderland as the Queen of Hearts. I know I've said this about others roles she's played, but it applies here too: SHE STOLE THE SHOW! And I'm not the only person that thought so. It was a student directed show and the director's dad had the same comment about Phoebe's performance. She was nuanced and multi-dimensional and kind of terrifying. Also, she was fantastic!

Fun fact: the kid who played Mr. Wormwood across from Phoebe's Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda in seventh grade played the King of Hearts across from her in this. 

Setting

Today I drew the kids' attention to the beautiful sunset through our back windows. Sophie announced that she needed my phone. Once she had my phone in hand, she headed outside. She came back in a few minutes later, leaves clinging to her sleaves. These are the photos she took.

Leave It All on the Course

Cooper had his last cross country meet yesterday. I chatted briefly with his coach before the race started. He commented how impressed he was that Cooper made it to Districts in his first year with the sport. Cooper placed 39th out of 124 runners. I'm so impressed with his dedication and all the work he's put in this year.

Now that cross country is over, he's looking forward to the track season in the spring.

Faster and Faster

Cooper had another cross country meet today. He continues to do well. He ran an 18:54 and placed 15th overall, 6th from his school. We arrived just a few minutes before the race ended, but we were there to see him cross the finish line!

Organized Chaos

We had our summer concert for our kids choir tonight. We added some new performance elements like costumes and wireless mics. It's was chaotic, but it turned out well overall. And I took zero pictures of the actual performance because my phone was being used to run all the audio tracks. I do have these pictures of what the space looked like today after we finished setting up. And hopefully the other parents will share the videos and pictures they took.

Also, Topher was so excited that he set out his choir clothes before he went to school.

All the Choir Music

Cooper and Phoebe both auditioned for select choirs at the high school for next year.

And they both got in!

Cooper is in a combined SSAATTBB choir  as a Bass 1 and Phoebe is in an SSAA choir as an Alto 2. She's one of three incoming freshman that made it in. They're both excited to have additional musical learning opportunities next year. I'm thrilled that they both had the courage to tryout.

Why We Sing

Sophie performed at our last concert of the season. She played her violin with the orchestra and sang with the chorus. Both groups did a great job. The orchestra was surprisingly good, considering that most of the kids are still fairly new players.

Sophie was one of two featured soloists with chorus. She sounded beautiful!

Yes, this is a zoomed-in screenshot from a video, but it's the best we've got of her solo.

This has been the busiest year for musical performances in our family. Though it's sometimes been chaotic, I love that the kids have gotten several chances to grow as musicians and performers.

Closing Time

Phoebe had a great closing weekend for Annie. She had fun doing the show, but she was ready for it to be done. She's really looking forward to doing theatre at the high school next year.

Easy Street

We saw Phoebe perform as Lily St. Regis in her middle school production of Annie. She stole every scene she was in! She did a fantastic job with both her high and squeaky New Jersey accent and her low Texas accent. And for those of you that remember last year when she was the mom in Matilda: this is the same wig. Somehow it seemed even bigger this year.

She has one more weekend of shows.

Break a leg, Phoebe!