Topher stayed home sick on Wednesday. He had a pretty bad cough and major sniffles, but didn't really feel sick. He spent a lot of time reading, coloring, and doing worksheets. He also made this beach/forest scene out of Playdoh. In case you're curious, the toothpicks are holding up the sky.
Sophie asked to borrow my phone twice yesterday, during both sunrise and sunset. These are some of the pictures she took.
Cooper had another track meet yesterday. I wasn't sure if we would make it in time to see him run. The high school and the middle school share a track and this was a home meet. It worked out that I was picking Phoebe up from her rehearsal just a few minutes before his race. He crossed the street in front of our van and told us he had just been called. We found a parking place and Phoebe, Topher, and I made a beeline for the bleachers.
This was the coldest meet they've had. Winter can't quite let go and the high yesterday was 42 degrees. It was difficult sitting and watching the races, I can't imagine how it felt to run in that cold.
He ran the 1600M again and his goal was to shave five seconds off of his last run time. He started out in the back of the pack, but by the end he had pulled ahead of four of the other runners. His previous time was 5:57. Yesterday his time was 5:40! He was kind of in shock that he'd trimmed seventeen seconds off! He didn't place, but that wasn't the goal. He was really pleased with his progress.
In the picture, Cooper is the one in the short sleeved white under shirt. The first picture is at the end of the first lap, the second picture is at the end of the fourth lap. And the fellow standing by the track in the second picture is from our ward. He happened to be there to watch his son run for the other team. I called out a hello and we chatted a bit. Every time Cooper ran by, our friend cheered for him.
Several weeks ago, Sophie's school chorus teacher invited all the kids to audition for the Pennsylvania Music Educators District Ten Elementary Songfest. Sophie was one of twelves kids picked from her school. They've had extra practices to learn the music and prepare for their concert, which happened last Friday evening.
On Thursday night Sophie told us that, after another audition, she'd been picked to represent her school and audition for one of two solos available at the concert. She, her eleven classmates, and their chorus teacher took a school bus to the host school on Friday morning and spent the whole day practicing with the entire group, two-hundred fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, and their guest director. Because she doesn't have a cell phone, we didn't know how the day was going, including how the audition for the solo had gone.
Bryan took a picture of me taking a picture of our family at the concert. His picture was better.
We arrived a little after 6:30 for the 7:00 concert. The first time we saw Sophie was when she walked in to take her place with the rest of the group. The concert was relatively short, only six songs. They did a great job. There was one song that had arm movements and many of the kids looked like they were just marking the choreography, kind of bored and trying to get through it. Sophie performed each move with intention and energy. It made such a difference.
As we neared the final song, my heart started to pound. I couldn't figure out if I was nervous that she didn't get the solo, or nervous that she did. When they finished the penultimate number the director went to the microphone and announced that their last song, This Is Me from The Greatest Showman, would feature two soloist. And then she announced their names.
Sophie was the first soloist! She started the whole song and sang it beautifully. I was so proud of her that I felt happy tears running down my face.
Afterward the parents from each school gathered at a designated spot in the theatre. I got to meet some of the moms of Sophie's friends. One of them told me that her daughter had been rooting for Sophie, that she knew Sophie would get the solo. I was concerned there might be some hurt feelings that Sophie got the solo, but everyone was kind and complimentary. She has a sweet group of friends that are in the musical and chorus together. I love that they were so supportive.
On the way home, Sophie told us that she'd gone through a few more rounds of auditions during that long rehearsal day. She hadn't known she had the solo until around 5:30, not too long before the concert started.
I love that she's getting these musical opportunities!
We just finished one of my favorite weekends of the year: General Conference! We had a full Saturday morning, so I wasn't able to make our traditional waffle breakfast. I put together some snack platters and people ate cheese, crackers, and produce all day while they filled their souls with the messages. We had our waffle breakfast on Sunday morning.
Topher woke up and came into my room to snuggle this morning. He brought a book with him and asked me to read it. In it, Superman was facing Metallo and his kryptonite chest. I paused to explain the word kryptonite. I said that Superman was from another planet and only has powers because of our sun, that he didn't have powers on his own world. The kryptonite, I told him, was a piece of Superman's home planet and it took his powers away and made him weak. I told Topher that the word kryptonite is now part of our lexicon (yes, I also defined lexicon) and then I gave a few examples.
Me: You might say "TV is my kryptonite" or "Staying up late is my kryptonite" or (thinking of the book we just read) "Kryptonite is my kryptonite."
Topher: Tuna is my kryptonite.
Tonight we saw our local high school perform Seussical and it was amazing! Not only was I engaged the whole show (I never looked down at my program, a sure sign of success), Topher was as well. When we go to performances he often asks to get water or go to the bathroom or how much longer it's going to last. But tonight the only questions he asked were related to the show.
"How did they make her tail bigger?"
"Is that little kid an actor?"
"Can I have gum?"
Okay, I guess there was one non-show question. But the rest of the time he was focused on the stage.
I love that we live in a town where theatre and music are so highly valued.
One of the trickier things about having teenagers is making sure you stay up longer than they do so you don't find them asleep on the couch in the morning, in daytime clothes, laptop still open from doing homework. I guess it's good I'm a night owl.
Sophie took these pictures of a bunny hanging out in our front yard. This is probably the closest we'll get to having a pet.
