There's never going to be a year when December isn't too busy so that part seems hardly worth mentioning, but honestly this year's holiday season has beat all records. Aside from the usual rush that comes with Aaron's career in music, we had two kids at rehearsals for Oliver every night of the week. Then Aaron had to fit in a surgery for a hernia that has been bothering him for a while before an insurance change, and I insisted on taking Addy on a (pretty late) 8-year-old trip that she had been dreaming of for quite a while. Even with all that, I hope that we erred on the side of more fun, not just plain more stress.
It didn't take long for the Oliver rehearsals to start taking their toll. Running from at least 6:00-8:00 pm Monday through Thursday for all the kids, with an additional hour or two for Theo 2-3 nights per week, it was running the kids ragged. Additionally, working out carpooling for the days that I teach piano classes was a challenge. The first few weeks of rehearsals were held up at Aaron's university, which is a 20-25 minute drive depending on traffic, and though it allowed him to bring the kids home several nights, it still made scheduling quite hectic. I let Theo skip his first block classes a few times so he could catch up on sleep (even a night owl can't run at 100% after being out until 9:30 or 10:00 pm on a school night), but the school got after me about that. One day, when I went into excuse his tardy and one of the office staff gave me a hard time about it, Theo went on to pretty seriously hurt himself falling off a treadmill during P.E. I can't deny that a bit of my mama bear came out after that.
Anyway, two weeks into December I found the great groupon that I'd been waiting on and talked Aaron into letting Addy and I slip away for a three-day weekend to Chicago while he held down the fort. It was during that Thursday's rehearsal that the show's directors called to talk to Aaron about Theo. He was acting tired and lethargic during rehearsals, and the directors wondered if he was going to be up to making it through the show, especially since rehearsals were only going to intensify. Since Theo was actually coming down with a cold and spending practically every minute he had at home asleep, together, they decided that it would probably be best for Theo to downgrade to the role of orphan alongside Addy. Though it wasn't an easy change to swallow (Theo ended up liking the fame and glory more than he expected), there was a definite feeling of relief for all of us because of it. He has already enjoyed feeling less pressure during rehearsals, more time to joke around with the other orphans, and especially cutting down on the time he had to sit, posed somewhere on the set, while the adults rehearsed around him. Hopefully this brush with stardom has given him a taste of the work that is required, so that if future opportunities present themselves he will be able to both make good decisions and prepare himself.
As for Addy's special trip to Chicago, it was really wonderful. We stayed at the old-fashioned Millenium Hotel on the Magnificent Mile, and spent our days visiting the Chicago Art Institute, attending a surprise performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, watching a mother gorilla show off her baby at the Lincoln Park Zoo, visiting the Field Museum, and cruising the shops (including the American Girl store) along the Magnificent Mile. I spent the entire car ride up to the train station (2 hours) giving Addy a run-down of art history from the middle ages through the twentieth century, then I spent the train ride telling her all about Van Gogh (if you're sensing a theme of Van Gogh obsession in my posts, you can credit it to the enormous biography I recently read in preparation for my own little Van Gogh book). I gave her alternative versions of both the story about his cut-off ear and his possible suicide. Possibly she wasn't bored to pieces the whole time, though I won't make any guarantees. I may have worn out her little legs with all the walking once we got there, but there was too much to see to miss any of it! Since I had also recently read The White City by Erik Larsson, I had a fair amount of Chicago history to share as well, from its early days of pig slaughtering, to the building of all the skyscrapers on floating foundations, to the World's Fair in 1893 (which complemented our discussion of the Paris World's Fair attended by Van Gogh just three years earlier in 1890). I like to think Addy had a chance to fit a word in edgewise between my academic lectures, but when I write it out like this I start to wonder. Sorry, Addy!
As soon as we got back, it was Aaron's turn. He went in for a hernia surgery the following week, and sadly didn't bounce back quite as quickly as Emerson and Sera did after theirs. He was laid up for several days while I took care of getting ready for the holidays. We went the easy route again this year, picking out a tree from Lowe's, and decorating it sort of hap-hazardly for family home evening. To give Aaron a break, I took the kids to the Old Fort again (where we went for the haunted tours in October) where they had some wonderful Civil War era activities, memorabilia, and goods for sale. We got some delicious honey sticks, the kids played games with hoops and sticks and took their turns eating donuts off strings. We watched the carding and spinning of wool, huddled close to the little fires that warmed the small buildings, and generally got a much warmer view of life during the 1800s than we had gotten from the haunted tours. Still, I'm not sure I'd want to travel back in time to that period--or if I did, I'm not sure I'd want to stay long.
Aaron's concerts this month were wonderful as always, with the Home for the Holidays concert being broadcast for the second time this year. We had a Christmas talent show at church, and while the younger kids all played songs on the piano (Emerson and Sera played a Jingle Bells duet), Theo took the opportunity to show off his lovely milky tone on the trumpet, playing an arrangement Aaron came up with at the last minute of I'll Be Home for Christmas. For only three months playing it, he's gotten pretty good pretty fast. Emerson and Sera, obviously, were adorable. I think sometimes both they and I wish they were twins, since they look it anyway and get on so well together. They had as much fun practicing for the program as playing in it. Addy did a great job playing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, and the primary children did a great job singing their songs, Picture a Christmas (junior primary) and Joseph Dearest (senior primary) with me leading them for the last time. I have loved serving as the primary music leader for the past two years, and am sad to give it up, even though I've always thought being a Relief Society (grown-up!) teacher would be an awesome calling and I look forward to giving it a try.
Our Christmas was lovely, now that I have the holiday celebrations down as well as I probably ever will. We had a family nativity, delivered some secret gifts, and made gingerbread cookies for Santa. We had Cinnamon, our elf-on-a-shelf, watching over us, and we must have been pretty good, because the kids were well spoiled. Theo got a ukulele and a speaker for his iPod, Addy got a new doll and an art set, Emerson got a new Cars Lego set and a Cars talking geography game, and Sera got new baby doll with a stroller and an art set. Of course everyone got a big stack of new books from me, and from Aaron they each got a fun new board game.
The sad part of our holiday season, as of everyone's I'm sure, was hearing of the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Small-town Connecticut is close to our hearts, and we remember driving past Newtown many times. A dear friend of ours, Ryan Murphy (currently of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) actually grew up in Newtown and went to elementary school there. We are awed by the gifts of love offered by the victim's families, and angered by the circumstances of law and society that gave rise to such a horrendous act. We grieve deeply for the families and their beautiful children, full of life and gifts to offer the world, now lost to all of us. As we hug each other a little closer this holiday season, we hope we will have our eyes open for those in need of our love and support, and that as a country we can do a better job of meeting the emotional needs of those on the outskirts of society, as well as in protecting the innocent among us.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Holiday Peek
Trip to Chicago with Addy
Waiting at the Train station
At the Art Institute of Chicago
When Addy was a little girl, she liked to sneak into the refrigerator and drink the chocolate syrup--good thing our bottle wasn't this big!
At the Lego store
Overlooking Lake Michigan after visiting the Field Museum
Chicago Skyline
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!
Christmas card photos
Just for fun
Christmas PJs (it was like 11 pm), Aaron didn't want to be in photos after his surgery
Christmas caroling
Friday, November 30, 2012
Nutty November
After swimming lessons and cross-country wound down, we found ourselves almost wishing for something interesting to do with the evenings--you know, besides homework. So when auditions for the musical Oliver! were posted, I couldn't help being enticed. To be honest, I'd been eyeing them since the season schedule was posted this summer. It seemed like a good follow-up to Theo's Harry Potter performance over the summer, and the Fort Wayne Youth Theatre is a very old and respected company. Besides, I thought acting might be a good backdoor to getting Theo to open his mouth and sing occasionally. Since they make good ticket revenue, the children who are cast pay only a small costume fee--what with the dancing and all, it seemed like a nice alternative to signing up for a winter sport.
I took Theo, Addy, and Emerson all in for the audition, sliding in the door only minutes before the end of auditions. They took all three kids from me to audition them in a separate room. When they came back, the kids told me that Emerson hadn't behaved particularly well, but they had all sung their songs and tried out some readings for the show. We were surprised when only a few minutes later (before we'd even gotten back home), the directors had called to invite Theo back for callbacks for the lead role the next day! He had to learn a new song that night as well, which he did (with plenty of coaching from Aaron), and managed to do well in the audition the next day. So well, in fact, that despite me telling him that it was a long-shot (and hoping it was as well, to be honest), they called and offered him the role of Oliver a few hours later. They decided to double-cast the role, given the age of the actors, the eight performances that would be required, and the timing of the show (during flu season in February), so he, along with another boy, will be singing the lead role in a major musical production! Of course it's quite an honor, but it's also a heck of a lot of work. The rehearsal schedule came out the next week and requires between three and five hours of rehearsals four or five nights each week for him, plus two hours a day four days a week for Addy, who was cast as an orphan (they recommended that Emerson try out for another production when he's a little older). It should be interesting seeing how it all works out over the holidays, although January and February should be easier.
Already things are getting a bit nutty, to be honest. Having four kids in three schools is even more challenging than I expected. Theo's school starts a full hour and a half before the elementary school does, so just getting up and getting him there isn't easy. We are carpooling with a friend who lives nearby (I drop off, she picks up), which saves him the half-hour bus-ride, not to mention the 5 am wake-up time, but which still means keeping up a pretty intense morning schedule. There are three schools to try to volunteer in, two different schools to take late children to (plus signing them in) if any of the younger kids miss the bus, and different end time for the middle school. It all adds up.
Among other things, we're worrying about whether Theo is sleeping enough--he's always been a bit of a night owl, and the early start time doesn't work well with that. The block schedule at his school, Woodside, is definitely a better fit for middle school than the alternative, as it means that Theo only four classes a day instead of seven or eight--but it's still quite a lot of school materials to keep track of. Theo's bad habit of forgetting to turn things in is still plaguing him, unfortunately. Middle school is not especially forgiving of late assignments (students lose 10% after the first day, 50% after that), and so far Theo has sometimes found the thought of turning something in a day late even more intimidating than not turning it in at all, meaning he has lost credit for several assignments that he has actually completed. I have a hard time knowing whether or not to support such harsh consequences for a smart kid who does decent work but has a real struggle with being responsible. On the one hand, sometimes real-life consequences are the best teachers; on the other hand, it's hard to see a child losing confidence over something so trivial. I question every day my decision to go ahead and let him start middle school instead of home-schooling for a year first, but he insists that it's what he wants, and it's exciting to see him so enthusiastic about playing the trumpet and participating in ISB (technology classes) that I couldn't offer him. I do appreciate the good friends he is making through the Alpha program he is participating in as well--one thing I can say for Theo is that he always chooses good friends.
Emerson, on the other hand, is loving his new school. His teacher really is one of the best I've seen--she is so creative with her class, and I love seeing the interesting projects she engages them in. I went down to help with a "pioneer learning day" (which culminated their class reading of Little House in the Big Woods) at the environmental learning center that sits on school property. There was a cabin where the kids could do projects to learn about pioneer activities, and I helped the teacher teach "Cotton Eyed Joe" to the kids in a sort of square-dance formation. It was a fantastic learning experience, and so much fun! I really see Emerson blossoming in this class, and I'm glad he has this opportunity, despite its seeming inconvenience.
Addy and Sera are both doing great in school. Sera has blown her teacher (and me) away with her quick reading abilities. She has gone from barely reading to the top of her class in only a couple of months. She loves her friends and has already learned to stick up for herself to the two boys in her class who teased her about her Dora backpack and lunchbox at the beginning of the year. Any attempt to intimidate feisty Sera is bound to go awry. She thrives on the order of the school day, and would rather do school work than almost anything else--if I ever had a child who could take on full-day kindergarten, Sera is the one. More often than not, she and Addy come home and play another round of school in their bedroom or the basement. Addy, meanwhile, has a great teacher as well. Though Addy is in a different class from most of her friends, her funny and dramatic teacher is a great fit for her. She's really one of the brightest kids in her class, and I think she enjoys having a chance to shine, as well as to help others. And fortunately, she manages to fit in plenty of play time with her friends during recesses and after school (as I try once again to make friend Fridays a frequent thing).
We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with the Stumps, a family that we've always enjoyed, but with whom we haven't had as much opportunity to socialize as they live across town from us, as well as with a new and fascinating family in our neighborhood, the Hickmans--a couple who met when the husband was serving a mission in Russia, where the wife grew up (Siberia, actually). They have an adorable baby boy, and the other family has a baby girl, so Addy was pretty much in heaven playing with them. Aaron made an amazing Turkey as always, I bookended the meal with pies, and our guests brought pretty much everything else. We had a wonderful time talking afterward. I especially enjoyed talking with Brother Stump, who served a mission in France. I've been working on a book about Van Gogh, so it was wonderful to talk through the streets of Paris and down along the Seine with him.
Outside the trees have lost most of their leaves and the chill of winter is setting in, but there is great gratitude in our hearts for our wonderful family and friends. Even when life gets a little nutty, it's a good life to live. We wish you a wonderful holiday season!
I took Theo, Addy, and Emerson all in for the audition, sliding in the door only minutes before the end of auditions. They took all three kids from me to audition them in a separate room. When they came back, the kids told me that Emerson hadn't behaved particularly well, but they had all sung their songs and tried out some readings for the show. We were surprised when only a few minutes later (before we'd even gotten back home), the directors had called to invite Theo back for callbacks for the lead role the next day! He had to learn a new song that night as well, which he did (with plenty of coaching from Aaron), and managed to do well in the audition the next day. So well, in fact, that despite me telling him that it was a long-shot (and hoping it was as well, to be honest), they called and offered him the role of Oliver a few hours later. They decided to double-cast the role, given the age of the actors, the eight performances that would be required, and the timing of the show (during flu season in February), so he, along with another boy, will be singing the lead role in a major musical production! Of course it's quite an honor, but it's also a heck of a lot of work. The rehearsal schedule came out the next week and requires between three and five hours of rehearsals four or five nights each week for him, plus two hours a day four days a week for Addy, who was cast as an orphan (they recommended that Emerson try out for another production when he's a little older). It should be interesting seeing how it all works out over the holidays, although January and February should be easier.
Already things are getting a bit nutty, to be honest. Having four kids in three schools is even more challenging than I expected. Theo's school starts a full hour and a half before the elementary school does, so just getting up and getting him there isn't easy. We are carpooling with a friend who lives nearby (I drop off, she picks up), which saves him the half-hour bus-ride, not to mention the 5 am wake-up time, but which still means keeping up a pretty intense morning schedule. There are three schools to try to volunteer in, two different schools to take late children to (plus signing them in) if any of the younger kids miss the bus, and different end time for the middle school. It all adds up.
Among other things, we're worrying about whether Theo is sleeping enough--he's always been a bit of a night owl, and the early start time doesn't work well with that. The block schedule at his school, Woodside, is definitely a better fit for middle school than the alternative, as it means that Theo only four classes a day instead of seven or eight--but it's still quite a lot of school materials to keep track of. Theo's bad habit of forgetting to turn things in is still plaguing him, unfortunately. Middle school is not especially forgiving of late assignments (students lose 10% after the first day, 50% after that), and so far Theo has sometimes found the thought of turning something in a day late even more intimidating than not turning it in at all, meaning he has lost credit for several assignments that he has actually completed. I have a hard time knowing whether or not to support such harsh consequences for a smart kid who does decent work but has a real struggle with being responsible. On the one hand, sometimes real-life consequences are the best teachers; on the other hand, it's hard to see a child losing confidence over something so trivial. I question every day my decision to go ahead and let him start middle school instead of home-schooling for a year first, but he insists that it's what he wants, and it's exciting to see him so enthusiastic about playing the trumpet and participating in ISB (technology classes) that I couldn't offer him. I do appreciate the good friends he is making through the Alpha program he is participating in as well--one thing I can say for Theo is that he always chooses good friends.
Emerson, on the other hand, is loving his new school. His teacher really is one of the best I've seen--she is so creative with her class, and I love seeing the interesting projects she engages them in. I went down to help with a "pioneer learning day" (which culminated their class reading of Little House in the Big Woods) at the environmental learning center that sits on school property. There was a cabin where the kids could do projects to learn about pioneer activities, and I helped the teacher teach "Cotton Eyed Joe" to the kids in a sort of square-dance formation. It was a fantastic learning experience, and so much fun! I really see Emerson blossoming in this class, and I'm glad he has this opportunity, despite its seeming inconvenience.
Addy and Sera are both doing great in school. Sera has blown her teacher (and me) away with her quick reading abilities. She has gone from barely reading to the top of her class in only a couple of months. She loves her friends and has already learned to stick up for herself to the two boys in her class who teased her about her Dora backpack and lunchbox at the beginning of the year. Any attempt to intimidate feisty Sera is bound to go awry. She thrives on the order of the school day, and would rather do school work than almost anything else--if I ever had a child who could take on full-day kindergarten, Sera is the one. More often than not, she and Addy come home and play another round of school in their bedroom or the basement. Addy, meanwhile, has a great teacher as well. Though Addy is in a different class from most of her friends, her funny and dramatic teacher is a great fit for her. She's really one of the brightest kids in her class, and I think she enjoys having a chance to shine, as well as to help others. And fortunately, she manages to fit in plenty of play time with her friends during recesses and after school (as I try once again to make friend Fridays a frequent thing).
We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with the Stumps, a family that we've always enjoyed, but with whom we haven't had as much opportunity to socialize as they live across town from us, as well as with a new and fascinating family in our neighborhood, the Hickmans--a couple who met when the husband was serving a mission in Russia, where the wife grew up (Siberia, actually). They have an adorable baby boy, and the other family has a baby girl, so Addy was pretty much in heaven playing with them. Aaron made an amazing Turkey as always, I bookended the meal with pies, and our guests brought pretty much everything else. We had a wonderful time talking afterward. I especially enjoyed talking with Brother Stump, who served a mission in France. I've been working on a book about Van Gogh, so it was wonderful to talk through the streets of Paris and down along the Seine with him.
Outside the trees have lost most of their leaves and the chill of winter is setting in, but there is great gratitude in our hearts for our wonderful family and friends. Even when life gets a little nutty, it's a good life to live. We wish you a wonderful holiday season!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Fall Photos
Fall Photo Shoot
Fall Festival and Zombie Walk with friends
Happy Halloween!
Making and decorating cupcakes
Scary witch
Spiderman
The White Witch
Nikki Minaj
The trick-or-treat clan
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