Great Locomotive Chase

This is from the NEMO concert last Saturday which includes Madison's solo.

Flute Trio

In preparation for the upcoming Central Methodist University Music Festival, we had this preview concert last night at school. Madison is in a flute trio which is playing "Allegro Giocoso" by Hayden. I am sure they were out of breath by the end of this piece! They have been practicing most mornings before school begins. They did a nice job and are almost ready for the real thing the first friday in March. Good luck girls!

NEMO

No not





Madison wore her NEMO T-shirt to school today. They had all the names of the band members listed on the back. I feel sorry for "Phobe" who obviously got her name misspelled on the shirt!

Musical Weekend

This weekend both girls had opportunities to sharpen their skills and share their talents. On Saturday Madison participated in the Northeast Missouri Junior High Honor Band in Macon, Missouri. There were 5 kids from her school that got to go. They left at 7:30 in the morning from Columbia and went to Macon High School for the all day rehearsal and then we met her that evening for the concert. They were divided into 2 groups, Red Band and Blue Band. She was in Red Band. She enjoyed working with a fabulous director, received the honor of first chair and played a solo in the final piece of music. They played three works-- The British Masters Suite (1st and 3rd movements), The Ash Grove (which featured woodwinds), and the spectacular Great Locomotive Chase--inspired by a real event from the Civil War. I will try and get the video up here soon! We got to speak with both directors after the concert and they complimented her on a job well done. We are so glad Madison got to participate. You did a great job!

On Sunday, Gabrielle performed a special musical number at church as part of a woodwind trio. They had two flutes and a clarinet and were accompanied on the piano. They performed the hymn "Love At Home". It was really beautiful! I am impressed that she would be willing to get up and share share her talent with everyone like that. It was also great for her to work with the other ladies and learn from their experience. Good job Gabrielle-- we are proud of you! Keep practicing, girls!

Holiday(s) Weekend

We crammed in a lot of fun stuff the last few days. I was able to have a nice lunch date with Jared for an early Valentine celebration. We watched the opening ceremonies of the winter olympics and some of the first events-- we LOVE the olympics around here! Speaking of Olympians, Saturday we took the girls to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians : The Lightning Thief. We liked it a lot, even though of course, it was not as good as the book. Since Chinese New Year was also this weekend we made homemade chinese chicken fried rice with egg rolls and fortune cookies. Valentine's Day on Sunday included a delicious fondue meal and lots of love around. Monday was President's Day and the girls were out of school. We got to join Jared for lunch and the girls got their haircut. Today is Mardi Gras, but after this weekend of not so major holidays, I think I am done. Although I could whip up a king cake real quick…

Flowers, For Me?

When I came home from picking the girls from school today, I stopped downstairs to put a load of laundry in the dryer and paused to admire Jared mid workout-- Gabrielle came running back downstairs and asked, "Did you get Mom flowers??" It was like Goldilocks was sleeping in her bed or something-- "Somebody did and they're on the dining room table!!!" This was the colorful display I found (Actually this was after my "rearrangement" into 2 vases instead of the one). Spread the love around! Thanks, thanks, and many thanks! They are so beautiful!

Super Bowl

We had a sweet time watching the Super Bowl with this cake for dessert. Thanks to a football shaped pan, it wasn't too difficult. Our friends came over and shared it with us! It was fun even though the Colts didn't win it all! What was your favorite commercial? I like the truTV commercial with PUNXSUTAWNEY POLAMALU "Six more weeks of football!"

When in Rome, etc.

We had a fun weekend including a date to the movie "When in Rome" starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. It was a darling movie-- I highly recommend seeing it. It doesn't take itself too seriously and there are some fun cameos including Don Johnson and Danny Devito. We also enjoyed going to to St. Louis with the girls Saturday morning. We went to the temple with the youth and also did a little shopping. Jared and I caught the MU Women's basketball game vs Kansas ($1 tickets!) Saturday evening. Did anyone see the Grammy's Sunday night? We just watched a little here and there. I thought Taylor Swift did not sound too great! I did enjoy the Michael Jackson tribute by Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Smokie Robinson and Usher. I wish I would of had those 3-D glasses though! Now this week we will be gearing up for the Super Bowl!