UNCG FluteFest 2019

Olivia's work on the flute has been going well and she continues to take her lessons over Skype from Rebecca's old friend SarahJoy. Every so often, the two get together for a lesson in person, but once a year, UNCG holds FluteFest, a one-day event that involves masterclasses, seminars, private and group lessons, recitals and concerts all centered around the flute. Unfortunately, it fell on a Saturday that wasn't good for either Rebecca or I to take her, but SJ was more than happy to chaperone her throughout the day. It was great for Olivia to experience the skill of flutists that have spent years training and practicing. Hopefully, it will be inspiring to her as she continues her studies!

The 3.21 Dash for Down Syndrome

It may be the off-season for Cross Country, but that's no excuse to slack! We entered Olivia into the 3.21 Dash for Down Syndrome to keep her moving until the season starts back up.

Usually a 5K race is 3.1 miles, but the 3.21 Dash adds an extra .11 mile fun run at the end of the course, bringing the total mileage to 3.21 miles in honor of the third copy of the 21st chromosome that makes individuals with Down Syndrome unique.

A Walk with the Boys

 Sometimes it's good for Mama to take a kid or two out for some quality time and this time she took the boys on a hike.

 Even though it was a typical late winter/early spring day, the boys enjoyed exploring the creek.

 Climbing trees (and jumping from them!) is always an option as well. 

Cookies for Firefighters - AHG Service Project 2019

 Just like last year, Rebecca helped her Pathfinder girls do a sweet service project: bake cookies for firefighters. This year, Irene was in the group to help. They baked a couple dozen cookies and took them to the nearest fire station.

 The guys were so excited to spend time withthe girls and show them the gear and the trucks. 

And, of course, they were very happy with the cookies that came with them!

Textile Arts

Olivia and her friend at AHG, Sarah, decided to pick a badge to work on together. They chose the Textile Arts badge which involved learning about different artistic uses of cloth and yarn. They had to pick a few different craft styles and make an example of each. They made:

Tie Dye

Macrame. (Olivia really loved tying all the knots. She wants to try her hand at bigger projects now.)

Latchhook, which involved pulling and tying little yarn bits through a mesh grid in a specific pattern.

She then sewed it into a pillow with ribbon.

She had so much fun with that one that she wants to do more and more now.

They also had to explore the history of textiles and textile arts, so they took a tour of the textile museum here in Greensboro. They got to explore our area's long history of textile manufacturing.

Strangely enough, the thing they found the most fun was typing on the old secretaries' typewriters. If only they were as excited about doing their real schoolwork as they were about pretending to do that!

And finally, Olivia and Sarah worked together to make this amazing banner!

Workout Partners

There's no question in our house who is the fittest of us all. Mama likes to go blow off steam each week at spin and bodypump class. The kids have no desire to join her, but they apparently thought their stuffed animals could stand to lose a pound or two because they convinced Rebecca to bring them along to work out with her.

Hanukkah 2018

It's time again for one of the kids' favorite holidays: Hanukkah!

As frightening as it may be, Irene was insistent that she could light her own candles this year. Well, everyone's gotta go sometime... Fortunately, she didn't burn herself or anyone else, so maybe she was right?

We kept to our usual traditions of lighting candles, reading the story of Judah Maccabee and his brothers, and letting the kids pull the tabs on the paper hanukkiah to reveal various activities.

We also participated in Valley of Blessing's Hanukkiah Contest again this year. We put together a chicken-themed hanukkiah with a chicken wire base, real wax-filled eggshells for the candles and a mama hen for the shamash. Sadly, we didn't win. That's ok, though. I know whose was really the best, ;)

A Quick Zoo Trip

Despite being barely a week away from winter, we had a balmy day and decided to take a morning trip down to the zoo. 

It turned out that the theme of the day was "Nap"... The gorillas were sleeping.

The lions were laying down.

The chimpanzees were enjoying a siesta. Isn't anyone awake???

Well, the otters were.

And so were the seals, who were having a great time wrestling for an audience.

 The bobcat was restless

 and the bison and elk were grazing.

And of course, there's always the children, who are a herd of active animals all their own. :)

2018 Fall Piano Recitals

2018 Father-Daughter Dance

American Heritage Girls hosts an annual dinner and dance for dads and their daughters. 

 Of course, I took the opportunity to get my girls all dolled up and looking beautiful!

  This year's theme was a masquerade, so along with dinner, the girls each got a cool feather mask to wear.

 And of course, there was lots and lots of dancing!!!

I love my girls and there's nothing like getting to spend some time with them having fun. The Father-Daughter Dance is certainly one of the highlights of my year.