Institute 2009

Brooklyn and I spent this last week at the Intermountain Suzuki Strings Institute. Institute is a week long music camp where these kiddos get the opportunity to have classes and instruction by teachers from all over the world. It's absolutely amazing!!! This is our fourth year attending and we have had a great time.

Her first class of the day was Chamber with David Porter from Utah. He is a violinist with the Utah Symphony. He did a great job working with the kids. They learned two songs to perform for their final concert. Also, Brook had a fun time with her cousin, Sarah, in all but one of her classes. See the girl in the yellow dress.


Next was Orchestra with David Becker from Wisconsin. He recieved his masters from Julliard. He was great. He taught them how to have a jam session which was really fun. They learned two songs to play for their final concert also.

This class is her Violin Performance class headed up by Koen Rens from Belgium. He was hilarious and they loved him. The class was actually double the size so you can imagine how hard it would be to make that many violins sound like one but he did it. They performed two songs for their final concert which was accompanied by an orchestra made up of all the teachers at Institute.

This is her Technique class with Ruth Godfrey. Mrs. Godfrey is a wonderful teacher here in Salt Lake City. She worked a lot on scales and tones.

This is her Master teacher, Allen Lieb, from New York City. He actually spent years studying with Dr. Suzuki. He is a highly respected teacher all over the world. He was amazing with her. He worked on each part of the songs and how important each element is, not just getting done. He taught her to break the song down into smaller groups, to learn the song correctly and then play it 200 times so she'll never forget it. He emphasized in the importance of dynamics, tone, rhythm and then putting it together to make the song interesting to those listening. He also helped her with something so small as the way she bent her pinky on her bow hand. This was both of our favorite class of the day.

If your zoom in on this pic above, she fell while practicing and cracked the face of her violin. Luckly she was able to still play the rest of the week and we will be able to have it fixed. Phew...

Brian took her today for her final concert. He has been home with Calvin all week and it will be good for him to see what he was spending his money on. Thanks Brian, it was worth every penny:)

Aladdin Operetta

The kinder kids performed the "Aladdin" operetta. It was absolutely adorable. They did a marvelous job and I couldn't have been more proud of Calvin. He was a story teller and he dramatically said his lines. Everytime I asked him to practice his part he'd roll his eyes and race through his part. I was so surpised at how confident he was up in front of all the parents. I heart him so much")


Aladdin and Jasmine


Aladdin and Abu


Calvin singing, isn't he cute.


Calvin with Grandma Becky


Calvin with Grandma Sandra


Calvin with Grandpa Ames


Calvin with Grandma Joan

Life doesn't get any better than this:)

I didn't think I could ever be in love like this. I still can't believe how blessed I am to have this little guy in my life. He is my angel baby. He rarely fusses unless he's tired or absolutely starving. I love how he smells (even the spitty times), his soft unruly hair, his big blue eyes, his tiny nose, his long thin finger and little chubby legs. My favorite time is when he is sleeping and his sweet warm face is nestled in the nape of my neck. I'm in awe at how wonderful these little beings are.<

This past almost three months have flown by too fast not because I'm tired and my days at time feel like a blur, it's because life feels right. I have a great hubby, three beautiful babes, a large family and friends who surround and support me.

He has been smiling for a few weeks now and I've yet to get a pic of him until today. He cracks me up when he smiles and pulls all sorts of cute faces. He is also starting to coo and talk to me. I love it!!

I love these pics!!

Jen (photographer extraordinaire) took my extended family pictures a few weeks ago. (check out her work http://www.fausetphotography.com/) Wow!!!! She did a fab job, as usual, especially with the amount of people she had to work with. These are some of my favorite faves (too many blog actually).

The oldest guy in my life with the youngest guy in my life.

I see so much of my dad in Croy. The way he puckers his lips, his chin, his eyes and his personality.

My parents :)


Isn't my mom gorgEous, this my favorite pic of her. She is an amazing gal. She is my friend, my mom, my children's grandma, and my dad's beautiful wife. She is always there for each one of us. She rarely complains and it's only when she is completely and utterly exhausted. She is an amazing nurse and her patients love her. She does a beautiful job of caring for my dad. I spent the day with my dad a few weeks ago and he talked about how good she is with her money. She saved for Christmas every year, she is very careful in budgeting and rarely spends on herself. We grew up on casseroles which I didn't particularly love (what kids does?). As a mom who is on a strict budget, I make the same casseroles because they are tasty and cost effective. She is a multi-talented multi-tasker :) She made our little kid clothes, prom dresses, costumes, etc... It just amazes me what she can do!! (See shout to dad post for my dad:)

My extended family :)


"Family is like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts." by Unknown Author

This picture tells it like it really is. We are all so different yet we are all from the same set of parents. We all get along. We have our differences and we are not afraid to share but it still works. I have amazing sister-in-loves and brother-in-loves. My neices and nephews are wonderful kids. I love that the older ones are very good to the younger ones. My kids are some of the youngest but they have great friendships with the older ones.

A Shout Out to My Dad

Can I just say that my dad is awesome. I am so grateful that I've had the chance to be his daughter. He is a man of many talents which he generously shared with me. He spent evenings playing catch, pitching or hitting pop flies for me during my softball days. He is brilliant in many areas like church history, math, journaling, wood working, gardening, laundry and ironing, electrical work, to be a hard worker and so much more.

About 5 years ago, my dad noticed some weakness in his shoulders when he was helping my sister with a project. It progressed throughout his whole body. After years of testing, they've finally decided that he has Lou Gehrig's or ALS. Watching my dad struggle with tasks that used to be so easy is one of the hardest things I've had to do. It tugs at my heart when I watch him struggle to stand and walk. He can't sleep lying down anymore so he sleeps in his office chair. I can't imagine it's comfortable at all.

The amazing thing to me is that he doesn't let it get the best of him. Don't get me wrong, he has good and bad days and he'll cuss when he's frustrated but he is still the wonderful person who I had the opportunity to grow up with.

I was pitching the baseball for Calvin the other day and I was remembering how happy it made me feel when he would spend this time with me. I have a journal that he wrote in when I was little. The stories are hilarious, priceless and I feel so lucky that he took the time to write them down. The best thing about this is that it makes me want to spend good quality time with my kids. I want them to remember and feel loved by me like I have felt with my dad. I want them to know him and to know that he loves them. I talk to them about him and the things that he did for me.

Grandma Kim

So today my little friend, Tae, came over to hang out with me. She always comes in and shows me her shoes, hair, dress or anything she's excited about. She loves to play with the puzzles, dolls, ponies, and to have a bowl of cereal. I love that she wants to come. She'll come even when all the kids are at school or at their friends houses. I love the conversations we have. She tells me about her baby brother, that he only eats milk and his name is Chase. She is so proud of herself because she can use the potty like Paige. She's an open book therefore I get to hear all about her family and friends. She is a dollie!!!

Brian made the comment that I'm "like" her grandma. She can come and play, eat treats, get spoiled, etc...the funny things is he's right. Who wouldn't want to be her grandma. She is so darn cute and I love that my kids will play with her. Calvin likes to give her his treats in Sacrament Meeting. He gives her his whole baggie of cereal and gets the books out for her. He's like an uncle to her. Brooklyn is great to play with her also. She'll take her around the house and gets whatever Tae wants. Brian likes to ask her lots of questions like "does your baby eat cereal with marshmallows for breakfast?" She looks at him like he's nuts and then says "no, he only eats milk." Brian also loves to show her magic tricks. She giggles and tries to do them herself. Any who, she is too much fun and I heart her so.

Croy

My amazing friend, Jen, took pictures for me when Croy was 13 days old. I almost called and cancelled that morning. Hormones are to blame of course. I was struggling to even get out the door with Croy let alone have my kids looking great. She is fantastic and so much fun to work with. She has a gift for picture taking and I am so grateful to have pictures by her. Check her out http://www.fausetphotography.com/

Thank you, Jen!!