First Concert...

Josh and I have been talking about taking our oldest to his first concert.  I've been looking for a good Christian band that would be playing nearby.  I didn't know much about Crowder but I bought 3 tickets because he would be at the Mt. Baker Theater. The concert was last week and  I thought it was going to be just the 3 of us but I learned my neighbor was also going and had purchased a few extra tickets.  It ended up being two families with 5 young men.

Here we are, we're on our way, we're headed to the concert today!

Waiting for it to start the boys ages; 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 - in order.  They all wore ear plugs.  So glad they did.  But me - no way, I was rocking out!

I was so impressed with this band.  Seriously, I was blown away and they are now my favorite!  I had to buy the download album just so I could try to recreate the concert.  I successfully did that in my (new to me) 2012 Acadia. My ears might still be ringing. Cars these days have amazing sound systems!

 So the kids liked it but I loved it!

Here's a link to my favorite song if you want to listen.  Beloved
Here's another good one.  Lift your head

A Week in Review...

We started school last Monday.  Things went pretty well.  Only the spider in the window stopped us for a short time.

The biggest challenge I see this school year is adjusting to the new math curriculum for the Professor.  We're using Harold Jacobs Algebra instead of Math-U-See.  It's not quite as user friendly but we just have to get use to the layout, wording and method of  delivery.  If it doesn't end up working for me, I'll have to pass it off to Josh and if it still doesn't work then we will switch back to Math-U-See.  But Harold Jacobs is what all the veteran math teachers in our community swear by.  We'll see.

Josh and I managed a date night last weekend to Langley to see the movie "The Game Stands Tall."  We had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory afterwards.  That was yummy!  Our 16th wedding anniversary is this coming weekend and that was our gift. 

We saw a hot air balloon on our drive home.  I think it was having trouble finding a spot to land.

 I had a power shopping trip at Value Village the other day.  The Professor had grown, again, out of all his pajama pants.  So a quick trip and $60.00 later had me toting a bag of pajama bottoms for the Professor, shirts and pants for the Scientist and two outfits for Blossom.  All in the span of about 40 minutes. 

This is how the boys feel about shopping.  

And this weekend I'm preparing for a large Boy Scout Court of Honor.  This is the big one after summer, summer camp and all those activities that earned them merit badges and rank.  I've been working on it for the last 5 weeks.  Thankfully my boys were able to squeeze in a Scoutmaster conference on the last day of the deadline.  And they barely secured my last two board of review slots that same evening.  How appropriate, the Advancement Coordinator's sons are the very last ones to make rank on the day of the deadline.  Well, no one can say I'm out to get my own boys ahead of anyone else.

A scout to tenderfoot and a tenderfoot to 2nd class.

Next week we throw another ball into the air,  weekly piano lessons.  I'm looking forward to hearing those boys play again. 

Hodge Podge . . .

Ten o'clock comes way too fast these days.  But I can tell you I'm glad to be getting up earlier and I'm happy to be tired at night.  Being a night owl is not much fun. 
That being said, blogging in the evening is more difficult.  The brain power just isn't there.
So here's what we've been up to.

We went to a birthday party for Uncle Chuck.  Raging party goes eh!?  Actually, I think this is after we filled our stomachs with great food made by Grandma Patty.

Josh has a captive audience for his guitar practice.  

Football practice for the Architect has started.  Oh how that boy needs his football!

I got a fun package in the mail from Anna.  Lots of super cute girl dresses.  I can't wait to have her wear the middle polka-dot one for church on Sunday!

 The boys and I worked a shift at the Antique Tractor Show at Berthusen.  It's a fundraiser for our Troop.  We change the trash cans, and keep the bathrooms stocked all while driving around in a Gator ATV. 

The Scientist took a break to get a ride on the little green train.

I still need to get Josh to transfer his scout camp pictures to me so I can put up a post about their week. 

Odds & Ends . . .

We signed up for the Costco AX card last year and I have been waiting for this day.  Our Disney trip expenses all went through the card and it really added up!  I'm so happy to see this reward!

These are the shoes the Scientist chose to wear out of the house and to piano lessons.  I thought he was asking me if he could wear flip flops which isn't much better but I said yes.  I think this is classic.  It's cute.  He wasn't worried one bit about what anyone would say.  Too bad I was the big mouth that said something about his choice. 

The Scientist has composed a song for piano.  The above picture is the front page for his sheet music.

This week I breath a great sigh of relief.  Our 6 weeks of Thursday ski lessons ended last week and Tuesday evenings at Gymstar ended this Tuesday.  My weeks just became a whole lot easier.  I'm happy to have some flexibility and freedom back in our schedule.

The Entertainer . . .

This makes me smile . . .

Newest Piano Player . . .

Over the years our homeschool focus has drifted toward an emphasis on Science, Math and Physical Fitness.  This has everything to do with having 3 boys.  

Science because they are interested in it.  Math because Josh and I are firm believers in the opportunities presented from the knowledge of  Math and Physical Fitness because tired boys are happy boys. 

One of the other aspects of education we offer the boys is Music Education.  Both Josh and I feel these skills will be meaningful to our sons down the road and we don't deny the benefits they offer now.

Today, our youngest started piano lessons.

The first day is always a happy one.  I will enjoy it because I know what lay before me in the weeks to come.

Mid-week Music...

 Re-sharing this. Thank you Mrs. Hollister for posting it to Facebook.
This is for my California SIL - Sometimes She Wonders.  Missing your Music Mondays blog posts.

2012 Piano Recital ...

Last Thursday night my two older boys had their piano recital to mark the end of lessons for the school year.  

Both boys played two songs, one solo and one duet.  The Architect played a duet with his Papa and the Professor played a duet with his piano teacher.  

The whole family gathered to watch and we were so impressed.  I'm constantly amazed at what only 30 minutes of piano practice a day can result in.

Sunday at the Symphony . . .

I've been taking my boys to the Mt. Baker Theatre for various productions their whole lives.  I love live theatre and I'm determined to have my boys experience it even if they don't love it.

Last Sunday we attended the Whatcom Symphony Family Concert.
Before the show there was a "Instrument Petting Zoo."  Fun, huh!?  My guys were having none of that so I took advantage of the opportunity.

Except for being 1/2 hour too long it was an excellent program and very educational.  We all enjoyed the Harry Potter orchestra piece the most.

What we are doing...

 Practicing piano...

 Blowing bubbles...

 Working on math...

And making dinner.

Motion Picture Music

I don't know how it all started.  Maybe it's a combination of many things; super cold weather outside keeping us in, the reading of the Gettysburg address the other day, the huge pile of blankets and pillows on the bedroom floor because I'm washing all the sheets and the playing of a music CD that sounded a bit like movie music.  Put that all together and we have 3 little boys acting out the "Civil War Battle."  Or as Derek calls it the "Silver war battle."  Now I can't get any of this on camera because they are way too shy about it.  So, I'm left to try and explain it here.  I finally had to make all the beds and take away most of their trench and bunker building material but they seemed OK about it.  Instead they are using the 3 bean bags we have.  I also swapped out the CD for the Motion Picture music to Robin Hood.  The one that stared Kevin Costner.  They are actually listening to it and making up their own story to go with the mood of the music.  I could never inspire them to do this as a project. No, the pieces just have to fall into place and they have to stumble upon it on their own.  The best I can hope for is to create an environment ripe for creativity.