Matilda Jr.

Molly finished her last night as a member of the crew for Matilda the musical at Gray Middle School.

Serra Club Award

Sabrina received the Serra Club Award this afternoon. It was awarded to 7th grade servers throughout the Diocese of Covington.

Dark Blue belt

Clara leveled up in her karate belt last week. She has been gradually moving up the ranks from white to bow Dark Blue. She's still waiting on her first opportunity to spar at a tournament.

Spring soccer is back

Lucy was playing goalie this morning for her first spring soccer game. Fortunately no one scored on her and the team won!

Gus is 5

Gus the lab turned 5 years old today. He's a good dog who doesn't get into stuff too often that he's not supposed to and he's always ready for the next job. If you want a working dog, he's your guy.

Happy birthday Gus!

Jam packed weekend

 This weekend was jam packed with all kinds of activity.  Friday morning Christopher earned his driver's license which has ushered in a new dimension in the household.  Friday night was adoration lead by members of the Youth Group along with some praise and worship music.  Afterward was an ice cream social.  Then on Saturday, we gathered at Hoebenland to celebrate Denny's birthday. 

On Saturday afternoon, Molly went to Gray to work on the upcoming play, Chris drove himself to work, Annette met with band people to talk about food during band camp this summer while two cousins stayed at our house. I'm sure something else happened but I cannot recall. 

Sunday was also busy.  Chris was at mass at 9:30, band practice from 10:30 till 12:30, youth group till 2:30, Passion Play practice till 3:30ish, band banquet from 5 till 8 and a meeting at Panera after that

Molly, Lucy and Sabrina went up to Gray to move stuff to the Ryle stage courtesy of my F150.  Sabrina left at 3ish to go over to Passion Play practice and Molly stayed up there till 6 p.m.  

It was a busy weekend and one of the first times when I was glad to get back to the office on Monday so that I could rest again.  

Maiden Voyage

 Here's a short video narrated by Annette of Chris taking his maiden voyage as lone captain of his vessel.  He got his driver's license on Friday and will be soon learning the responsibility of paying for gas, insurance and eventually maintenance on the vehicle.  His sisters were pretty excited to get in the car with him driving on Saturday morning even if it was only eight tenths of a mile down the road to grandma's house.  

Lucy catches a big fish

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to go out to the farm and fish with Lucy and Sabrina. Within 30 seconds of Lucy tossing her line in the water using a hot dog for bait, a blue hill fishhook and a cane pole, she pulled up this monster catfish.

So much brass

Recently we were blessed to hear from both high and low brass in our living room.

Late latte

Sabrina and I went to deliver several bags of donated clothing to St. Vincent DePaul and then we went to Velocity Bike and Bean for some coffee. Take note of Sabrina's coffee earrings that she made herself.

Flying by the seat of your pants

Clara woke up in Wisconsin, had lunch in Detroit and is now in DC taxiing to the runway as she prepares to head back home to CVG. She went to WI this weekend to make syrup with northern relatives. As they say, "Getting there is half the fun!"

Learning

As an incentive for Christopher to learn how to drive (and pass his drivers license test) we have twice visited a store that has Dungeons and Dragons items for sale. These stores have served as a destination when we're trying to learn how to get around town. Fortunately access to the stores doesn't include any parallel parking or three-point turns.

Sabrina Band Assessment

 Here's a snapshot from Sabrina's band from the assessment today at NKU.  They were evaluated by independent judges who were listening to bands from all over northern KY today.  The 7th (and 8th) grade bands from Gray Middle School both received the Distinguished distinction which is the highest honor awarded to the bands!  Nice job Sabrina!

Choir Concert at GMS

Sabrina and Molly performed as part of the Gray Middle School choir concert tonight.  They each sang a number of songs with their respective grade and they sounded wonderful!  Here are a few snapshots from the evening. 

The long lens I have isn't quite strong enough to snap close up photos from far away so I have this one from the hallway with Molly and Sabrina. 

There's another photo of Sabrina that I took while she was preparing to sing, but I won't post it because I suspect she wouldn't want me to.  

Pre-Assessment Concert

 Tonight was the pre-assessment concert at Gray Middle School for the 7th and 8th grade band and the Symphonic and Honors Wind Symphony for Ryle High School.  Both bands were performing to help them prepare for their assessment at Northern KY University before a panel of judges on Wednesday.   Its one of the rare times when we can go to one location and hear two kids perform from two different bands. 

 

Getting her pre-concert jitters out, or maybe its a secret brass instrument exercise that I caught her in the middle of. 

Sabrina played the trombone in her first band concert tonight.  Her band buddy from the high school came over to visit after her performance to congratulate her. 

Christopher and the baritones along with a tuba photo-bomber.  

Clara's First Karate Tournament

 On Saturday, March 5, Clara competed in the Indiana State Karate Championship.  This was her first karate competition and she was nervous.  She competed in two events: kata and weapons.  Kata consists of two competitors performing a series of learned karate moves in front of a panel of three judges.  Each competitor carries out their routine consisting of kicks and punches.  Then the judges vote based on their performance.  Whoever wins the majority of the votes then advances.  

The next round was weapons.  Clara had a bow staff and proceeded to execute her routine with great precision.  

When all was said and done, Clara earned 2nd place in her division for both kata and weapons.  

She did not participate in sparring (which you can see in the background of the top few photos) but she hopes to start kicking butt in her division at the Chicago tournament happening at the end of March.  

Next stage of birthday celebration

We've now entered the "YouTube" portion of the birthday celebration.

Clara turns 15!

We celebrated Clara's birthday today with vanilla ice cream and only 5 candles.

(Someday in the future Sabrina will probably regret her fashion decisions.)

Coyote Hunting

Lucy and I got out to hunt wild dogs today. Unfortunately there were no dogs to be found but we enjoyed our time outdoors all the same.

My chair

Gus wants to know why I'm sitting in his chair.