Last Choir Concert at GMS

Today we saw the end an era at Gray Middle School.  These photos are from our last middle school choir concert.  We've enjoyed the years of listening to Molly and Sabrina sing at Gray and we've already been treated to a couple of Sabrina's performances at Ryle.  

Duveneck Art Fair and Mother's Day

We had some nice time together this weekend for Mother's Day.  We went to the Duveneck Memorial Art Show in Covington on Saturday and looked at many interesting artist's creations.  

One last Spring Break Adventure

Chris and I were scheduled to work at NKU for a band event from 4 pm to 7 pm on Sunday 3/17. I figured after we were finished with our shift I'd return him back to UC. When we arrived at NKU, the work had already been done and there was nothing left for us to do so we started to make our way to Clifton. As we crossed over the Dan Beard bridge, my son who wanted to stretch his spring break just a little bit longer looked over at the Cincinnati skyline and said, "I've written a paper about the 'CARE-roo' Tower but I've never been to the observation deck." I corrected his pronunciation of Carew and then contemplated the diversion.

The trap was set and all of a sudden I found myself as an accomplice to the Spring Break extension by veering off the return trip to Clifton and instead making our way to park underneath fountain square. On St. Patrick's Day.

We walked into Carew Tower and stumbled upon the bank of elevators that go to the top of the building. We walked past a sign and security guard who took no interest in us whatsoever and tried to figure out which elevator was working. None of the buttons responded so we walked back and queried the hourly employee who couldn't care less about our predicament. That's when I saw the sign that said the observation deck was closed temporarily. To get this other human being to show a sign of life I asked how long it had been closed. She lumbered with the enthusiasm of a sloth and said, "It's been closed since COVID."

Not deterred, my young architecture student proceeded through the art deco building and called my attention to all the features that I otherwise wouldn't have seen. We strolled through the building and fell into the bar at the Orchid Restaurant where I drank a blue moon and Chris enjoyed a double shot of water. Because it was St. Patrick's Day there were many older men wearing tuxedos with green bow ties seated around the bar. It seemed that they had all gotten an earlier start to celebrate the day based on their behavior.

We left the bar, walked around a little bit more - he actually disappeared upstairs at one point - and then made our way back to the truck which was sandwiched in between two sedans in the parking garage. Seemingly satisfied, or more likely accepting his fate, we arrived back at his dorm among many long sighs and groans. As we were parting ways I realized his teeth needed some serious brushing. This was when he realized he left his toothbrush and paste at home. Go figure.

And so, Christopher's spring break came to an end with one last little adventure in a building constructed nearly 100 years ago.

Christmas memory

 

I believe this is an image I'll remember for a long time.  Lucy wrote a note to Santa Claus and received a reply.  In a nutshell, she wrote that she wasn't sure that she believed anymore and S.C.'s reply was pretty touching.  It's both happy and sad that the days of Santa Claus are in the rearview for our family. 

Concerts and more concerts

We're at the end of the semester and it is the season for concerts.  Tonight was Molly's 8th Grade Winter Concert under the direction of Mrs. Kozar.  Last week we heard from Lucy's Winter Band Concert.  Later this week we'll hear both Molly and Sabrina perform at Ryle High.  'Tis the season!

The story of one lab coat

 I was going through some photos from Halloween over the last few years and saw something I'd missed previously.  Christopher's lab coat from ~2017 has made an appearance in three Halloween costumes.  I wonder if that's a Howard Family record?  

2023's crew of trick or treaters

2020 trick or treaters with some Italian neighborhood friends

2017, the first year of the lab coat (I think)

GRC 2023

One of the privileges of being a band photographer is behind the scene photos like this one. I snuck back to the warm up area and was able to check in with Molly and Sabrina before they went onto the field for finals performance later that evening. They were all smiles for me!

Wool Fest 2023

 It's a very rare occasion when we can all gather for the same activity anymore.  However, we made a special effort to go to Wool Fest this year.  Here are a couple of photos from our time together!

Strike up the band

Chris came home from college last night which means all the kids pulled out their instruments for band practice. Since Chris was without a baritone, he opted to play Lucy's tuba instead. It was a cacophony of sounds for several minutes.

Homecoming

Ryle High School's homecoming last night produced memories of Auburn High School's homecoming this morning.

Anniversary gathering at Hoebenland

We went over to Hoebenland last night to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The girls started a game of pool downstairs that eventually caught the attention of Annette and Grandma.  I believe Annette won the game, but I'm not 100% certain.  

WEBN Fireworks

Sabrina, Molly, Lucy and I went to see the Kenton County Emergency Operations Center last night and then made our way upstairs to watch the fireworks from the fifth floor of the Administration building. We had a run in with a praying mantis and got to watch the emergency management guys in action.

And here is a photo from the security camera showing the moment when I took issue with the praying mantis flying and landing on my pants. 

Moving in to the RAV

So Clara got her drivers license yesterday. Her first trip by herself was to work and back last night. After Annette and I returned from an adult evening of working out at the gym and shopping at Costco, we discovered that Clara was preparing to move in to the RAV4. First she has to do a deep clean and then I suspect she'll be hanging up pine tree car freshener.

Tuba face

Lucy practiced warm up drills on her tuba tonight. Her reflected tuba face is pretty funny to me so I thought I'd share it here.

First day of school 2023

Here are the girls on their first day of school.

Shortly after these photos were taken, Lucy had to wrestle (grapple?) with her tuba case to get it into the truck. Her instrument is humungous so we'll have to wait and see how often she needs to bring it home.  

Also, in a moment of parental experience, I visually swept through the back of the truck and discovered that Molly had forgotten her lunch. I spun the truck around and was able to get it to her courtesy of the nice ladies at the office.

TUCBIDG

Tonight we were privileged to watch the UC Band perform an exhibition for Parents Night. Chris learned a new routine and traditions within a very short window of only 8 days. If all goes well, he'll be performing at home games for the fall semester and having a great time while doing it. We enjoyed watching him and hope we get to see him on the field again soon!

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Sarah, Eli and Zachary!

Visit to the office

Some day we'll look back on these little moments and understand their significance.

For now we just have to chuckle when we see photos of 11 year old Lucy behind the desk of the Kenton County Judge/Executive.

First day of college

This is a photo of Clara's first day of college. Well, actually it's from her second but you get the idea.

Ice cream to continue the tradition

A few years ago it was the night before school started so we went out for ice cream at Culver's. Clara starts college tomorrow a few days before the rest of the kids so we went out for ice cream tonight.

This, however, was different since Chris is at UC this evening. We'll see him again soon though - probably Thursday for the Bearcat Band preview.