2024 got started off with bang! I subbed for the Olympia Symphony and did a John Williams concert on New Year's Eve! We got to dress in costume and I picked a yellow Jurassic Park poncho :)
I subbed for them again in March, doing Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet, and West Side Story! It's funny how music goes in cycles because I had just done West Side Story with the Northwest Wind Symphony in January!
OSO!
NWWS!
It's no secret that music pretty much consumes our lives. In January Cade had PLU Honor Band and then All-Sate in February!
All-State! Last honor band as a Senior :)
A couple of fun, non-music things...
Alex sporting his new black tie!
Dan was changing out our frozen feeders when a hummingbird flew on and tried to get a sip!
One of Alex's Christmas presents was a hyper-realistic cake kit. Didn't it turn out amazing?!
I love our puppy!
Cade and his kitty
At the end of February and all through March we suddenly descended into a perfect marriage of all of our musical commitments coming to a head with ALL. THE. PERFORMANCES! The boys and I performed in the pit of Yelm High School's production of Seussical! I will always relish any opportunity to perform with my family!
The boys also had choir and band concerts in March. Alex joined choir in February at the semester change and is loving it!
Not pictured was our SOGO concert. I'm hoping a link will be available soon because the orchestra debuted Cade's orchestration of Debussy's Sunken Cathedral.
A few other things not pictured that filled up my march were-
my 1st and 2nd graders first performance!
church production of The Garden- me on piano, boys in the pit too!
Olympia Youth Chorus performance- I play piano for two of the groups
The beginning of SPSCC's Amelie- we had auditions and call backs. I'm excited to be the rehearsal pianist again!
During all of this madness Dan was away for a TDY in Thailand! Honestly, we were barely home with all of that stuff going on so I'm glad that he was occupied with that awesome experience. He made some great connections with his Senior Leadership and when he was return flight was delayed by almost a week he finally got some time to explore Thailand outside of the military exercise. I admire his hard work!
Wearing their Thailand souvenirs!
In Washington spring has sprung, and that means cherry blossoms! We had some beautiful weather before it turned a little grey and chilly again.
And it must be spring break, because I have time to blog! We had Kristina's family come visit over the weekend so we took to the seas! We stayed near Long Beach at a really fun AirBnB. It was a short walk to the beach where we attempted to clam and enjoyed beautiful views. Bensen even braved the coooooold waters. We also took the Foutz family to Cape Disappointment. Not sure why, but I really like it there :)
It was WINDY!
Our house was the one on the left in the pic
Cade went into full vacay mode
Dan with Kristina's dog Libby
Look familiar? Bigfoot has a twin in Leavenworth!
After our Foutz family vacation we had one day where all of us were off work and school so we did an escape room and went out for a nice dinner. As life goes along we're all getting along really well and enjoying each other's company more and more. Love my family!
We barely escaped this 70 minute room... but we've loved Escape Hour here in WA!
And if that wasn't enough excitement for one blog post, the most exciting thing to come out of the month of March was the end to the process of applying and auditioning for College. After all was said and done, Cade had applied to UNC Greeley, University of North Texas, Indiana University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He narrowed it down to these 4 schools based on their brass programs and the people he would be studying with. Some schools only accepted virtual auditions and he visited Indiana in person to play in front of a panel. We are proud to say that Cade was offered a very generous scholarship to Oberlin, and he has committed to attend in the Fall of 2024! Congratulations Cade, you definitely deserve it after all the hard work you have put in to make your dream come true.
I loved how the website let him know he was accepted!
Got the official packet in the mail
Some swag!
And his first Oberlin shirt!
Our spring break is coming to an end and then it's the final push of the school year. There's lots more music and a graduation in our future and I'll be sure to come back and share it all with you!
December was just as busy as you'd expect. Between the 4 of us we had 16 performances, 2 work parties, and a state championship Football game throughout the month. 'Tis the season!
However, there was some time in there to take a break and enjoy some time together. We've started a new Christmas Eve tradition of having Smash Burgers by candlelight dinner and then playing silly and obnoxious party games where the kids can win some prizes and money. This year's games were the classic unwrapping of a giant gift with oven mitts on your hands, and then another game where you slid a can of soda across a table and had to land on certain spots for prizes. If your can of soda went of the table then they had to pick a piece of paper out of a cup and do what it said. Those ranged from giving mom a hug to eating something unpleasant!
We also continued our tradition of watching the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) sometime during December. We just happened to have already watched the first two and were ready for the Return of the King on Christmas Eve!
After opening presents the next morning we headed on a quick trip to Leavenworth, WA. This is one of those places that's a must-visit, especially during the holidays. It is a picturesque winter town with lights, shops, and winter fun. It was a perfectly magical visit and we had a great time.
Instead of a slew of individual pictures, I turned our December fun into a video! Enjoy, and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.
Even though we took an impromptu little trip in October we had to come back and start embracing the holiday rush!
October consisted of a choir concert for Cade- what a fabulous start to the year!
Carving pumpkins!
Dan
Laura
Alex
Cade
Senior Night for the Marching Band!
Cade and his good friend Mark
Halloween! Alex and his friends dressed as characters from a series called Over the Garden Wall
In November Alex kept up with his new found cake making skills and made an awesome Chocolate/Raspberry Cake for Dan's Birthday!
Speaking of Dan's Birthday, he asked me to plan a family outing- so we went to the Seattle Art Museum and then to University Ave for some of the best Thai food we've ever had. Here are some of our favorite art pieces we loved.
The main exhibit at the museum was works by and inspired by the artist of the Great Wave off Kanagawa- Hokusai. I found this area fascinating and it's hard to only pick a few to share. The process of doing these woodblock prints its just so cool. Layer by layer they come to life!
And here's the Great Wave! And another picture of what each layer looked like.
And our amazing Thai Food! Only seats a few people, they cook right in front of you, fast and fresh!
We got Pad Thai and Panang Curry, my favorite!
There was MORE marching band! I love the tradition of the team coming to the sidelines after the game while everyone sings Country Roads. This year the band learned the tune and played it instead of them playing a recording over the speakers!
Kelly and I were there through rain and cold and hot cocoa and moving drum major podiums!
I had my first assembly performance at my new elementary school for Veteran's Day! It went well!
Alex held a few bake sales- pumpkin whoopie pies, cookie cakes, snickerdoodles and pumpkin bread!
Cade participated in WIBC for the last time. This was his 3rd year being a part of WIBC and it has always been a great experience for him. This year he was able to meet Frank Ticheli and Demondre Thurman, who teaches at Indiana University where Cade is hoping to attend next year.
Dan and I got coordinating tattoos!
They perfectly represent us and where we are in our relationship right now. We hit 20 years together on October 6th! We've had some difficulties over the last 6 years with military separations, moves, health concerns and more. We feel as though we've come out for the better on the other side- and just like our tattoos we've learned how to appreciate our stark differences and still work beautifully together. Love you Dan!
Thanksgiving was a little tricky this year because Dan had to work late the day before Thanksgiving and the boys needed to be back for a Saturday football game- but we went to Boise anyways! Loooong drive on Wednesday and left early Saturday to be back in time for the game.
The day after Thanksgiving we went to their local tree farm that had a fireworks show, a little shop, and hot cocoa! It was so cute and fun!
And where the McBrides are, games shall be also!
And because apparently Americans are crazy and start decorating for the holidays way before other countries, we went and cut down our first real tree for Christmas this season, before December! If you live locally I highly recommend Gerrit's in Rainier for your tree! Great selection, prices and they provide the tools and some hot cocoa and a warm fire when you're done.
And this all happened before the craziness that is December! Stay tuned for Christmas 2023 style!
