Summer Piano Recital

It's that time again! The kids had a recital at the Piano Gallery last Thursday night. Unfortunately, with school ending, Memorial Day, and our trip to St. George... we almost forgot about it! It was really hard for me to remember to stay on top of their practicing and keep them focused.

Austin played a song called "A Snail's Dream." Where do they come up with these names?! If you saw the lyrics you would really get a good laugh. Truly ridiculous... but anyway, he liked the song. It wasn't really a challenging one for him, so I am not sure why he and his teacher chose it, but he did well. However, he pulled the same finish as last time (see photo).

Before the last note was even played, his backside was off the bench! He did, however, bow to the audience this time and exited via stairs rather than jumping off the front of the stage! (it's not very high) I guess any improvement is good, right? All joking aside, he does a great job playing and I never have to remind him or beg him to practice. He really loves playing the piano and I have high hopes for him and his musical talent. Great job Austin!

Olivia played "Row, Row Row your Boat" on the piano and also sang "You Belong to Me" by Taylor Swift. The piano song was a step up for her since she has recently learned chords.  I could tell that she loved the more complex sound of the song.

She was very nervous about singing this time. There was no microphone. Apparently, it had broken a couple of days earlier and the replacement wasn't there yet. I won't even go into how ludicrous this is... it's a concert hall for goodness sake! Anyway, Olivia basically had to sing a capella. I think it just completely threw her off. She has practiced this song 1000 times but this time she really struggled. Poor thing! I sat in the front row and she kept looking to me for the lyrics! I know the song, but not 100%, so I was grasping for the words as she looked at me with eyes pleading for help.

She was so embarassed and nervous she kept her head down the whole time. So we had a hard time hearing her soft voice. She did her best and that is what I told her as she came off stage. I think she is so brave to sing in front of an audience to begin with, so we're chalking this up as a character-building lesson. Way to go Olivia!

After the concert we all went to Pizza Factory. My parents, my brother Andrew, and my sister Lori, had come to the recital to support the kids, so we all headed to dinner. Here's my little bro Andrew with big, fresh Sprite- his drink of choice. You might not be able to tell, but this is an excited face. Just the fact that he's posing for my picture means he is happy about his soda. Simple pleasures in life. (I don't know why I didn't get good photos of everyone- I tried to take a couple at the table but had to delete them they were so lame... so this is it.)

We got pizza, salads, breadsticks, etc. Since Ashley was telling me, "Mom, I'm hungry" all through the recital (big surprise) I couldn't wait to feed her! Look at those cheeks- she's like a chipmunk. Actually, she's like my pet monster. Cute little monster, sweet monster. Aw, isn't she adorable?

I thought we'd get a Never on Sundae, but everyone took off quickly at the end so the kids had to settle for a little reward from Sonic. I am so proud of them and all the practicing they do. Proud of their courage to get up on stage. Proud of the talents that they work hard to develop. Proud of me for the whining I put up with, and the hours spent helping them practice when my own musical talents are so limited!! Ha