Emma Sings

I must have heard at least 20 times this past year, "I don't have any talent." "I'm the only one in the family who can't sing." "I'm terrible at singing. Everyone sings better than me." No amount of reassurance could convince her that she was just as capable and talented as anyone else. She's great. It came as no surprise to me when she had a few big wins in the singing dept. recently.
1) She got the Certificate of Special Recognition by her choir teacher, given to only one student per grade.
2) She got the Certificate of Excellence in choir which is a certificate given to only one student per grade and voted by peers as a person who the kids think was the best prepared, behaved, someone who attended all concerts, a good singer, and someone who could be looked up to.
3) She auditioned for and was accepted into the Rising Generation Choir, which is a highly competitive LDS youth choir in the area. There were only 3 female spots available and many girls auditioned. Big Win!

I hope she's getting the message loud and clear that she is, indeed, talented. Yay for Emma!

School Art

More cute art projects. Check out Ellie's 2nd grade art. There seems to be a theme and I can't help singing, "One of these girls is not like the others. . ." Can you see it? Yup, she's got a thing for blonde hair. I think the rainbow face girl went along with a story and she had to make it look like the girl in the book A Bad Case Of Stripes. Otherwise, she too would have blonde hair, no doubt.
Lauren's gangster turkey deserves mention too. They get this project every year: dress the turkey in disquise so it won't be eaten for Thanksgiving. Lauren thought up gangster turkey. How does she come up with this stuff?

Fine Arts Awards

This was a cake Maddie's friends made for the event. It's vegan.

Maddie received many awards on this fine evening. Several denoted her progression through the International Thespian Society (ITS). It's kinda like the Oscars for high school.

Maddie with her friends.

Maddie's friend who saved the show by stepping in to fill a part with one day notice. We love him for that, and also just because he's so cute, and nice, and talented.

Maddie and her friend won first place for a dramatic speech competition.

Summer Themed Art

The art teacher at our elementary school is retiring this year and my kids are so glad. For two years now I've been hearing horror stories about art. Apparently she's "really mean." Okay, so her classroom management skills may be lacking, but my kids have come home with some really cute art projects. Here's hoping that next year they will have good art AND a fun teacher. I always think of my friend Brooke, the best art teacher on the planet, and wish she could be the world's teacher, or at least my kids' teacher.

Talent Show Winners

Maddie and her friends won first place at the high school talent show! It was sooooo good. They sang "I Know It's Today" from the Shrek musical. Of course, Maddie was the part of young Fiona. It just sounded so great! There were some talented kids there, but this performance was pure entertainment. The cash prize of $150 was split between them. They were some cute and happy girls. Way to go, Maddie!

Wacky Hair Day

Lauren made quite an impression at her school when she showed up like this for wacky hair day. She was thrilled with it. She found out that it wasn't the best hairdo for playing limbo though. :)

Several people have asked me how it's done. Here's the trick: Gather the hair you want for the spike, grab a wad of egg whites and blend it in (especially at the roots), comb into place again, blend in a bit of hair glue (got 2 B glued brand), work quickly and get your spike perfect, hold while you blow dry on low cool until it is stiff. Repeat with all spikes. It may take some time. Be prepared for that.

Art

Just a sampling of some of the cute art projects Ellie has done this year.

All-District Honors Choir

Maddie and Emma both auditioned for and were accepted into the all-district honors choirs for their schools. This meant many rehearsals, some at far away schools, for several weeks and culminated in a great day of music last week. The top orchestra, choir, and jazz band musicians in the district came together to give one fabulous performance. I was so proud of both of them. They worked hard to get their music memorized and perfected. I was crying tears of joy and pride for their accomplishments. Loved Every Minute Of It!!!!

Homeschool

After spending most of last year jumping through hoops with the school district, only to be informed that my sweet little Lauren does not qualify for any extra help, I have decided to take matters into my own hands and give her the help she needs. They did tell me that she could do "Pioneer Reading," which is a fun name for Title 1reading, where she can get extra help learning how to decode words. But she tested very well in decoding. That isn't her issue, so I'm not sure why they thought that would be the solution.
I am blessed with a child for whom regular school just doesn't seem to sink in. She's a bright girl in many ways and is super resourceful and independent. But she pretty much hates school and does not see the value in trying to succeed with it. So, just to fill some of the educational gaps I'm having her go to school in the mornings, where she does reading and math and then she comes home to do reading and math. Right now she's getting basically no Social Studies or Science, but I think this will be time well spent. She can pick those things up later. We can't just go on thinking that the basic skills will eventually come. They need to come now and I seem to be the only one who is worried about it.
We've been going for about 3 weeks now and so far, so good. She's already come far in many respects. I couldn't be happier about the results. Hopefully she'll be ready to jump right back in by next year.
Whatever spare time I used to have has vanished, but the sacrifice right now will pay off in the long run, I'm sure.
Wish us luck!

Homecoming 2010

These are Maddie's besties.

This is Maddie's very good friend, Sam.

Already with the shoes off and the evening had just begun.

This past weekend was Homecoming for Maddie. She went with a group of friends (not a date) which seems to be the way of it these days. I actually quite like that. Unfortunately, we had a big horse-riding adventure planned for the same evening. This left Maddie out of that and I wasn't there to help her get ready and take pictures and stuff. But, such is life. Everyone is so very busy. She looked adorable and had a great time with her friends.

First Day of School - 2010

And these are the obligatory "first day of school" photos. Maddie was NOT able to get her cast off in time for the big day. She had to wait until Friday. But she's lovin' the boot. Lauren is just as thrilled as usual.
Here's hoping for a great school year. The big girls are already anxiously talking about the school productions. We're sure to be very busy for the next nine months. Wait, we just got done being busy. Oh yeah, we're always busy.

First Day of School

Here were the girls on the first day of school. Don't they look so studious? Maddie didn't feel like she needed her picture taken. Or maybe I just didn't have it together at that moment of the day. She leaves the house now at 5:45. I get up to make sure she gets something to eat at 5:30. I'm kinda liking the new routine, but I don't think she is yet.

8th Grade Grad

Congrats Maddie!
Maddie was the recipient of the Presidential Academic Excellence Award. She was voted by her peers "Best Female Musician" and "Best Actress". She was a member of Student Council this year and Band. She has 4 poems published in the school literary magazine. She has seen great success this year and will really miss her friends and teachers. But, she has proven that she is capable of great things. I'm totally proud of this gorgeous girl.

Talent Show

Maddie and Emma had the guts to be a part of their school talent show this year. I was thrilled and impressed. Emma played a song on the piano. She wasn't very happy with her performance, but I was proud of her for doing it.











Maddie sang a song from Wicked (What is this Feeling?) with her friend Megan. She sang the Elphaba part. They had a few back up singers helping them, including Emma. They did a great job.

And then Richard found this little guy outside of the school that night. He kept saying, "Come here, hurry, there's a beaver over here." :0) While I'm pretty sure it's not a beaver, what is it? I'm saying prairie dog. Anyone know?

Once On This Island

The big show has finally come and gone. Months of preparation and rehearsal have come to an end. Phew! The Middle School musical this year starred Maddie as Ti Moune and Emma as a Storyteller. They did a fabulous job and I'm not just saying that because I'm the Mom. Truly, Maddie was outstanding in comparison to the other girls. She sings out loud and clear, her pitch was on, and her vocal quality was far and away the BEST! Emma had a lot of solo parts as well and she was just as good. She never seemed nervous and spoke and sang with confidence and clarity. I was so proud. They are like superstars! They got a lot of attention at school and are feeling like real celebrities. I think Maddie has had a good taste of it and seems to want more. Poor Emma did a great job, but just by nature of the roles they got, Maddie is getting a bit more attention. Emma was great too.
They are going to miss the show. I encouraged them to audition because I knew they needed some way to connect to other kids quickly and make new friends. That's exactly what has happened and now they are so sad that it's over because that's where all their friends are. Hopefully they will get to see them enough in the regular school day.
Way to go Girls. I love you!!!!

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

2nd Grade Americana Musical

Lauren's big musical show was this past week. The 2nd grade classes of her school have been practicing about 8 songs to perform for the night. Unlike my other girls, Lauren didn't sing her songs at home at all. It was a complete surprise for us. I didn't even know she knew 8 songs. There were actions and everything. She was just thrilled to be standing on a big stage. They got to use the high school's auditorium, so it felt like a really nice evening performance. We love Lauren!

My smart kids

I just got back from awards assemblies today. Emma got the Principals Honor Roll (4.0 GPA) again! and Lauren got a special award for outstanding effort and achievement because her reading has improved so much in the past month. It really has. All of a sudden she wants to read everything: signs on the road, on buildings, Dr. Seuss books, my to do lists, or whatever else she can find. She's becoming a reader like the other girls. Yay!!

First Day of School

Here they are on the first day of school. Aren't they cute. By the way, I think that was the last time I saw Lauren smile on her way to school.
And not to be left out, here is Ellie too.