Sound Wave

Congratulations to Trevor and four of his classmates that tried out as freshman for the BHS Sound Wave (Show Choir) and were given a place in the group!!  I am proud of each one of them.....and very excited to see them in "action"! 

Sixth Grade Band

Emily and Erin are thoroughly enjoying their first year of band. Emily is playing the tenor sax while Erin is playing the oboe.  The band teacher has very high expectations for them so it keeps them working to achieve them.....and that is a good thing!  It keeps them practicing!  It really is amazing how much they learn just from July through November.

They had their first band concert last night and they were quite happy when Granny, Aunt Kayla and, of course, Taelynn were able to come! 

 

Here are Emily and Erin playing their duet at the concert.  They played Jolly Old St Nicholas which had some notes that differed from one another for a bit of a challenge.  They did a great job!

The Performance of.......Music Man!

BHS did a fantastic job in their production of Music Man.  I believe all three shows were sold out.....or very close to being sold out.  It was our first year to be personally involved in the production so it was quite fascinating to see how it grows into a full-blown musical show!  Several other mothers and I spent many hours after work painting the many different props for the set but that was nothing compared to the hours that the students put into it.....as well as their homework and other activities.  AMAZING!

Trevor was one of the Traveling Salesman but he also had a small solo singing part when he played the part of the farmer.  After that, he was a teenager in the rest of the scenes.

 

 

Logan Killam with Trevor after the show. 

Trevor (third from left) and several other cast members at the end of Saturday nights' show.

Musical Performance Coming Soon.......

November 7, 8 and 9th.
 

Many hours will be put into this performance by all involved but it will be a good one!  We can't wait to see if all come together!

So Long, Farewell, Adios........

Many memories have been made here.  Trevor was a little over a year old when we moved in.  Emily and Erin were born three years later and spent the first two years of their lives sleeping in the living room before we were able to complete the upstairs bedroom for Trevor to move up to.  After remodeling just about every room in the house, we came full circle to Trevor moving back downstairs and the girls moving upstairs this past spring.  The yard saw major updates with several additional flower gardens, bigger lawn, etc. It was home to us for 13 years, but, as happens in many aspects of our lives, it was time for a change. 

We are happy in our new home.  When we first looked at it, it was a beautiful HOUSE....it has now become our HOME. It is now time for the house in Auroraville to become someone else's home.....to produce memories for their family. 

Tonight, Terry and I were out there to close up for the final time.  After leaving a little housewarming gift for the new owner, we locked the doors one last time.  It will be fun to drive by and see what changes they bring to this place!

In the meantime, I am excited to continue making memories in our new home!!  Come visit, ya'll!

2013-2014 School Year

This is a year of firsts for the kids......Trevor's first year in high school, Emily's and Erin's first year in middle school.  There were a lot of nerves and excitement on the first day of school but all went well. No locker problems, wrong schedules, getting lost, etc.  All those normal fears on the first day of school.....but none of them became realities!

Trevor-Freshman
Class of 2017
 

Emily - 6th Grade

Erin - 6th Grade

Precious Memories

This precious family has lost a precious son, and we a very special cousin. My heart aches for their loss (and our loss) and makes me realize again how precious each day is that we have with our loved ones.  It has also brought me to the realization that the busyness of life can sometimes keep me from truly enjoying EACH and EVERY moment I have with all those that I hold dear.  At the same time, I am more aware of what/who we are living for.  It is something so much great than what we have found in this life. 

 

Sadly, in looking through my pictures, I found that I haven't been taking nearly as many as in the past.  We have been with Lance several times over the past few years.....even if there were short in length.  I was saddened to find there were no pictures.....but the memories of Lance will live on in our hearts forever. 

 

Love, thoughts and prayers are going to NE........

Making Music & Making Friends

Another year of Music Camp has ended and he was just as enthused (maybe more so?!) as he was last year.  When Terry asked if he thought he would go next year, the answer was "I KNOW I will go next year!" They are busy throughout the 6 days there and they learn a lot and grow as musicians.  But, as one the directors told the audience, they also grow in the new friendships that they create and many continue to keep in touch because of that one common bond.....music.

 

A Weekend Get-Away

It had been too long (like maybe three years?!) since we had spent time with this awesome family. After a crazy-busy month, we were all looking forward to getting away for awhile. We enjoyed a day at Great America and two days together with some pretty terrific people!  Thanks for a great weekend!

Home Is Where The Heart Is

A huge "thank you" goes out to those who helped us move and those that supported us in other ways in our recent move.  We have 13 years of memories in Auroraville and we are looking forward to many more years of memories in our new home.  We have purged out belongings that were not needed but all the memories are still with us.
In the move, we have discovered that home is definitely where the heart is.  When we return to do the necessary maintenance on the "old house" until it is sold, it really doesn't feel like home anymore.  As Emily said, "It's just a lawn to mow."  This is coming from the one who really wasn't certain in the beginning.  As Trevor said, "Our new place looks like our old one with all the same stuff inside!"  A house is just that....a building, until we move in and fill it with the love of a family.  After only 3 weeks here, it is our home.  It feels like we have been here for a lot longer as we are settled here.
We look forward to you all coming to visit to help us make many more memories!

Front entrance

Living Room



Front Entrance into LR-Stairs to the loft

Kitchen
 

Dining Area

Master Bedroom

Laundry Room-Note the old bowls that found their new home!

Trevor's basement bedroom

Family Room in the basement

The cart on the right made the move--and had a makeover!

Making the landscaping ours with all my old goodies!

We never tire of the view.....day or night!

Loft area

                                                     

Back to Music Camp!

Today Terry & I took Trevor to the campus that will be his home for a week again this summer.  He was excited to go back, hook-up with his room mate from last year (who is he lucky enough to room with again!) and meet up with some of his classmates as well. We stayed long enough to get him settled in his dorm room, his auditions completed & fed him lunch! It was awesome to see him so excited to get started with the week ahead.....so different from last year!  He was excited.....but very uncertain as it was all a new experience. 
To complete our evening, he just sent a text to let us know that he was accepted into the highest level of band at the camp that takes 6-12th graders!!  I am so proud of him!!  After his audition, he told us that he thought it went well but when Terry asked what group he thought he would be placed in, he said it would be the middle group because there are so many players better than him.  MUSIC IS DEFINITELY ONE OF HIS PASSIONS! 

A Lesson Learned

Through recent events, I have learned a very important lesson. It is a lesson that I truly hope that I never forget.  Someone very close to me made some choices years ago that took them on a path that drew them far away from us.  During that time, it was easy to judge them for their decisions only to find out now, that there was something "below the surface" causing these decisions to be made.  The lesson I have learned: I can only be a help through prayer......not by judging. 

New Adventures Await Us..........

Our closing on the "new" house is Friday, the 28th.  We just went out today for our final walk-thru with the realtor.  So fun to explore and find new things out about the house.  There are so many exciting aspects of this move.  But, honestly, my fingers are itching to weed the gardens (flower & vegetable) and do some fun landscaping with the goodies coming with us from this house.  Some things that are going, my hubby would MUCH prefer not but......  They will have THE perfect home among the beautiful gardens just waiting for me! 

 

2012-2013 - One Year In One Post!

Some have very creative blogs using only pictures.  Others create catchy blogs using pictures AND words.  Then there is me.  If I don't get the past school year covered in a post, it will get forgotten.  And since, I don't have my pictures all organized, well, it will have to be WITHOUT pictures.  At this time!

It is so hard to believe that Emily and Erin have completed their elementary school years.  Where has the time gone?  I very vividly remember taking them to their first day of kindergarten and now, GULP, they will be entering middle school!  They both enjoyed their first year in separate classrooms and branched out making new friends.  Erin received a fitness award this year for breaking the school record when she was in kindergarten and continuing to break her own record every year after that.  She is a flexible girl, for sure!  They both did terrific academically as well as every other way.  There is something about a teacher saying to me that he is sad to see the Carlson girls' leave because they are such good examples and hard workers.  Keep up the good work in middle school, girls!

Trevor has left middle school behind and is headed for.....HIGH SCHOOL?!  When did I become that old?!  He thoroughly enjoyed his years in middle school and found his niche in the music department.  He surprised us during his last choir concert by singing a "solo" with his best friend with the 6th, 7th and 8th grade choirs singing back-up to "UNDER THE BOARDWALK".  I couldn't have been more proud of him! Uncle Levi, Auntie Kayla, Taelynn and Gma/Gpa Carlson joined us for his middle school graduation.  Can I say that I am still bursting with pride over his terrific accomplishments in middle school?! When I asked him the other day how he felt about heading off to high school, his only comment was that he is excited about the music department!  What a kid!! 

And.......the big news in our area is that we are scheduled to be moving....SOON! The closing on our "new" house is on June 28th.  It is a "big" move....only about 20 minutes south of here.  It is a move that will bring us closer to school for the kids, work for me and a bit closer to work for Terry.  All around, it is a move that we are very excited about.  We have enjoyed out nearly 13 years here, but we are ready to begin our new "adventure" and create new memories in our new home.

Fall Pictures of the Kids

Emily

Erin & Jake

Trevor & his trombone

Trevor & Jake

Erin, Trevor & Emily

Erin

Emily & Jake

Erin & Emily - What a pose, eh?!