Author: heidi

Drum roll…

Great performances to follow…

Applause and pictures…

Everyone worked hard and did a great job. I’m thankful to all of my students for letting me be a part of their music. Keep on practicing (me too) !!!

The “Halloweekend” Recital was the first recital I’ve attended as a teacher. I think I was more nervous than my students! Thankfully, I didn’t have to organize it, and the folks at Gist Piano Center did a great job of making it fun for everyone. Merayla wanted to dress up as a pioneer, so Cristian was a cowboy and Oliver kept saying “no” to all dress up options so he ended up in shorts and a coat. I was a Spaniard—or the closest I could get with a mascara mustache—to match my duet partner, a Spanish dancer. My students performed “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” “The Goblin’s Ride,” and “Fandago.” They did an excellent job, and the costumes were superb. Another round of applause for Carson, Haylee, and Morgan!!!

On our move to Kentucky, Merayla told us that she wanted to be a Southern Belle when she grew up. This Halloween, we modified one of Char’s dresses (by looping and belting) and a hat decoration I had made in Mia Maids years ago, and she came out pretty southern and definitely a Belle:

Oliver refused to dress up in everything we tried, except the witches hat that he picked out himself at the store. And the gloves from Grandma. Everyone kept saying, “What a cute little girl!” Well, he was cute:

Then Merayla decided to create her own outfit from the Halloween box. “What are you?” I said. “Mishgah!” was her answer. It was tons of fun, and she was so excited to go out in it.

It was our first time Trick-or-Treating. Oliver was VERY attached to his pumpkin and didn’t want any help carrying it, though it was just about pulling him over.

After our treating, the kids were so excited to give out treats at our house, but nobody showed up. We even chased down the street with the treat bowl looking for Trick-or-Treaters. No success. But Bird packed the treat stash all over the house the rest of the night.

Some friends invited us to hike the Natural Bridge in October. We heard a lot about this when we first asked about hiking in the area, but the website search does not yield very good information so I’ll summarize a little here for anyone interested:

The original trail is only about a 3/4 mile hike so it’s perfect for kids. At the end of the hike, you climb up some stairs carved in the rock and through a narrow hallway. Then the trail opens up on top of the actual bridge. There are no rails, which gives it an interestingly eerie feel, but the view is beautiful and there are a variety of other trails to take at the top and at the base of the bridge. From the top of the bridge, you can see an outcrop across the valley, and we took the hike around to the outcrop, past the sky lift, and back down to the lodge. Pictures from the outcrop show the natural bridge in the background, and vice versa, making it a fun place to hike and photograph.   

The Natural Bridge is in the Daniel Boone National Forest, by Red River Gorge and Slade, Kentucky. It’s about an hour drive from Lexington. The natural sandstone arch spans 78 feet, is 65 feet high, and has been formed by the natural process of weathering over millions of years. It’s pretty cool. Check it out:

This summer, Cristian also got into planking. It’s kind of weird. The goal is to lay face down, expressionless, with your arms and legs straight on any surface or in any public area. Then you take a picture. It’s odd. It’s also strangely liberating because you feel like you’re breaking out of the mold somehow. And I guess it’s relaxing in a yoga-like way. Well, try it if you want. Laugh, if you don’t.

The Park Plank

Pool Planks

The kids think it’s funny, and I’ve caught Bird multiple times just doing it at weird moments. It took me a while to figure out what he was saying and I thought he needed something, but he was saying, “Planking.”

Puerto Rico Planks

How many of you have actually seen a funnel cloud forming in your backyard??? Me either. I was teaching a piano lesson or something. But Cristian caught it on video! It’s unbelievable. Even for me. The video doesn’t catch the wind interference, but it was howling. This is a good one. Don’t miss it.