Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Fall Family Photos
19
Nov
Photographer: C.J. Cruz: cj@photosbycj.com
Photo-editing: Constantin Icleanu
Thank you for doing such a great job!
Visitors!
13
Nov
Charlyn, Christina, and baby Savannah got to come for a long weekend, and it was tons of fun. We did some extreme hairstyles, hiked the Natural Bridge with our babies, celebrated Bird’s birthday, and stayed up late into the night playing the princess matching game. For real. It was great. I miss them already.
At the party, Bird loved the cream puffs and the candles and played really well with his little friend Violet. Everyone got a name tag with the way Oliver says their name (as shown in the pictures). My favorite was that Char and Christy both got to be “Char,” but I didn’t get a pictures of it. Oliver was cute and has grown up so much lately. Next post to contain all the fun phrases that he is saying now. Two-years-old is such a fun age. He is full of so much love.
The New Do
11
Nov
Chop, chop. I’ve been called Tinker Bell, Julie Andrews, and Beib so far. I totally like it. Tressa Rowe did a great job, if anyone’s looking for a stylist. Christy and Char got in on the fun as well, and we had a great time.
The Real Recital
05
Nov
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) !!!
A Spooky Recital
01
Nov
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!!!
Halloween Fun
31
Oct
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.
Kentucky’s Natural Bridge
08
Oct
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:
