VPA Revue 2019.

Thursday, May 2nd

Castle View's VPA Revue

You may or may not remember this event from last year.

I got to the school at 5pm to help serve pizza to the kids who had been at school all day rehearsing for it. Bill came around 5:15 to secure a good seat. Turns out we wanted a seat on the bleachers after all, for a better overall vantage point. Nothing like waiting pert near 2 hours to save a seat you could have had if you came 15 minutes prior to start time. We both also had low batteries on our phones, so I plugged my phone in to charge while serving pizza up until start time, and only added about 10%. I am suspicious of the outlets at the school. Needless to say, we had to conserve, but still managed to record all of Mauri's performances plus snap a few pics.

The theme this year was "Decades."

The first piece, Baba Yetu, was all the choirs combined... Mar has a brief solo part.

 

And the final piece was I'll Be On My Way performed by Voices of the Pride.
Mar is in the trio.

There was a whole lot o' singing and band-playing and orchestra numbers and dancing and even a snippet from a play in between the two. It was a l-o-n-g night, but I enjoyed watching Mar in her FINAL HIGH SCHOOL CONCERT along with many of our Seminary students.

Afterwards someone had the choir seniors get together for a quick pic. Luckily Bill ran over and grabbed a shot before they disbanded.

I think Mar had a huge some influence on Jake taking up choir and doing the musical this year.

This cute girl is in our ward and may {hopefully} be in our Seminary class next year.

Annnnnddddd a quick selfie before my phone died...

...although it managed to eek out a couple more quick shots of these cute girls.

Phew!
We {and our phones} made it to the end.

This is one of our last parental-support-of-public-school-events EVER, at least for our own children. We definitely hope to attend similar events someday for our amazing grands.

It's weird to think back on all the room-mothering, PTA-ing, class-volunteering, fundraising, band-supporting, play-attending, locker-tag-making, hair-curling, cheer-track-swim bleacher-sitting (and cheering), car-pooling, team-party-throwing, musical-watching, and choir-listening I've done over the past 25 years. It's been challenging, yet joyful at the same time. I have LOVED that my children have been PARTICIPANTS. They have overcome fears and developed skills and talents. They have had to stretch themselves, but became better for it.

The least I could do was to BE THERE.
Not just passively, but as an active and interested supporter.
Their biggest fan.
Other than Little Billy, who admittedly is {slightly} more animated and enthusiastic than I am haha.

Wistful.

I'm feeling a bit sentimental today. And wistful. And melancholy.

I only follow a couple of blogs. Possibly due to the fact that personal blogs are obviously out, and keeping record via social media (Instagram or FB), then chat-booking what you post, is in. Regardless, I appreciate the few who have maintained posting on a blog for my reading (and pondering) pleasure.

A few days ago I read this post, and then this post today, both of which in part express some of the feelings I have a difficult time putting into words.

My tree out front has pretty much let go of all of it's leaves.

I find it fascinating that my driveway is currently covered with these leaf prints...

...which will eventually fade and disappear also.

It's time for another season... my least favorite, to be honest. Winter can at times be beautiful, but for the most part it feels cold, dark, icy, slippery, and isolating. I'm already missing the fall (my favorite season) and it's beautiful colors, and the spring (my second favorite) is a far distant memory. Summer is okay. It's hot and tiring, busy and crazy, unscheduled and full of projects, plans, and work, with an occasional reprieve of travel thrown in. 

I'm feeling wistful because I'm at the end of fall and my winter is approaching. Ugh!

I am experiencing all of my leaves letting go... having "lasts" dropping left and right. Mar's HS musical is right around the corner. This week is tech week, next week is performance week. As I'm thinking about how busy it will be, and looking forward to the crazy schedule being over, I realize that it will be the LAST HS musical my child will perform in... ever. I don't want to lose these moments by wishing they were over, so I need to stop, recognize them for what they are (the last!), and appreciate them, because soon they will only be that leaf print on the driveway. And following that, they will only be the picture (or memory) of the leaf print on the driveway. 

My phone camera better be on it's best behavior from now on.

I thought I would share a few cute photos of my other kids from Halloween. 

I love that they all get together!  

I'm sure Lex and Jase are trying to get in all the family time they can before their big move to Alabama. 

I love these people. And yes, life goes on. 

***Lex and Britt are my favorite bloggers... with Lex currently being the most active. (I'll cut Britt some slack since she's a busy momma of two with a husband who travels a ton.) You can read more about their Halloween festivities here.***

Enjoy the spring and summer, my pretties!

Holding on and letting go.

"Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to

LET THINGS GO."

(Can you see the leaf in the mid-fall? It took me a dozen shots to try and get a "fall" in action, even though the leaves were dropping all around me.)

I started this post last week... this tree is now nearly bare.
And it took Bill a good two hours to clean up those leaves, only to have the rest of them fall within days.
I think it's beautiful.

My emotions have been on the surface lately - I think due to the realization that Mauri is a senior... which means she's gearing up to leave me. She's soooooooooo busy, so I don't see her much right now, but she's getting college applications ready, ordering her cap and gown for graduation, and talking about what's coming up next. I know I've mentioned before how I'm not sure what's next for me... my priority has been mothering {children in my home} for nearly 30 years.
I have loved it. 
Maybe not EVERY moment, but overall it's been everything I had hoped for.

I have to say that I have loved mothering adults, too.
And I can't say enough about grandmothering... which I have many many years left to do (I hope!). I'm not as seasoned in those areas, so I know there will be lots of growth opportunities ahead of me, but I'm going to hold on tightly for a few more months to my cherished role of mothering a child in my home.
I know... mushy... and sentimental. I can't help it.

I found out today that Lex and Jase are moving to Alabama. That's VERY far away. Lex may stay with us for a few months while they build a house, so I'm excited to have her and M here. You can read more about what takes them there here.

Up next: Halloween 2018

Mauri: VPA Revue and Wisdom Teeth.

Wow. May has been flying.

I'm still waiting for lovely continuous spring weather, but think I will most likely have to settle for the beautiful spring days randomly popping up between hot summer-like days and cool almost winter-like days.

We hit the ground running this month and haven't stopped since.

It started off with Mar's final concert of the year, the VPA Revue.

Since this is our first year at CVHS (I'll be glad to get this year done so I can stop saying that), neither Mar or I had any idea what to expect from this event. It wasn't a traditional concert and would be held in the gym. At CV they have a system unlike other DCSD high schools our children have attended which includes learning Academies: BHS (Biotechnology & Health Sciences), LGC (Leadership, Global Studies & Communication), STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math), and VPA (Visual & Performing Arts). I think they recently added another one called Mosaic, but I'm not really sure what that academy entails... because, well, we're new here haha.

I could go into more detail, but it's boring and really doesn't have much to with anything. Let it be known that, upon registering, Mar chose to be in the VPA Academy.

Back to the Revue.

Mar had to be at the school a few hours early for the program run-through. I wasn't sure how early I should get to the school to secure a good seat, so I settled on 6:30 since the program started at 7. I was a bit worried when I arrived to the school and could not find any parking in the front. I drove around to the back of the school, turned into the first available spot, and hustled into the gym. Oh my. I was attending by myself, as it was a Thursday, which is Bill's night to work at the temple. I figured finding a single seat on the bleachers wouldn't be too hard, but I had to search a bit. I finally found a seat next to a long line of jackets and sweaters laid out to reserve a spot for someone's large group... on the far right side, which is where the choir risers were set up.

What's my deal with too many details today?? Ain't nobody got time for that!

Basically the Revue involved all the performing arts classes for the semester, so several bands, orchestras, and all the choirs. The theme for the evening was "Heroes," and it was awesome... other than the fact that it was looooonnnnng (over 2-1/2 hours) and I was sitting on bleachers (long legs make that somewhat difficult).

Here are couple of Mar's performances:

(She's playing the guitar for this song)

Mar had two callbacks for the solo part of Eliza for this song... I'll admit, it makes a mama a bit sad when her child has high hopes, only to be disappointed when she's not selected. Life lessons, life lessons.

 I snapped a quick picture at the end of the Revue of the other half of the gym... it was an impressive event. And now we know.

NOTE: Another week has gone by. Oh my.

I'm staying up late to get this baby posted.

The next morning we got up bright and early (3am) and headed to Utah. Mar had an appointment to get her wisdom teeth out that day at 11am.

She went from this happy, composed, intellectually sound gal...

...to this drugged up dazed and confused gal.

It was hilarious.

 The look on her face here just kills me haha.

Here's a 12 second clip:

She was crying because her teeth were gone (the ones she had been practically begging to get removed). Real tears. So funny.

Not so funny: dry socket a week later. Thanks to a kind and generous ward member who is also a dentist, we were able to get that nipped in the bud as soon as it cropped up. I am celebrating the fact that Bill and I are DONE with wisdom teeth. Hallelujah.


Welp, I was gonna try to get more into this post, but I think I'll split things up a bit. We've had too much going on, and to cram it into a single post would be quite overwhelming. Here's hoping I can knock out a few more posts in the next couple days so I can catch up!

Sing, Swim, Sadies, Sayonara.

Mar has been keeping herself busy the past month, so I thought I would do a quick update lest I forget what she's been up to.

On January 27, one of the choirs Mauri participates in {Mirinesse} performed at the CMEA (Colorado Music Educators Association) Conference at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. I'm new here (haha), but I've been told that this is a great honor, as only 8 (I think) choirs are invited to perform each year, and you can only be invited every three years. This particular year, two of CV's choirs were selected: Mirinesse (the lowest level audition women's choir at the school, made up primarily of sophomores and juniors), and Voices of the Pride (a mixed choir, and highest level of audition choir at CV).

Bill and I could only stay for Mirinesse's performance, but they were seriously
A.MAZ.ING.

(These were my sneaky pictures because I don't think we were supposed to take any haha. Bill and I had actually acquired the front row seats by stratagem, only to have CV's other choir director ask us to move so he, his daughter, and the principal could sit there. Dang. We could have had the front seats on the other side of the aisle and NOT have been asked to move. With all our strategizing, we did not see that coming.)

Mirinesse did sign language to their final song (above pic).

I loved the variety of songs they performed.

Here's the whole program:

Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe 

(East African Kenya Worship Song - Celebration of Life)

And Nature Smiled

Ouvres tes yeux bleus 

Libertango

The Blessing

Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down

There was (of course) absolutely NO RECORDING of the performance, so Bill and I purchased a DVD ($$$), and I am excited to watch it again once we get it.

We also had the opportunity to purchase pictures... but I think the ones Bill and I snapped are perfectly sufficient (I was so glad we were "allowed" to take our own haha).

This has been my favorite choir this year (no bias!... I think) and I am so glad Mauri had the opportunity to participate in the whole CMEA experience. On our drive home, Bill and I discussed how we've observed, through our many many years of supporting children in their varied activities in high school, what a difference a director... a teacher... a coach makes. The success of the whole seems to be in direct relation to the expectations, efforts, and quality of the leader. Just saying.


On February 2nd, Mar had her final swim meet, not only of the season, but most likely of her life.
She got to swim in the A League meet, and swam the 100Free and in three relays.
She did awesome.

I'm proud of her sticking with it, and we have hopes of her possibly lettering, although I've been informed that such things are not necessarily as prominent in today's BYU application (there's been some changes, I hear, since our last application process 4 - or was it 5? - years ago). Whatever the end result, it was a good learning experience, and growth is necessary for progression, right? I can say that I won't miss sitting endless hours on hard cement benches (or tiny metal bleachers) in a crowded, steamy room smelling of chlorine. On a quick side note, her swim coach ("Profe") was named the 5A Coach of the Year, and her County Co-op team placed 10th overall at state. Impressive!


Sadies was coming up, so Mar set to work on asking her favorite boy to the dance.
Themed around The Office (which, sadly... or not, I know little about. I've watched a few episodes, I may have laughed a couple of times, but I've just never been able to get into it).

Mar tried to explain it to me... it just went over my head haha.
I was impressed with her Cricut-cutting hot-glue-gunning skills, though.

Those letters are on a stapler, btw. It's hard to see through all that green.

The next day she had arranged with Gavin's mom to stop by while he was out running an errand, and she presented herself (as Dwight), the poster, and the jello to him upon his return.

After a lot of confusing coordination going on about the actual plans for the dance, it was finally decided that we would host dinner at our house.

Fast forward to February 3rd and the dance.

(Nicki, Mar, Ashley)

This time Bill and I did not plan to go with the group as they took pictures.
Because we live in Castle Rock, now, and apparently that isn't what Castle Rock parents do.

Once they were finished with dinner they headed to the dance, and Bill and I cleaned up.

After the dance, they went ice-blocking, then came back to our house to have hot chocolate and "start" a movie. By this time it was past midnight, and there were only three of the initial group of six left standing. Around 1:30, after texting Mar a few times with no result, I sent Bill down to send everyone home. We had Stake Conference the following day, and had to be up much earlier for church than our usual 1pm time.
May I interject, parenting is EXHAUSTING.

Overall, I think it was a success.
But that's just coming from the person that cooked, cleaned up, set up, cleaned up {again}, and stayed up.


The weeks following Sadies have been a bit of a roller coaster.
After several discussions, it is the consensus at our house to say SAYONARA to boyfriending.

We do, however, still "friend." Haha.

Separating the two has been tricky, but, according to one of my favorite prophets {Gordon B. Hinckley}, "It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is... It will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence in the future."

Mar had a Walmart Scavenger Hunt double date on Saturday, and in her efforts to wrangle up a date for her friend that night, got herself another date for Valentines Day.
At least she's not lonely.

The longest week. Ever.

This past week was a doozie.

Lonnnnnnng. And hard.

That's not to say there weren't some really amazing things going on, too.

I think I'll share THOSE {wink}.

 Our ward's Trunk-or-treat was a little over a week ago (Oct28)

Mar had play practice all day, so, as a dutiful momma, I ran around and purchased supplies for fishing poles and the fishing pond she was in charge of making assignments for, setting up, and running.

Our Trunk-or-treat started at 4pm (seemed a little weird to start that early, but, hey, we're new here), and Mar arrived at home after play practice around... 3:30? She still had to get into her costume, do her make-up, then do Gavin's make-up. Needless to say, they arrived at the event a good hour late, just in time to hand out candy. It was a very low-key activity compared to my past Trunk-or-treat experiences. I was told that our ward has foregone this particular fall activity the prior two years, so maybe it was a bit new to everyone. I liked how they set up the cars... so the kids stayed on the sidewalk (...never even thought of that before... so smart!), and it was kinda nice to have daylight to enjoy the costumes, although I love a good Trunk-or-treat in the dark... it makes the lights we've used FOR YEARS to decorate our trunk much more... visible haha.

Another {somewhat} new family to the ward, also down-sizers (with no children currently at home), set up this amazing car display. Gotta love that intensity.

I really would like one of those giant rubber rats, tho.

Once we got home, I snapped a few more pics of Mar and Gavin.

Such a perfect couple costume, right?

 (I think Mar was thoroughly enjoying the scenario haha.)

On Sunday Bill requested a belly shot of Lex, and she sent him this.

 We are getting so so excited to meet Baby Boy Paull 

(possibly on our 30th wedding anniversary... how cool would that be?).

In Parker, high school kids were not allowed to dress up on Halloween, but we're not in Parker anymore. None of the boys in my seminary class dressed up, but all the girls did. I had to snap a quick pic of them on their way out the door Tuesday.

 I love these amazing and beautiful young women!

 This is what Mar convinced Gavin to wear to school on Tuesday. He must really really like her.

I have no comment {hahaha}.

I finally got my Halloween decor put away, and made a brief attempt at decorating for Thanksgiving.

 Yep, those pinecone garlands are about it. 

I might find a printable on Pinterest to put somewhere... and I've thought about doing a thankful tree like I did back here, but it will just depend on how much creativity and energy I can muster. I'm super excited that EVERYONE WILL BE HERE for Thanksgiving! We (Bill, Mar, and I) discussed if we should get our Christmas decorations up before everyone shows up, but decided that we have limited room as it is... no need to add a Christmas tree or two, and a bunch of other unnecessary (however delightful) space-sucking decor. 

I'd much rather fill my space with people. 

And food. Lots and lots of food.

Billy-my-hero has been working like a madman on the basement.

 He finished up the bathtub tile...

...then tiled the backsplash.

 We got countertops on Friday, and the sinks, toilet, and faucets were hooked up today.

And hallelujah, we have lights with actual switches as of today as well.

Bill tiled the wet bar, painted trim, and hung doors on Saturday.

This tiny door is exclusively for my little lovelies.  I think Scarlett will find the most enjoyment out of it this year, but Evie is not far away (and Ellis and Baby P will grow much too fast, too). 

Speaking of Evie... she'll be living with us in a short 5 days. 

Holy moly. I got stuff to get done.

And that cool little play place now has light. Light is good.

I'm going to start filling that bookshelf... today, I think.

Andddd, here's the wet bar, minus mini fridge. I think Bill will be grouting all the tile tonight, and I'm pretty sure he's planning on my help. Good thing there is no school (and thus no seminary) tomorrow.

Carpet will be installed on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I will most likely be mopping that disgusting cement floor in preparation.

In between all this jazz, last week was Tech Week for the play, which meant Mar was at the school until 8:30/9 every night. I helped with 3 meals for the cast and crew... I think there around 150 kids involved. It's been an exhausting week!

But this week will be awesome.

Opening night for Les Mis is tomorrow... I can't wait.

They will be performing the show 7 times this week (counting one performance today during school, but not counting the dress rehearsal after school). The show is completely sold out every night, as well as the Saturday matinee.

We'll be attending Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening.
Sooooo exciting.
Break a leg, Mar!