Marlie was super excited about her birthday this year because she said it was her "golden year". I had no idea what that meant but she explained that she was turning 11 on the 11th! I was hoping to do something small for her birthday until this revelation and then I figured well...why not go all out for her "golden year"!
One of Marlie's closest friends, Lauren Standley also has a summer birthday and so we joined forces. Each of the girls were able to pick 3 friends that the other girl also knew and we spent the night at La Torretta Resort in the Woodlands.
The girls had a great time. They played at the water park, ate pizza, made s'mores, ate cake and of course played silly slumber party games.
We actually slept in a little and the girls packed all their things and we went to breakfast at IHOP! It was a great birthday celebration. Marlie I'm glad you got to celebrate with Lauren and I'm thankful for all of your sweet friends!
On Marlie's actual birthday of course she had dance so we snuck in a quick dinner with a few dance friends. And then Nene and Uncle Jay came over after to celebrate!
The kids enjoy different camps during the summer and I usually piece the summer together like a puzzle, with dance, baseball, camps, friends to join at camps, carpools, etc. This year Matt caught me off guard when he said he wanted to go to orchestra camp. Not only that but he did all the research and found some friends to room with. So I get a text from a friend that said I guess the boys are going to orchestra camp!
Matt and I went back and forth on this. I have to remind him often to practice his viola so I wasn't sure I wanted to spend lots of money to send him to play music for 5 days?? But he insisted so off they went to Sam Houston State University for the week! Matt roomed with his good friend Zach and Jackson and John stayed in the adjoining room.
The boys had a good time. They said the rehearsals were tedious because they practiced measure-by-measure but I explained to Matt that's how you practice and maybe that taught him something. They had a great end of camp performance and Matt got the Outstanding Camper Award of the Viola Section! Pretty cool!
Since Matt's been home from orchestra camp, he's playing much better. I'm glad he had the opportunity to go. I think the boys enjoyed a parent free week of hanging out! Maybe we can get them to go to the Baylor camp next year!
This little dancer was thrilled when her fabulous ballet teacher, Mrs. Anoushka told her that she was ready for pointe! Last Friday we made an appointment to get her fitted for her first pair of pointe shoes! Marlie was so excited and said it was the best thing that ever happened to her! She must have tried on 10 different pairs of shoes but an hour later she narrowed it down to the perfect fit! She got to share this moment with her friend Lily Kate. The girls had so much fun and we had to celebrate after with Shirley Temples and cheesecake!
So when Matt said he wanted to be in the middle school orchestra I was a little surprised. This is my athletic, sporty kid but he spent several years playing guitar and is really good at reading music and knows music theory (thank you Kristi Houlton). I was pretty excited but a little nervous on how this might go. He decided to play the viola. It's small enough to take to and from school but what he didn't know is that the viola plays on a different clef so he had to learn something new!
Well I quickly figured out why he chose orchestra for his fine art elective...Mrs. Davis, the orchestra teacher is amazing! She's really good and so nice to the kids. Their first performance was the week of Halloween and I was dreading listening to 120 first year orchestra kids play their instruments. I was completely shocked at how well they sounded.
Matt started taking lessons and got better every day. He made 1st chair most of the time on his chair tests and his private lesson instructor said he was really good. I know nothing about music but could tell it was starting to sound like the dying cat we initially heard had died and his music sounded great!
The first year orchestra competed at the end of the year and received a score of 1 (best possible) and also won Best in Class. Here's a little clip from one of their pieces.
That same day they had their spring show at WMS. They sounded amazing. Matt received the Outstanding Musician Award! I couldn't believe it. Were we so proud of him!
And icing on the cake...Matt just found out he made the Chamber Orchestra (kind of like the Varsity squad) for next year. Thank you Mrs. Davis, Mr. Schirmer and Mr. Ricardo for all you do for Matt and all of these kids. We can't wait to hear the Chamber play next year!!
Matt has had a great first year at Woodcreek Middle School. We were proud of him for being inducted into the National Junior Honor Society! It was neat seeing so many kids from Fall Creek Elementary. Congratulations!
Matt's baseball team is doing so well. We couldn't be more excited about our coaches, the kids on the team and how much they improve every year. They recently got moved up and now are a Premier/Majors team! Here are some pictures from a couple of tournament wins. They loved the tournament where they won a huge belt! It was hilarious! These kids have so much fun together!
Matt I love watching you play! You are my favorite #27! Trout and Altuve don't even come close!
We took a very quick trip down to San Antonio for Easter but it was well worth it! The kids had a wonderful time hanging out with their cousins and egg hunting. Thank you Gram and Papa Howie for a great egg hunt. The kids look forward to it every year and I'm certain they won't be outgrowing this annual event! I always look forward to a wonderful meal that I didn't have to cook!
We also got to see Papa and Nona Lisa and Grandpa. Sadly I missed taking any photos! Papa started his treatment for prostate cancer and although he was tired, he looked really good! This pic of Matt and Marlie just seems crazy to me. They are so grown up and definitely have their own personalities and styles. Marlie doesn't typically like to wear a dress but we found this one that she loved. Matt picked out his shirt too and although simple, I approve! No more matching these two in cute little outfits but that's ok. I love the little people they are becoming!
We also got to spend the night with the Hatters and all parties involved enjoyed the visit! Again sad I didn't get any pictures. We were having too much fun talking and playing with their new puppy who is so stinkin cute! Thank y'all for allowing my crazy family to crash at your house. I hope we can do it again soon! Miss y'all so much!
