Saturday, March 16, 2019

One Happy Bunch

Cousins 


[Alexandra, Elisabeth, Peter, Lorelai, Elsa,
Daria, Katya, Ben, Jacob, Matthew.]

I took this picture of all the cousins together last summer and it has me thinking I need to cut Elisabeth's hair into a short bob again.

✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂


Thursday, March 14, 2019

A Night With Joshua Bell

Alexandra has become extremely focused on violin as of late. She practices ALL THE TIME and watches videos on YouTube of all her favorite musicians. It has been so exciting for me to see her fall in love with the violin on her own....to know that she isn't just doing it because it's what I do. She chose it...and she is talented.

Last week we decided to buy tickets to see Joshua Bell perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Seattle Symphony. We ended up with seats way up in the top tier and joked about getting opera glasses for the occasion.


The night before, Lex became sick. She was devastated at the thought of missing it....so she decided to power through. 

[Outside of the concert hall beforehand. Not feeling so hot.]

 [Once we got into our seats excitement kicked in and she perked up!]

The performance was unbelievable. I'd seen him perform before, but she hadn't. I kept my eye on her to see her reaction as he walked out. She smiled so big. 

We both know that concerto inside and out, which makes hearing it live an even greater treat.

As luck would have it, Mr. Bell was signing autographs in the lobby afterwards. Anticipating that this might be the case, I packed along a copy of the Mendelssohn concerto for him to sign.


When we got to the front of the line, Alexandra handed him the music and he was so pleased! In fact, despite the sign stating 'no pictures', he asked if she would like to take a picture together and motioned for her to come back and stand by him. 

 

 

After we took the picture he handed her back the music and asked if she was learning it. She giggled and said 'no'...in a way that meant 'not yet, but one day'. He told her good luck and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

It was a perfect night and a perfect moment. I am so grateful to Mr. Bell for taking a moment to talk to my daughter. She is more motivated than ever now!

 


[It's not everyday that you see a violin case laying around that has a Stradivarius inside!]






Saturday, March 31, 2018

To String a Violin

Alexandra's violin playing has blossomed. Her natural ability and talent is incredible.

This winter she began taking lessons from my stand partner in the symphony (because it isn't so easy to be a teacher to one's own child). And since she is getting quite serious about her violin playing, we got her bow re-haired and ordered a set of Evah Pirazzi Gold strings.

Her teacher taught her how to put strings on and tasked her with doing so herself when the new strings arrived in the mail.



E - A - D - G
Success!


Thursday, March 29, 2018

Now Playing: The Sorensons

Tom Jung was the artist who created the original
Star Wars movie poster and became famous for that style of art:


 Lately, I have been seeing imitations of it pop up all over the place.
 For example, the show Stranger Things:


 And our current favorite show, Timeless:


 Jokingly, I announced that I wanted a family portrait done in that style,
that it would be great for next year's Christmas cards.

The next thing I knew, Alexandra had created this:


And this:

And this:

And last but not least, the dogs....


Hahaha!!!

We all had a good laugh!!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Blind as a Bat

A year ago we noticed Elsa's vision going downhill and so we took her in for an exam. Sure enough...she needed glasses. So she got an adorable pair and all was well. 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago... 

We were sitting in church and Elsa asked me what the hymn number was. 

"You can't see it?" I asked. 

"No." 

Uh oh... 

That night I sat across the room from her and held up fingers asking how many...and she continually said the wrong number. It was apparent that her vision had gotten worse, and drastically


So yesterday we made a visit to the eye doctor to see what her 20/80 vision of last year had become.


And what it had become was
20/200!!!!

Yikes!!!!!

The good news is....new frames! 

She tried on quite a few pairs...


And finally settled on these beauties:





Oh, to see the world again!!

Monday, March 19, 2018

See Ya, Winter!

Did someone just say it's the last day of winter??? 


(Yippee!)

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Happy Feet

Oh, you know...yesterday was St. Patrick's Day 🍀,
so naturally Alexandra watched some Irish Dancing tutorials on YouTube.



I think she's found her calling in life.😂

Also, take note of the sound of the vacuum cleaner in the background. 
As I see it, a clean home is a happy home!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Spirit Day

School spirit days are the best. They take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. Recently, our school had (what I think) is the best idea for a spirit day - bring your favorite stuffed animal. Genius. Now, we all know Elisabeth...we know that she loves her stuffed animals and has a plethora to choose from. But before we selected one from the bunch, Lorelai had an idea...

"She should take my huge bear!!"

This offer was absolutely precious to me because Lorelai is rather protective and particular in regards to her belongings. To offer up her greatest and grandest stuffed animal was a true expression of love.

So we piled in said large-stuffed-animal into the van  (the front passenger seat, no less) and took him along to school. Once parked, I figured it would be easier to carry Elisabeth in and transport the bear via the wheelchair. Ha! What a sight it was!!



"You new here?" asks Elisabeth.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Independence Day Review!

   The 
4th 
    of          July!
🎆🗽 


First things first, we decided to rise early and hike before the heat of the day hit. 
We also decided to bring Apollo our goldendoodle (who is not yet 8 months old). 

Fail. 

We were partway up the mountain when he got spooked by a snake. 
In a flash he pulled out of his collar and bolted down the mountain.

End hike.  


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(Apollo the scaredy cat.)

Next...

We took the girls to the water park which surprisingly wasn't crowded at all!

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And finally... 

Down to the river to eat dinner and watch fireworks!

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We found the most lovely little spot to settle in for the night.
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(Goofballs.)

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This girl can shake a maraca!!
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(The Sorenson Sisters.)
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The sun set...
and then...

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BOOM!

God Bless America!!!

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