Show choir is 1/2 over

 We spent the day in Johnston High school.  These pictures were posted on the Show Choir app that is used to communicate news, etc.

Here is Anna's school at awards....big group.  She is 1/2 way down below the left "visitor" pole.  

This is Anna's group waiting for critique.  Don't they look like the love it?

41 cents

 

My hospital gives out a holiday bonus in the form of a $25 gift card.  This year it could be redeemed on turkey, ham or vegetables.  I couldn't use it at Aldi/Walmart/Sams, so I went to Fareway (who was having 2 special buy $10 of fresh produce and get a gift promotions).  Therefore I received free cottage cheese and a 6 pack of mini zero sugar drinks.  I am guessing they will be like diet 7up. 

I felt like everything else was pretty expensive, because I normally get my produce from Aldi (which is now under a mile from my home and super cheap and good quality) or Sam's club (in bulk).  But I did pretty good for 41 cents.  That said, I won't be going back to Fareway any time soon.....too expensive if you actually have to pay for your food.

Starting the cleaning!!

Now that the older kids are back and college and the holidays are complete....I decided to start to tackle my storage room.  I love a lovely metal cabinet that has been a place I have stored all sorts of things (mostly crafts and oddly old tax forms).  It has slowly gotten messier and messier.  So I took everything out and am going to return it to lovely.

First I gathered all the pens/pencils/marker/crayons that live in my house and put them together.  If  felt like much more than this looks!  I sorted it  while watching "Disenchanted" on Disney Plus.   The movie wasn't very good, but I felt great about my start in the storage room!!!

I also stored 6 boxes of old photos for the time being....because it looks nice.

More to come!   (I still have more things that were originally stored here to sort!)

 

Academic Award

Anna received her academic letter for her good work Freshman year.  They didn't have a ceremony like usual (changed with Covid and never came back yet)  I feel bad  for the National Merit Scholars (but not really because "yeah NMS!!") , because this is their big award day and it has been taken away.

Anna and her best buddy Aaliyah, who happened to be there at the same time that night when you could come for a photo op with your new letter and get a cookie!

(If she looks familiar from the blog, it is because they have been friends since Aaliyah moved to Ankeny in 2nd grade.  They would walk home from school together.  Now they carpool and both play the flute!!)

 

Show Choir Season has officially started!

I took theses photos at dress rehearsal before Mid Iowa Show Choir Championships.  (This is our school's show, so we host and can't "win" but get a critique to help us get better.  (I say "us" as if I have something to do with it...ha ha.)  Dress rehearsal is great because you can use a flash.

Anna is in the middle.

back slightly left of center in the next two photos - don't they look like they are having fun?

The next 2 photos are especially great because Anna wasn't originally performing this song.  (You are a swing when you are off stage for a song and this was the song in which she was one of the swings.)  Each song a big handful of kids are off stage because the group is quite large and also because occasionally someone quits and then a swing can fill the hole.  Sometimes a swing will perform when someone is sick, but normally that is too short of notice.  Anyway someone quit and Anna was given the chance to perform for the entire show (no swing) - which is so much fun.  Plus the person who quit had excellent stage position in this song....and the song is just really fun to perform....plus it is the closer!

Their costumes are supposed to be based on the early 2000s....I kinda call that into question.  (Anna pointed out that I wasn't in high school in the early 2000s....true.)  The girls (including Anna) who are wearing the green pants, mostly checked "any", when asked what outfit they wanted.....so I give her a lot of credit.  She really wanted the cute dress and denim coat, but that went to the girls who weren't quite as flexible :0)  I was not surprised that she was flexible, she really is an easy going kid. 

Here is a photo from Twitter (thanks to Carolyn who spotted it), from Anna's first real competition:  Linn Mar Supernova  (Linn = county, Mar=Marion shortened)...So although this wasn't Ken's high school it was in the town where he grew up, so Grandma Carolyn came to watch.  [sister] Carolyn and Joel also went, then we left Carolyn in Iowa City and took Matthew out to dinner after work!

Christmas

I took much fewer photos at Christmas than normal.  I do have more than this, but since I am doing a blog-blast - I am going the minimalist route!

It was so great to have the kids home around Christmas.  Matthew was able to "work from home" Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (down in our basement).  Alas no computer emergencies for his company on these days (they do educational software), but someone always has to be "on", just in case.  Joel and Carolyn were home for about a month, which was so great.  Ken went to get his mother on Christmas eve.  There was terrible weather the few days before and so we waited.  (also I had a cold  earlier that week and we wanted to make sure it was gone)

Here we are having Christmas Eve game night.....Matthew worked until 7, then we had Chinese food and played games.  Then we went to 10 PM Mass.  Beautiful.

Tango and Cash came back for a visit while their Hospice providers went to visit family.  They were very good pups and it was VERY COLD.  We haven't had pups in the cold weather much if ever.  Last time they came we took long walks...this time they were out and in!!!  They still love their sun-beams.

1st Concert Band performance

 Trying to give even play time (to band vs choir) on the blog, but I only took terrible photos at this concert.  (blame the lighting and my inexperience with this type of situation...photography class needed! a goal of mine)

Anna had one of those, "wow" moments when she made the top band (Wind Symphony) as a sophomore.  (Her school doesn't have freshman, so she is the baby of the group....just a handful of 10th graders.)  After try outs she said, "I don't know if I will EVER make the top band" [because her grade has so many flutists]  So now she never needs to worry about this, because she is practicing like a crazy-woman to make sure she is good enough to be in the group.  (really a chicken-egg thing....which came first - the practicing or making the band to inspire more practicing)

The photo is black and white because the color photo was washed out and I could give her back some facial features with the computer's filters if I used black and white.  I kinda like it!

Festival of Choirs

Festival of Choir is always a lovely Christmas experience.  All of the 9-12 grade choirs sing, some separately and sometimes together. 

They even sing in the aisles when they are all singing together.

Here is Anna lighting the start of her line's candles.  Yes - they allow these high schoolers to carry lit candles. It is darkish in the auditorium and it is beautiful.  I guess they haven't started a fire yet, so all is well.

Carolyn came home to watch Anna perform.

Last year's super-spreader (when Joel had unknown-Covid)...not sick until the next day.

I wanted to put a bunch of old Festival of Choir's photos here, but I couldn't find them easy enough to tolerate.  Of course this is crazy, because why aren't the other F.O.C. photos from last year right by this one??  Never mind - moving on!  

 

Winter Warm-up

The kids have a prep night to share their preliminary show choir show.  Anna is in "Chaos" (Carolyn and Joel also have been in this group.)  Their show is "The Year 2000"  They were asked to wear neon and white as their costumes weren't yet complete.

Joel came home to watch the shows!

 

Tango and Cash....part one (October)

 

Tango

Cash

Sun loving, hospice foster pups.  (well only Tango is on hospice, but you would never know it)  They are bonded buddies, so they stick together and can't be adopted because Tango has renal disease.  They have a "real" foster home, but they were out of town for a weekend.  (Tango and Cash also made a return at Christmas.) 

Marching Band: Pure Imagination (Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryish)

The FLUTES!

Sophomores

Action shot

I have a bunch of photos, but Joel is going to update my computer before he returns to ISU as this week my computer has become SLOW! So now is not the time to search through ALL the photos for Anna's album.

These are Anna's PEOPLE!  She does most of her fun things with flutes or sophomores from the band.  I love it.