Catch up - arts

I have been so bad about neglecting my blog!! Things got so crazy with the Christmas season, going home to Alabama and returning with a severe case of strep, and taking advantage of our new Netflix membership (since Tim had a little "down" time this month). I know that I have a lot of catching up to do.

Jamie played in his first band concert in December. They call it "Bandarama". There were 8 different full-sized bands that played in the gym at Belmont High School. The gym was huge -
all the groups were set up in the gym - maybe the size of an indoor practice football field. The concert was about 2 hours long, but it was good. Jamie actually got to play in 2 groups - the Saturday Morning All Town Advanced Band and the 6th grade band. We got to see Jamie play bass drum, snare, chimes, tambourine, and xylophone. He even ended up getting to make the "cracking the whip" sound in one piece (he was drafted at the last minute because on member of the band chose to come to the concert in ratty shorts and t-shirt and wasn't allowed to play). He did a really good job! We may have a drummer on our hands even when we come back to Hartselle. Jamie has been asked to play in a percussion symphony by his drum instructor. He will practice for 6 weeks and then have the concert on Feb. 14. We're excited about getting to hear him play. We were also very excited by an art assignment and grading sheet that Jamie brought home from school this week. It was a watercolor painting of a surreal beta fish; he called the piece alien fish. His art teacher gave him a rating of "advanced" in each grading criteria area; then at the bottom of the page she wrote, "See me about the art show." I don't know what that means yet, but we're looking forward to finding out.


We have made our first arts excursions. In mid-December, we took the whole family to see a Christmas matinee concert by the Boston Pops. We had kind of crummy seats, but the concert was excellent!! Our favorite piece was a new version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" - premiering this holiday season. It was a great rendition, with each day having a style of its own. For example, the "5 golden rings" verse was done in the style of Beetoven's 5th. I looked for a recording, but it's not available yet. The concert included a visit from Santa Claus and ended with a sing-a-long. They played "Sleigh Ride" as an encore. Afterward, we walked to the Prudential center and had dinner at PF Changs (my first visit). David discovered that he likes the spicy chicken ( I told him it was Flamin' Hot Cheetoes chicken); he gobbled it up!
After our trip to Alabama, Tim and I went to see Rent. The production was fabulous! And the singers were all terrific! There were two Idol winners in the cast (one American and one South African). It was a wild-hair date. We decided to go that day (if we could get a sitter) - we did and it was great!
We still want to take the kids to see Blue Man group.

Rachel is still playing hard on her violin. She has learned several more songs. Her final concert will be in early April. Next week, she will begin a class on Cartooning. It's an after school program offered by the art teacher at Rachel's school. I will be eager to see what Rachel produces from this experinece.
Rachel is also on a team for the town Spelling Bee. She is on a team with 3 other girls, and is the only American. The Bee is next Saturday, and our team is practicing hard!