Canon's 1st grade music recital March 2016

 So...the theme of the concert was bunnies. :) They had a lot of cute bunny songs about bunnies eating things they shouldn't out of the garden and funny bunnies that had pickles for noses. Kim and I made the bunny hats for Canon and Lilly that day because Easter had just passed and none of the stores had anymore bunny ears. Paper plates....what a wonderful art supply. ;)

 I was so mad they moved Canon down to the first row right behind a taller kid with the biggest, most obnoxious bunny ears in the gym. I couldn't get any pictures unless this kid bent down or leaned over. :/

 Canon volunteered for a speaking part that informed the audience of what was coming up next. He was articulate, loud and clear. Good job, Canon!!

 This was a combination of the 1st and 2nd graders at Legacy Traditional School-Maricopa campus. I think they had to fit around 240 kids on the stage and risers.  The gym was packed with all their parents and siblings.

Battle of the Burbs!

A local radio station does a contest every year to generate publicity called Battle of the Burbs. It's a voting competition between suburban cities in the metropolitan Phoenix area. All you have to do is get on the radio's website and vote for your suburb. Maricopa has now won this competition for 3 years in a row. The award for winning includes a trophy, bragging rights and a free outside concert from an up and coming music group. This year they had Divided Minds open the show and The Summer Set were the headliners. They have a few songs that my kids like, so we came to see what there was to see. The stage is in the background behind us. It was a nice night to be outside and we got to see a lot of friends enjoying the show.

Powered paragliding

 We have a couple in our ward, Jay and Margie Kocherhans, who are retired and live out  by the Maricopa air strip. Jay knows my great uncle, Dwight, and likes to paraglide. They invited us out to their place for a paragliding Family Home Evening. We volunteered Rylee to go up first because she's the most adventurous of the group. She looks a little nervous here. :)

 The parachute is laid out behind them and the motor looks like a big fan. They roll forward to take off, gaining momentum until the wind fills the parachute and away you go. It was a little scary getting up in the air, Rylee said, but once you were up there, it felt like being on a roller coaster and she even told him to go higher.

 This was one of the passes they made after they'd been up in the air for a few minutes. They got as high as 50 feet and buzzed as low as 5 ft. You can definitely see the smile on Rylee's face as she waved and almost ran over us. :)

 Raegan decided she would give it a try. I told Jay not to go as high with her, so he stayed under the 30 ft level. Canon decided too late that he wanted to try it too. You can't land safely if you can't see the ground because the sun has gone down. Maybe next time, buddy. Beautiful weather, fun activity, gorgeous sunset. :)

Conference Legos!!

 It's a tradition in our family that when General Conference comes on, the legos come out! Even when we're away from home, like we were last year for Easter/Conference, there were still legos. We spread out some blankets, which makes for easy clean-up, and then we dump the legos out. Dad usually makes semi trucks, tanks or helicopters, and Canon and Raegan make RV's, houses, or apartment complexes with flower gardens for me. :)
This year, Dad decided to be the older brother Canon never had and incessantly run over his lego guys with semi trucks. So every time Dad ran over his guy, Canon would say," Dad!! Quit running over my lego guys!" And Dad would say, " Get your lego guy out of the road!" And then Canon would respond," That's not even the road!" Yep....sounds like a couple of brothers to me. :) So glad we're sitting around listening to prophets, seers and revelators talk about getting along, seeking forgiveness and the power of the Atonement. :)

World Strides Heritage Music Festival March 2016

 This is Kiersten warming up before the performance.
One of the cellos popped her G string during the warm up and didn't have a spare to change it out. She had to play all her G string notes on her D string. It wasn't in tune, and she wasn't on time because she was struggling to change the fingerings during the songs. What a nightmare! The conductor could have had her sit it out, but they only had 2 cellos to begin with.
They still earned enough points for a silver medal, which is what the band received. But it's hard to not think of how good it could have sounded if it hadn't been for that popped string.

 Kiersten has learned a lot sitting next to Kyle. He is very expressive with his music. He uses his whole bow, arm and torso to play. It's exciting to watch both of them when they're really feeling it.

                      Waiting in the hotel lobby for the buses to take us to the performance venue.

Maricopa High School Orchestra Trip to Disneyland/Universal Studios City Walk March 2016

 The weekend before Spring Break, Maricopa High School Performing Arts had the opportunity to take their orchestra, band, and winter guard to a competition in Anaheim, CA. They do it every other year. I was able to go Aubree's first year, 2 years later, when it was Aubree's second time and Kiersten's first, and this year, which is Kiersten's second time. I help keep track of the students, make sure they stay in their hotel rooms after lights out, and make sure they are where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there and representing the high school in a positive way.
This is Kiersten and I at the Universal Studios City Walk.

              The Evil Queen was so sassy! We waited in line to get a picture with this one.

 Go ahead, Kiersten....tell me you didn't have fun on that roller coaster! I have the photographic proof :) AJ had never been to Disneyland, so we took it upon ourselves to run around and ride as many rides as possible in the time we had.

Awwwwww!!!!!!

   

               AJ Smith (viola) Kiersten Moore (violin) and Jenny Johns (bass). Good times!

Skateland during Spring Break March 2016

 During Spring Break, we were invited to Skateland by the Hodges family. My kids have never been on roller skates, so this was a new experience for them. I told them it would take a lot of balance, like ice skating, but it should be easier because they have 4 rollers instead of a thin blade to balance on.

 These roller frames give newbies something to hold onto so they don't fall. Canon was very reluctant and didn't have as much fun as Raegan did.

By the end of the afternoon, Raegan was asking for skates for her birthday, and Canon was vowing to never roller skate ever again in his life!