Easter 2014

So Bianca refuses to wear matching dresses with Portia anymore, but she was in a good mood this Easter so agreed to wear the same color. I'll take what I can get.

We had a pretty low key Easter this year, just like I like it. The girls woke up to Easter baskets with some candy, a chocolate bunny and a small gift. Portia got a Littlest Pet Shop and well, Bianca got to have her iPhone fixed after she cracked the screen. And a protective case.

The girls hunted Easter eggs. I love our yard this time of year because the creek is full of mountain run-off and the sound is just delicious. The grass is green and soft and my flowers are just poking their heads above the ground.

In the afternoon, we headed over to Uncle Bruce and Aunt Joanie's for dinner.

Bianca in front of the carriage house (it's the garage with Eric's theater room we were working on last year).

Portia finding some Easter eggs on the stone pathway

Science Fair 2014

I've not been shy about explaining over the years how I feel about Science Fair: I've never liked it. This year is the first time since Bianca started doing Science Fair back in first grade that she actually made it on to the next level. Which I find ironic considering now Bianca's in seventh grade, which has so many more kids in her class. She partnered up with her friend Jessica and they did their project on chocolate and which type (percentage of cocoa) melted fastest.

They didn't move past district, which is fine by me. I'm just thankful Portia (who is in first grade this year) didn't have to do it.

Bianca's Latest concert

Performing

Portia's been working really hard on her cello recently. It seems like everything else stopped while we focused on perfecting two particular pieces. It's that time of year when she gets her chance to share everything she's worked on for the last year (and get a little public affirmation).

The day before the recital, Portia played (unaccompanied) at Summerhay's Fiddle Fair as a "practice" since it's been a while since she's performed in public. She got lost a little in the middle (and that's why we did it) and she didn't have to have the same problem for the next time. And look how they arranged those harps behind her—amazing! The girls were having a blast because afterward, they got to try out the other instruments at Summerhays. Bianca played an electric viola and thought that was the best thing ever. Now she's wants one of those (but it's not going to happen—it's time for her first "real" full-size bow and it's making me sick that we have to pay almost as much for that as for her last viola).

The recital was two weeks ago. Bianca accompanied her (I paid her $20 to do it). Portia's first piece was Lully's Gavotte:



I love her little vibrato! And here's her second piece, Livie's Blues (Cheney). I just have to add that this song drove me absolutely mad. (The middle part with the chords was really hard for her to get the rhythm just right, and I begged Richard Hoyt several times to let us do something different to no avail.) Still, I'm so glad I'll never have to hear this one again, although the glissando on the piano part always cracks me up a little.



The next weekend, we had to go up to the University of Utah and do it all again as it was Federation. When we walked into the room, it was filled with older kids (Portia's in book 3 now but only six, so she looks like she should be in the Twinkle room). It was a little intimidating for her but good experience to rise up to a challenge. Two years of superiors down, one more to go! Portia's ready for her gold cup (that her teacher told her she'll get after three years of superiors). Actually, I felt that Portia played better at Federation than she did at her recital (she didn't run out of bow on the trill as she did in Lully's Gavotte).

Is it bad to admit I'm kind of glad it's over?

Portia's How To Do Gymnastics

Portia was watching some how-to videos on gymnastics tricks she's trying to learn. So she decided she wanted to make one of her own. Here she is doing a couple of her tricks. (I did trim off the back where she fell and kept getting up, trying again, which is a lesson of its own.)

Driving around—a lot

Last week, we had a crazy music weekend. Bianca's orchestra was invited to audition for America's Got Talent, so they had to add some extra practices in to learn a pop song—Smooth Criminal. So Bianca had to go downtown SLC Friday night for practice, then get up early Saturday to go back for regular practice.

Portia had her annual Suzuki Cello Graduation, so I had to drive Portia separately to SLC, while Eric picked up Bianca and took her to viola lessons, then down to Orem for the actual America's Got Talent audition. Portia's graduation went well. She only played Minuet Number 2, even though she had already passed off the Book Two graduation piece (Bourree) as well. Just minutes before Portia had to go up on the stage to play, I looked down and realized Portia had mismatched boots on—one of Bianca's boots, one of hers. I shook my head and sent Portia up there, just hoping no one else noticed.

Portia did play very well. Here she is with the group that graduated Minuet Number 2.

We won't know for a while if Bianca's orchestra will get to be on TV. We do think that would be pretty darn cool though.

We had tickets to the Utah Symphony for Saturday night, but I realized that if we had gone, we would have driven to Salt Lake City 5 times in about a 24-hour period (I gave them to my friend who was celebrating her anniversary this weekend). Still, it was a lot of driving. Hopefully someday all this driving will be worth it.

A New Year and a Funeral

This year, we got some unexpected company after Christmas when Eric's grandma Maurice Clay (Eric's mother's mom) died. She had just turned 99 right before Christmas. It wasn't a surprise really, but it was still hard for Eric and his family. So, Eric's sister Mindy came and stayed with her kids at our house, while his parents and brother stayed with Bruce and Joanie. They drove through the night and arrived in Utah from Texas on New Year's Eve. I took the girls skiing at Solitude that day, but we spent the rest of our time with family.

I took a day off work for the funeral. It was in Layton where Eric's grandma lived with Aunt Julie. Eric spoke at the funeral (as did the oldest grandchild from each family). He gave a wonderful tribute to grandma. She was buried in Bountiful.

Bruce and Joanie had all of us over afterward for pizza and games. Eric's mom had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in the last year and was doing pretty well while she was here and watching some of Joanie's videos of old times. There were some moments when she seemed perfectly fine and understood what was happening, but others when her eyes seemed glazed over and it didn't seem she knew who we all were.

Since she's returned home, however, Janis has been struggling and it has been really hard on Eric and his family. We're all trying to figure out the best way to love and help her.

Some photos from the visit.

Mindy, Janis and Eric

L to R: Jeana, Bianca, Rachel, Portia, Emily, Laney, Taylor, McKay, Joan and Janis

Portia and her cousin Laney