Piano Competitions

Jaxton enrolled in several piano competitions this winter. He has an amazing piece called Fantasie by Chopin that he has mastered all on his own. It was a self taught piano solo and it is incredible that he is able to learn something as difficult as this. He entered into these competitions, hopeful to earn a scholarship, and to have an opportunity to share his skill. The first competition was at the Wagonwheel in Warsaw. There were 12 contestants. Jaxton did not win, but it was an opportunity for him to perform on a beautiful stage and share his skills.  He was in the competition with a fellow GarrettBand member, Abbey. The second competition he entered, was the Gene Marcus piano competition at PFW. This one was much more stringent and had more contestants. It was nerve-racking and stressful, but he performed so beautifully and got really good marks. Then he entered the same piece into the solo ensemble festival  at ISSMA Indiana regionals. He got a perfect score there. He will be performing Fantasie one last time at the winter Garett concert in a week. He is one incredible musician. 

Gramps’ Mission Call

Gramps received a mission call to be a software trainer for the senior and service missions across the United States. In his younger years when he met my mom, he had a desire to serve a mission, but was told he was a little bit too old and needed to move on with his life. I think he always wanted to serve. He is beaming in these photos and is so very proud of this call. The work is right up his alley. He gets to create a system to teach service missionaries remotely how to use Excel and Word and other software programs and is assisting the senior missionaries in learning these programs as well. These programs help keep track of things in each mission and Gramps is helping to teach these computer software skills. It’s a volunteer mission and he is taking it to the next level. Wearing that badge is a symbol of pride for him. Congrats Gramps! 

Uncle Mike Riding

Uncle Mike passed away this last November. He had a service in California city on February 17. My mom and dad attended the service. It sounds as though Ken and Marilyn and Kendall and her husband along with Carol and Mary were all there to support Jane. I did not know Mike very well, but I do remember being called Tara Treetops as a little child. He would smile and greet me as Tara Treetops and give me a giant hug. He had step children with Jane and five grandchildren who adored him.  He was 85 years old. I have been in touch with Jane a little bit through Facebook. She has commented on my posts and I have commented on hers. We connected about Mike and I sent my love her way. The celebration of life brought positive memories and positive feelings for my mom and her family. 

Kaylee’s Birthday Party

Kaylee wanted to have a birthday party this year. We decided on a slumber party with a mall scavenger hunt. She wanted to invite everybody. We had quite a large group. We picked 13 girls from the school on a snow day afternoon in our giant big van and took them to the Fort Wayne mall. Kaylee came up with a really fun scavenger hunt to do at the mall and we split the girls into three groups and set them free. So much fun and lots of memories made! They all came back to the house to hang out open presents, eat dilly bars from Dairy Queen and watch movies. Some girls were up almost all night. They had a blast. Dawson helped me make pancakes in the morning. What a fun time! 

Cub Scouts Super Science

Since I teach the third grade, Cub Scouts, we had a requirement to learn about science. We did some water experiments with salt and sugar and we did color morphing, and some other interesting experiments with colors. The boys actually loved the experiments and it intrigued their interest. So much fun!

Kaylee turns 13

Kaylee turned 13 today! I can hardly believe it. She is such a beautiful and sweet girl and we love her to the moon and back. Here are some fun things about Kaylee at age 13:

1. Kaylee’s favorite color is sage green.

2. Kaylee is an animal lover. She loves her cats more than anything in the world. At Oak farm she cares for the goats and is anxiously awaiting for the baby goats to be born.

3. Kaylee loves cheerleading and she loves to be on top of the pyramid stunts. She has no fear of heights and no fear of flipping around in the air and trusting others to catch her. She must get that from me:)

4. Kaylee‘s closest friends these days include Jorja, Stella, Hannah, Nora, Ana, Bella, Ruby, and more. She is friends with everybody, and is always including everybody. She’s very aware of her social interactions and insures that everybody is included.

5. Kaylee loves fancy drinks. She loves to make smoothies and create her own recipes. She also loves to stop at coffee shops and get sweet drinks.

6. Kaylee is in seventh grade this year. She ran cross country and is planning to start up track this spring. She’s a runner!

7. Kaylee likes to organize things. She likes containers and contraptions to store things in an organized way. She loves to organize stuff.

8. Kaylee was nervous for Middle School at Oak Farm but has found her groove. She is loving it more than she thought she would and claims that it’s way better than ever elementary.

9. Kaylee has been selling her homemade jewelry with her friends, Layla. It’s been a fun hobby and they’ve made some good hard cash.

10. Kaylee emulates her middle name, joy she brings so much joy to our home and family and spreads joy. Everywhere she goes. Her name couldn’t fit her more. Happy birthday, Kay!