Month of Music

December was definitely a month filled with music at our house.  There was a lot of practicing going on and multiple performances.  We'll start with Kyla and her Holiday Choir Concert.  It was amazing.  It included all the choirs in her high school and the orchestra as well.

Below you can see Kyla's choir performing.  She is on the right side of the girls who are standing, about the third row down and right behind the mice pole.  I'm glad we'll have a lot more of these concerts to enjoy...

Also Kyla had her voice recital performance.  This was her first time ever to sing by herself in front of a whole bunch of people, not very easy, but she did great...

Colter's musical performance for the month took place at a restaurant where they had a performing stage.  His teacher jammed all his students up on stage and they entertained us with some Christmas songs.  It was fun to hear all those instruments playing together...

Colter at the guitar...

Maya's school holiday very enjoyable. Her school has a new music teacher and he is outstanding!  Here is Maya's class getting their percussion instruments...

And singing...

Last but not least, we enjoyed Melita's little music program at the assisted living community.  It was ADORABLE!  Here she and her classmates are singing one of their songs....

And singing another...

After they were done singing, they passed out a piece of fruit and a card that they made to each of the residents at the home.  :)

We missed our last music event of the month... playing Christmas carols on the piano at Sykes in town.  We just weren't able to fit it in too, so we had to miss out but it was still fun to hear them play their songs at home.  

Yikes, it was a lot of running, but it was worth it.  I think enjoying music performed is one of the greatest gifts we can share with one another.  And it's a great reward for all the times I've had to remind them to practice, practice, practice...

Have an great week! Alison

All of November 2015


Welcome to the past, November 2015 is on the blog...

At the beginning of the month, Grandpa and Colter went hunting together and Grandpa brought home a deer.  Colter spent some evenings at G and G's helping cut it up with them, because that's just what he enjoys doing these day...

Maya being a clown...

Melita takes a music class on Mondays and here she is holding one of her teachers puppies.  They were SO adorable...

Singing with her music class and Teacher Michelle, who was my piano teacher when I was young...

And doing her music homework.  It's fun to make quarter notes out of stickers...

In November Kyla made two huge sugar cookies to replicate an animal cell and a plant cell for her biology class.  This was LATE on a wednesday night when she got done.  The next day they ate it in class.  YUM...

Here is a picture of the kids in their Thelma Strong sweatshirts that we bought.  The story behind this is that these kids' 2nd grade teachers' daughter is fighting kidney cancer out in Seattle.  Her name is Thelma and she's just a precious little 2 year old.  Our hearts go out to her and her family...

Here are Kyla and her "twin" friend at a speech meet.  Kyla claims that these meets can be more tiring than her cross country meets.  I think I see what she means...

Randy and his dad took their annual elk hunting trip into the Missouri River Breaks.  It was SO muddy this year.  You can see the mud built up on their tires...

Crazy way to try and clean out the mud...

A picture from the hunting trip...

And another...

These girls being funny at the store while waiting for me...

November was a good time to go through clothes in the basement and get out a few hand-me-downs.  It's worth noting that Maya is really growing taller these days... and she's also getting goofier all the time... ;)

Then it was Thanksgiving time and we headded to the farm as usual.  Making pie...

Playing with cousins!

More playing with cousins...

Fun playing games with everybody...

Colter shot a grouse on the farm...

A good day bird hunting...

And a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner...

Something I'm very thankful for is friends, family and all loved ones.  Because of recent experiences in our lives, I've learned that life and time spent together is precious!  Love to all, Alison

The Rest of October...

In October, Highlanders Cross Country started for Maya and Melita.  Kyla got to be a coach for Melita's team along with Kyla's Cross Country friend  McKenna who got to coach her little sister Taylor!  What is really fun is, that my sister and I went to school with McKenna and Taylor's Mom, and the girls Grandma Judy went to school with these girls grandma Marcia!  

Below is Melita coming into the finish line at her race with Coach Kyla encouraging her on...

Here is Maya running her race.  She has really started to enjoy running this season...

On our way home from Kyla's CC meet in Butte, the girls and I stopped in the neighborhood where I lived when I was about Melita's age.  This little convenient store hasn't changed much over the years...

This was these girls first time riding at the Pig Farm trails...

One afternoon during break time, Colter made these carrot whistles.  They sounded just like a whistle until they dried up...

Sarah and Kyla working on cookies for their State CC team send-off...

Maya had Sabrina over for her birthday and they got to go swimming...

Kyla making birthday cake for her father and sister!

And Maya and Melita made these cute party hats...

Also in October, Kyla had her first Choir concert...

Love the rich sounds of a good high school choir...

Maya and I got out one evening for some time together...

And here I'm brewing some tea as I give Colter his weekly spelling test.  I love my job...

Made Cave Oatmeal Cookies.  They are the best!!!  You can find the recipe here on my long-lost recipe blog! :)

Sometimes waiting for Kyla at school involved walking/running around the track...

Speech and Debate started in October.  Here is Kyla (in the black skirt suit and green shirt) at one of her first meets.  I love seeing all these high school kids dressed up in there best.  It was fun to judge too...

For Halloween, the kids carved pumpkins...

Hard at work...

And then trick-or-treated from bedroom door to bedroom door...

Randy took this beautiful October sunset (or sunrise) picture from our front yard.  Hmmm, it's looking Northeast... ?!?!

And that made a really long, throw it all together, October post.  But, I'm in catch up mode right now.  Just November, and then December... and then January to go.

All for now.
Alison