Winter Band Concert 2008

On the evening of Tuesday, December 16th, Red Lion Christian Academy hosted the annual Winter Band Concert. Alex again played percussion, now for the Middle school. Abby made her debut performance on the clarinet for the 4th grade.

This first video is of a song called the The Crusader March, composed originally by John Philip Sousa. This was performed solely by the clarinet section.



The young man next to Abby was having problems with his instrument. So ultimately Abby was performing a solo here.

The next video is of Abby's actual solo. She was the only performer in the 4th grade to have one. Her music selection was Go Tell Bill, originally composed by Giocchino Rossini.



The final selection was Alex's first number for the evening. The music selection is called Carol of Joy. He's on the crash cymbal.

Wait for it... Wait for it...



Alex actually performed on 2 other songs; one on the snare drum, the other on the bass drum. I may post them later...

His Mysterious Ways...

This past weekend, Mommy and I packed our bags, tossed the house keys to Nana and Poppop, bid the children au revoir, and headed north to take part in the wedding celebration of a dear friend of ours (congratulations again, Gina and Trevor).

We left the house with the intention of checking in at our hotel, dressing for the wedding, perhaps relaxing for a few, then heading to the church and still having time to spare. But things began to go awry as soon as we left the highway to look for the hotel: It wasn't there. Not where our map said it was at least. We pressed on further down the road, through traffic, time slipping away.

We eventually found the hotel but only after finally stopping to check with a postman (thank you Mr. Postman), then calling the hotel itself. But now, time was not on our side. We checked in, dashed into our room, dressed hastily, and ran right back out the door...only to get lost again on our way to the church.

After the ceremony, the silver lining in all this began to present itself. In getting to the church, we had traveled in exactly the opposite direction we should. But as it turns out, it was the correct way to get to the reception: A fantastic venue call The Brickhouse. This provided some much needed relief.

Several hours later, after enjoying an unbelievable amount of excellent food (honestly, I wasn't hungry at all Sunday), and enjoying the company of some great people, it was time to head back to the hotel. Well, it turns out that our first turn at getting lost put us close to the reception facilities. This prepared us for the return trek: We got back to the hotel in a much easier and faster fashion than Google had planned for us.

All in all, we could see God's hand in the ordeals and had a great time catching up with an old friend.

Congratulations

October Update

Poor blogger that I am, it has once again been nearly a month since my last (major) post. Sorry.

Soccer season has come and gone. As in previous years, Alex, Abigail and Amanda all participated in the GRPC Fall Soccer League. Both Abigail and Amanda have really come of their own this year, showing significant growth.


Alex added something new to the mix this year by joining his first competitive school sport: The RLCA Middle School Soccer team. The season had already commenced by the time he made his decision but he did get to play in a few games before the season wrapped. And the coach has asked him to return next year.


Besides soccer, Halloween has also come and gone. With the exception of Aidan, who donned a lion costume, sports were the over-arching theme this year. Alex dressed as a rabid UD fan, Abigail sported Mommy's old field hockey jersey and stick, and Amanda looked suspiciously like a GRPC soccer player. We had incredibly nice weather this year for walking around and Grammy took the opportunity to heap loads of abuse on her knees just prior to having them both replaced. Eek...

One final item: Amanda had a field trip to the Delaware History Museum. However, neither Mommy nor myself went so there are no pictures and we don't know much about what she saw. Sorry.

How To Know Its Time To Clean Your TV

Your youngest begins drawing happy faces in the dust.


Update soon. I promise...

Milburn's Fall Festival

On a whim, on Sunday, October 5th, after church, Mommy and I hooked up with some friends of ours and took both our families to Milburn Orchards in Elkton, MD, which is currently hosting their very popular Fall Festival Weekends.

Blessed with unseasonably warm weather (Translation: Should've worn short sleeves) we got to enjoy a myriad of attractions which included the petting zoo, the Bale Trail (a maze made out of hay bales) and a very enjoyable hay ride around the property.

Philadelphia

On Wednesday, October 1st, I had the pleasure of accompanying Abigail and her 4th grade class to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA. The NCC is a history museum on Independence Mall, just two blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, which opened on July 4, 2004.

The tour begins with a fantastic presentation called Freedom Rising in the amazing Kimmel Theater. The show, which follows the evolution of the phrase "We the People", is hosted by a live actor who roams around the theater while video clips are played on the floor, walls, and screens which drop from the ceiling. I have to confess: I found this presentation to be very emotional. Freedom Rising is by itself well worth the price of admission.

When you exit the theater, you enter into another exhibit called the American Experience. This exhibit wraps around the outside of the Kimmel Theater and shows the significant role the Constitution has played throughout history. As you progress, you have the opportunity to vote for your all-time favorite President (Yeah Reagan!), take the Presidential Oath-of-Office, and take a seat on the Supreme Court. There is a tremendous amount of information to be taken in here, but unfortunatly, due to the attention span of two 8-year-old girls, we passed through this exhibit far too quickly. Anyway...

Upon exiting the American Experience, you find yourself in Signers' Hall. Signers' Hall is a room featuring life-sized bronze sculptures of the 39 signers of the Constitution (and the three dissenters). Here, we found George Read, John Dickinson, Gunning Bedford, and Richard Bassett; the four delegates from Delaware who ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787.

Other highlights of the day included a walk through a temporary exhibit called Headed to the White House, which followed the history of Presidential campaigns, a small stage where kids where given an opportunity to vote in the current Presidential election (Good girl, Abby...!), and the always classic ride to and fro on a school bus with 30'ish kids trying to get semis to honk their horns...