Guitar Recital

On Wednesday evening, Karl capped off his third year of guitar lessons with the annual spring recital. Both Karl and I get nervous before performing, so the car ride down wasn’t particularly pleasant for Deborah or Laura. But Karl came through with great performances of “Greensleeves” and “Oh When The Saints Go Marching In.” After the recital with Doug Smith, our teacher. Another annual guitar event is the recording session. In the spring of the year, Doug brings in professional videographers and audio engineers to record his students for use in his online teaching curriculum. This is Karl in 2010 playing “Hot Cross Buns.” Look how high the capo is! In 2011, playing “Captain White.” And this year, playing “Minuet from Bach’s Book.”

MMTA Honors Concert

After progressing through two rounds of competition, Laura played in the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Honors Concert on Saturday. There were at least 20 pianos on the stage at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and several groups of piano students played group duets. Laura had a very long day, because she had to be downtown at noon for a dress rehearsal, and she and Matt stayed in the Cities until the (very long) performance. She looked beautiful, though, and played well of course, so it was worth it (but if she makes it again we decided a hotel would be a good idea).

Laura before the concert.

Way to go Laura!

Girls' Day in St. Paul

Last Friday was Track and Field Day for the upper elementary grades, and since Laura is not so keen on a whole day of running events, I took her to St. Paul instead. We got our workout in by walking all over downtown and climbing hundreds of stairs.

As we walked by a gift shop, we spotted cute things in the window so we stopped in to take a look. Laura found a huge bin of adorable, big-eyed stuffed animals. She settled on a Siberian Husky. I found this awesome bracelet.

For lunch, Laura had a polish sausage. The street vendor warned us that it was really really big. Laura shrugged and said she was hungry. He said it was very spicy. "Ooh, even better!" she replied. She ate it all except one tiny piece. And then she grew a few inches.

Next we went to the St. Paul library, and Laura settled into her favorite spot. I think I've taken this picture about a hundred times now.

Then it was time for the Science Museum and Omni Theater, where we climbed all our stairs. No elevators for us!

Snack break!

Now I'm going to sneak one last picture in here because it is simply too cute not to share. Just look at these two!

Mother’s Day

The kids and I always struggle with what to get Deborah for Mother’s Day. This year, though, we had the inside track.

On Thursday I asked Laura and Karl if they had any ideas what Deborah would like. Laura perked right up—she had been shopping with Deborah a few weeks earlier and knew exactly what she wanted.

On Saturday, after her piano recital, Laura and I went to Target to pick out the gift. We giggled as we brought it to the front of the store and checked out. Karl giggled that evening when we showed it to him…



But Laura was right—Deborah loved it and her peacock is proudly on display on the deck.

Laura’s Piano Recital

Yesterday, Laura had her fourth piano recital. As usual, she was very calm, collected, and did a great job.



After the performance was over, Laura took in a haul of pins, ribbons, and certificates for all of the contests, exams, and events she has performed at over the last year.



Great job again Laura!

Track and Field

Today was the 1st–3rd grade track and field day and Karl had a blast. There were 10 or 12 different stations and each class rotated through all of the stations. One of Karl’s favorite events: the 50-meter dash. He ran five or six heats and he ran strong through all of them. Laura’s math teacher Mr. Erdman’s son is in 3rd grade, so he brought his Math class outside to cheer. Unplanned visits outside to view sporing events — right up Laura’s alley. She was a trooper. The rubber ducky relay race. One more of Laura courtesy of Oma. The 25-meter dash. Excellent job Karl. I can tell already that you’re going to have a tough choice between baseball and track in a few years…

Karl and Bert

Yesterday Karl and I braved the thunderstorms to listen to Twins Hall-of-Famer Bert Blyleven speak at the Cambridge High School. I knew I had to take Karl when he was willing to risk the severe weather to go; Karl is a serious weather watcher, but he told me that "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Ok then, let's go! Laura, of course, didn't want to listen to "some baseball announcer," and Matt was stuck in traffic on his way home from St. Paul, so it was just the two of us. It's a good thing that the only year I was a faithful Twins fan was their 1987 World Series season, so at least I remember when Bert Blyleven was a player! We met our friends there, so Karl had a group of three baseball-loving boys to hang out with (Their names are Sanden, Ty, and Nolan. Guess who they're named after…). It was a good thing the weather was so iffy, because I think it kept a lot of people away. We had a nice close seat, and afterwards Karl got to meet Bert and get his baseball signed!


Bert was very friendly and insisted on getting a picture with the boys. The Rush City Tigers are going to have quite a baseball team when these kids are in high school!