End of school performances and activities

Holy shmoly. Apparently I haven't updated the blog in a long time. Well ... here we go!

Sound Alliance Tour: April 15-21

As a member of the auditioned jazz band at BYU-Idaho, Rebekah got to go on tour immediately following the end of her semester. She packed her bags and headed to Florida for a week of shows and sun. 

Rebekah at one of the sights along her trip.

Her album cover with other members of the band. 😂 One of the kids had a Polaroid camera. 

Rebekah at the Space Center.

Extreme Dance Ballroom Competition: Friday, April 19

The Bonneville Ballroom team competed at the Extreme Ballroom competition at Madison Junior High. Even though both of the bleachers were in use at this competition (as opposed to the Christmas Classic where they only allow you to sit on one side of the gym), we were still squished and wishing they'd hold these at a better venue. Unfortunately, they got WAAAAY behind schedule, so even leaving as soon as we could, it was after 11 when we left Rexburg. But the dancers were cute and fun to watch, so we managed.

Ana and Dallin dance to "Ty y Yo."

Ana and Dallin dancing in "Never Alone." They took sixth place in youth ballroom show dance.

Brock and Ana dance their Guardians medley. They took fourth place in youth large group show dance.

Ana waiting on the side of the gym for awards to be announced.

Extreme Dance Ballroom Competition: Friday, April 19

The Bonneville teams performed at a home and garden show at the Mountain America Event Center on Saturday, April 20. They had a smaller stage, so they were a little more cramped than usual. Even though the middle school team attended this event, Miriam wasn't able to make it because I think she was sick? This is why I need to blog more promptly *facepalm*.

"Never Alone"

Ana as Groot in their Guardians medley. The kid who usually danced this position was gone, so Ana filled in.

Fairview ballroom assembly: Monday, April 22

Every year the ballroom dancers perform at area elementary and middle schools as a recruitment tool. I went to the Fairview show to get pictures of our girls.

Ana and Asher before a dance.

Miriam dancing her waltz.

Ana dancing her waltz.

Miriam's cha cha.

Bowing at the end of the show.

Idaho Falls Symphony Youth Orchestra: Thursday, April 25

Miriam participated in her second IFSYO concert after a semester of Thursday night rehearsals. 

Miriam the percussionist. Even though she's in the back, it's easier to see her because she stands most of the time.

 

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Posing after the concert.

Prom: Saturday, May 4

Ana got asked to prom by John Schuenneman, an old friend from Fairview. Ana already had the dress rented because she planned on going regardless of whether she had a date or not, so it all worked out.

John asked in the most epic way possible. He dressed up as a king and had a friend be Patsy. They "rode" up to the front porch just like in Monty Python with the coconut halves being banged together. John gave Ana a crate and a poster asking if she'd like to go to prom.

Ana in her dress.

Ana's group. They had pictures taken by Sister McGarry at Snake River Landing.

Their red carpet photo. The student council missed an obvious opportunity by not choosing "Star Wars" as the prom theme since the dance was on May the Fourth. They thought "red carpet" was a more fun and accessible theme to the general student body population. Whatever.

End of year show: Wednesday, May 8

Man, ballroom keeps the kids busy at the end of the year, that's for sure. This was the final big show of the year. Ana's team had two brand new dances to perform that we hadn't seen before. Miriam's had one. Ana and Asher also got to show off their open routines.

Asher and Ana dancing their Latin open.

Miriam's waltz.

Ana and Asher dance to "Sharks," one of the new ones.

Ana and Asher dance their smooth open.

Miriam's cha cha.

Braxton and Ana dance "Broke."

Ana and Jo dance "Another Day of Sun," their other new one.

Miriam dances "Johnny B. Goode," their new dance.

6th grade band concert: Thursday, May 9

Winnie enjoyed her first year of band and learning to play the baritone. She participated in her end of year concert, then later in May she and I played a baritone/piano duet of "I Believe in Christ" in sacrament meeting.

Winnie in her seat while Mrs. Bull introduces the band.

Miriam playing percussion for the 6th grade band concert.

Winnie standing at the end of their performance.

Miriam playing Winnie's baritone. At the end of the concert, Mrs. Bull has each kid grab a family member and teach them to play "Hot Cross Buns" in five minutes. Then everyone gets on stage and performs. I was afraid I'd be that person because Seth was out of town for work; the only spectators there for Winnie were me and Grandpa Scott. But luckily Winnie chose to grab her sister who was already on stage.

Seussical: May 15-18

Ana decided to try something new this year and auditioned for the school musical. She made it onto the ensemble and spent many hours singing, acting, helping to build the set, trying on costumes and makeup, etc. It was a really good experience for her, and I think it helped cement her desire to participate in choir next year and perform in another musical as a senior. As part of the ensemble, Ana got to be a Who, a Hunch, a fish and a hunter.

I had asked Mr. Nichols (the drama teacher) if I could take pictures during one of the rehearsals. I posted them on Google Photos as quickly as I could, and the department and a bunch of the kids used them for social media posts promoting the show (which is what I was hoping they could be used for). After that, he asked if I could take pictures during one of the actual shows. Seth and I took tickets (or basically turned people away because they were sold out that night) and I shot pictures during one show, then the whole family came just to watch on closing night.

Ana the Hunch. I made most of the Hunch masks during a costume workshop day during one of the kids' rehearsals. 

Ana the Who.

Ana the Who stuck on a clover.

Ana the hunter.

Ana the fish.

"Oh, the Thinks you can Think!"

The family plus Winnie's friend Jane after the closing night performance. We had bought a ticket for Aunt Jessica, but she couldn't make it. Turns out she had a kidney stone, so that was fair. To fill her seat, we brought Winnie's friend.

Praxium exhibit night: Thursday, May 16

Since Praxium, the district's mastery-based middle school, is project based, they host project nights periodically. Miriam has participated like a good little student, so it was no different for her last project night. Students had to walk from the middle school to a somewhat-nearby gas station and pick something they saw there to research. Lots of kids chose drinks and treats that were on display. Miriam chose the security cameras. 

Miriam with her display. The kids all had to include something that would grab the viewer's attention and pull them in. Miriam and Seth help her set up a live feed camera.

6th grade track meet: Tuesday, May 21

Winnie participated in her track meet at Thunder Stadium. She ran the 200, the 4x100 relay and participated in the running long jump. She made the finals in each event but didn't place. But if the field event had been judged properly (with, you know, a measuring tape and making sure everyone followed the rules and stuff), I think she definitely would have placed there. The judges had three kids go at a time, and they just eyeballed their distances. Then the one who got the farthest in that heat would go to the back of the line and compete with whichever kids were in line next to them. In the semifinals, Winnie competed against the girl who ended up taking first, but the judges were basing their call on where the kids' feet landed and not the farthest back point that touched the sand like they were supposed to. The girls who took first landed with her hands behind her feet; her measurement should have been taken from there. Winnie purposely landed with her hands forward knowing what the rules were. Oh, well. 

 

Winnie running the 200.

Passing the baton to Chloe during the relay.

Running long jump.

Rockets: Wednesday, May 22

All of these 6th grade end-of-school activities mark the end of an era for us. Winnie is our last elementary school attendee, so all of are "lasts." This was our last time launching rockets. The day they had originally scheduled to launch, the weather didn't work out. So they rescheduled the 4th and 5th graders to launch the day of the track meet, and the 6th graders launched the day after. The weather was starting to turn again, but Mr. Jenkins adjusted the launches accordingly, and most of the rockets stayed inside the fence. 

Prepping her rocket for the first launch.

Lift off!

Trying to catch her rocket. It looks like the catch is inevitable from this picture, but she just missed it.

Chasing her second launch. This one ended up on the blacktop, and she didn't make it in time. 

Middle school band concert: Thursday, May 23

Miriam got to play triangle, tambourine, drum set, electric bass (on keyboard), marimba, timpani, cowbell, shaker, bongos and vibraphone and only sat out for one of the 16 songs during her last-ever middle school band concert. The theme was music from movies, and the audience was encouraged to sing along (the lyrics were included in the program). I did really well except on the Frozen 2 song. I kept having to ask Winnie what the lyrics were.

Miriam talks to a bandmate between songs.

Rocking the tambourine during "All Star." She also sang her little heart out.

Mallet and cymbal during the opening of "Eye of the Tiger."

AR assembly: Tuesday, May 28

Winnie made it into the 200 point club in time for school to end, then she read and tested on a couple more right after school ended to bring her total up to 300 for the year. 😂

Winnie's picture on the screen during the assembly.

Carnival/field day: Wednesday, May 29

As a Yeti Squad (student council) member at Praxium, Miriam got to come up with a carnival game for the kids on the last full day of school. She asked if she could remake "Diggin' for Gold," a game from Fairview Carnival days of yore that involve kids reaching through a giant paper mache nose on an easel to feel their way through Orbeez to grab a token and exchange it for a prize. I told Miriam we could probably borrow the easel/nose from Fairview, and the kind PTO president wholeheartedly allowed it. I came to help supervise the carnival (which mostly consisted of me overseeing the "Diggin' for Gold" when Miriam had to take over Tic Tac Toe for the girl who just didn't show up and getting after the boys who were throwing tennis balls WAY too hard as they tried to knock over stuffed yetis). In exchange for the tokens at the nose, kids received fruity Tootsie Roll pops or vinyl stickers of owls or memes. Good times.

Miriam and her friends checking out the outdoor petting zoo before the carnival starts.

After the Praxium carnival ended, I ran over to Fairview to see if I could help finish up their field day. The games and activities were over already, the firetruck had been cancelled due to cool inclement weather, so I spent some time sorting and putting away FAME stuff and then watched Winnie (the kid in her class who earned the most for the Fund Run fundraiser) delicately smash a pie tin full of whipped cream in her principal's face. And then I watched the 6th graders play tug-of-war. The girls beat the boys ... twice. Ms. Moore's class beat Miss Johnson's class. So Winnie was on the winning team every time.

Smashing a pie into Mr. Dahlke's face.

Getting ready for the class tug-of-war.

Ringing the bell: Thursday, May 30

Another last: ringing the bell. Everyone who is leaving Fairview gets to ring the bell before the end of the last half-day of school. That includes families who know they are moving, teachers who are leaving or retiring, and all 6th graders, Winnie included. Then we drove to Rigby to get Winnie some new dental hardware.

Ringing the bell after her name is announced.

Going down the line of kids and giving fives.

Before getting top braces.

After getting top braces.

Miriam is 14!

This beautiful, talented and sweet young lady celebrated 14 years of life on her birthday, March 27. She got to open a present at breakfast, then eat dinner and cake with family later that evening.

A book on the drawings in Full Metal Alchemist, one of her favorite animes. 

The strawberry lemon cake she requested for her birthday. Usually Ana takes care of these, but she had a busy week prior to the birthday, so I did everything minus the strawberries and lemons on top.

The giant bag of Nerds Gummy Clusters Uncle T's family gave her.

Opening the knockoff LEGO anime sword we got her. She sent me the link for two different weapons on Amazon and told me to pick which one to get her.

Opening a card from her grandparents. Both sets gave her cards and cash.

Then we got to take Miriam out to lunch at a restaurant of her choice: Hokkaido. We all enjoyed our delicious ramen on Saturday, March 30.

Eating ramen together. Miriam chose the same place last year.

Winter miscellany

Style: Wednesday, November 29

Winnie with her hoodie and coat. She said she had "Grandpa Scott style." Grandpa will often wear layers like this when working in the yard or the shop.

Cat treat: Friday, December 1

Seth getting Toad a little piece of ham from the fridge.

Migraine: Wednesday, December 6

Andrea rests in the recliner after getting a migraine. Winnie brought down her sleep mask and a couple of stuffed animals.

Donating blood: Monday, December 11

Andrea gives blood the same day she got the doctor's okay to take off her sling. She asked if they could poke her left arm instead of her newly emancipated right arm since it was ridiculously weak and gimpy.

Cat traditions: Saturday, December 16

Toad paws at Seth's head. The two had a morning tradition where Seth would walk over to Peach's house in the back yard to get the bucket to fill her water bowl and Toad would climb the tree and paw at his head.

Temple: Saturday, December 16

Andrea, Rebekah and Seth pose outside the temple after participating in proxy sealings. 

Date night: Thursday, December 21

Seth and Andrea pose at the river while on a date. We walked around to see the lights after eating dinner.

A good Friday: Friday, December 22

Seth and Winnie pose with the two shirts Seth found (separately) from different thrift stores.

Seth and Toad relax on the porch swing.

Andrea, Ana and Seth pose after completing an escape room in Blackfoot as part of Ana's mommy/daddy/daughter date. We completed the room with time to spare.

Hit and run: Saturday, December 23

Winnie holds up a piece of bumper and points to the place on the tree where a car slid into it and drove off. We never found out who hit the tree.

Dog visit: Tuesday, December 26

Miriam pets Lizzie while visiting at Grandma Susan's house.

Winnie cuddles one of Lizzie's puppies.

Nap: Thursday, December 28

Seth takes a nap on our bed with a myriad of pillows.

Style: Tuesday, January 2

Toad perches on the hood of the Stratus in the front driveway.

Reception: Thursday, January 4

Family selfie at a Mickelsen wedding reception.

Cat loves: Friday, January 5

Rebekah cradles Toad in her arms.

Shop relaxing: Friday, January 12

Seth takes a picture with Peach and Toad in the shop.

Recliner cuddles: Thursday, January 18

Andrea and Winnie take a selfie in the living room while Winnie snacks on apple slices.

Cinnamon rolls: Sunday, January 21

Ana puts copious amounts of raisins on her cinnamon rolls while Winnie reacts.

Tire troubles: Monday, January 22

Toad helps Ana change a tire on the Stratus. The spare ended up being flat and unable to hold air, so we can to take it off and haul two tires in to Les Schwab.

Puppy love: Friday, January 26

Winnie holds Taco, one of Lizzie's puppies. Grandma and Grandpa decided to keep Taco until someone wanted one of the male chocolate labs and Taco was the last one. They kept a black female instead.

Quick trip to Utah: Saturday, January 27

Andrea takes a nap on the way to her uncle Ross' funeral in South Jordan, Utah.

Class: Tuesday, February 6

Andrea takes a selfie during a break in her class at Sandcreek Middle School. I took a one-credit class through the district in order to finish my teacher recertification. 

Style: Friday, February 9

Andrea and Seth pose in The Smoked Taco, a restaurant in Lehi that's owned by the husband of Andrea's college roommate. We ate at the restaurant while in Utah for Ana's ballroom competition.

Late Christmas present: Saturday, February 10

Seth poses with the church socks the girls helped to pick out for his Christmas. One or the was consistently out of stock until after Christmas, so I ordered them after the holiday.

Cats and dogs: Friday, February 16

Seth poses with a mastiff outside of Bargain Hunters Bin Store. He was impressed with the size of the pet.

Andrea cuddles with Toad in the shop after helping to judge National History Day papers at Praxium.

 

Prayer time: Tuesday, February 20

Winnie sits on Seth's back as the family prepares for prayer.

Another T-shirt quilt: Wednesday, February 21

The T-shirt quilt Andrea made for the Bonneville ballroom fundraiser silent auction. It sold for $400.

Day date: Friday, February 23

Andrea and Seth at Lava Hot Springs. We spent two hours soaking and then went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Lava before driving home.

Couch cuddles: Sunday, February 25

Seth and Ana cuddle on the couch at Anne and Jim's in Rexburg after a family dinner.

Quick Utah trip: Friday, March 8-Saturday, March 9

Andrea and Rebekah eat grocery store sushi and watch the first half of Amadeus in a hotel room in Lehi. We were in Utah for a Nauvoo missionary meeting and rehearsal the next day.

Andrea outside the Saratoga Springs Temple after attending a session while Rebekah attends her missionary meeting.

Boglin: Sunday, March 10

Winnie uses Seth's boglin to make a funny face.

Puppy time: Thursday, March 14

Lizzie licks Seth's head while he visits his parents.

Lizzie tries to sit on Ana's face while the family spends time with puppies.