Life Lately

Gather in closely, dear readers, for I have a profound observation to share with you all:

Three and a half weeks can fly by like there's no tomorrow!!!!

You have quite possibly never noticed how a busy schedule can whirl your life away through days, weeks, and months, leaving no time for blogging, little time for picture-snapping, and copious amounts of material for memory-making. The midst of spinning to and fro - this is where friendships are proved, goals are made and met, and where priorities become defined. My past almost-four-weeks have run according to this theme, and I cherish every moment from the decision I was facing in the previous post onward. Now that I finally have a moment's peace, however (although I cannot help but ruefully observe that it doesn't come until nearly midnight on any given day), I am happy to provide the requested "update".

Since May 12th I have...

1. Celebrated a graduation.

*sniff* my li'l bro is all growed up! On May 10th, Ben graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Doesn't he look spiffy?

yes, I know you're distracted by my adorable sunglasses,

but do look at Ben in his boring black robe & funny-yet-impressive

square hat, too.

2) Celebrated a birthday.

Has anyone seen my cane?? My candles read "49," and I was assured this was entirely logical and intentional - not a result of over-estimating my age or having only "4" and "9" candles. Old lady or not, it was a fab birthday, with friends, cake, "The Princess Bride" (thank you, Mr. & Mrs. J, for putting up with me! :p), and a day-before birthday dinner with my parents at a delicious pizza place!

                       dad an' me :)                                                         wood-fired pizza, baked by...Mario??

stinging nettle pizza - call me crazy, but I liked it!

3. Attended an opera!

Pirates of Penzance, to be exact. It was our annual find-something-to-dress-up-for-and-enjoy-an-evening-in-Ptown night. Great singing, great laughs, a fun tramp to a crepe food cart, and dessert at Pix- we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

 the whole gang!

                             besties                                                                       a piece of Portland at sunset

4. Enjoyed Slimification!!

They say it's not a word, but it is. "The are of being slimed," to be precise. While running three miles. And bouncing through obstacles. And slipping down water slides. Pretty much the best race ever. That's all.

 pristinely pre-race

slimey sequels

5. Hosted the "King's Daughters' Tea"

As a final conclusion to our wee girls' Bible study/handwork class, we hosted a tea! Outside, in the sunshine, it was just lovely...breeze blowing, barefoot girls, and fancy dresses: these things are good for the soul. They recited their memory chapter (Psalm 27) for the mums & grandmas, and had their handwork books/pages set out for admiring!

6. Held my Studio Recital!!
These kids...all I can say is they make me proud. Hard work, cheerful souls, beautiful performances - I feel so blessed by each one of these musicians. From the 5-and-a-half-year-old munchkin who proudly played "Mary Had a Little Wolf" to my advanced students whose music swept me away, the recital left me grinning and amazed at the capacity God has placed in these kids to make music. They are so precious to me...

many pictures = enough time to grab a camera and take them

which I didn't have

so I bummed this picture off of dad's phone

and it's all I've got

but aren't they a fabulous-looking gang of music-makers?

7. Made a Trip to Seattle!
Because we could. And we like each other. And the sun was out, and official responsibilities had ended for the summer. So we did! :) Rode the Ferris Wheel right on the water for the first time ~ it was a beautiful view, but my camera informed me that his "batter was exhausted" before I could take any pictures of it! :)

8. Ran Away to the Beach for a Day!
It was cloudy (it always is) but warm-ish and still bright! We picnic-ed, walked to haystack, bought saltwater taffy, patronized the best coffee shop in the world, drank bubble tea, and still made it home in time for Rachel's orchestra rehearsal! :D

everyone knows you bring flowers on your beach picnics, right?

 

 

Besides these 8 things, getting ready for an upcoming trip, raising sponsorship money for a race to benefit Pathways Pregnancy Center (thank you to everyone who contributed!!!!), getting together with friends who have just returned from trips and friends who are about to leave, taking Rachel's graduation pictures, getting a new bookshelf (hooray!!), and starting work at a tea room, I pretty much have just sat around twiddling my thumbs for the last couple weeks. I'm sure you know how that is. Just the story of my life, lately...

Until Monday, dear readers!

Life Lately...

Hello lovelies!

(Hello...hello...hello)

Wait, was than an echo I just heard?

Yes, it's been a while. Poor little blog has been abandoned for far too long, but I'm turning over a new leaf as they begin to fall, and things should look a little more lively around here, now that all beautiful things outside are beginning to die {albeit, beautifully}.
But take that with a grain of salt, 'cause life is crazy.

Anyway, as I madly edit pictures and put together posts from Europe {which will appear here by the end of the month - hooray!}, life has continued to fly by, in that predictable, frantic style of summer happenings. What has been keeping me busy since my feet returned to Battle Ground soil nearly two months ago? Yes. I know. This question has stalked your days and haunted your nights, so in the name of community service, I have set out this morning to bring peace to your tormented minds. {In other words, by many words, I seek to eliminate the echo of words, since this blog-journal of my words has been lacking in any words.}

1. Deiter 100!
Styled after "The Amazing Race" {of which I know nothing...}, in celebration of their collective ages being 100, the Deiters hosted an all-day event of clues and scavenger hunts which immediately set the bar high for "fun things to do" in the month of August! Each team was encouraged to dress...like a team, and the team of yours truly tied for the prize!

The other winning team: Snow White, Prince, & 7 dwarves!

2. Clark County Fair!
Free pancake breakfast on opening morning, sheep shows, judging, auctioning, and fun...and one late night of bright lights, high rides, and elephant ears. We love our county fair!

3. Cleared-Out Room!
As soon as I got back to my room, after two months of living out of a backpack, I knew it was time to get rid of some things. Armloads of clothes, knick-knacks, etc, exited en mass. The only thing I couldn't let go of? My books, of course! In true all-or-nothing style, I pulled out & re-organized all 235 of them. And, as I had another one on the way in the mail, sternly instructed myself to go easy on the book-buying. I mean, some are in boxes in my closet, some arranged neatly under my bed, and all my bookshelves sagging. Fate was against me, though, because two days later...

Some of the mess... :)

4. Girls' Day in Ptown!!
Ahh, it was lovely. Tea lattes, Anthro, Salt & Straw ice cream {like...yums}, and...the infamous Powell's Bookstore. I'm afraid to say my resolve evaporated the minute I walked through the doors. I came away with *ahem* 3 books ~ but oh, such books!! :)

5. Music on the Lawn!
Being gone for 2 months during the summer sounds like a prime opportunity for "while the cat's away, the mice play" in studio~land. Of course, I wanted my wonderful violinists & pianists to have a bit of a break, but I also needed some sort of incentive for them to touch & play their instruments over the summer. The answer was: give them a piece to learn, on their own, for a performance. But it's summer. We didn't want a formal deal with dressing up, solemn concert hall, etc. So we hooked up a sound system, pulled out the keyboard, threw down some picnic blankets, and had a whole gang of people bring & eat their picnic dinners, while being serenaded by some great music! :) After supper & music, we cleared up, set up the volleyball net, and played until dark {and a little beyond}.

They gave me a super "sweet" card, that they all had signed!! :)

6. Family Camp!

Don't get me started. Family Camp is The. Best. Weekend. of the year. Hands-down. Volleyball, soccer, Frisbee, talent night, game tournaments, campfire singing, baptisms ~ this fun is nothing to the fellowship with wonderful brothers & sisters. I was even more grateful for my wonderful church family this year, after being away from them for 2 months. {Now we just need Jesse and Nathan to come home!}

 

7. Sunriver!
Our annual family vacation spot: Sunriver, OR! The last two years were the first years we hadn't gone since Ems was born (19 years ago), so we were ecstatic to return to the high desert, pine trees, and endless bike trails! G'ma and G'pa came this year, and it was a lovely, too-short, 5 days.

2013 Christmas Picture??

Megs & I during a biking break!

Beautiful Benham Falls

Deschutes River!

It's been a busy summer! So fun-filled and beautiful, it makes me ready to jump into schedules with extra gusto!

How was your summer??

You Know You're A Music Teacher When...

Photo Credit.

...you discover that you knock "Mississippi Stop-Stop" on front doors...

...you find yourself jumping up and shattering glass with "hooray!" when you've heard a difficult passage three times in a row perfectly...

...your music case has officially turned into an entertainment bag: bouncy balls, stickers, colored pens, 18-sided die, and "little friends" Cocoa, Alice, Plum, and Chippy...

...you can turn ANYTHING into a technique analogy - including the strawberry jello brain someone once brought to science class...

...every week, over 20 children march in your door, walk into your music room, and wrap your heart around their little fingers...

I.

LOVE.

TEACHING.

Period. End of story.

Pre-Recital Jitters

This morning at 8:45:

*phone ringing*

"Hello, this is Sarah."

"Hi."

"Hi! Who is this?"

"Johnny."

"Hey Johnny, how're you doing?"

"Good....I have a couple questions about the recital."

"Ok, what's up?"

"Do I have to play my arpeggios for the recital?"

"No, you are just playing 'God is so Good'."

"Good, so I don't have to play my scales or anything?"

"Nope, just the one song."

*gasp of relief* "Good - goodbye!!"

"Bye. See you this evening!"

So cute! I remember asking those types of questions... :)

PhotoCredit

Why I Missed My Monday Post

My spare moments have been rather preoccupied with this...

and this...

and, most especially, this:

So much to be done! Count me as a stranger to blogland until after Friday. See you then!