Daniel's Band Concert

Daniel did a great job at his band concert!  He was supposed to have a solo part, but that got cancelled, unfortunately.  Oh well, maybe another time.  I am so proud of him for learning a new instrument this year!

Christmas Concerto

Daniel and Grandma

Daniel with Mom and Dad

Great job, Daniel!

Christine's Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday!  We had already celebrated by going to dinner and a play last week, so this week was a bonus.  When I came downstairs this morning, I saw my gift from the kids.  They had written "All the things we love about Mom..." on little sticky notes and they were on the kitchen counter and spelled out "I 'Heart' U."  It was Emily's idea.  I noticed them being sneaky last night, but they wouldn't tell me what was going on.  Now I know why!

I went in to work for a little bit, and then Michael took me to lunch.  

Daniel had his band concert tonight.  He did a great job!  

After the band concert, we went to dinner at Olive Garden--one of  my favorites!  

Once we got home, we had cookie cake and I opened my presents: a blouse, cardigan, and dress.  I loved them all!  We had a good laugh at the cookie cakes, because the cake decorator wasn't there when Michael got them.  The one on the right looks like a serial killer wrote it, lol!

I feel so blessed!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We have had a wonderful weekend!  I definitely have so much to be thankful for!  

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our home.  We ate earlier than usual this year (around noon) because Betsy had to work at 3pm.  It worked out just fine, though.  It gave us more time to sit and relax after the meal (and after clean-up).  Carol, Erin, and Steve and Betsy and Geoff and their family were all there.

I didn't go shopping on Thursday.  I did go on Friday, but not very early.  We left the house around 11am.  Daniel was the only one who didn't want to go with us.  

After shopping, we came back home and got ready for our evening out.  A few months ago, I purchased tickets for us all to go see Annie at the Hale Center Theater.  It was my early birthday present!  

First, we went to dinner at Osaka.  I really like going there, and so do the kids.  

After dinner, we went to the theater.  It's a really neat theater, because there are seats all around the stage and the play takes place in the middle.  We were in the front row!

We had fun getting pictures with the actors after the play.  

The orphans

FDR, Miss Hannigan, Rooster, and Lily

Annie and Daddy Warbucks

On Saturday, we slept in and relaxed in the morning, and then we spent the afternoon decorating the house for Christmas.  I am so glad to have that done early!

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Piano Recital

The kids all did a great job at their piano recital tonight!  They worked very hard practicing their songs, and their hard work paid off!

Jonathan playing "Mr. McGill's Boop Sha Bop"

Daniel playing "Pumpkin Boogie:

Andrew playing "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic

Emily playing "I See the Light" from Tangled

The whole group

The kids and their piano teacher

Great job, kids!

Celine Dion Concert!

Michael and I went to the Supply Side West Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He had some meetings with suppliers, and we walked the show.  We were supposed to fly there, but our flight was cancelled so we had to drive instead.  While we were there, we were able to see the Celine Dion concert!  We were in the front, middle section in row LL, so we were only 12 rows from the front! The seats were amazing! 

This was our view from our seats

Here is what the Colosseum theater looked like

We had our picture taken while we waited for the concert to start

It was a fantastic concert!!  She sounded so amazing, and the orchestra and band and backup singers were excellent. She sang many of her own songs, but also others from artists I don’t know and some from Elvis, etc. 

She also did some talking and told some stories, which was really nice because it made it feel more intimate, even with such a huge audience. I forgot about her song “Love You More,” and I loved that one.

At the end, she said “Goodnight” and I thought she wasn’t going to sing “My Heart Will Go On.” Thankfully, she came back out to sing it and it was fantastic. She was lifted into the air and there was a circle of rain around her that was so cool. 

I am so glad I got to see her in concert! It was an amazing experience!!

Evening of Excellence

Emily had her Young Women's Evening of Excellence tonight.  She spent 10 hours working on Family History.  Some of that time was on her own and some was with Mom's help.  Here she is with a display of some of her ancestors.

Great job, Emily!