The Wedding...

I have mentioned in the last several entries that we went to Utah for my brother's wedding. It was so much fun to be with my family. Between my 5 brothers and sisters and my parents, we live in 6 different states, ranging from Virginia to Idaho, so it was wonderful that my siblings, their spouses, and kids were almost all together (my sister's husband and daughter could not come).

Annabelle has a cousin who's about the same age and they had a blast playing together, and towards the end of our visit, Jillian was even starting to branch out a bit and let someone other than me hold her.

There were many festivities leading up to the day of the wedding, all of which were very fun and I could blog about them, but I think would probably bore all of my readers, so I'll just focus on the wedding day. I didn't get a good picture of just the bride and groom, but let me tell you, the bride was absolutely stunning and my brother couldn't have looked happier.
The wedding was in the morning, followed by a really nice lunch, and an amazing reception. It was really a day jam packed with celebration, and by the end, we were absolutely exhausted. I think Jillian got a total of about 35 minutes of sleep during the whole day and the day went from about 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. But I am so happy that my brother married such a wonderful woman. Welcome to the family, Hillary.Here is a picture of me and my siblings the night before my brother got married. As you can see, we have a blast when we get together.
All of my brothers are now married and here is a picture of me, my sisters, sister-in-laws, and mom.

Easter

We spent Easter in Utah. Since my brother was getting married a few days later, almost everyone in my family had come to Utah and it was so fun to celebrate Easter with them. We had a most spectacular meal and then came to anticipated Easter egg hunt. Annabelle had been talking of nothing else for days. She was so excited, and even Jillian had a blast walking around finding eggs. My girls looked so cute in their Easter dresses.

BYU Folk Dance Team

My younger sister is amazing. She has been dancing since the age of 5 and is so good. She just finished her freshmen year at BYU and made the BYU Folk Dance team. They learn dances from all around the world and perform all around the world. Currently, her team is traveling to different schools in Utah and doing short performances for the kids.

Last week when I went to Utah for my brother's wedding, I was able to attend a couple of her shows and they were AMAZING! Here are some pictures. I also got several videos. This first one is of American clogging.

Here a Peruvian dance.

This one is of the guys doing and Indian dance.

Piano Recital

The night before I left for Utah, I had a recital for my piano students. It turned out really well and I was so pleased with all of my kids. They each played so well. I meant to take more pictures and videos but of course I was too preoccupied to do so. Anyway, here are a few pictures.
I decided to participate in the recital as well by playing one of my favorite songs. I've been trying to learn it for a long time now and I finally decided that if I was ever going to really know it, I had to give myself a deadline. Once I decided that I would play it at the recital, there was no going back and for some reason, I had an easier time of learning it. The night of the recital, I brought the camera, but forgot to tell Michael to record me playing it. So I recorded it a few days later at my grandma's house in Utah while I was there visiting. I played it better at the recital, but oh well. So here it is, Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor.

Folding arms

In the last two weeks, there has been so much going on that I haven't had time to update my blog, so forgive me, but I'm going to play catch up over the next several days. I just returned from Utah for my brother's wedding and have tons of pictures from my trip, but I first have to put on a video of Jillian. She now knows how to fold her arms. She does almost every time we have a prayer, but of course, she only stays in that position for a few seconds. But it's so cute. See for yourself.

Going gray in my mid 20's

If the next time you see me I have gray hair, here's why:
Yes, that's my piano on the back of that trailer. I'm having a piano recital for my students tomorrow night. That in itself would be stressful enough to make me go gray if you add to it that the following morning, I'm driving by myself with the kids to Utah for just over a week and am trying to clean the house and pack in addition to preparing for the recital.

All that I can handle if those are the only things going on. But here's the thing. My house isn't big enough to have a recital for 10 students and their families, but Michael's office is absolutely perfect. There is a huge conference room that offers enough room for everyone, plus it's just a gorgeous office. The only problem is there's no piano at the office. So what's the solution? Transport my piano to the office of course. Wait, transport what?! Now hold on. If anything happens to my piano, I would have a serious meltdown, and I don't have meltdowns.
We were very fortunate to have a few guys offer to help move it to the office and back, and another guy offered us the use of his trailer. So moving it should be no big deal, right? Well now add a few negative factors to the equation. The trailer is not covered, which wouldn't be a problem except that it was raining last night at the appointed moving time.

From the time they left my house to Michael's return was pure agony for me. I kept waiting for the phone call from Michael saying the piano had come off the back of the trailer while they were driving or something. In the end, all went as well as could be expected. The piano is now waiting in the conference room unscathed (or at least that's what Michael told me). Now I don't have to worry again until it's time to move it back home.

Music Festival

It's been forever since I blogged. How is it that to me it seems like only one day has passed, but in truth it's been like a week. Our family has been so busy in the last few weeks and it's only going to continue.

Last weekend, I had six of my students participate in a music festival. For the past almost two months, they have been working so hard on memorizing two pieces and learning difficult scales and theory. I know they are all relieved that it's over, and I must admit, I am as well. My students all did so well too. They scored between a 97 and 99 (out of a possible 100 points). All ten of my students will be be playing in a recital this Friday night. I love seeing all of them together and hearing them perform.

Friday night, Michael and I went bowling with a few other couples. I am a terrible bowler, but I still really enjoy it. In the past, my bowling scores usually range anywhere from 50 to 70. That night, however, I bowled an 81! I was so excited. But the real highlight of the night was watching Michael bowl. He's an okay bowler, who usually gets a decent score. This time, he was on fire. He came out swinging, bowling a strike for the first two frames followed by a spare. During the entire ten frames, he bowled six strikes and three spares, giving him a score of 168. It was awesome to see him doing so well. And of course, being the gentleman that he is, he downplayed his score and praised my 81 points. What a great guy I married.