Catching Up

I've fallen behind and have been wanting to post about alot of things. I've picked piano and wool covers for tonight.

Isabelle went to a Suzuki Piano Workshop in San Marcos last weekend. As always, she had a blast. I wasn't able to take pictures and videos like last year. I had my hands full with Veronica. ;-) But Craig did manage to take some pictures of her recital. Next year, I hope to record the entire recital. Its neat to see the same kids improve with every year.

Isabelle played Cradle Song by C.M.Von Weber from Book 2. She did a wonderful job and I'm so proud of her.

Isabelle waiting for her turn on stage.

Playing Cradle Song.

Her final bow.

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I'm embarrassed how long overdue this post is ........ Angoraknitter, THANK YOU so much for the beautiful wool covers and hand made dress!! Your wool covers are my absolute favorites to put on Veronica. They are so beautiful, soft and amazingly hard working. I'll admit, I was very sceptical about wool covers but you've sold me!!! They are the first ones I reach for everyday.

Here's a picture just for you. These ones are my favorite:

As soon as she grows into her dress, I'll take a picture for you.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Isabelle practicing piano

Here's a short video from Isabelle's piano practice this morning. She first plays "Happy Farmer" followed by "A Short Story." Ever since she started playing piano, back in the 1st grade, she's always loved and looked forward to the day she could play "Happy Farmer."

Her piano teacher likes to joke that Isabelle's rendition should be called the "Hurried Farmer" because she tends to play at warp speed. Her teacher affectionately calls Belle her stallion because its really hard to slow down her "enthusiastic" piano playing.

In fact, a few weeks ago her teacher played the "Happy Farmer" VERY FAST!!! She had Isabelle imagine this poor little farmer who was being pulled by his horse and dropping seeds everywhere and not doing as good a job as he could. She was screaming like a crazy farmer the whole time she played it. Isabelle was laughing so hard she almost had tears!! It made an impression and she has slowed down ....... somewhat. ;-/ ENJOY!!

*Remember, this is just a practice session and not a polished performance. Belle wanted me to add that.

Birthday Girl Practicing Piano

Here's Isabelle practicing Ecossaise and Short Story from the piano Suzuki Book 2.

Suzuki Piano Workshop 2008

This past weekend we drove to San Marcos for the annual Suzuki Piano Workshop. Each day the girls had a master lesson with a Master Suzuki Piano teacher. They each took a drumming class, eurhythmics, Music in Motion dancing, a recital performance, observed the master teachers perform and attended the chamber orchestra recital. It was a very busy but enjoyable weekend. This is Isabelle's 3rd year and Anna's 2nd year attending. They always fly in the same teachers every year so the girls have become close to their teachers. Their favorite class every year is Eurythmics.

Here are some video clips from Anna's favorite class, Eurhythmics, Isabelle's recital performance, and their dance class. My favorite part, besides watching Isabelle play (Anna was too anxious to perform) was listening to the master teachers perform. Eight teachers in all, most with their Ph.D's in music performance, made for a very exciting recital!!! Unfortunately, my camera died or I would have recorded them too!!

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Here is Anna's class singing along with their teacher, David Brown.

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Here they are working on learning note values. Prior to the flashcards, they were going around the room. If he played half notes they took slow giant steps. Quarter notes were walking. Eighth notes were jogging and sixteenth notes were fast running. Dotted eighth notes were skipping. Anna has just finished doing a slow run which is eightteenth notes.

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Below is Isabelle performing "Musette" by Anonymous.

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Finally, here is a clip from their Motion in Music dance class. They were learning various types of dances. This was a very fun class since parents were allowed to participate. I didn't know they'd be helping me exercise over the weekend!!