June Blur, Chapter 1: Utah

We spent our first week of June in the West to visit family. It began on Monday (technically still May) with a short Memorial Day hike in the mountains.

Parry gave Ramona her first Red Vine . . .


. . . which we had to pry away from her, despite her protests, by the time her face looked something like this:







Not Pictured: Ramona comes down with a fever after the hike, and sleeps the rest of the day

Tuesday: Ramona meets Great-Grandma Thomas


. . . and Ivy reunites with forever friend Jessica
Ramona meets her beautiful daughters, Elise . . .
. . . and Greta



Wednesday: Ramona cuts two new teeth and Ivy catches her fever

Thursday: A whole day with Cousin Aubrey



Friday: Roses on Temple Square

Ramona's photoshoot with Aunt Maria



More fun at the park, thanks to Uncle Josh


Can you see the rainbow?
Saturday: Donut Falls Hike





Another park play date with Cousin Aubrey







Cousin Connor, Aunt Crissy, and Uncle Kevin keeping cool in the shade

Sunday: Church and group photo

one, two, THREE!

"Three" seems to be Ramona's favorite number as of late...and appropriately so. Yesterday was Forest's and my third wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone?

As a side note, I do not take responsibility for the fact that, in this video, Ramona is wearing her clothing backwards.

Cello for the Forest

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by a friend to participate in a photo shoot at Allerton Park. She positioned a chair at various points along a forest trail and had me sit there and play while she whipped out her camera and created (hopefully) the images she was looking for. Below are some samples of her work, more of which can be found at http://jenikaslens.com/?p=973.




Last night I was privileged to play in a very different setting--on a small stage with a new community orchestra called the United Orchestra of Urbana. Although it was the group's first performance, it will likely be my last time playing with them, as our time in Urbana is steadily drawing to a close. Because this is the place where I acquired much of my learning and love for music, it was especially meaningful to be part of one final orchestra concert with some familiar faces, and to know that, as always, Forest was in the audience, listening.

Squeezing the most out of St. Louis

What we saw, heard, and tasted on Tuesday:

Living, learning, and packing it all in

Life has a lot to do with change, and change has a lot to do with learning. Learning, at times, has a little something to do with coursework and books, as it did for me this semester.
Coursework:
MUS 527: Classical Performance Practice
MUS 560: String Literature

Books:
Over 20 books checked out from the University of Illinois and other libraries

Results:
-a 17 page paper on stringed instrument fingerings of the late 18th and early 19th centuries
-a 15 minute presentation on the development of cello fingerings
-a 20 minute presentation on Heitor Villa-Lobos, with excerpts performed from his works for cello and piano
-7 graduate credits towards a Master of music education
-increased confidence in teaching classical era repertoire
-motivation to practice
-a renewed appreciation for Franz Schubert
-undying gratitude for Jana, who cared from Ramona almost every hour I was in class

With those two classes completed and that stack of books slowly being returned to the library, I have begun focusing my attention on other subjects. At the moment, I am particularly interested in the methodology behind packing an apartment into boxes while simultaneously packing those boxes into that same apartment.

Cello Farewell-O

This past weekend I pulled together a final cello recital for my current students.

I used to be taller than Andrew, Sebastian, and Aidan. Aurelia is catching up to me, too. My, how they've grown.
I kind of wish their families could move to Iowa with me, too.

Sweet Iowa Home

The house hunt is over.

We took a quick trip to Cedar Rapids this week to look at some houses and neighborhoods. Parry drove the entire way, Teresa shared helpful observations, and both of them provided Ramona with ample attention when Forest and I were occupied with the seemingly enormous process of home ownership.

Although it was only my second time in Cedar Rapids, it is gradually beginning to feel like home. And now we actually have a specific structure within that city to call our home: a raised ranch with four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a fenced yard, fantastic counterspace in the kitchen, and its very own washer and dryer.