May The Fourth Be With You

For the first time ever, our family celebrated Star Wars on May fourth. We dressed up Ramona as Princess Leia, Mika as Rey of Jakku, Paula as Padme Amadala (warrior edition). Rey and Leia rode the bus to school that day after practicing their piano.

After school, their weapons of choice were water guns and sticks from the backyard.

In the evening, we watched about half of "The Last Jedi." I think we finished the rest of it the next day. Ramona's Rey doll sat and watched with us, too.

I would have loved to dress Wylie up as a little Yoda or Darth Vader. Maybe another time.

I love how Star Wars turned out to be such a unifying force in our family. Any story that helps pile all our kids onto the same couch and plays a soundtrack by John Williams seems alright with me.

Sam-Packed Saturday

Aunt Christie had a conference in Denver at the end of April, and brought Uncle Dan and baby June with her. We still had not met baby June, and who knows when was the last time we saw and Dan Christie? So that Saturday, we drove down to meet them for lunch and a stroll around the city.

We went to Sam's No. 3.

A balloon artist handed Mika a flower as we were walking down the sidewalk.

On the way home, we took naps in the car and stopped at Culver's for ice cream.

After that, we had my orchestra's annual potluck/meeting in Loveland. It was my idea to get it partially catered, which turned out to be a good idea, but of course then it fell on Forest to pick up the food (in addition to supervising children during the meeting). Thank you, Love.

It was a little jam-packed, but not a bad Saturday for the Dixons.

Dorkestra

For a little over a year now I have served as the secretary for the Loveland Orchestra, and my dear friend Paige has been the president. The 2017-2018 season was our first season as board members, so we had a lot to learn and a lot of volunteer hours to donate (these are unpaid positions, just like our membership as musicians in the orchestra). Let me just say--I had no idea how many logistical details go into maintaining a community orchestra and putting on seven concerts a year.

Here we are after our first concert of the season back in September--the crowd was a little sparse, perhaps in part because we didn't get the ad in the local newspaper, but we sounded great and there were no disasters.

In February was our fourth annual (and hopefully final) fundraiser gala. Again, I was a little naive about the amount of time required to organize an event like this. It was educational, successful, and completely took over my life. So many things were put on my proverbial back burner during the weeks leading up to February 3, I still shudder at the word "gala."

The crazy look in my eyes has visibly increased in the selfie we took at the gala:

Forest and Ramona came to support me at the fundraiser. They listened to me play music, filled up their plates with food, and won a couple of raffle prizes. During the silent auction, they also let me bid on a student viola, which I ended up taking home.

Ramona's raffle prizes

Our March concert was the highlight of the season for me. We got to play Brahms Symphony No. 4, which I fell in love with at one point, and it still pulls at my heart strings. Our orchestra performed it about five years ago, but this rendition was so much more gratifying to play. The group as a whole sounds much more refined, and the accuracy of my personal playing has also improved, so it was a much more fulfilling experience to present on stage. 

If Louie and I are still here in five years, he promised we could play it again.

Here we are at our final concert, at the end of April. Probably still feeling a little crazy, but so relieved to have that first season behind us with no major catastrophes. 

We presented Louie with an embroidered fleece marking the end of his 15th season as our director. Congrats, Maestro, and congrats Madame President on a fantastic season under your leadership!

We started up our next season a couple of weeks ago, and at the first rehearsal Louie asked everyone to share why they played in the orchestra as they introduced themselves. I have thinking about this a lot, and here are a few reasons why I play:

1) I grew up having a love/hate relationship with orchestra. Love won.

2) Life is better when you find moments to make something beautiful--including beautiful music.

3) Making music is a privilege that elevates my existence in a truly unique way. There is almost something ethereal about the process that makes me wonder if I attempted something similar before this life. 

In the moment, as I stood to introduce myself, this was the reason I gave:

For me and my cello, this is home.

Nine is Super Fine

Nine years I've had this lovely child to call my own. Her birthday went something like this:

French toast for breakfast

Dressed for school

A pile of gifts prepped for her arrival:

This one was from Wylie. He gave it his signature scribble:

This is a dolphin painting I attempted in acrylic:

Her birthday cake waiting for her in the kitchen:

Party favors for some friends who joined us for dinner at Chick-Fil-A:

After dinner she finally got to open gifts:

A necklace from Grandma:

A beanie boo turtle from Paula:

A 3D coloring kit from Mika:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A 12-inch Rey doll

Shoes!

A Monster High doll from Wylie:

A dolphin mood necklace:

A jewelry box from Jii and Baachan:

A dolphin lamp:

More shoes!

A tiny Beanie Boo:

Legos:

Time for cake:

Dear Ramona,

   Being your mother has taught me more than any other experience I have had in this life. It's not always easy--and, as you know, there is an additional learning curve for first born children--but it is so rewarding.

   You are such a fun sister to your siblings, always finding new ways to entertain. Often you pause to  comfort them when they are sad. At school, you are a fantastic student and loyal friend. You are thorough, meticulous, and observant.

   Another character trait that has blossomed in you this year is perseverance. Although you've always shown persistence in accomplishing your goals, this year you are learning to overcome discouragement, frustration, and anxiety as you develop various skills. This summer, you finished a challenging session of tennis classes despite wanting to quit several times. I know it took a lot of effort, but you came out of it with remarkable poise. 

   You've stopped asking to quit the piano--perhaps because you know I won't let you, but also because you've gained enough proficiency to recognize how practice pays off. Your musicianship has improved so much, we dusted off a half-size violin from the basement and you've been plucking away. (We'll put the bow on the strings soon, I promise). 

   I'm so proud of you, Ramona! I hope you're proud of you, too.

Love,

Mommy