Okay, peeps.
Time for some catch-up posts!
This one is all about Chica and her Fine Arts activities of the past week!
As most of you know, my eldest has always been a happy little songbird, enjoying choir from a young age. Additionally, she picked up violin in 5th grade, and has been on an orchestra path ever since.
The duel Choir/Orchestra commitment has always been an overload of music--but, mostly, a happy one for our girl (unless, of course, the homework load is insane on any given week, and then it's tricky to add in those violin practice minutes, but she manages!).
But it's such a joy to see all that she has learned and accomplished on both fronts in the past 3-4 years--and this past week involved a lot for her to showcase!
First, she had the annual Evening With Strings concert that involves hundreds of students--from beginning 5th grader orchestra kiddos, all the way through High School. It's always wild to see how far they come from that very first year, plucking the strings, to mini adults with a huge proficiency range!
It's always wild to see the social confidence build. I can remember the first year or two of this specific concert, when Chica would arrive all anxious and self-conscious. But, now, she's golden!
I have pics of Chica and her closest buddy from every year they've participated in this concert, and it's so wild and wonderful to see how much they've grown!
Please note in the above pic: Chica's jeans were nearly too long for her when we purchased them nine months ago, and now, they're high waters! ha.
After this particular concert, we went for an impromptu dinner with the friend above and her sister and parents. I'm super close to the mother, and we love any excuse for a hangout--and all five of our kiddos gel so well, together. It was a really lovely, happy night--especially amidst a lot of commitments and craziness.
Then we had a Thursday reprieve before toggling over to a big Orchestra commitment--a morning competition at a gorgeous theater downtown, before an afternoon at Sea World!
There are 42 kiddos in Chica's Honors Symphony group, and it's such a beautiful thing to see them all together in both casual and formal circumstances. There were a lot of moving parts to the competition portion of the event, so I was happy to lend a helping hand as a chaperone. Plus, the group received all superior ratings for their competition, which made the day extra lively!
All these girlies have been with Chica in class for years, and it's also fantastic to see how they keep growing and growing!
It's also really fun to see how that growth equates to a bit more earned independence. I've chaperoned this competition/field trip for the past three years, and it was really fun to experience this particular round, where a handful of us adults were much less stressed about tracking the kiddos.
In fact, we kept a tail on them for a decent portion of the fun, but loosened our oversight just a bit to allow them some small stretches of park time unchaperoned--as long as we knew where they were and could track them via text. It made for a much more tolerable day! Plus, we had cloud cover, which was such a blessing!
Unfortunately, because these types of intense commitment weeks tend to cluster...Chica and I wrapped that really long day, making it home by 6 p.m., right as the hubby was shuffling Little Man and Chicklet to the annual elementary school Carnival! Another fun right of passage.
Then, after a short night, it was another early (Saturday) morning to get Chica to the High School for an all-day practice session for the Regionals Choir group she auditioned for and made it in to! Woohoo!
She was a bit anxious about the day, not knowing what all it would entail, but she ended up with a fantastic session leader/director who she adored! This woman was funny and engaging and professional; a positive experience for Chica, hands down. Whew! So positive, in fact, that Chica willingly signed up for a short Summer Camp choir session that involves this same director. All. Good. Things.
It was so wonderful to see so many accomplished vocalists perform together! The talent is expanding, for sure! Considering the months of rehearsals Chica attended before auditioning and securing a spot, it was definitely cause for celebration!
And what better way to celebrate a trio of Fine Arts performances than a special trip to Kendra Scott. :)
It's always been a tradition of mine to gift my kiddos something tiny for their school performances and events. Just something to let them know that I see their dedication and work and I'm proud of them.
This past week, however, there was very little time to shop around for something small, so instead, Chica and I just made a quick jaunt to the fun shopping center so she could build herself a pair of earrings--purple, of course (technically, opal amethyst or something like that name for the stone).
She was definitely riding high from several days of challenging performances, and it was nice to pay tribute to that with a pair of earrings that made her smile so much.
With standardized state testing well underway (in fact, Chica is literally in the midst of her Social Studies STAAR testing, as we speak), life has definitely been chaotic. We're in the homestretch of commitments and performances and ceremonies and tests to close out the school year, and it's all go, go, GO!
But...there are so many beautiful things to celebrate, and we're going to do our best to enjoy each and every opportunity!
Okay...more catch-up posts as I able!
Happy Thursday, peeps!
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