Happy Friday Wednesday! Due to Holy Week, I'm wrapping up this week early and I'll see you all on the flip side of Easter.
Brendan went to his first piano competition up near Boston last Saturday. He's been taking lessons for about 7 months, and competed in the 8 and Under - Non Classical division with ten kids total.
Do you see that snow outside? Yup, snow! On April 12!
Brendan was evaluated before he had to compete, and I was allowed to take a video of that:
Here he is with his teacher after the evaluation:
Then we had to wait for about an hour before his group competed. It took us a few days to find out how he placed, but he got...
First Place!
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| That's my baby! |
Speaking of awards, Eamon won Rookie of the Year for his first (and last) track season:
Maggie went with friends to their high school Spring Fling dance, and yes, I am cutting off the bottoms of their too-short-for-my-taste dresses:
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| Maggie Moo in blue |
Maggie and her classmates had to complete a project for AP Bio to engage animals at the local zoo. Her group built a toy for the seals, where the seal's food (fish) is in the water bottles. I think Maggie's mission trip has really developed her love of power tools:
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| See that cute seal head, checking it out? |
My sister, Sue, sent me this drawing she saw at an ice cream shop near her:
JP has been raving about the "Vodka Pasta" his friend made when they were on vacation, and we asked him to get the recipe from her and then made it ourselves. (Let's be honest, Phil made it as he is the chief chef during the school year). It was very yummy, but a wee bit too rich and the kids thought it too spicy. I will rework the recipe into a lighter, less spicy version and then share it!
Declan's soccer game got cancelled due to the weather (note to future Colleen, spring soccer in New England is not worth it!) but he wouldn't have gone anyway as he broke out in a rash on Friday night, and still has it slightly.
We took him to the doctor and they said it's most likely a viral rash, and he can go to school as long as he doesn't have a fever. He never had a fever with it, but it's itchy when it reappears every five hours between Benadryl doses. Praying it goes away completely soon so he can enjoy the Easter break.
I hope you all have a holy remainder of Lent and a wonderful Easter! I can't wait to sing the A-word song :)
Poor little guy. I remember those random rashes. Congrats to your kids. Why are girls' dresses so short? Maggie with the power tool is inspiring. And Happy and Blessed Easter to the Martins~
ReplyDeleteThe rash is finally totally gone today - wooh! Happy Easter to you and yours as well!
DeleteHa! About the skirts. The dance dresses go through cycles of short and long . I never liked the short skirts my daughters picked, but they looked cute. A few of my girls preferred the long , dramatic, greek goddess/movie star look, which I truly love. And now I'm down to only boys at home, who view dances as evil (at least for now!).
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Eamon and Brendan! Music competitions are hard - and the waiting around never calms the nerves. So props to Brendan for keeping his cool and showing his skill!
Have a safe trip and a Blessed Easter!
I love the long dress trends, but for some reason homecoming and spring fling dances are short. Prom dresses are long but then cutouts, low cut, tight, etc is the issue. It's so hard for teen girls to try and fit in and be modest, I feel for the ones who are actually trying. I need to update the post to add Phil's heart rate while we were waiting for B to compete - nerves indeed!
DeleteDresses these days are SO short!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Eamon and Brendan! Brendan's skill with the piano is so great, especially for only having studied such a short time! Happy Easter to you all.
Thank you! Happy Easter to you as well, and I loved reading your Paris recap :)
DeleteYour kids are such awesome little (and getting bigger) humans! I love their contributions to the arts and sciences. I am BLOWN away by his talent on the piano after such a short amount of time. And what a fun song.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter hates dresses and I have to admit I'm fine with that. Eeks. Everything is so dang short right now. It looks so uncomfortable. Like...how do you sit down without showing EVERYTHING???
His teacher works really hard on their competition song all year, so once they finally compete we actually get to hear new songs - yay! Maggie doesn't particularly love dresses either (she has to wear a skirt with her uniform) but high school dances are all about the dress! The girls are constantly pulling their dresses down and adjusting, there's no way it's comfortable.
DeleteOh and Maggie wears "modesty shorts" (her volleyball shorts) under dresses and skirts :)
DeleteI also love vodka pasta but not spice so I am sure you'll (Phil) will be able to figure it out! So glad all your kids are winners in their own way. Poor Declan and his rash though, what a bummer. Hopefully he's on the mend for tonight and the weekend. I am ready for longer dresses to make a comeback! It's time! Honestly, they're not flattering on anyone because they all look so uncomfortable. 4-6 more inches of fabric and they could all actually have a good time!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I can't believe Brendan is playing that well after less than a year of lessons. That's phenomenal and so cool that he won first place. His sense of rhythm and control is impressive! And his smile as he leaves the bench is just priceless! I finally reached out to a piano teacher that teaches several of my kids' friends to set up lessons for Cece and she has a year-long wait list ... womp womp. But seeing this video makes me even more determined to get Cece into some lessons.
ReplyDeleteThat vodka pasta looks amazing and I'd love the recipe (either the original or the doctored version once you make your modifications!)
Wishing you a blessed and happy Holy Week. I'm about to round up our crew to head out for the Mass of the Last Supper!
Congrats to Brendan. He sounds like he's been studying piano much longer than 7 months. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a Martin child is working hard and seeing great results. He's such a cutey too. Congrats to Eamon too. I hope Declan's rash has subsided by now. So strange. I laughed out loud at the dress photo. We are on the same wave length. Why so short? Why are there cutouts in the prom dresses now? (Curly is a junior so she's not going to prom till next year). Modesty is a battle we are fighting here. The girls are not pleased with us that we don't allow them to wear leggings unless they have a shirt on that hangs low enough to cover their butt. So many fun things in this post - I also love the seal toy building and the Ernie Burt chalkboard is a hoot.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Brendan!!!!! Wow! I played that clip and then had to go back to make sure I read correctly that he has only been taking lessons for 7 months! That's crazy! Congratulations to him!! And happy Easter to you all!
ReplyDeleteI CAN NOT BELIEVE how awesome Brendan is! Oh my sweetness. I'm so impressed!
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