I'm going to have to do this a bit differently

SO, I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to be able to blog the whole trip and then get back to our everyday life.  If I do that, I'll miss all the cool stuff happening to the kids right here and now.  Looks like it's going to take me til' Christmas to finish blogging our big trip, so I'll be dividing my posts between the trip and current happenings.  I have a feeling that the descriptive explanations of what we did each day on our trip will get less and less descriptive...bummer!  I have to go with the 'something is better than nothing' approach.

This weekend, Gregory and Jacob got their first taste of playing in an orchestra setting.  The group they auditioned into in May, Albuquerque Junior Orchestra, organized a weekend rehearsal at a music camp about 60 miles away. AJO and AJS shared the camp and in just 24 hours they touched on each of the 6 pieces they will be playing this season.  160 kids, 160 instruments, music stands, some rain, a night hike to a waterfall (thank you flashlights) and numerous hours blowing their lips off= a new appreciation for what it means to be a musician!  We are so very proud of them and it is so gratifying to see them enjoying the same environment I did so many years ago.  I even saw the gentleman that conducted the youth orchestra when I was in it and he seemed to actually remember me...sorta!

We dropped them off around 10am Saturday and then took E, L and L to a picnic area close by.  We had Parker with us and was he very happy to sniff and roam and sniff some more!  After we ate our picnic lunch, we walked to the river to let the kids get their feet wet and wade in the water.  Yeah, right....who am I kidding and whose kids am I talking about?  When it comes to water, there is no 'just get your feet wet'.  It was time to roll up the shorts and get wet.  Parker loved the idea too.  Usually, the water is really clear, but since there have been a couple major forest  fires nearby, once the monsoons hit, the rain washed large amounts of ash down into the river.  Still fun to wade in, not so great to swim in.

 Eric was pretty sweet...he headed back across to help Laurel.  Permanent evidence that he can be a considerate big brother!

Say cheese river monkeys!

 By the time the adventure was over, all three had very soggy shorts and they opted to dry off as much as possible and ride home short less.  Better them than me!

We headed back to Hummingbird today to pick them up.  Before they were all dismissed, parents were treated to an open rehearsal.  It was so fun to hear just how much they learned in only 24 hours!! 

 This weekend signaled the end of summer and the beginning of what is surely going to be a crazy fall.  The boys have AJO rehearsal every Saturday...robotics, scouts, soccer games....look out crazy, here we come!