Maine trip report - Day 7

Our week toodling around New England came to an end, so we headed back to NEC to watch Geo's final concert. Then it was time to head home to our landlocked state. At least we caught some (illegal) fireworks on our drive home.

Chamber music camp

Geo spent the past week learning two movements of the Tchaikovsky string quartet. Here is the final performance.

All that jazz

Geo had another jazz recital and had a solo in Red Clay.

Spring drum recital

Geo played Downupbeat by a Japanese fusion group called Casiopea.

Jazzercise

Geo has been playing drums in a jazz ensemble this past fall and had his final performance today.

Beaver Creek

Geo attended Suzuki camp in Beaver Creek and was part of a cello chamber ensemble. Of course, we brought Snoopy and Buh along for some mountain fun.

 Here is a link to his performance.

Three recitals in three days

On Saturday, M and D had a chamber recital. They played Stand By Me (D's chance to shine on double bass) and It Takes Two (a tango) with their string quintet.

On Sunday, M and Geo had a duet recital and played Sarabande by Carl Bohm.

On Monday, Geo will have his last FRYS concert of the year.

Geo is angling for a full-sized cello because he shot up in height the last few months. M is in denial and wore heels to the recital, but Geo in his sneakers was still taller. 😑

Quick updates

1) H got an "academic letter" for having good grades. It is supposed to be a big honor but we all think it's a bit cringe since letters are for sports.

2) H's teacher said he scored in the top 90% of the national German exam. We think she means top 10%.

3) Geo played in his Stringathon and reached level 10 again. He is going to be trying out for high school orchestra soon and complains constantly about having to practice his scales and audition piece.

4) G and D have been doing some classes at Swallow Hill and have a performance tomorrow. G is doing drums and D is doing bass. D and M are in a chamber music group, too. G and M are going to play a cello/violin duet at her spring recital.

5) H started track and is going to be running middle distance.

Are you tired reading all of this? You should be, because this is all so exhausting and we can't wait for spring break.

Drum recital

Geo did great as usual, this time playing to Girl from Ipanema. He gravitates toward the classics while the other kids favor modern songs. Probably D's old-fashioned taste has rubbed off on him. Both Snoopy and Sherlock made appearances.

Winter concert

Geo played two concerts with his school orchestras on Monday. He plays in the all-district orchestra concert in January and has a busy concert schedule in the spring. Not to mention his drum recital on Friday.

FRYS Fall Concert

Geo looks like a waiter but is in concert garb. He looked particularly dapper in his father's hat.

Fall is in the air

That means the animals are wearing hoodies and scarves and playing with pumpkins.

Oh, and the humans are having concerts.

(Geo trying not to laugh when seeing me dab on him.)

Chicago Shenanigans

M took Geo on a road trip to Chicago for a chamber music camp. Along with his new cello, we took Snoopy, Buh, and a new addition to our plushy family, Sharky Joe, who hails from the Florida Keys. 

Geo had fun learning to play chamber music with a string quartet. 

M explored Evanston, which is a nice college town.

Geo and M (and Buh) also worked on a tricky puzzle.

We mostly ate stuff from Whole Foods but tried some local restaurants.

We had a lovely penthouse suite at the Hyatt House, which cost more than our mortgage but afforded us a fantastic view of the fireworks on the 4th of July.

The week ended with a fantastic finale concert. Geo is going to Portland for two weeks and D is flying to Chicago to drive M home. The summer is halfway over but there are still some more adventures to come.

Whole Lotta Love

Geo played some Led Zeppelin at his drum recital, while everyone else was doing Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift songs. He also smuggled Snoopy into the recital. Unfortunately, his teacher gave Snoopy a shoutout but called him a whale. 😭

Albuquerque trip

Whenever we are going south on I-25, Geo says we should keep going because he wants to eat at Slice Parlor in Albuquerque, a pizza restaurant close to our old house. So we made it happen. Ostensibly, we were buying new instruments at Robertson's, but it was all an elaborate and expensive scheme to eat at Slice Parlor. 

We ended up staying in the same hotel as we did in 2017 when Geo fell and hit his head on the fireplace, necessitating three layers of stitches. 

Buh enjoyed coming back to his home state. He is showing off Geo's new cello case. 

FRYS winter concert

Geo did great as usual. Afterward, we went to Five Guys for an overpriced dinner. (M never lets us go there unless someone has a recital or other special event because she is so stingy.)

Geo's Cajon recital

Geo played his new cajon (Rancho Jubilee) and demonstrated some special effects. Only one more musical performance this year (M and D are going to play in an informal holiday concert on Saturday). 

Geo's Cajon

Geo made a cool cajon with D. It lights up when you hit it. He played it with M at her violin recital today (Ragtime Dance). He is going to play it at his drum recital later this month. 

FRYS concert

Geo played in his first FRYS concert earlier this week. Given the all-black dress code, M thought he looked like a waiter. Geo looked very serious while he was playing. The kids sounded great! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures during the concert, but here are some post-concert shots.

Rockies game

 

Geo had fun playing the national anthem at Friday's game.