Duet Festival Fall 2012

Olivia competed in a duet festival this year with her cute friend Julia...

They played really well together, despite the fact that Olivia had strep throat and hadn't been feeling well all week. We used a whole lot of hand sanitizer to make sure she didn't spread disease :).

Their first song was "Spanish Gypsies" by Martha Mier:

Their second song was "Broadway Lights" by Robert D. Vandall: It It is so fun to see them progress. She practices for 50 minutes a day (most days) and loves it!

Spring Recitals

Our piano players had their spring recital last weekend. They both worked hard on their songs...

Olivia played "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days" (which she learned to love through the Young Women's choir experience) and "Popcorn Popping" (which we get to sing every week to close Family Home Evening). She did a great job!

Coleman learned a rag-time piece called "Fiddle-I-O" by Dennis Alexander. There were some tricky rhythms in this song--I was so proud that he kept at it until he nailed it.

He did a great job performing!

We were excited that my mom and Megan could come for the recital. It's so great to have so many family members that support our kids and their hard work.

Clogging at the Mall

Olivia wanted to try out clogging when an opportunity arose to take a class with her good friends. Although we aren't sure it will be a long term interest, she has enjoyed it for these last few months.

Liv is on the second from the left on the front row.


I am pretty impressed with how much they have learned in just a few short months.


Liv and her friend Anna... so happy to do something fun together!

Christmas Recitals 2011

Last weekend we got to attend piano recitals for Olivia and Coleman. They both worked hard on their songs...

Olivia played "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" out of the hymnbook. We sang along for the first verse and she embellished the song a bit the second time through.



Coleman played a duet with Ryan--"Up On The Housetop"


Coleman also played "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (and we all sang along... I'm pretty sure my voice is way too loud on this recording... so I apologize to the few of you that will actually press play and watch/listen).

 We were so glad that Grandpa Gee Gee and Grandma Jan could come. They have always been so supportive of the kids' piano endeavors!

 Sophia enjoyed the refreshments after both of the recitals!

Getting a picture with all of the children looking and smiling is proving to be difficult. Oh well.

Coleman loves that two of his good friends were involved with the recital. We all love that all of the kids in both recitals are (or were) in our ward. It's so fun to see our friends and neighbors progress in their  musical talents.

We are especially grateful for two great piano teachers and for children that are willing to practice almost every day (even if there are occasional tears and complaints!). We love piano!

Concerto in G Major

Olivia has an amazing piano teacher who pushes her (almost as hard as Ryan does) to improve and conquer challenging songs. This time, it was "Concerto in G Major" by Robert Vandall for a festival competition. She has been practicing for almost three months, and truthfully has shed more than a few tears over this piece. It was complicated and fast and 13 pages long.  The festival was held yesterday, and Liv rocked it.

Olivia played it so well, without a mistake. It was incredible to see her play! The judges thought it was perfect, too, and awarded her 40 out of 40 points! Her teacher said that it is not all that common to get a perfect score, but she earned it. It was my turn to shed a couple of tears when we realized she had gotten a perfect score. Definitely a proud mama moment!

Liv was happy that Grandma Stover came to hear her...

...and Grandma Jan and Grandpa Gee Gee were there too. They have been such strong supporters of our kids' piano endeavors!

Ryan definitely deserves to bask in this glory.  Liv's skills have long since surpassed mine when it comes to playing the piano, so it is Ryan that gets to be by her side working out the kinks and perfecting her song, section by section.

Coleman and I were happy to be a part of it too, she did great. Watch for yourself:

Spring Recital 2011

It was time again for our Spring Piano Recital. Liv and Coleman's teachers are both our neighbors and friends, so they planned the recitals back to back.

We were excited that Grandma Jan and Grandpa Gee Gee could come....

...and happy that my mom could be there too!

All of the kids in Olivia's group played music from movies. She was assigned "Imperial March" from Star Wars. It was frequently used to work out her frustration and aggression :) and I can honestly say that I am relieved that the recital is past so that we won't have it in our home for 40 minutes each day. It is very true that music sets the tone!


She did a wonderful job though and worked really hard at adding feeling to her music.

Coleman doesn't love practicing, but he loves being able to play the piano and he has quite a knack for it.

I just love his teacher! She is so patient with him and has really helped him to progress.


He started out with "Super Sleuth" which was a fun spy song.


His second song was "Lauren's Lullyaby." We were impressed that he memorized both songs!

Way to go Olivia and Coleman! You both worked hard and performed well!

Honors Recital for Piano Festival

Olivia participated in a Solo Piano Festival over the last few weeks. She has worked hard for several months getting her songs ready, and played "Prairie Wind" (can't remember the composer) and "Ballade" by Friedrich Burgmuller. We were so glad that Grandma Jan and Grandpa Denver got to come and listen to her play both pieces.

She was invited to return for an Honors Recital to play "Ballade" last night.

It's so fun to see her play on the fancy grand piano!

My mom came down to listen... she was amazed at the talent of all of the children who played (all elementary age).  Olivia even got a cash award!


A little video of her song....

We are proud of all of your hard work Olivia!

Christmas 2010 Piano Recital

Last week Olivia and Coleman played in their Christmas piano Recital.

We were so happy that Grandma Harper was in town so she could come!

Olivia played "Little Drummer Boy"...



...and the "Russian Dance" from the Nutcracker.



Her teacher is wonderful! We love that all of her other students are our friends so that we can hear their progression too.

Coleman played "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam"...



and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with Ryan.



Coleman has just been taking for about two months from our wonderful friend Sister Brantley. All of her other students are our friends too (benefits of having your piano teachers in your ward!).

We love that our kiddos love to play the piano!

Ensemble Festival

Olivia's piano teacher arranged for her to play in an Ensemble Festival with two other students (who happen to be Liv's close friends). They scored high enough to be invited to play at an Honor's Recital.

Here is "Romp a la Mozart":



and "Three's A Crowd":



Olivia worked really hard on her part and had a great time playing these pieces. Way to go Liv!

Spring 2010 Piano Recital

Olivia had a piano recital on May 22nd and she did a great job performing two songs that she worked so hard on and memorized.


My mom came down and played the violin with her on one of the songs.
Ryan's grandma and grandpa were there too... they are long-time supporters of Olivia's piano progress.
We were so glad to see Olivia's hard work pay off!

She played "Quasi Adagio" with my mom on the violin:



She also memorized "Spinning Song" which was a tricky piece to play and memorize. Ryan's grandma told me that it has been played in our family for generations... her father played it, she played it, Ryan's mom, and Ryan played it too... so that's at least five generations of playing this song:



Way to go Liv, we are proud of you!

Christmas 2009 Recital

Now that I've finally put away my Christmas cards (and stored them safely for years to come) I think I should post about Olivia's piano recital from December.

Once again Liv and Ryan worked really hard on her songs to get them just right.


She was so excited that Grandpa GeeGee and Grandma Jan could come to see her.


She was equally glad that Grandma Madeline could come to see her play "I Saw Three Ships" and "Here We Come A Caroling" (with Ryan).

Piano Recital--Spring 2009

Olivia had her spring piano recital last weekend. She worked really hard to memorize her two songs.

I may be biased, but I think she has especially good form.

This is her teacher Cindy with all of her cute students.

My mom came... Liv and Coleman were so excited to see her! We missed our other family members that couldn't' come, but we thought we'd share some quick videos of her songs:



This first one is called Amaryllis...



...and this is Magnificent Sunset.

Olivia's Christmas Dance Recital

Olivia has been taking dance at the local Rec Center for several years. It has been fun for her (although they haven't mastered a whole lot of technique) and a great social outlet. Last week they had their Christmas dance recital. For the grandparents and anyone else who'd like to watch, it's about three minutes long. Olivia is the third dancer from the left.



We took some fun pictures before the show too...

Here are the boys--Coleman with our friend J.D.

Coleman asked when his gymnastics class was going to have a recital so we could come and watch him(do you think he thinks that Olivia gets all the attention with her recitals?). I told him that his tumbling class probably wouldn't have a recital, but we could sign him up for dance if he wanted... he didn't like that idea too well. He decided he could wait until he started piano lessons to worry about a recital.

Dance buddies--Sarah, Olivia, and Anna.

Dance Mamas--Jessica (Anna's mom), me, and Sherri (Sarah's mom). Our girls have been in dance together for several years. We are missing Jill (Addie's mom).

Olivia with her teacher (Miss Jamie, who is wonderful) and her friend Sarah.

Here is Olivia with her proud mama.

This is the group of girls from our neighborhood--there are a bunch of them in three different dance classes.

Liv did a great job and has a lot of fun with dancing--I can't say for sure it's her one passion in life, but we'll keep doing it as long as she's interested. How do you know when it's time to do something a little more intense?

Olivia's Christmas Piano Recital

Olivia had her Christmas Piano Recital last weekend and played a couple of duets with Ryan. They memorized their songs and performed very well! Liv has really enjoyed playing the piano and we are grateful for her wonderful teacher. If you feel inclined to watch and listen, the video follows...