The Magic of Music

We have had so much music in our lives lately. It has been invigorating, and a bit exhausting at this point. But mostly it has been magical and a much needed distraction. It has been music week for the kids, and because we are so good with bad timing, we planted Daniel's Eagle Scout concert right smack in the middle of the busiest time of the music world here. 

There were concerts every night, along with trying to prepare and pull together all the details of the big Eagle concert. It was really something, and we are still currently recovering from the amount of activity. If you surprise us and come to our door, we are likely laying on the couch curled up in a blanket. Music is great, but in excess, the performances have knocked the wind out of our sails.

Daniel chose to do a benefit concert for his Eagle project. The admission to the concert was canned food items that will be donated to the local Food Bank. We still have the food in our garage that we are preparing to deliver, the turnout at the concert was great, and it was such a fun night for a good cause. 

We had so much help to pull the concert together. I do not like naming names, because I do not want to leave anyone out, but we had some special people who helped with decorations and the set, and to Laura and Melanie, I cannot thank you enough! 

They went the extra mile spending hours of their time to make it a really special night. There were so many others who came and helped with set up, and take down, and I simply cannot say thank you enough to satisfy the gratitude in my heart. The youth helped, our friends helped, and I just feel so grateful to be surrounded by people who came to our rescue! We are grateful to all who participated, and contributed food, and just made the whole thing possible. From the bottom to the top of my heart -- THANK YOU!!! 

The whole thing came together better than I expected. The decorations were so beautiful, the youth that were there said that Daniel should do the decorations for Prom -- because you know Daniel did the decorations himself... ha, ha! I know who to call if you want to pull together a beautiful event. Laura Russell is your woman! We combined forces and created something special. 

 It is all about mood lighting. We even had some brave souls go climb on top of the church roof to block the sun out of the windows.

The stars... I cut them all out by hand, and then sprayed them. The cutting part was fine, but it has been windy and raining and so it was hard to find a good day to spray them. I spent a lot of my time chasing the stars as they blew around in my yard while trying to spray them. Good times.

The set was so fun. Melanie spent her precious time and talents to help out. It was just the right thing for the stage to make it beautiful.

Daniel started the program out by singing, "You're Welcome" from Moana.

 The amazingly talented group "One More Thing" came and performed their barbershop music.

 They are so good, and entertaining.

 Alec played a fantastic piece that he put together called Moana and Stich. So much talent.

 The group from the junior high called "Out of the Blue" performed a beautiful trio.

 Sammi stepped out of her comfort zone and performed the song "Popular" from Wicked.

 She was teaching Daniel how to be popular.

 I think she found her happy place.

Brooklyn sang "On the Steps of the Palace" from Into the Woods. She did a great job on a very hard piece of music.

Nico and Curtis performed "Agony" from Into the Woods. They are hilarious. Curtis had been injured playing Basketball that morning, but he still came and performed his heart out.

Daniel is going to miss these boys, because they are going to high school, and Daniel will still be in junior high next year.

Daniel invited the Bishop and his lovely wife to the stage. He sang "Kiss the Girl" and tried to convince the Bishop to smooch her. "One More Thing" provided the mood with bubbles. The bubbles were a stroke of genius that came to me, inspired by a Studio C sketch.

 Maybe...

 Yes!

 Corey sang "Go the Distance" from Hercules. He has a great voice, and did an awesome job.

 His mother came and played for some of the performances. This woman is amazing, and so talented!

Improv came and performed, and Mr. Scott, the choir teacher, came to support the event as well. What an amazing teacher he is!

 Daniel played the trumpet during a choir piece.

 Emily sang, "For the First time in Forever" from Frozen. She was the most adorable Anna.

She lit up on the stage.

 Camille played an amazing piece on the violin. She has a real gift. And a beautiful talent.

 Simply Jazz came and performed from the high school. I love listening to their group, they have such a great sound.

 Sammi is a part of the group. She has loved being involved in the Jazz music.

 The jazz band from the junior high came and performed. It was one of my favorite parts. It was so cool to hear them play in the church.

Daniel closed the concert by singing "Who I'd Be" from Shrek, with Sammi joining him at the end. I absolutely love the song, it is a favorite of mine.

 Daniel was in heaven on the stage. He was the MC and he seemed to be in his zone.

The concert was a success. And we could not be happier with how it came together. It was so fun, we just wish there were more opportunities for musical productions and concerts, like we used to have with Roadshows, and plays. Those were the good old days when people were not so busy, or at least, when there was not technology to distract from actually being together with real live people, doing real live things.

It really was a thrill to be around human beings face-to-face. It was fun to set-up together, decorate, perform, and just being with people giving service was really great. Maybe one day music will find its way back into the programs. The Church buildings have stages for a reason, right? It was a total thrill to bring the stage back to life, even just for one night!

Music, music. I am going a little out of order now. Daniel had a band concert during music week.

He received the "Most Inspirational" award in band. The award was for those who, "Eat, sleep, and breathe music."

He also received the "Most Inspirational" award in choir. 

Here he is practicing for the Eagle concert, after his band concert. We had some really late nights with the kids singing and playing their guts out. 

The kids do have limits... and the weariness began to creep in. 

Sammi had a Simply Jazz night. It was awesome! They performed all jazz music, which was really great, because I love jazz, a lot. Sammi sang a solo, "When I Fall in Love." She dedicated it to me and Charles. It was really sweet, she did beautifully.

After the Jazz concert, she snuck away to a practice room in the school, to rehearse singing Popular for the Eagle concert. I am telling you, preparing for the concert was crazy-town.

Silly pictures after the Improv concert. 

Sammi and her friend, Ashely. They both needed wrist braces, because they play the piano too much. Sammi went to the doctor for it and everything. She was supposed to lay-off the piano... as if I could keep her away from it. One thing about Sammi and the piano is I never forced her to play. She taught herself. She never had formal lessons, just a few sit downs with grandma for technique. She just wanted to play and so she started teaching herself. It blows me away, since I can barely read music. I really do believe that if a child loves something, they will be so much more eager to pursue it. This girl loves the piano, singing, and music!

Fun with friends. 

Me and Henry at one of many concerts. He was a trooper for sure! 

 Hauling band equipment for the Eagle concert. I am so grateful for my van, and that the seats go down into the floor.

 Here is Tyson hanging the black bags on the church windows. He did it during a thunderstorm.

 It was pouring as we were unloading for the concert.

We had so much help. 

 Hanging the stars became a game.

 Everyone helped get those stars up.

 Rocking out.

 Doing a little rehearsal.

 Preparing for the real thing.

William practiced with the spotlight. He was so proud to have a job of his own. It changed his whole outlook on the event.

 Henry was loving his turn on the stage. It was hard to keep him off.

 William loved learning how to operate the spotlight.

 The kids really were so good, it was a lot of work and weird days going to-and-fro.

It was work, but fun. 

We had such good helpers! 

 Henry sporting his top hat.

 It was exciting to see it come together.

 We gathered a decent amount of food for the Food Bank, and we are not quite done gathering yet.

 What a special night it was.

 Practicing before the show.

 Warming up.

And the sad part... take down.

 Oh man, I am so grateful for the help we had taking down.

So many people brought treats for the event. I wish I would have taken a better picture in the kitchen, it was amazing the amount of food people contributed. By the end of the night, Henry had too many treats and was throwing up during take down. That was fun. He was overworked and over tired. He was fine after a good cleansing of the gut.

 On Sunday we all crashed and burned.

 So tired.

One day of rest, and then... more concerts.

 It is a good thing we love music.

Oh boy, we really, really, do.