stop looking out my window

Grant had a wonderful year in Madrigals, and even though I thought that I would never stop wanting to set things on fire when he didn't make the basketball team, it turned out to be a blessing OF COURSE because he was able to spend time and bond with the Madrigals in a way that he wouldn't have gotten if he'd been split between the two responsibilities.  And the long-term benefits of hanging out with the choir nerds vs. the basketball team are pretty evident.  It's turned out that he has a pretty darn good voice, and he's started taking lessons to see if he can get a vocal scholarship somewhere, because someone else paying for college is a good thing.  He made the soccer team and did really well, so that was a little balm for his wounded soul.  We went on choir tour to New York and I loved getting to know his friends better and hearing them sing so beautifully in such amazing places.  He turned sixteen and went on a couple of dates.  He was too busy with soccer and choir and school to do drivers ed, but he did get a 4.0, even with his load from AP Biology, so good job on him.  He got surgery on his ankle because he had an extra bone that the tendon had partially attached to, so every time he kicked the soccer ball with his left foot it felt like he was fracturing his bones.  He's out of his cast now and in a boot, and can start light weight-bearing on Friday.  He's finally taken Drivers Ed, and took his test yesterday, which he FAILED because he ran the stop sign leaving the school parking lot, womp womp. 

Emmett suffered through his first year of middle school and got a 4.0 as well.  He played a ton of soccer and was kicked by an opposing player in his last game and his hip has been hurting ever since, which is super cool.  He played Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca for the spring piano recital, which is a real, no-fooling song and I was way impressed.  He practiced the heck out of it.  He wants to quit piano and start voice lessons, but I've told him not until he can play everything in the hymn book and Children's Songbook.  I really regret letting Grant drop piano for trumpet, because now he doesn't play either, and I don't want Emmett in the same boat.  He played some cool percussion parts in the spring band concert, but he's bailing on band to do choir next year, which I advised because he's wanting to do choir in high school, and it will be good for him to get a little experience beforehand.  He's taking golf lessons, which was a good thing for getting his wiggles out when his hip was still bugging him too much to run.  He sang with us in the choir for stake conference today, which is a huge step for him.  He (and everyone else in our family, to be honest) hates singing in our ward choir because it's so pathetic and horrible, so it was good for him to be around some decent voices for a change.

Ike won the pentathlon, so he's leaving elementary school on a high note.  He did really well in school, even though he had a difficult time with his teacher this year, but much of life is spent being with people who don't like us, so he's just getting an early start.  His classmates all voted for him to be an Eagle Ambassador at the intermediate school, probably riding the emotional high of watching him destroy everyone at the pentathlon and conflating athletic ability with administrative ability.  He is taking golf lessons along with Emmett and seems to enjoy it, though soccer is also his first love.  He's still thinking he's going to be an MLS player when he grows up, so we're not making the progress toward realistic expectations that one might hope for.  He has a lump on his chest where his ribs stick out further on one side than the other, so he has to do some exercises our witch doctor recommended.  Maybe it's because he has an oversized heart, and that's why he is so passionate about everything.  He's still taking piano and is starting percussion when he goes to school in the fall. 

Willa is taking piano and progressing rapidly, but not as rapidly as she would if she practiced more, much like her siblings and parents, sad trombone noise again.  She loved her teacher this year, and has been accepted into the LEAP program for next year, and hopefully she'll like it.  She's a good girl and a good student, but when she learns a new concept she gets upset and cries, so it will be good for her to raise the bar of difficulty a titch.  She did volleyball camp for the first week of summer, then basketball camp the second week, and had a great time.  She is getting a nice strong voice and can usually sing her part alone, even with someone singing a different part right next to her.  Now if we could just move to a place where there are no neighbor kids then everything would be perfect.