Our extra-jord-n-ari Life: June at a glance... FFA choir and wrapping things up in Anthem!

From the words of Ari-

Jordan is now the FFA State Choir Director. Dee Wilkins passed it on to him. This is the same gig we've been going to the past 4 or 5 years in Tucson where Jordan plays the piano for about 5 hours and we get a free hotel stay, free dinner and breakfast. Usually we don't take the kids and it's a fun little getaway. Jordan first auditioned the kids in December 14 and then again in March 15.

These pics are from the first week of June. Jordan went down to Tucson and spent the whole week getting to know the kids, rehearse and choreograph 6 songs and perform them several times at the end of the week for a big convention. He loved it! He said the kids were fun and they learned really fast.

The only downer probably was the kids had to perform in official dress (what they are wearing in these pics), it hasn't changed in 50 years. The girls struggled in heels with dancing to Newsies.

From the words of Jordan-
FFA was so much fun for me. It was the first time ALL YEAR I felt in control of my job, my position, my knowledge, and my program. The kids responded well and we put on one heck of a show! I don't think the choir had been this entertaining and "showy" in the past. I put choreography with every song! I just couldn't help myself! I was so grateful to have Clinton Blanco there with me as the accompanist. He helped immensely and it was nice to work with someone who lifted me up and supported me.

The kids stole my phone and took some selfies while I drove them around U of A campus.

Waiting to perform for the scholarship/donations committee. Nervous but excited!

These are some fun kids

Jordan's accompanist-Clinton Blanco

Ok kids, let's get a picture

Ready..

Go!

We even had our own "chorus way" in the auditorium!

Meanwhile at home- FA. MULAN. taking her bath:)

Those eyes! Ha ha, gets me every time.

This is how I got the kids to be quiet in sacrament meeting this week. I drew the pic, they colored. Not bad artwork I must say. Kodee is always about dragons, death, and terror. Ha ha, that kid. Gemma is all girl and Jaxon is all video games:)

Then there's the cutest, angel of all little girls. Our little Lotster.

One last rock climb at the community center! The boys LOVED this. Kodee is intent on being on American Ninja Warriors one day.

Jaxon finally made it to the top. He worked all year to get here!

Daddy's girl! She loves to comb my hair, and spray it over and over with stuff. Sometimes I get some weird do's but it's the memories being made that counts.

Swim team ribbons! Jaxon really improved throughout this year! One of the other things I'm really going to miss about living in Anthem. It was a bit intense for him though. I think we'll be fine with summer swimming, or seasonal swimming rather than year round.

Kodee's racing now! He really worked on getting that six pack this summer! And he did it!:)

We had a fun summer party and made a strawberry pie and dedicated it to Olaf, because it was. . .."SSSSUUUUMMMEEERRR!"

One night we went out to Lake Pleasant to watch the stars come out in the back of the truck. It was hot, buggy, and the terrain was like being on the moon, but it was a fun memory. Glad we did it cause we always wondered what the lake looked like.

We brought everything squishy and comfy we could from the house to make a truck bed, but Lottie was not having it.

Gemma's "Going to the swim meet to cheer for my brother's" hair-do

She is quite the diva! Love this hilarious piece of work!

Go Kodee go! Love his whale cap!

Breast stroke time! He really improved in this stroke this summer.

Jaxon's ready!

Perfect starting dive!

His first blue ribbon in swim- EVER!!! Woo hoo! Freestyle baby!

Now here's the other way I spent my summer- in the library writing my capstone project to finish my Master's program at University of Florida. My project was on the benefits of music education for Special Needs students and I also created curriculum guidelines on how to best teach different types of special needs in the music classroom. I thought this project was going to kill me and steal my soul. One day Ari sat down with me and helped me create a plan on "how this was going to be accomplished" because it seemed like I was looking up at Mt. Everest with no climbing gear. We created a step-by-step, daily plan on how many pages I was going to write, and what I was going to research. I followed the plan, and I stayed on top of my deadlines. It got really crazy in July right before the capstone jury/defense, but I'm happy to say it all came together and I conquered!

One of my most spiritual experiences since dad passed away happened in this very room that you see pictured here. I was struggling on how to write the introduction of the paper and was feeling very overwhelmed. I just kept thinking- DAD! If only you were here! (I also thought this a lot when I was taking the music theory and analysis course in December. That one about killed me too!) But as I struggled to find the words to begin the paper, I heard a whisper. The whisper was my dad's voice and I knew I needed to reference the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus" in my introduction of the paper. This was a favorite movie of my dad's and we bonded many times over this story. I wrote about the son of Mr. Holland and how they were able to connect through music in one of his band concerts. It was as if Dad was feeding me the words and telling me what to write. I typed and had tears streaming down my face. After this, I was able to just keep writing and writing. Thank you dad for helping me get this started! You truly are a guardian angel!

Nancy visited in June! I was able to help mom get the house ready for us to move in with her! Apparently I'm about to take Mary's head off with this frame as well. Sorry!