Ross Park: ACA Annual Party (Water Pics)

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More Music Camp

Thanks to Cindy and Mom I have some great pictures of the kids from music camp (thanks guys!). What a fun, crazy, hair-filled week!!! The only thing that could make this week better would be to have Luke, Emma, and Gavin come. Maybe some summer the timing will work out so that could happen. :)

Seussical: The Musical, Part II

Kate, Regan, and Morgan were the CUTEST little Gertrude McFuzz's that there ever were!!!

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Cousins Ski Trip!!

Brad took Todd and Kate skiing Saturday (a fun conclusion to a wonderful and much needed Spring Break). They met DJ, Regan, and Morgan at Pomerelle and spent the day speeding down the mountain together. I'm sure the kids drove their dads crazy, but Brad and DJ were great sports and really devoted the day to helping the kids have a great time and increase their skills on the slopes. They were jumping out of their skins with excitement at the thought of spending the whole day with their beloved cousins. HEAVEN!! They all came home completely hammered and sunburned, but happy. What fun to live close enough that they can enjoy several ski trips a year, especially with the added bonus of sharing the day with cousins.

Jack is Back

Because music camp week is so crazy busy, Cindy graciously offered to take Jack for the week in exchange for her girls. (She is a saint, considering she has newborn twins and a 2 year old of her own to care for, and I took her two best babysitters to my house for the week!). We laughed a lot about the fact that I had four heads of hair to do and she ended up with four little bums to change. I have to say that I definitely got the better end of that deal (no pun intended :)).

I missed my little Jack-Jack so much, and I wasn't the only one. Todd was absolutely heartbroken about his little bro being gone for such a long time. Halfway through the week he broke down and cried in my arms for a good 15 minutes because he missed our little man so much. It was so sweet and really touched my heart that he loves that little guy so much. As for me, I could hardly stand to think about him, I would get teary and just long to hold him, so I just tried hard not to think about how slowly the time crawled by without him. It was good that we were so busy as it helped the time go by much faster.

I am so grateful to Cindy for taking him, though, because there is no way he would have survived the week. The schedule was way too hectic -- he would have been absolutely miserable. As it was he had the best time with Kaleb. It was great for them to have some cousin time. We sure appreciate Kaleb being willing to share all his stuff with Jack. He's such a sweet little boy. Also, we're thankful that he taught Jack how to talk a little bit more. He is really trying to speak now that he's been around a little guy his size and seen that it's possible to communicate using the English language. Jackanese is still the preferred language, but we have high hopes that a transition is underway! Thanks Kaleb!!

As fun as the whole week was, we are so excited about going back to our regular routine again. We love our little Jackaboo so much. It's so good to have him home again.

A Fun Week With the Teichert Cousins

We were lucky enough to have Regan, Morgan, and Jordyn come stay with us for 5 days this past week. I teach at a Vocal Summer Music Camp called "Rise Up and Sing" and have been able to involve Cindy's and my kids for the last 3 years. This year Regan, Morgan, Jordyn, Todd and Kate all attended and we had a wonderful time! Morgan, Jordyn, and Kate were all in the Children's Chorus, and Kate and Morgan also attended an Acting class which they absolutely loved. Todd and Regan each took a master class (a small class where each member polishes a solo to be performed at the end of the week), a theory class, a musical theater class and an acting class. I taught master classes all day, so by the end of the week we were all absolutely exhausted (but in a good way!).

Kate, Jordy, and Morgan singing with the Children's Chorus (Tinga Layo).
We had time to swim and even squeezed in the swim lessons in the evenings.
This was the Super Karate Kick into the Pool move developed by Todd, Kate, and Regan!
The whole gang in their music camp t-shirts.
Jordyn was an absolute star at music camp after she sang "Rubber Duckie" in front of the whole camp! Everyone kept telling her what a great job she did (and they were right!). She developed quite the fan base while there. The other kids were her backup singers. They all wore swimsuits and sunglasses and carried towels and rubber duckies!

We were so busy that I forgot to take many more pictures, but we had the best time with the cousins. We were all completely worn out by the end of the week, but hopefully the kids had fun and thought it was worth the craziness. I sure did! It's wonderful to see the growth they experience each year. I'm thankful they can have these opportunities to build self confidence, and especially that they have had the opportunity to spend some time together.