This has been a wild year of fun, not-so-fun, and busy busy busy! We have found lots of ways to be busy as a family. Additionally, my Music Together business outgrew my personal limits of time and energy back at the beginning of the year, and while we served so many families and had a wonderful time, I'm glad for my own family that things have since scaled back. Matthew has continued teaching at UNCA, and we're both very proud of how well his program has adjusted to Mr. Richmond and his high expectations. I dove into my first full year of teaching a high school percussion program and learned TONS!
Hardest working drumline in NC.
I'm still refining what constitutes "tough enough" but not "too mean" in my teaching style. I had a blast teaching marching drumline, but I lost SOOOO much sleep during band camp. It was like college exams all over again, 3 or 4 all-nighters succeeded each time by day-long adventures in trying to stay focused and ahead of 15 or so teenage musicians. Needless to say, I'm relieved to have a break from marching for a few months.
Matthew and I have really enjoyed playing in our percussion/jazz/rock/avantgarde/wierdo ensemble Eroteme. We've had fun cooking, eating, practicing, jamming, and performing together, and we're looking forward to another year of it!
Brad...musician, friend, budding chef type person.
Jordan, of Eroteme and of marching band assistance. Any friend of T-Mo is a friend of mine.
2008 also marked the marriage of good friends Cameron and Rachael Juroff. Matthew and I were honored to be involved in the festivities and ceremony. Congratulations, homies! We love you! Sorry--I'm kind of ashamed to discover I have no photo of Rachael! She's too good-looking for this blog anyway...
Cameron J.
And while I'm talking of weddings, congratulations to our good friends Tony and Adrienne, who got hitched this year as well! They were beautiful, and Matthew, Isaac, and I were honored to celebrate with them. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the event or after-party. I'm sure Tony does (ha ha!).
Congratulations to all the other wonderful people we know who got married or welcomed babies this year! We don't know any non-wonderful people.
Matthew and I took a week-long vacation to Ithaca, NY, in July . This year marked our 10th year of marriage and our 15th year of friendship. We spent the first year of our marriage there while Matthew finished his graduate degree at Ithaca College. We spent lots of time with Matthew's percussion teacher and his wife, Gordon and Christy Stout, and had a wonderful time! We also visited my former boss at CTB Appetizers and went back to some of our favorite eateries and hang-out spots.
Matthew and Kari at the overlook for Taughannock Falls. We're blocking the view of the falls, but it was really just a trickle anyway, due to the drought. So, you're not missing much.
We are excited to return this winter for Matthew to play his vibe concerto with students at the Ithaca College percussion department. This time we're taking Isaac, and we hope he'll get to experience some real northern snowfall (though maybe not during the drive...).
While we hope to repeat a fun visit to Ithaca, some 2008 events we hope not to repeat: Kari's bike wreck with broken jaw, stitches, and all; Isaac's 2nd degree burn (courtesy of his mama's loose handling of a hot pan); various and sundry stomach bugs, and tons of poopy diapers. Things we wouldn't mind repeating in 2009: a great bunch of students (for Matthew and Kari both), a happy trip to Ithaca, Matthew playing at Bonnaroo, a fun visit to the Mountain State Fair (Isaac and I love the "Flying Bob!") and the circus (camel ride!) and lots of T-Mo Cuteness and good health.
Isaac with grandpa at the circus, checking out the cool prize...
Camel ride!
The cutest Halloween costume and kid-inside-costume in the universe!
Fun at the park several weeks after "the great wreck of 2008"--mama's jaw is only slightly crooked-er than it was before...
I've loved getting to see all THREE of my sisters a couple of times this year. Check out the sistahs!
Isaac is thriving! He sings ALL the time and is now much more easy-going about us singing in his presence. He is very close to being able to drum along in time with us or music on the radio. He likes to count off for playing duets, but if you're the other musician, watch out! He has a warped sense of humor. He's quite capable of doing a regular One Two Three Four count-off. But, not long ago, he was heard counting off for an Old Mac Donald duet with our friend Brad in the following manner: "One.......Two.......One...Two...OneTwoOneTwoOneTwoThreeCrash!"
Random cool picture of a hawk in our back yard, because why not...? I took this just shot before driving to the first annual Music Together Holiday sing-along and figured it was an omen. A good one, because why not...?
Isaac no longer switches up his pronouns, and he's a precocious English-speaker for his age. He loves books. In fact, a couple of days ago, I was in my own little world putting away laundry. When I suddenly tuned into what he was doing, I realized the funny humming noises he was making were actually his first independent attempts to sound out words. And he wasn't doing half bad! Considering he was trying to read "History Rock." Speaking of that, he is showing impeccable taste in his video preferences--he enjoys old Muppets and Bugs Bunny episodes, and he's now getting into School House Rock tapes. Before long...Monty Python! Well, maybe we'll wait a few more years. But there's always Star Wars IV, V, and VI in the meantime.
Isaac is medium-potty-trained. He CAN do it...he just usually prefers not to. Oh well. He's taking one nap a day (usually). The effect of living with two educators is certainly apparent in his communication habits--he's quite opinionated and bossy, even for a 3-year-old. One of his most recent outlandish instructions to me: "I want you to give me something that is not healthy for me to eat." He loves his buddies (pictured below), and when he's not exhorting them to dance to his new favorite music (Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride), they love to take turns chasing each other and making crafts together.
Bossy!
Thoughtful.
Isaac and The buddies. They're trying to taste snowflakes, in case you're wondering.
Isaac with his beloved Bobbo.
Matthew and I are looking forward to spending the holiday weeks together doing much more "nothing" than usual before we go back to the craziness of classes and lessons in January. We love all of you and hope we have many opportunities to spend time with you this coming year! Have a 2009 full of fun, peace, and good health!
Matthew and Kari at the overlook for Taughannock Falls. We're blocking the view of the falls, but it was really just a trickle anyway, due to the drought. So, you're not missing much.
We are excited to return this winter for Matthew to play his vibe concerto with students at the Ithaca College percussion department. This time we're taking Isaac, and we hope he'll get to experience some real northern snowfall (though maybe not during the drive...).
While we hope to repeat a fun visit to Ithaca, some 2008 events we hope not to repeat: Kari's bike wreck with broken jaw, stitches, and all; Isaac's 2nd degree burn (courtesy of his mama's loose handling of a hot pan); various and sundry stomach bugs, and tons of poopy diapers. Things we wouldn't mind repeating in 2009: a great bunch of students (for Matthew and Kari both), a happy trip to Ithaca, Matthew playing at Bonnaroo, a fun visit to the Mountain State Fair (Isaac and I love the "Flying Bob!") and the circus (camel ride!) and lots of T-Mo Cuteness and good health.
Isaac with grandpa at the circus, checking out the cool prize...
Camel ride!
The cutest Halloween costume and kid-inside-costume in the universe!
Fun at the park several weeks after "the great wreck of 2008"--mama's jaw is only slightly crooked-er than it was before...
I've loved getting to see all THREE of my sisters a couple of times this year. Check out the sistahs!
Isaac is thriving! He sings ALL the time and is now much more easy-going about us singing in his presence. He is very close to being able to drum along in time with us or music on the radio. He likes to count off for playing duets, but if you're the other musician, watch out! He has a warped sense of humor. He's quite capable of doing a regular One Two Three Four count-off. But, not long ago, he was heard counting off for an Old Mac Donald duet with our friend Brad in the following manner: "One.......Two.......One...Two...OneTwoOneTwoOneTwoThreeCrash!"
Random cool picture of a hawk in our back yard, because why not...? I took this just shot before driving to the first annual Music Together Holiday sing-along and figured it was an omen. A good one, because why not...?
Isaac no longer switches up his pronouns, and he's a precocious English-speaker for his age. He loves books. In fact, a couple of days ago, I was in my own little world putting away laundry. When I suddenly tuned into what he was doing, I realized the funny humming noises he was making were actually his first independent attempts to sound out words. And he wasn't doing half bad! Considering he was trying to read "History Rock." Speaking of that, he is showing impeccable taste in his video preferences--he enjoys old Muppets and Bugs Bunny episodes, and he's now getting into School House Rock tapes. Before long...Monty Python! Well, maybe we'll wait a few more years. But there's always Star Wars IV, V, and VI in the meantime.
Isaac is medium-potty-trained. He CAN do it...he just usually prefers not to. Oh well. He's taking one nap a day (usually). The effect of living with two educators is certainly apparent in his communication habits--he's quite opinionated and bossy, even for a 3-year-old. One of his most recent outlandish instructions to me: "I want you to give me something that is not healthy for me to eat." He loves his buddies (pictured below), and when he's not exhorting them to dance to his new favorite music (Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride), they love to take turns chasing each other and making crafts together.
Bossy!
Thoughtful.
Isaac and The buddies. They're trying to taste snowflakes, in case you're wondering.
Isaac with his beloved Bobbo.
Matthew and I are looking forward to spending the holiday weeks together doing much more "nothing" than usual before we go back to the craziness of classes and lessons in January. We love all of you and hope we have many opportunities to spend time with you this coming year! Have a 2009 full of fun, peace, and good health!
