Bits of Ohio Life

 I thought I'd post some pictures of the past few weeks for our family far away.  Bryce had an orchestra concert last night.  About a month ago he switched from playing the cello to playing the bass.  There aren't as many bass players in the orchestra (of 48 kids) and I think he also likes doing something different than his older brother.  He still gets out the cello to play for fun as part of his practice time, but we now have another giant case in the living room.

I realized I hadn't posted a picture of Brooke with her trumpet yet.  She started playing when we moved to Ohio in November.  The first couple months were rocky while she caught up to the other kids, but now that she has gotten the hang of it, it is awesome to hear her practice.  We went and had her try out all the different instruments when she first needed to choose what she wanted to play.  I had pegged her as a flute girl, but she told me,"As soon as I picked up the trumpet I knew it was the one for me!"  She gets very excited about learning new songs and loves to perform for the family at FHE.

Brenden has taken a great leap lately from playing his cello because he has to, to playing for long stretches of time just because he wants to.  He has been spending his time learning the song "Let it Go," a handful of songs from "Lord of the Rings," as well as the music for the high school musical "Hairspray" that he will be in the pit for the first week of April.  He is excited about playing, and I love the fun music that fills our home and how his skills are increasing.

This week Brooke and Brinnley got a giant doll house they have been saving up for for a long time.  I will post more about that later, but I just loved this picture they took of themselves showing the food they made out of clay to use in the doll house.  They are such great friends and have so much fun being creative together!

What post would be complete without an update about Brett's recent antics?  He is no longer a "Marry Poppins Child" who is practically perfect in every way.  He traded in that title for "Holy Terror 2-year-old."  As a child developmentalist, I know it is healthy and normal and all that stuff, but his new passion for exploration sure is a lot to keep up with!  He has discovered he loves my make-up drawer.  Painting with lipstick is so much fun.  He has also discovered that he can push a chair and get to anything he wants in the kitchen.  This second picture is what greeted me when I got out of the shower the other day.  He had to hurry and make the rounds before I got out!  His favorite forms of naughtiness are getting a spoon out of the drawer and the honey jar out of the cupboard and helping himself.  He also loves to get a lunch-size bag of chips out of the pantry and then push the chair to find the scissors in the drawer so he can cut them open himself.  Life is so much better when you don't have to ask for help OR permission!  The last picture speaks for itself.  I love this kid.  He sure keeps us laughing!