Summer in a Nutshell Part I

The last time I posted on our family web site was in April, so this is just a quick look at May - July.

May is always filled with school programs and recitals. Here are the kids posing with William after a school program.

Thomas with his cousin Ashley after their choir concert.

Thomas with his project at the science fair.

Marianne in "The Pirates of Grammar Island".

Posing with her good friend, Alicia Olsen. They both had solo singing parts and sounded beautiful!

Before a recital at the music store. Thomas ~ cello, Marianne ~ violin & piano, William ~ piano

Marianne and Sarah with Grandma and Granddad Burt after their ballet recital.

(Gee, I wonder why I was too busy to keep up with the family web site!)

Also, during the month of May, (Yes, it's still May folks!) we were able to visit my grandparents for FHE one evening. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, but we were so busy riding with Granddad on the golf cart, it was a chore to actually sit down and eat! What a treat this was! My Grandparents have a beautiful backyard with a big hill that meets up with the Snake River - GORGEOUS! It was fun to spend an evening with them all to ourselves. We love you Grandma and Granddad Burt!

Now it's on to June. We spent much of this month just planning and preparing for our music camp in July, but we still managed to fill our time with plenty of great activities as well. First off, the Smith reunion held at my parents house this year!

Here's a sampling of some of the fun activities we participated in these two days:

We ran a marathon.

When I say "we" I mean my brother Lance and cousin Todd, of course. But, we made a great cheering section! And, look at this great picture I got of Lance crossing the finish line! Way to go, Lance!

While they were running, we were at my parents' house relaxing and:

Watching Droopy cartoons with Daddy (Uncle Richard) on his phone.

Admiring Mom's beautiful decorations and photos of ansestors.

Eating a yummy breakfast! (Trev and Jeana)

Other activities during the reunion included:

A fun craft for all the girls. (Thank you Mom!) In this picture is my Mom and two of my cousins Taralyn and Tiffany, with a couple of their children.

Chilling out. (Especially the men in this case.) Here is my Uncle Rod and my cousin Eric Smith.

Playing with all of Grandma's fun games and toys, and making a complete mess of the basement. Here is James in Lego heaven.

My personal favorite activity was singing hymns around the piano with many of the adult relatives. This has been a tradition in the Smith family for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of this because I was the one playing the piano. Some of us also played a fun game of Boggle Deluxe in which Richard wasted, as usual. It was also nice to visit and catch up on the lives of these wonderful relatives that I don't get to see very often!

Also in June, our quartet performed in the Spori Art Gallery. On viola is Ryan DaBell, and James Gordon is playing cello. We performed a little Beethoven, Borodin, and Grieg. It was a BLAST!

At this point in our summer, we already felt like this:

But, Oh! This was only the beginning!!!

As you all know, July is the month of our music camp. This is literally the highlight of our year, and this year, it was TWO WEEKS! July 6-18. I will try really hard to only post a few pictures, but honestly, I took like 300!

It was really nice to have Magan (my niece) there to watch our kids. This was the first year we had them with us the entire time. She brought lots of fun stuff for the kids to do. Here are James and Thomas showing off their play-dough creations.

Our good friend, Jenni Warner, was there both weeks to help us out. She has two adorable children who were also there. Here she is reading to James, and her son, Payton.

William and James being silly.

Don't they just look comfy?

And here is our great babysitter, Magan, with Marianne. Waiting for some ice cream!

Thomas and Marianne with their cousin, Josh, during a concert.

These two boys were a crack-up! They got along so well, and had so much fun together. This camera kept them pretty busy during one of the concerts.

Marianne and I got to go on a horse ride during the retreat. The scenery was breathtaking! 

I love this picture of James and Payton. They look like they have Chicken Pox thanks to the mosquitos!

Our kids had a great time with the students at the retreat as well. They were treated so well, and the students always let them join in the games. Here is Marianne enjoying a bit of track ball.

For those who wonder what we do up there for two weeks with the students who attend, I have included the next group of pictures.

We play games that build teamwork amongst the students. This particular one is the spider web game. Looks fun huh?

The students after a great board game!

One night during the week, we have a camp fire and skit night.

Anyone remember the Swedish Chef from Sesame Street? Look it up on youtube. Richard was hilarious!!!

We also had some fabulous concerts throughout the two weeks. Six to be exact! Here is Eric Grossman, a coach and professional violinist, performing with his sister, Michelle, on piano. Eric comes from New Jersey (he works at Julliard in New York) and brings his lovely family to be with us each year. The Grossman's have become good friends. His expertise and remarkable playing skills add a lot to our retreat, and the students' experience.

Richard was able to perform the 3rd movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto for this concert. He played fabulously! I think that walkie-talkie stuck to his pants must have given him good luck. ;)

The student's have lot of music to learn in a very short time, but they never cease to amaze us! Here they are rehearsing for one of their orchestra concerts.

In concert!

Eric and Lida Grossman

We saw lots of wildlife in the park:  moose, elk, and some beautiful birds to name a few. We actually had a moose and her calf walk twenty feet away form us and a group of students one evening. There are also a lot of bats up there that come out at night and fly inches away from your head. It's actually quite cool! Didn't catch any pictures of the bats, however!

We also had the privledge of having Jenny Oaks Baker join us for most of the second week. She brought her kids, and they all just had a blast playing together. Her perfomance was wonderful, and it was nice getting to know her. What a great person and violinist she is!

A view from the back of the concert hall.

We needed another cellist in one of the quartets the last week of camp, so we threw Thomas in there and put him to work. He enjoyed it and actually did a great job! I was so proud of him! I can't wait until our own kids can participate more fully.

Jenni had to leave before the last concert. James and Payton are giving each other a goodbye hug.

With Jenni just before she headed out.

Before the last concert, Sarah was trying to get the handsome boys to wear her pink bow. It was adorable, so I had to get a picture. They were so sweet to her.

At the end of each week after the last concert, we get together for a group picture. And then...

...a bunch of the students race out to the river and wade to the island in the middle. This tradition started about five years ago, and they have done it ever since. We've only had one student get a leach so far! (I know, gross, but for some reason, they still love it!)

It might be hard to see them here, but they are on that big island yelling something like, "We love you Richard!" or singing an orchestra piece they learned that week. What fun kids!

I guess since Richard and I didn't get in the river, the students thought they should bring the river to us in the form of a group hug.

The next group of pictures were taken by Jenilee Lawrence, a good friend of ours who is a photography major at the University. She spent a day at the retreat and took some great shots, so I thought I would share some. (You aren't getting out of this just yet!)

Okay, I think I'm done with music camp pictures! Phew! And really, including Jenilee's pictures, there were about 400! Now that was a job I'm glad I only have to do once a year!!! What an amazing experience this retreat is for us! We feel very blessed to be able to be apart of something so life-changing!