Weekend Away

This weekend, we took a trip up to Kettle Falls, WA to visit Kent's parent's Bing and Britta. On Saturday we went skiing on Sherman Pass. In the photo above, Kent is standing on top of a picnic table!

Saturday night after a dinner out we went to the local theater production of "Annie" at the Woodlands Theater. It was neat for Kent to visit with many friends that he does not get to see very often. In high school, Kent played in the orchestra for a few of these productions so he knew a few of the musicians.

On Sunday, we had one of Britta's wonderful breakfasts, we went for a drive around Kettle Falls and Colville and then made the 4 hour trek home. We had a nice relaxing weekend!

Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival

We spent Thursday-Sunday at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho with our high school bands. We stay in local churches and get a chance to see clinics, concerts and to perform. Below is a photo of Annie's band practicing in the Catholic church Friday morning.

Below is Annie's band performing Saturday morning at the jazz fest.

After the performance we had an adjudication by Chris Bruya, the jazz director of Central Washington University. He had some positive and helpful comments for the band.

We got the opportunity to watch some University of Idaho groups perform during the festival. It was great to see several of Kent's students who are now music majors at Idaho. Below is a photo of Steev Turner who played with several of the jazz groups. He is doing a great job performing on vibes.

Washington All-State Music Conference

We have had a great time here in Yakima at the All-State Music Conference. We have spent the weekend visiting with colleagues, attending clinics and watching concerts. The Army Brass Quintet was featured in a concert on Friday night. The best part of the concert was when they accompanied the silent movie "Teddy at the Throttle." Last night we went to the final banquet which featured a Wenatchee High School group, Mariachi Huenachi. It was a lot of fun to see a mariachi group perform with their colorful clothing and unique sound.

Another enjoyable part of the evening was listening to a speech by the National Teacher of the Year Andrea Peterson. She was a music teacher from Granite Falls, WA so she was able to connect very well to a room filled with Washington music educators.

Sunday Skiing

We had a great time skiing with Caitlin up Blewett Pass today. The temperatures were warmer but the snow was not sticky. It's a steady climb up and a great time flying down the hill on the way back. On the drive home we drove past two avalanches that had run into the street. We were all surprised that the road wasn't closed!

Saturday Update

Warmer weather brings us melting snow and ice. Kent got rid of the ice on the roof.

For the last month Annie's been working hard directing the orchestra for the Cascade High School musical Wizard of Oz. We were all glad that tonight was the final performance.

The orchestra in our "cave".

Members of the orchestra pose in Munchkinland!

Looks who's new!

Well, the word is out! We're expecting our first baby around August 11th! Last night and today we are making the big announcement before everyone figures it out one way or another.

Above is an ultrasound of the baby at 12 weeks.

Above is a nice profile at 13 weeks.

Alien baby! We think it really looks like Kent in this one!

Update

We've been very busy lately. Kent is now finished conducting the orchestra for the musical Oklahoma and Annie is 1/2 way through conducting the orchestra for Wizard of Oz. We have also kept very busy with our pep bands performing at home basketball matches.

Even with our busy schedules we were able to go skiing a few times. Our new favorite spot is a great skiing trail up Blewett Pass.

Annie and her sister Caitlin took a day trip to Seattle. Caitlin was looking for furniture at Ikea for her new house and Annie was just along for the ride. We stopped over at Tom and Kerry's house and got a chance to see some of our family from Alaska.

We bought a new sink faucet and were crossing our fingers that it would fit in our bathroom sink.

Luckily it fit, we love that it fits the style of our 1920's home and it is more functional than the last one.

We also made an improvement to our home by purchasing a new range. Our original one that came with the house never worked properly... so we were very excited to have a properly working range!

Coda

We've had a real hard week. Caitlin's new puppy has been a trying experience for us. He is a beautiful boy with a wonderful personality but a few nights ago it started having seizures. It's so hard to see this sweet puppy having such medical problems. If it was a one time occurrence it would be fine, but it happens way to often. We checked with a veterinarian, but there are not many positive signs for his future. We are all very sad that we have to return this little guy to the humane society. We've put a lot of time and energy into him; it's hard to have this happen. We all feel this is the best choice for us and him, but it's going to be a very tough day tomorrow.

Sunday Skiing

Sunday we went skiing out the Icicle Road in Leavenworth. Caitlin came along with us this time.

We skied up a hill and then flew down (or at least tried to)! Caitlin and I wiped out every minute or so because the snow was so fast. Kent was under control with his telemark skis.

Cassy loves the snow! When we call her, she runs and then pounces, digging her head under the layers of snow.

Coda

On Saturday we went to the Humane Society and picked out this little cutie for Caitlin! Caitlin (Annie's sister) lives in Cashmere now in her own house and needs some company. What's better than having a puppy peeing on your new carpet and chewing your shoes! It has to be "altered" but after the surgery it's ready to take home this Tuesday. We are going to be second parents to it this year when Caitlin is working at the hospital. We are really excited to help out raising a puppy. We haven't had that opportunity because we picked up Cassy at the Humane Society when she was a couple years old.

Kent came up with the name Coda and we all liked it. In musical terms it is sometimes the end of a piece or in Italian it means "tail".

One great idea we picked up when we were waiting in line was to drop off your old blankets at the Humane Society. They can always use them. We'll hopefully take some photos when we give the little guy a bath and introduce him to our houses.