One More...

I decided that after yesterday's post of Alyssa's art work, that I HAD to post this piece that Kai came home with this week. I think it's fabulous. He had to reproduce a photo in a magazine:
Great job, Kai!

Tri-Dac

In March, Alyssa auditioned for TriDac, the Tri-District Arts Consortium. Those who are chosen are invited to attend a wonderful three week program of intense study in their chosen field of art. They have vocal, instrument, dance, creative writing, and visual art. For Alyssa’s audition (she is interested in visual art), she had to present a portfolio of 5 pieces, go through an interview process, and attend a workshop where she created another project right there. She was NOT allowed to have help from art teachers or parents. I do not have a picture of the workshop piece. But of her original five, here they are:

1. 2D Self Portrait (Alyssa has recently been admiring Picasso and has been experimenting with his style)

2. 2D -Draw a rose illustrating Movement
3. 2D - Draw two different shoes against patterned cloth demonstrating shading and gradation. 4. 2D Depth5. 3D - Color (This is Alyssa’s preferred medium. She LOVES working with clay.) She was very nervous when we I dropped her off at the two hour auditions. (Parents were not allowed to stay) We found out a week later that she made it! She is very excited and can’t wait for July. Way to go, Alyssa!

While I'm at it I thought I'd include a few other art projects she has done this past year. This is a project where she had to find a small magazine photo and draw the object in the foreground (the toucan) while creating her own background:

With this next one, she had to find a picture of a boat in a magazine and paint it in watercolor:

Alyssa loves dragons. This past Christmas she got a 'How to Draw Dragons' book and these were the first two she drew!

She very obviously loves art!

Tae Kwon Do

My boys take Tae Kwon Do. Kai has been doing some form of Martial Arts for years. Last August he switched to Tae Kwon Do. He was a little frustrated at feeling like he was starting over, but he dove right in and is doing great.
His current ranking is Blue Belt. In March he participated in the ITA Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament. He won 3rd place in sparring! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that, but here is a video of him doing his forms at the tournament:



Roan just started in August and he has been doing great, too! His current ranking is Green Belt. Since he earned his green belt, he's has been able to start sparring and he's very proud of himself!

Roan Quote: Kai pondered, "How do you make marshmallows?" Roan said, "You just get some marsh stuff, and mix it with mallows!"

My Big Weekend

Well, it’s done. I am officially 40 years old. For the past 10 years, I’ve joked around about Meg Ryan’s line in "When Harry Met Sally" where she cries, ‘I’m going to be 40!” When Billy Crystal asks when, she answers, “Someday!” So far, it’s not so bad. Dean ushered me gently into my forties with a surprise trip to Charleston! But, let me back up a bit…

This year my birthday coincided with Mother’s Day. As it was my 40th, Dean wanted to make sure I got to celebrate both. So Friday, I went shopping for a new outfit, got my hair cut and straightened and treated myself to a mani/pedi.

That night, Dean arranged for babysitting so he could take me to dinner and a movie, which is what we usually do on birthdays. On our way home, Dean said the kids would be spending the night with their friends and the next morning we would go to Charleston!

We arrived at lunch time and started off with lunch at Tommy Condon’s, an Irish Pub. I had yummy Shepherd’s Pie! Then we walked around Market Street and down to the Battery and back.

Dean said we had to be somewhere by 3 o’clock. He took me to the wharf where we set sail on The Schooner Pride! I love sailing! It was beautiful and the perfect day to be on the water. I’m not sure he could have picked a better surprise.

Afterwards, he took me to dinner at High Cotton.

He had made reservations. It was a very nice restaurant. I had steak and Dean had rabbit.

I even had soufflé’ for dessert. I’ve never had it before and it was yummy!

Sunday was Mother’s Day and Dean was still at the top of his game. He made me breakfast before church! That afternoon, we went to a Mother’s Day cookout. We had a great time. The kids were in the pool almost the whole time. Dean even brought a delicious chocolate birthday cake and everybody sang to me. Thank you, honey, for an awesome weekend! With you by my side, I don't mind being 40!

Question #12

(I skipped question #11 but will go back to it.)

Who was your very first love?

Diagram of Inexplicable Behavior

I know, the artistry is astounding. The bar at the top of this diagram is the screen in a movie theater. Obviously, the lines are the rows of seats. Those four little dots in a row in the middle are where my kids and I sat after entering a completely empty theater. The other two dots directly behind ours are where the mother and small child sat a few minutes later. At some point during the movie, the mother, who was sitting right behind me, put her daughter on her lap. Said daughter preceded to kick and push my seat until I turned my head enough times for the mother to get the hint and make her stop.

WHY, I ask you? With the whole theater empty around us, why did you sit THERE? It just doesn't make sense. I really would like to hear the logic behind your reasoning.

Question # 10

What was my favorite birthday?