end of year concerts

Bucket was very concerned about his final concert of the year.  They were singing a song... AND adding dance moves.  Just the name of one of the moves worried him.  Was it bad/evil?  Was it too popular/trendy... and thereby bad??  I had to ask the all-knowing-internet in order to even know what he was talking about.  And then try to convince him that, trendy or not, there was nothing wrong with the dance and YES he would be participating.

He's had a hard time, in some ways, being in choir this year.  But we've worked on it, with his teachers help, and he's getting better at participating (he has a hard time when kids aren't behaving or when they're not on pitch) and not freaking out about what they sing (oh, that Queen medley earlier in the year was a tough one).  He really has a nice voice (or will again, once it's done changing) and has a good ear, so I'm hoping eventually he'll love to sing.  I'm trying to help him see that he can help the choir by showing the other kids how to be good and listen to the teacher, help them hear their notes, etc. so he will be able to participate in high school choirs where the teacher will expect more.

The concert choir.

He's looking so grown up these days.

He was front and center for the big dance finale.

And he did dance.

And in one of those terrible inequalities that occur in mothering.... I didn't get a single picture of Monkey before, during or after her concert.  She did fabulous, though.  Even with having a bit of a cold and telling me that she might not really sing.  I expected to just see her mouthing the words.  Oh, but she was singing.  She has started discovering the power in her diaphragm and WOW! when she uses it, her voice can't help but stand out.  You can hear her over the 100 other kids singing.  Not in a bad way... just in the "someone up there can really sing" kind of way.  And she looks so beautiful when she sings.  She feels the music in her whole body and it shows in how she moves and the expressions on her face.  It's lovely to watch.  I'm very glad she'll be doing an opera with the Utah Lyric Opera Company in July and have singing be her full-time (non-paying) job for a month (9-4, M-F).  My girl has pipes!!