So I went to Girls Camp this summer... Yep, really did. The girl who hates camping. Don't tell, but it was a lot of fun! Our ward had quite a group. We brought ten girls (Alikka, Ayla, Kyla, Josie, Lenzci, Darby, Mykaela, Ashiana, Anaya, and Genesis) and 2 leaders (Patricia and me). Plus, the stake YW president (Nelly), the stake camp director (Angela), and the nurse (Lejdja) were all from our ward. I was a bit overwhelmed with that size a group since I had no idea how to plan meals for that many people, but we did it. Everyone had a tent, bedding, clothing, and food. Success. Plus everyone seemed to have a great time. Of course there were a few glitches, like a huge rainstorm and not enough transportation for the supplies, but we managed and have some great stories now :) And really, there was nothing we could have done to prevent those minor setbacks on a ward level.
We went to a campsite called Camp Liahona about an hour and a half north of the city. It was a beautiful site! The girls loved being surrounded by so many trees and having so much grass. #citygirlproblems :)
The school bus to get the girls to camp.
Definitely NO room for all the camping crap.
The YCLs welcoming the bus.
Look how green and beautiful it is in NY!
Playing games
If you look closely, you can see the tents in the distance
One of the YW, Kyla, made this video while at camp. She has little bits of several activities, including playing games, writing rap songs about nature, swimming in the lake, and starting the bonfire. It shows several of the girls from our ward having a great time. She did a great job putting the clips together -- seems like a Personal Progress project to me ;)
Half way through camp, Angela, Lejdja, and I ran to the nearby store for some more fruit and charcoal (since the unexpected rain drenched everything). We had a fun break from the girls :)
Shopping with Angela and Lejdja.
Despite all the craziness, the only thing I really complained about was the mosquitos. Didn't notice I'd been attacked until days later. Stupid beautiful lake...
Stupid mosquitos!
Here are some more pictures from Lejdja from the weekend:
The Astoria Ward campsite
Mykaela, Josie, Alikka, Darby, and Lenzci
Organizing our supplies
Angela posing
Our camp flag -- we were the Red Wolves as part of the Woodland Creatures theme
I did post this on Facebook, but I felt it needed to be saved through the blog too. It was a rite of passage, and therefore needed to be blogged.
Chase LOVES doors. He loves to shut them, open them, lock them, slam them, reopen them... He decided it would be fun to upgrade his fun and lock himself inside the bathroom. Yeah, not really fun. The scariest part was how quiet he was. We think he was just sitting there staring at the door, but he wouldn't answer when we called his name or knocked on the door. Luckily Marcus was there to save the day!
Marcus was almost ready to leave for work and quickly changed into some casual clothes. He went out the kitchen window to the fire escape and then crawled in through the bathroom window! What a hero :)
Chase now sometimes stares up at the bathroom window, probably wondering if Dad will come in through it :)
It's all official now. My transcript with the Suzuki Association of the Americas has been updated to show the completion of my program! YAY :)
And what's really exciting is that I've already been hired to teach at two schools!
I started teaching at Turtle Bay Music School in July, but my regular classes/lessons will start in the fall. I was hired to be part of their Suzuki Cello faculty and teach in their Saturday Music Program. So far, I really love it there. It isn't a full Suzuki school, but it's a great place with fantastic employees and students. They have wonderful outreach programs and really strive to help in the community.
Don't you love that red door?! Such a neat building.
I've also been offered a position at the Suzuki Music School of Westport, which is in Westport, Connecticut. It is an incredible opportunity to teach in a fully Suzuki atmosphere with all Suzuki trained teachers and incredible committed families. It just takes a subway, train, and cab to get there. :) I'm really looking forward to starting there in the fall too!
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Like I've posted about before, during the course, I taught a cute little girl named Anna. Her mom recently sent me some pictures from our final concert and festival. Thought I'd include those too! :)
Final Recital -- Playing "See the Little Monkey"
Anna & Me
Peter (my teaching partner), Amelia (Anna's sister), and Anna
Most of our group of teachers (Karen, Alexandra, Susanna, me, Pablo, and Pam)
and some of the students (Maddie, Anna, Declan, Anwyn, Ana, and John) trying to get a good picture...
Hooray for completing the course AND getting jobs! So glad we decided I should be part of this opportunity. I'm really looking forward to teaching at these two schools!
I had to do a formal blog post with pictures of Chase and his friend Winnie playing. They loved singing "Let it go" and playing the piano together. I snapped several fun pictures.
This one is a favorite. They're like Schroder and Lucy from The Peanuts. :)
Earlier in July, we went to the annual CooperKatz summer family picnic upstate at the Katz' home. We weren't able to go last year, so we were really looking forward to being able to attend this year. Chase had a blast supervising the cooler, running in the grass, and swimming in the pool. It was fun to chat with and get to know better many of the people Marcus works with and their families. Plus it was such a beautiful day.
We had a fun 4th of July weekend. On Friday, we took Chase to his first movie in the theater, How to Train Your Dragon 2. We went to the AMC at Times Square because they had a 9AM showing. Figured that'd be the best time to take a crazy toddler. There were a few other kids in the theater, and Chase wasn't the loudest or the messiest. It was a success in my book. Plus the movie was really cute.
The fireworks out here are now on the East River, so really they're pretty close. We knew Chase wouldn't make it that late, so we decided to watch the firework show on TV. You definitely get the best view that way, complete with the music. :) It was really impressive!
And we had some apple crumble a la mode. Yum.
On Saturday, we decided to go to Gantry Park. I love that park. And Chase did too, especially the train ride. The subway was pretty full, so Chase got to stand and hold the pole.
It was a beautiful day!
Chase (and Marcus) loved the playground.
We found out Chase loves to spin!
But then it got even better... water fountains!
Obviously Chase was soaked. We had him run around in the sun for a little bit to dry off before putting his dry clothes back on.
Chase met some new friends and practiced sharing his ball.
It was a fun afternoon, and like I said, a beautiful day!
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