One Big Happy Family (again)

The first grade program was on February 7. Evan and his first grade friends performed One Big Happy Family. I just love this program. It's so sweet and sentimental. Evan dressed up in a button down shirt, tie, and dress shoes. He really liked this look, and told me he was "going to work." His music teacher, Ms. Mack, shared that Evan knew the program frontwards and back. I told her if she needed an understudy for any of the parts, she knew who to ask. We sang these songs around the house for weeks leading up the show. Evan was very enthusiastic and excited about this performance!

Evan can be sensitive to people's responses. For example, if someone laughs at something he does because it's cute, he may interpret that laughing as criticism and become discouraged. So, I wasn't sure what to expect when he was selected for this solo. What I learned was if he is confident with the material, he is absolutely unafraid to perform. [Video of his solo further down] Evan and his friend Danna did a wonderful job on their solos for this song. 

At the end of the program, Ms. Mack had them stand for pictures.

Great job, kiddos!

They performed for the student body during the school day as sort of a dress rehearsal. Then the evening performance is for families. I was happy to be subbing the day of Evan's program, and took this video during the school day performance. [You might hear me sniff because I was choking back tears. You might also hear other teachers around me respond with kind laughing at his cuteness when he's done.]

Coincidentally, Ms. Mack selected him to sing the exact same solo that Ryan sang when he was in first grade. "You're the greatest dad in the world, the world, the world. There has never been a greater dad. Yes, it's really true. I hope I grow up to be just like you." [You can watch Ryan's performance by searching the blog for the post on his performance from February 2015.]

Evan George Lokey

7 years 2 months

We are so very proud of this sweet face, little monkey!

We love you so much! 

January Moments

2017 is here! Already one month down. Our January was pretty busy. I subbed just about every day in January, so I haven't had much spare time to do fun things, like blog or take pictures for that matter. Burke is busy with a lot of big concert preparation, conferences, recruiting for next school year, and coaching wrestling. The boys are busy growing and learning, becoming more independent.

Early in January, on a mild day, Evan practice on a two-wheeler. The whole situation makes him pretty nervous and he hasn't gotten the hang of it quite yet, but he practiced and trusted Burke more than he ever has in the past. So that's promising.

Our local library had a Winter Adventure event. Participants get a list of library-related tasks, and if they complete 8 of the tasks, they get a prize. We spent some fun chunks of time at the library participating in that event. Evan even got his very own library card!

St. Joseph's lighthouse is a locally famous for being covered in ice. When it's very windy, sprays of water from waves freeze on the structure in artistic ways. It's commonly photographed and these images are shared on social media. We had a particularly windy, sub-freezing stretch of weather, so we thought we'd go down to see if we could see some lighthouse ice with our own eyes. We didn't see much ice on the lighthouse (it was kind of hard to focus due to the freezing cold plus strong winds), but it was a pretty interesting to experience the intensity of nature on the winter beach. 

Ryan + the river

sand/snow swirl

winter sunset

The boys have always been very apprehensive about swimming. I've been meaning to get them in lessons for a long time now, and finally got around to doing so back in November. This teacher knows her stuff, has a no-nonsense approach. The boys are making major breakthroughs, and are improving their skills and confidence very quickly. I'm so happy when they are excited after lessons. We ended up joining the YMCA to save money on these lessons, since we plan to keep enrolling them for the foreseeable future. Bonus, Burke and I are using our Y membership, and are taking small steps to be more active too!

Ryan

Evan

In other  news, my parents are still in the process of moving. Their St. Joseph house is under construction. They'll have a beautiful new kitchen and bathrooms, updated electrical, and more once this project is complete. 

My parents were in town recently to pick out cupboards and get established with a local doctor. My dad's 66th birthday happened to be during this visit. We were happy to celebrate with him on his actual birthday. Very thankful for another birthday with my dad, who seems to be a cat with nine lives. XO

At the end of January, the boys' school participated in The Great Kindness Challenge, a week-long event to encourage a culture of kindness. It was really uplifting to be a part of it. The message has so many applications - especially important to remember in the current political climate as we all adjust to a very different president.

Be kind...