Just like that, it's winter. I love the snow, so I don't really mind. I really enjoy all the seasons and I think it's so nice to live in a place where I get to experience them all in their fullest.
Since last Thursday, it's been quite an exciting and fun few days. Bright and early Thursday morning I got KD to the Opus bus (they had to be there by 6:15 a.m.). Then I took Angelle to school with all of her stuff for All State. Early afternoon, John and I left for Ames to see and hear the wonderful Opus honor choir concert. Angelle was able to meet us there and watch with us. It was one of the better 5/6 grade Opus groups I have ever heard there. They were fabulous! All of the choirs were. After the concert, we went to eat at "India Palace", our favorite Indian restaurant in Ames. That has become a tradition for us. They have the best tandoori chicken! And it's never very busy on Opus evening, which is nice, too.
After our wonderful dinner, we took Angelle to audition for her small ensemble part for one of the All State songs. What an honor just to get the recall. After the fairly long audition process, she was part of the ensemble and was able to sing with the ensemble on a special part for the girls All State song. So proud of that girl!
On Friday and Saturday during the day I attended the Iowa Music Educator's Association conference. I always enjoy that and come away with some new great ideas and feeling inspired and uplifted about what I do. This time I got some great ideas for using junkyard percussion and doing some listening using parachutes, paper plates and tennis balls in my music classroom. I also learned about something called the "Brain Dance". I'm going to learn a little bit more about that, but am hoping to start using it in my music room soon. Also, I will be looking to buy a small parachute to use for listening activities. Such great ideas!
Friday evening was free for John, KD and I, so we did a little window shopping in downtown Ames. It was snowing, so it was quite beautiful there. John bought KD a model airplane kit and they will have fun working on that together, I think. Then we went to the movie "Mockingjay 2". KD and I are into the Hunger Games series of books and movies, so we really enjoyed the movie. It was new to John, but he is a great sport and I think he enjoyed the movie. Friday night was also our first snowfall here in Iowa, and we got several inches of snow. So, after the movie, it was a bit challenging for John to drive around Ames to get us back to our room, but he does well in adverse weather conditions. He dropped us off and went to get us a pizza for supper. Our hotel room was in the Memorial Union hotel and had a fireplace. It was really nice to watch the snowfall outside while sitting by the fireplace with a cup of tea.
Saturday brought more conference sessions for me, then it was time to hang out with John and KD for awhile. We went to the mall and then went to play laser tag. Then it was Starbucks and the fabulous All State concert. KD and I had seats right by the orchestra. They played "The Pines of Rome" by Respighi, which is one of my all time favorite pieces of music. I enjoyed it immensely and picture flying whales in my head (reference to Fantasia 2000). Of course, the chorus was wonderful and it was great to see Angelle get to step to the microphone for the special ensemble part. The band was truly amazing as well. We left with our hearts full of great music and pride for all of the All State participants. We got home around midnight and we all slept very well!
On Sunday I got to pick up our dogs, whom we had really missed and judging by their reactions, they really missed us, too. Then we were off again and Angelle played piano for the Festival of Trees and the girls and I went to the Nutcracker Ballet. We had several friends who were in that production. After that it was time to tear down our table setting from the festival and get ready for the new week.
So, you see, it was a very busy and full few days, but also truly wonderful and full of so much beauty.
On Saturday, John, KD and I were looking for a place to have supper. I remembered seeing a "Mongolian Grill" restaurant close to the "India Palace". So, we decided to check it out. I have to be honest. Once we looked inside, we saw a place with no decor, threadbare and worn out booth seats, and I wondered if we had made the best decision. KD was ready to go someplace else, and actually, so was I. But John was ready to give it a go so we stayed. We ordered at the counter and I wanted tea. The server said he could give me a tea bag and hot water. He gave me a typical plastic cafe tumbler to use for my tea. I went with it and the tea tasted just as good in that plastic tumbler as it would have in a regular tea cup. It was self serve rice and soup. The food was fabulous! Really, really great Chinese food! We all really enjoyed it and while at first look, the restaurant didn't look very nice, we had a great experience there. Never judge a book by it's cover, I guess. It is always great to experience new things and different cultures. Variety is the spice of life, and we definitely experienced variety in Ames, Iowa.
So, if you're ever in Ames, we recommend the "India Palace" and the "Mongolian Grill". They are by the college area of town and a little off the beaten path. We are so proud of our girls for their accomplishments with Opus and All State and we are hoping to be able to have the same experience again next year. Check back tomorrow for Tarot Tuesday and have a magical Monday!
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