A shave and a haircut

The third grade students all learn to play the recorder. They recently performed at the school's end-of-year concert. Alexander was chosen to be the leader for his group. He sat in front with his back to the audience so that the other students could watch his fingers if they forgot which notes to play. He was very nervous, but he was a fantastic leader!

The songs they played were:

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Down By the Station

Ode to Joy

Three Note Waltz

Shave and a Haircut

I didn't know that he would have his back turned, but fortunately he was in the second group of third graders. When I saw how the first group did it, I found myself a new seat to be able to record Alexander from the side. I ended up right next to the violin section, which you may have noticed on the video.

Having a good time

As previously mentioned, Charlotte took an afterschool dance class with Ms. Tretheway this spring. They continued to practice the dances they had already learned, and choreographed some others. At the end of the two months, they performed at the Asian Art Museum during the SFUSD Arts Festival.

One of the new dances was a medley of three songs chosen by the students. Each child also contributed to the choreography. The songs were:

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift

"Ready or Not" by Bridgit Mendler

"Shake It Up" by Selena Gomez

Charlotte's class performed Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" again.

And they all had a good time.

Basketball Champions

Alexander recently finished the basketball season. It was exciting when they won several games in a row. It was exciting when they made it into the playoffs.

It was exciting when they won the championship in their age group!

Suddenly Alexander announced to me that basketball is his new favorite sport. I suppose it's easy to like it when you're winning. Maybe he can practice some more basketball with his uncles this summer.

Wedding!

2013 was off to an exciting start for our family. In late January and early February we traveled to Hartford, Connecticut, for my youngest brother Peter's wedding. Charlotte and Alexander were both very enthusiastic, not only to welcome Jeannine into our family, and to see their cousins, uncles, and grandparents, but also to attend the first wedding that they would remember.

On the Friday evening we attended the rehearsal, followed by the rehearsal dinner. This was even more of an adventure than expected. On the way to the rehearsal, my nephew Matthew, the ring bearer, fell and needed to go to the hospital for stitches. Fortunately, he is an experienced ring bearer and was fine without the practice, and was able to return in time to join us for dinner.

The brave ring bearer with the bride and groom

It was fun to spend time with family. Here is my oldest brother Andrew with his wife Monica and their children Matthew and Hannah. They also live in Connecticut, far away from us.

The Websters had fun together too!

The children learned many new traditions during the wedding weekend, including receiving gifts from the bride and groom for participating in the wedding. I'm not sure Pillow Pets are a traditional gift, but they reminded the children of our family trip to Disney World in November.

Saturday morning there was much to do to prepare for the wedding. Charlotte enjoyed having her hair professionally styled.

And it looked beautiful!

We all enjoyed dressing up.

Even the boys got to get "fancy"!

Alexander was helped by his godfather, my brother Paul.

The boys went to the church first, where Matthew and Alexander helped seat guests and pass out programs.

Then the girls took the bus to the church with the bride Jeannine.

Charlotte read beautifully!

Pete and Jeannine exchanged their wedding vows.

Mr. and Mrs. Strada

After a trip to City Hall for photos, it was time to party.

The children were introduced together.

The bride and groom shared their first dance.

The girls took their places to catch the bouquet.

And the winner was....!

Charlotte was very happy to see Claire, Matthew and Hannah's cousin from Toronto. Charlotte had gone to Canada for the baby shower when Martha was expecting Claire, but met her for the first time at the wedding.

Tired girls

Dancing the night away

(The video is dark, but the little guy dancing with his back to the camera is Alexander.)

Enjoying the reception with my brother Rob

We all had moves like Jagger.

The kids were both tired after dinner. As long as I kept them on the dance floor, they were into the party. It meant that I wasn't able to socialize as much as I had hoped, but it was fun to watch their moves!

Congratulations to Peti and Jeannine! Thanks for including us in your celebration. We look forward to seeing you again this summer.

All That Jazz

Last year Mr. Rogers taught the students at our school songs from Broadway Musicals. This year his theme was Jazz Standards. We recently enjoyed their performance at the end of the 10 weeks of lessons.

The entire student body sang "What a Wonderful World" while the combined 4th and 5th grade class performed it in sign language.

The third graders sang "Can't Take That Away From Me."

Then they sang "Straighten Up and Fly Right."

The 4th and 5th grade class sang "Cheek to Cheek."

Then they sang "La Vie en Rose" in both French and English.

The students closed the show by all singing "Pennies From Heaven" together.

Lily Cai dance

Charlotte's Lily Cai dance class performed this week in the school cafeteria. The dance was very different from the ones they have learned in the past, so they initially found it difficult. It was lovely, and I'm very proud of how well they did.

Waiting in the wings for their turn to dance.

Winter Camp

This weekend we went to Winter Camp with the Hungarian Scouts. We were in two cabins in Arnold, California, on the edge of the Stanislaus National Forest.

Here are the younger children with their smiling faces...

...and in their scary masks!

Kneading dough for fresh bread.

Here are the older children.

Sledding and tubing at Bear Valley.

Painting masks to scare away the Turks or the Winter.

Hiding in the woods during the number war.