Almost done

As much I hem and haw about all the activities my kids do--is it worth the stress on the whole family to get to and from practices and games, and the stress on the child of performing, and the late nights--piano is not a question in my mind.  Unlike baseball, or t-ball, or soccer, piano is a life skill.  They will always be able to play the piano, for self-expression, for fun, to relax and even, dare I say, for church.  That's not to mention all the awesome stuff learning to play an instrument does for your brain.  So all of my children will play the piano until they are at least 16, and by then they should be good enough that they just keep playing anyway.

Rant over.

Rex had his end of year piano recital last night and he did great.  He memorized both of his songs, and while I know he messed one of them up because I've heard him play it so many times, he hardly flinched and just made up a bit and kept going.  I think he if were to put a bit more effort into practicing, he could really be very good--now he's just kind of coasting.  But to be fair, Zora is usually asleep when he gets home from school and then dinner and bed, so he really doesn't have a huge window of time to practice, but he could practice more than he does.  Nevertheless, Rex did wonderful.  He got the Pineapple Award for working hard and playing well...ok I don't actually remember what it was for, but something like that.  Every recital his teacher gives each student a certificate and tells a few things about why each student is great.  I really like Rex's teacher.  Unfortunately, she only has 2 more years of high school and then I'm up a creak because by then I'll have 3 kids in piano.  Guess I should go buy a lotto ticket.

And now without further ado, the only thing you actually care about: the pictures.

I told Rex he would someday regret all the dumb faces he makes in pictures--like when I put every single one of them in his wedding slide show.