Rachel's Recital

Rachel has really excelled in piano this year (which is good because it's costing me an arm and a leg) but it's been great to see her improve and how much she loves it. 

 She got a little nervous when she learned she was going to be second on the program.  I say it's better that way, so you don't have to sit very long with butterflies in your stomach.

She had a little trouble with the pedal in the beginning and then starting her second song, but she pulled through it beautifully.  I'm very proud of her. 




And this lucky girl got to have her Grammie and Pop watch her perform.  They visited us for half a day when they volunteered to be bumped from their connecting flight back to Brussels.  And they were lucky for having an excuse to duck out early.  It was a looooong, 2+ hour recital (pretty torturous) and sad because these kids are amazingly talented...it just all starts sounding the same.

And here are just a few pictures of her with her friends from 3rd grade.  She is now moving on to a new school, an "upper elementary" as they call it.  A school just for 4th and 5th grade, before they go to middle school...whoa, what a crazy thought...only a couple years away?!

For the first time ever she is a little nervous to begin school again.  Only half of her grade is going to the same school and it's also a much bigger school.  I'm sure she'll be fine.  She is really growing up, and it's killing me.  But I have really been enjoying having this bright, inquisitive, creative, fun-loving, adventurous girl around this summer.