Carlie is amazing...AGAIN!

Sometimes I feel like I just blog about Carlie. Carlie this, Carlie that...just wanted to clarify that I love each and everyone of my kids and that I would never want anyone to think otherwise:)

But...Carlie has seriously been working her hind-end off this month. Back in late December our new ward Music Chairman came up to me and asked me if Carlie would be willing/able to play the organ in sacrament meeting every time there is a 5th Sunday in the month. I said, "Um..sure." Sis. Ecalano then goes on to say, "By the way...the first 5th Sunday is January 30th." "Alrighty then!" I say:) SOOO....teaching Carlie to play organ has been on my "to do" list for a while but it was soo easy to put off because it's never convenient to go over to the church building a couple times a week to let her practice. Kinda wish I had an organ in my home. But when given a deadline, we planned and CONQUERED!!! So today was her first time ever playing in sacrament!!!! And she ROCKED!!! So at 10 years of age, she can now play organ for sacrament meetings! I did not know that this particular Sunday would be our Ward Conference and that the Stake Presidency would be there!!! But I didn't tell her that anything was different or special about this Sunday--not that it would have mattered at all to her. She seriously has NO stage-fright what-so-ever. Girl....you are AMAZING! (I took this pic while she was playing postlude--I don't think I broke any rules:)


So as if organ wasn't enough, she also began learning oboe 3 weeks ago as well--we're going for all the "O" instruments apparently:) What happened was that I wanted her to begin band on flute. I felt that it was a good starting instrument and that it would be easy to transition to the oboe. (I played flute and oboe throughout my band career:) Well...once again, she was constantly begging me to let her start oboe because there are a bazillion flute players, and once again, I was putting her off. Well Honor Band auditions were coming up for 6th graders. 5th graders can only audition if they are recommended by their band teachers. But as kids signed up for audition slots, there were a bazillion flute players and so they decided that NO 5th grade flutes could audition--all good, they had to draw the line somewhere. But Carlie was DEVASTATED!!! So she was BEGGING me again to teach her oboe. "Okay! Okay!!! Let's see what we can do in 3 weeks." Soo....I began working with her daily on this instrument which is widely know as one of he most difficult instruments. She worked and worked on it. I took her to the auditions on Thursday and what happened?!?! She flippin' makes first chair oboist in the 6th Grade Honor Band!!!

Soo...now I am GLADLY handing over her oboe lessons to a trained professional:) I was able to get hooked up with an oboe teacher who is almost done with his doctorate in oboe at ASU. She had her first lesson yesterday with him. He is also a professional oboe reed maker so her made her 2 customized reeds right there on the spot yesterday. I am SUPER excited about this!!! It's costing A TON of money but I am soo glad to pay it (my piano tuition is a BARGAIN:). I'm kinda tired of carrying the responsibility of this amazing girl!!! I've taught her everything she knows up to this point and now it's time to have her move on from me--just on oboe for now:) She's passing me by musically in every way and every day. I couldn't be more proud of her!