It's another beautiful weekend here in sunny Colorado! I was hoping for a bit more April showers, but no such luck - just blue sky and sun! Last Saturday, the 7th, Matt and I headed over to Steamboat to do some hiking. A friend of ours said that the snow was still ok to go snowshoeing on, but we were ready to spend some time on a hiking trail. Matt chose the Mad Creek trail, a really nice trail that follows Mad Creek. It was a great trail to hike where we enjoyed a few hours surrounded by nature. We even saw a coyote! We took a detour to the creek and looked for trout without any luck. It was such a gorgeous day to be outside!
Also, as of 3:45pm on Friday, April 13th, Matt is no longer "Mr. Rustand!" He finished up his 10-week stint as a long-term substitute teacher at South Routt County High School and is very glad to be done. Though Matt is glad he had the opportunity to give teaching a try, he definitely got a good enough taste to know that teaching is not for him. Matt had a few revelations throughout the job, much to my enjoyment, and now I think that he sees teaching with a whole new attitude. My favorite revelation was when Matt told me that he thinks teaching is a thankless job. He's definitely right on that one! :)
While Matt was busy wrapping up his last day at South Routt, I was busy taking all 3 of my high school choirs to large group contest in Meeker, CO. After loading the bus and heading out, we found ourselves stuck on school grounds because of a bad transmission. After 25 minutes of trying to get up just a small hill with a bus full of kids, our bus driver called in for help and we got a new bus with a much more dependable transmission. Because of our delay, we arrived 20 minutes late and messed up the morning schedule at contest. Whoops! (Much to my relief, a few other schools had arrived late - not due to a transmission - and one school didn't even show up at all!) Chamber Choir was first to perform and they did just an incredible job. They sang two pieces, The Prayer of St. Francis by Rene Clausen (A Concordia College choir director) and With A Voice of Singing by Martin Shaw. After performing for 3 judges, the choir then went into a different room to sight-sing in front of a judge. Chamber Choir received a 1 from each of the three judges for their performance and a 2 from the sight-singing judge. Overall, their score was a 1 - a superior - and the highest rating possible! Yahoo! I think it was just the boost of confidence that I personally needed to go on with the other 2 groups. Next was Jazz Choir, who sang Silent Noon by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Song of the Earth Spirit by David Brunner, and Resonet in Laudibus by Z. Randall Stroope. They performed very well and again received a 1 from each of the judges. Jazz Choir also received a 1 for their sight-singing, so they earned straight 1's! Another superior! The last Moffat County choir to perform was Concert Choir. They sang Come To Me O My Love by Allan Petker, Set Down Servant by Roger Emerson, and Something Told the Wild Geese by Sherri Porterfield. After they finished sight-singing, we hopped on the bus and headed home. Since then, I have not been back to school to check and see what rating they earned. I'm hoping for an overall 2 - an excellent! Overall, I am extremely pleased with the performance of each of the groups and know that the kids have worked really hard to earn those ratings. I'm so proud of my singers!!!!
Last Tuesday, I had a choir concert to prepare for large group contest. I think that the groups did an even better job at contest than they did at the concert and I just couldn't be happier about that! Matt, my number one supporter, came to the concert and took a few photos for you to see.
Moffat County High School Chamber Choir, 14 members.
Moffat County High School Jazz Choir, 18 members.Now that Matt's done teaching and large group contest is over, we're really getting excited for the next thing on our agenda - the Grand Canyon/Moab, UT trip! We are leaving on Wednesday and have quite a few things to do between now and then. We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and post a whole bunch when we get back! Until then, we'll be thinking of you as we hike through the Grand Canyon, swm in waterfalls, visit an Indian reservation, go cliff jumping, mountain bike in famous Moab, UT and rock climb! :)
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