Giga Ball

Thank you, Wikipedia. Math class was a GIGA-long time ago, and I knew "giga" was a lot, but it's nice to use exponents correctly.

Giga ( /ɡɪɡæ/ or /dʒɪɡæ/) is a unit prefix in the metric system indicating multiplication of a unit by 10⁹ or 1000000000. It has the symbol G



See below for the kids' GIGAmounts of fun with Zach's birthday GIGA Ball.

Daddy is GIGA-cool for taking them to the BIG hill near us. 

Mommy's GIGA-glad he kept them on the smaller of the big hills at that park.

And Daddy's still semi-GIGA in the doghouse for his "funny" call from the park, 

"Uh, which is the closest hospital?" 

Turns out it was all in GIGA-good fun.

from
"Z and O (Dick and Jane's cousins from Colorado)
       at the Park"
See O roll.   
Bouncy, funny O.

Big ball. Big hill.
Chase her Z. Laughing Z.

Funny, fun play at the park.

See Z roll.   
Flipping, flopping Z.

Rolling fast. Down the grass.
Dizzy Z. Laughing O.

Time for home.

(And no trip to the hospital)

the symphony

Sometimes I romanticize the event. I make reservations several weeks in advance and look forward to exposing the kids to "real culture" and being classy myself. It's even fun to consider it a dress-up-worthy day.

I truly believe it's an amazing event, and I love that Inside the Orchestra makes it possible for kiddos to be ThisClose to the music, and really soak in the experience. For three years in a row, we've attended the on-the-stage performance at Boettcher Auditorium. It's like theatre in the round, but the audience is surrounded. Love it!

But. I have to be honest and clarify that it's not classy. Or at least not for my crew. It's hectic. Reviewing this year's performance *which I truly did LOVE*, I found all this pouring onto the keyboard:

**
Whew. I love [it] every year, but every year it's never the relaxing, sweep-me-away experience I envision. Rather, it's rush-rush-rush, park, scrunch in, try to find friends who are also there with kids, "pardon me" closer to them, try to get comfortable, laugh at the conductor's jokes (though this year he asked the 7-year-old pianist if her mother was a "Tiger Mama;" at first it seemed a tactless comment, but on reflection, it struck me as a little racist), wish Figaro's song wasn't quite so long, LOVE all the surround sound, reposition, tell the kid to sit down, again, marvel at being on stage!, sigh, soak in the music, dig out a couple of bucks, shuffle up to an instrument for the kid to touch, be swept off stage, potty, try to remember where the car is, rush back to school.

**

Having gotten that out, I do feel free to simply LOVE the experience as one of the most magical events for kids. I mean, really, how can you go wrong when little people are surrounded by world class artists playing the theme song from Star Wars?!

For a more loving review of the symphony from a couple of years ago (and the set list is pretty much the same each year), see here.

The Symphony!

Olivia and Zach at the edge of the stage

Way across from us were the violins

"Our" bassist was just a step away!

Check out the accoustic ceiling, and the conductor

Olivia soaking it in

Zach and Ella getting some tips from a violinist

Thanks (so much) to Lisa, we learned of the Junior Symphony Guild's concert for kids at the Denver Performing Arts Center today. Along with maybe 500 other kids and parents and teachers, we sat on the Boettcher Concert Hall's stage surrounded by musicians who delighted us with sad music, stomping music, waking up in the morning music, quiet and loud music, cat and elephant music, and finally "The Horse Song" (the William Tell Overture). It was brilliant!

Zach has been all about the "band" (aka 'guitar') and the violin lately, so I thought this might really be up his alley. Today, he and Olivia were a little reserved, maybe because they couldn't move around as much as they wanted and probably because they were a few hours short of sleep. But even so, they gazed wide-eyed at the musicians and instruments all around us.

The conductor was a hoot, throwing in jokes (and a few sales pitches) for the adults as he livened up the kids with annecdotes about how Saturday mornings are made for...queue Looney Toons music, and teased the 5-year-old piano soloist about not spending any time practicing (right before said soloist poured out a beautiful piece).

At the end, kids could get up close and personal with some of the instruments and musicians. It's apparent that these folks love what they're doing and love the opportunity to share with little ones. This will be an annual event for us!

Bonus Points for anyone who can correctly name the tunes in the video clips while ignoring Zach's, "When are we gonna leave here, Mom?"

Click here for more pics.

Clip 1

Clip 2

Clip 3

Clip 4

And check out this news story (and video). I love the quote from the music director:
"Our purpose is to seed as many important melodies in their little ears as we can, because you know, it's just soaking into that sponge," said Tom Jensen, the music director for the guild. "Music soothes the savage toddler."

In case you're still thirsting for more, here's a little about the event, from their website:
Tiny Tots is a unique program developed by the Junior Symphony Guild to introduce children ages 6 and under to symphonic music. A unique and exciting perspective is achieved by having the children sit inside of a large circle of 30 musicians. The children are free to move with the music or to concentrate on a musician who is sitting just inches from them. With "theatre of the mind" exercises children have an opportunity to actively engage with the music.
The concerts entertain children with music from standard repertoire; TV shows, cartoons, movies and commercials. The Tiny Tots program cultivates an appreciation for symphonic music among young children by helping them to discover that symphonic music is around them every day.
Each concert lasts approximately 45 minutes. Children and adults sit on the floor, and the concerts are limited to 500 people with seating in the round. Concerts sell out quickly, so tickets should be purchased in advance.

Here is the repertoire for this season's Tiny Tots series:
* excerpts from the Opera Carmen, Bizet
* excerpts from the Marriage of Figaro Overture, Mozart
* excerpts from Hungarian Dance #5, Brahms
* excerpts from Symphony #7, Beethoven
* Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky
* Puss 'n' Boots divertissment, Sleeping Beauty with ballet dancers, Tchaikovsky
* excerpts from the 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody, Liszt
* intro: Also Sprach Zarathustra, R. Strauss
* Elephant variation, Carnival of the Animals, Saint Saens **
* Montagues and Capulets, ballet music, Prokofiev
* Finale from the Fire-bird Suite, Stravinsky
* Hall of the Mountain King, Grieg
* Morning, Grieg
* Sabre Dance, Khachaturian
* excerpts from Poet and Peasant, von Suppe
* excerpts from William Tell Overture, Rossini

** The elephants (basses) were right next to us!

Car Wash Kids

Every once in a while, I do actually get the car washed. Not often enough, surely, but that can be said about a lot of things. Maybe it's because I don't do it enough that the kids are still a little wary of the experience.

(We won't talk about the fact that my 3.5 year old is still terrified of the vaccuum cleaner.)

Triple By-Pass Video Log - Loveland Pass Love

1. 10 AM update past Georgetown, headed toward Loveland Pass

2. Heading up Loveland Pass

3. Loveland Pass 300-400 yards from the top

4. 1989 Loveland Pass passing bikers, working hard above tree line

Triple By-Pass - Middle

5. Cheering noise (not much to see!)

6. Cruising @ 30mph into Keystone (sideways, sorry!)

7. Along the Dam Road

8. Trail between Frisco and Copper Mtn

Triple By-Pass Final Stretches

9. On the trail approaching Copper

10. Vail Pass Rest Area

11. The Finish Line

Radical Luncheon

Our "Radical" book clubbers met for a lunch to celebrate the impending arrival of Kristen's #2. It's always a small miracle when we can all be in one place, given our school schedules, our kids' school schedules, parenting responsibilities and summer activities. On this day, it worked out for almost all of us to be there. Hallelujah!

Turns out, we were just in time. Little Emerson was born just 3 days later.

After lunch a few of us were able to spend some time letting the kiddos expend some energy at a park too. It was a hot day, but that didn't slow them down.

Date Night

It was a hot, hot Thursday, and we had scheduled date night. What fun it was to debate which Italian restaurant we should visit. In the end, Scott made reservations at Maggiano's downtown at the Denver Pavilions. Yummmm...

We had the perfect table, off to the side, where we had privacy and a candle and could people watch and have time to ourselves.

Scott carbed up for his race with pasta, and I ordered a tenderloin dish that was to-die-for. The strawberry mojito was also amazing.

We debated whether or not to go to a movie, but when the timing seemed to lead us upstairs to the theater, we went for it. (What was the last movie we saw?) Now, we can say it was Hancock. It's funny, too, because we thought we were going to see a different movie, but when the action unfolded the way it did, it became apparent we weren't at the show we expected. It was cute.

Afterward, we walked out into the Pavilions, and it was happenin'! A vendors' market was still in full swing, and we caught the last couple songs of the Matthew Moon Band. It was fun to experience the "night life" again, for a bit.

Bus Ride!

When the car had to be in the shop last week, I didn't relish the idea of being stuck in the house all day. But, living in the burbs, with a tire missing on our Chariot (as if I could really pull the two of them!), we aren't within walking distance of too many attractions.

The Bus!!

Zach would probably be content to just ride the bus around, without even getting off. But we decided to actually accomplish something, and mapped our route to the library. I wish I could say we used the bus more often, but I've been intimidated. So, this was our first trip. We loved it!

This is where we boarded, so close to our house. Of course, this is a staged picture. When we took off, we were running up the hill to the stop, in time to get there just before the bus arrived. Phew!

Can you see how excited the kids are?! For all the talk of getting to ride the bus, finally being on board with all the shaking and noise was a little scary. But I'm guessing next time it will be nothing but wiggles and giggles.

"It's coming! Der it is!"

Now that we've got the process down, our plan is to make an afternoon of it: We'll pack some lunch, ride up to the library, walk over to Whole Foods for a free cookie and something yummy for the adults, bus to the park to play and eat, then roll on home. If you're in the 'hood, please join us!

Da weeows on da bus go roun an roun, roun an roun...