Singing all the way to Spokane

What a trip!! Allie and I have returned from a 5 day Children's Chorale trip. Their group was chosen to perform for the MENC (The National Association for Music Education) Northwest Division Conference in Spokane, WA. Our itinerary was jam packed from the moment we left Casper until we returned 5 days later.

Special thanks to Brenda and Jackie for watching Savannah and Timothy so that Phil could work on Thursday and Friday. MUCH appreciation goes to Phil for allowing me to chaperone this trip and taking extra special care of the other 4 in my absence. I love ya, honey!

I took too many pictures and even more videos. Here is just a glimpse of the fantastic opportunity Allie and I were a part of.


Thursday, Feb. 12 ~ Depart at 6:45 a.m.
On the bus and ready to go. There were 2 large charter buses carrying 111 students and chaperones.






Our first stop was Buffalo, WY to sing at the local high school for all of the elementary students in this district. I believe this song is called High Flight. Allie is in the second row, 4th person from the right.



A crowd favorite -- Oh Susanna



Next stop on Thursday was at a Catholic Cathedral to sing for students in this private Catholic school. The acoustics were absolutely amazing. Phil received a recording taken on a cell phone and he said it sounded like a professional recording!


This song is If You Can Walk You Can Dance, If You Can Talk You Can Sing.




We arrived in Bozeman, MT for a nice dinner at Fuddruckers. Here is the group of girls that I was responsible for.



After dinner (remember, this is STILL Thursday!), the Chorale performed the National Anthem at the Montana State Women's basketball game.


THEN, we walked under a tunnel to the MSU athletic department and the kids got to swim for an hour or so. The kids seemed to come alive, however the chaperones were exhausted by this point!




Friday, Feb. 13: After a VERY short night's sleep (10:15 p.m. - 5:00 a.m.) we loaded the buses again. First stop was an elementary school in Missoula, MT. The kids sang a couple of songs, then we walked to the University campus to eat lunch and sight-see. The scenery was spectacular. It seemed as if we were surrounded by mountains.



Allie taking a little break from all the walking around campus.




We arrived in Spokane late afternoon and the kids had time to play some games in the lobby of our hotel. Allie and Mackenzie enjoy a friendly game of Connect 4.

Next it was off to dinner at a local BBQ place.



Saturday, February 14 -- VALENTINE's Day: Since the kids all missed their school parties, each of the parents packed little bags of goodies and treats for the kids rooming together. Maridi, Natassia and Allie indulged me with a quick picture in their jammies before breakfast.

On Saturday morning the kids preformed at the conference as well as watched a couple of other musical groups. We were on our own for a couple hours to explore downtown Spokane. Here we are enjoying our lunch at PF Chang's.

After we finished with the conference on Saturday, we were off to a Natural Arts Museum. The kids wandered around and found some neat presents in the gift shop. Here is Allie enjoying the bird area.

After the museum, we had Italian for dinner at a local restaurant and then more swimming at the hotel.

Sunday, February 15 was mostly a long driving day. We wound through the mountains of Spokane, Idaho and Montana and arrived in Bozeman. We enjoyed Fuddruckers for the second time then were off to a local athletic club to get rid of some energy! The staff at the club was super. The kids got to play racquetball, basketball, dance, do aerobics and take part in a spinning class. Here is Allie and one of the chaperones, Jen, concentrating on the instructor's instructions for the "race".

Here is a fun video of the dancing. I can't remember what they called it -- something like Zaboom ?? (update: Missi told me its called Zumba) After they went through all their stations, it was off for MORE swimming.

Monday, February 16: We left Bozeman and headed toward Sheridan for lunch. Missi, David, Meg, Ella and baby Jackson bundled up and met us at Arby's for 45 minutes. It was great to see them.

We arrived back in Casper at 3:03 p.m. WHEW! It was a great trip for both Allie and I! Too bad we couldn't come home and go to bed. It was Timothy's 3rd birthday and Phil had been busy at home getting ready for a little party. More of that in a later post.