My Big A$$ Clarinet!

If you don't know, I am a member of the Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble. This is my 3rd year and I absolutely love it! It's so great to be playing (clarinet) still...and at least put some of my college education to use! HA! Well, this year, the conductor, Roy, approached me and asked me if I would be interested in playing a contra-alto clarinet in the ensemble this season. He is the band director at a local middle school and received a grant at the end of last year for new music, instruments, etc. This was one of his purchases! No one has ever played it, since he doesn't have enough clarinet players in his school bands to have one move over to play it...so I get to play it!! It's so awesome! Unfortunately, though, there are usually no contra-alto clarinet parts in band music, so I am playing and transposing tuba music...tons of fun!!! I call it my "big-ass clarinet"...but around the kids, it's the "big-butt clarinet"! LOL I had Emma hold it while I took a picture so you could see just how huge it is! When I play it, I have to sit on a bar-type stool so I'm tall enough to reach the mouthpiece! It's so cool!!

This past Saturday we went to Crossroads Village for the "Ghosts and Goodies" event. You go in and get a trick-or-treat bag (adults included) and follow the path to 20 different stops and get goodies, the last stop being in the warehouse for cider and donuts! It was so much fun! We got the kids dressed up in their costumes and bundled them up in blankets and just had a great time...and even rode the train to see all the Halloween lights and decorations they had up on the 40 minute ride! Emma and Bradlee had a great time, too. I would post pictures, but I'm going to wait until Halloween, so I won't be repeating the costume pictures!!

Unfortunately, the sickness has not left our house...on Saturday, Emma woke up with a really stuffy nose and her eye "stuck" shut...took her to the clinic and she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and a "non-contagious" pink-eye...great. So she's put on an antibiotic just as Bradlee finishes his last one! Then last night, Bradlee was having a really hard time falling asleep and just kept crying and crying...so Tony ended up taking him into the ER and he was diagnosed with (another) double ear infection. Today, I had an appointment already set for Bradlee to have his ears checked from the last ear infection he had...and in it's place, they checked his ears, "yep, they're infected", gave him his second flu shot, and then referred us to an Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) specialist. We see him on Thursday afternoon. I thought Emma had a lot of ear infections and sickness....Bradlee TOTALLY has her beat!!! ARGH!

Enter in all of this my having a major migraine last week and Tony having some consistent headaches this past weekend...just call us all petry-dishes!! LOL

Here is a picture of Emma playing on the computer. She's gotten so good, thanks to Tony's sister, Lynne and my sister, Karyn, playing with their (and Emma's) Webkinz on the computer. It's been so good for Emma to learn how to use a mouse and such. She gets on there and feeds her pets, plays games and even goes shopping for pink stereos and karaoke machines! What an amazing little girl! She reminds me of her Boppa (my dad) when she looks through the top of her glasses...HA!