{ sunday night symphony }

I was a band nerd.
For 12 years.
I played the clarinet from the fifth grade until college graduation day.
Music took me a lot of places. It paid for some of my degree. I am thankful that my parents made sure that music was a part of my life, and I hope the same for Hannah.
Last Sunday, we had a chance to hear the Illinois Symphony Orchestra play at a local park. It was the perfect chance to introduce Hannah to the symphony without worrying about keeping her absolutely quiet, so we spent the gorgeous evening relaxing in lawn chairs and enjoying the Pops Concert.

As expected, Hannah whipped out some dance moves to entertain the crowd in our immediate vicinity. She really enjoyed the Sousa marches, and the Frank Sinatra tribute was another favorite. I'm not really sure whether she's conducting in this picture, or if she's doing the robot. Both of those things happened.

We got a little unexpected bonus, too, when our friend Olivia (age 7) was called up on stage to meet the conductor and perform a piece on her violin. Olivia has been taking violin lessons for about 3 years, and she played a beautiful concerto for about 6 minutes, wowing the entire crowd. It was spectacular! (Olivia's parents were good buddies of ours when we were first married, and I credit her dad, Jon, for getting Brian to go the doctor asap when he first suspected he had cancer...I owe that dude big time!)

I told Brian that I'd like Hannah to try the violin when she gets older, and he agreed with me, as long as she calls it a fiddle.
Of course.