Hawks... A Little Closer This Time

So you all know by now that we have our Blackhawks tickets every year where we get to go to 9 games and although split a bit, the majority of those are attended by dad and me.

Well, a few weeks ago was one of those games, but there was a little twist. That day Uncle Brian called and said he was going to the game with Isaiah and Eli, so things got a little more exciting.

So we all went to the game and went to our own seats, theirs being just a little bit closer... ... and by that I mean ours are in the second-to-last row in the stadium and they were in the 11th row.

So we hung out in the concourse at the end of the first period and just messed around a bit.

And then the text came in from Uncle Brian. He said for us to come down there and he and my dad could hang out on the concourse and I could go with Eli and Isaiah down into the good seats for the rest of the game. I was unbelievably grateful, but actually not all that surprised as this is the type of thing Uncle Brian does for other people all the time.

Either way, the rest of the game was amazing, the Hawks won 4-1 and I got to take it in 11 rows deep with my two favorite people in the world.

Oh, and dad got a selfie in with me right after the game, ice level.

My First Official Concerto

So this was it, my big day. I'd been practicing for weeks and my lessons had been going swimmingly, and the day had finally come for my first official piano concert.

I got all decked out and headed out to my school for an evening performance. I was so excited my mom was able to muster up the energy to make it to the show, and a pre-concert hug from her was a big boost for me.

Eli and Isaiah and Uncle Brian came a long way to watch me play. And Aunt Tasha watched Pax so that Mom could come. Nana and Papa also came to my show but Nana was so busy taking pictures we never got one with her actually in the photo... ugh.

After Hooper took his turn, it was my moment, and I seized it. Remember that Whitney Houston song, "One Moment in Time" - yah, well, Whitney (God rest her soul), she knew what she was singing about.

And then my teacher, Miss Victoria, joined me on stage for a duet.

And the crowd went wild.

Some post-show hugs from my favorite folks and it was on to a pizza party on my deck (Nadia was there and she played right after I did, so we were piano concerto buddies).

 And the lady who made me the pianist I am today.