Food Fun Family

Afterglow Sings Again! #PSF Give Me Your Best Shot

Lolli — Fri, 15 May 2015 01:23:01 +0000

Two sure fire ways to tell that it’s May around here: 1) there are at least 2 spring/end-of-year concerts or performances a week and 2) the weather changes drastically from cool and rainy to HOT. My bedroom is miserable – even with the air conditioning on – when the temperatures are above 85 or so (my bedroom was hovering around 83 for several days this week, which means that I feel sluggish and sweaty and my skin is breaking out like a teenager).

This past Tuesday night was the spring choral concert at the high school, and Necco’s quartet, Afterglow, performed 2 of their new songs. I’m so grateful for the chance that Necco has had to sing with these 3 other incredible girls. I love each of them so much!

Two of the girls will be graduating this month, and I will be so sad to not have these school concerts to hear them sing together. The girls love their quartet so much, though, that they’re planning on staying together after the oldest 2 head of to college locally, so this definitely won’t be the last time Afterglow sings together.

Instead of pictures this week, I’ve got 2 videos from Tuesday’s concert:

Goody Goody

The Cup Song (You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone)

I’m so proud of them!

What have you been up to this week? Now it’s time for YOU to show me your best shots from this past week. Link up below and have a fantastic weekend!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

To play Give Me Your Best Shot – Photo Story Friday, check this. Copy this code into your post and sign the link list:
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Just Another Barbershop Weekend #PSF Give Me Your Best Shot

Lolli — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 01:39:21 +0000

This past weekend was the yearly Barbershop Youth Adjudications for my daughter’s quartet (along with the adult International Prelims) in Harrisburg, PA. I was lucky enough to be able to spend the weekend as the quartet mom (aka world’s best chaperone), tagging along on all of their adventures in Pennsylvania.

It was exhilarating and exhausting, but as always, very fun. The barbershop crowd is hands-down the friendliest, most supportive crowd I’ve ever had the pleasure to associate with. Although I don’t consider myself a great singer, I have a deep appreciation for music, and I love listening and learning alongside these girls. I am so proud of them.

Afterglow Quartet

Afterglow with their best buddies and mentors, Last Men Standing

A silly little note: I have spent the last 15 minutes trying to copy and paste the code for Photostory Friday/Give Me Your Best Shot, and I’m finally giving up. My computer refuses to copy and paste. So, I’ll just leave it at this….Welcome to Photostory Friday and Give Me Your Best Shot! Feel free to link up your photo posts from this week and have a fantastic weekend!

An InLinkz Link-up

Holiday Concerts Galore! #PSF

Lolli — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 21:17:12 +0000

‘Tis the Season…for holiday concerts! Last week, we had 5 nights of play performances, this week is choir (and quartet), and next week is orchestra. For your holiday listening pleasure, here is one of the songs that Afterglow performed at last night’s winter choir concert:

Last week’s middle school performance of How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse:

And the high school performance of The Crucible:

Is your December filled with concerts and parties and performances, too?

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

To play Give Me Your Best Photo Story Friday, check this. Copy this code into your post and sign the link list:
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Harvest of Harmony 2014 #WW

Lolli — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:00:58 +0000

I am so proud of Necco, my 15-year-old, and my 3 other “quartet daughters.” The girls’ quartet, Afterglow, was invited to perform at the Harvest of Harmony concert in Washington DC this weekend, and although we couldn’t take photos or video during the concert, I did capture a few videos and pictures after the concert was over. If you know anything about barbershop, you know that the real party starts once the formal concert is done.

The girls had a fantastic time getting to know Last Men Standing, who just won first place in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s competitive Mid-Atlantic District Convention about a week ago.

This is not a song that Afterglow quartet does, but most of the girls learned it in chorus at school, and they learned that Last Men Standing knew the song, too. They got together in the hall after the concert and sang it together, just for fun. This video is the song they sang together – with no practice, no coordination. It’s just a group of people who are passionate about singing and LOVE to do it.

And here’s a little preview of one of Afterglow’s songs from after the concert:

A video posted by Lolli (@1momof5) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:44am PST

Afterglow is just starting their concert cycle this year, so expect lots more to come!

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My Guy {Afterglow} #PSF

Lolli — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 22:39:48 +0000

Afterglow is back and they are rocking it already this school year!

My daughter’s quartet, Afterglow, performed at their first concert of the year last night, and they brought the house down. I love that in just a year since they first started singing together they have not only improved so much, but they have developed quite a name for themselves among their high school peers and the large Barbershop community in the greater DC area. They already have 2 huge DC concerts coming up in the next month (where they are guest performers at big venues) and I couldn’t be more proud or more excited for them.

Since I accompanied these 4 girls to all of their concerts and camps last year, they call me Mama Laura…and I love them all like daughters. I love that they are so different and yet they mesh together – in voices and in personalities – so perfectly. They just have so much FUN together. It’s contagious.

Here is their second song from last night, their first time performing this song as a quartet in public.

Here’s their performance of Taking a Chance on Love last June, and the very first song they learned together (Jeepers Creepers), performed last winter. My daughter is the tenor (the high voice).

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

To play Give Me Your Best Photo Story Friday, check this. Copy this code into your post and sign the link list:
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Brad Paisley Concert #WW

Lolli — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 00:29:34 +0000

When tickets for the Brad Paisley concert at Jiffy Lube Live in Virginia went on sale on Groupon a few weeks ago, I did something a little out of character. I bought tickets for the entire family.

The weather was perfect. The sky was clear. The bands were on fire. We danced and we sang our hearts out (and the kids were all happy that nobody else could ask them to be quiet!). We were exhausted by the end of the night, but we had SO. MUCH. FUN.

This was my second Brad Paisley concert, but the first live concert like this for all of the kids. What a family memory night!

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Note: Amazon affiliate link used in this post.

Jeepers Creepers! #WW Link Up

Lolli — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 23:00:51 +0000

This past weekend, my 14-year-old daughter spent another fun music-filled day at a youth singing festival with the Alexandria Harmonizers, where she and her barbershop quartet were asked to perform at the evening concert (a first time honor for a high school quartet!). Not only did they get to do a ton of group singing and group training, but their quartet was singled out to receive some one-on-one training. These girls are really going places!

The Alexandria Harmonizers:

The youth festival participants:

“Afterglow”, performing Jeepers Creepers (my daughter is the tenor – the super high voice – on the far right):

Ready for another week of Wordless Wednesday posts? Link up below!

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Barbershop Quartet Youth Adjudications #WW

Lolli — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 02:42:32 +0000

My second daughter, Necco, has always been a singer. Not only does she have a fabulous voice, but she loves to perform. During her first semester of high school, she decided to try out for a barbershop quartet, and she was snatched up immediately as a tenor (luckily her teacher recognizes her crazy talent, too!). I can’t believe how well this group of four young girls fits together. Not only do their voices blend beautifully, but they get along fabulously.

After spending 15 hours with the four of them this weekend at Adjudications (a youth quartet competition and performance during a weekend-long Barbershop convention), I was struck by how their friendship enhances each song that they sing. I am so glad that Necco has been able to have this experience (and the weekend was quite the experience, with hours of professional training and critiquing, very entertaining adult barbershop quartet competitions, and hours of jamming with other talented youth). Instead of being bored, the long day flew by and I was thoroughly entertained.

This weekend was Afterglow’s first public performance, and they not only did well…they blew it out of the water! They scored an Outstanding, which got the quartet a partial scholarship to a singing “camp” at a college this summer. And many seasoned Barbershop singers mentioned to me and to the girls that their group outshone the rest and showed the most potential by far.

I can’t wait to see where they go from here!

Are you playing along with Wordless Wednesday this week? I’d love for you to link up below!

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Piano Fingers #WW

Lolli — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 23:46:51 +0000

My son had a friend over today, and I thought it was so adorable that the first thing they did together was sit down at the piano, side-by-side, and play a few songs.

Aren’t these adorable piano fingers? (Please ignore the condition of my piano. We found it at a yard sale in 1999 and despite the state of the keys, it’s a wonderful instrument!).

What have you been up to lately?

Winter Concert Time #WW

Lolli — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:33:02 +0000

Tis the season for winter concerts…and we’ve had a ton of them! High school barbershop/chorus, elementary school orchestra, high school play….and later this week we’ll have high school orchestra. Fun times!

What have you been up to lately?