Watch Wesley Go!

Finally had a concert where I could see Wesley playing!  Here is All of Me...

Cameron's Spring Concert

Oronoco Coco from Cameron's spring concert.  That is Cameron just to the left of Mr. Simpson, kind of sitting sideways.



This song below is called Voodoo and was all done in the dark, you can't see the flashlight things the kids were doing in the audience.  But listen to the beginning of the song, most of the bird sounds are made by Cameron and Myra on their ocarina's (clay flutes).  The song is very cool, even if it was done in the dark. :)

The Nichols Christmas Letter

 The Nichols' Christmas Letter is now published.  Enjoy!

Christmas time is here...

We've been blessed with lots of Christmas concerts as of late, so we can share some with you!

Cameron and friends played their "12 Songs of Christmas" at the local Mormon church for a Christmas concert.  As you can see, they added some hip acting to the gig :)  This one is best viewed in full screen mode, the room was packed and I couldn't get any closer than where I was!



Wesley's concert included him playing the drums for Salsa Caliante!



Wesley's band did Christmas music too, Jingle Bell Rock :o)



And finally, Cam's group did some Manheim Steamroller, and they rocked it!



We were really tickled that the kids can still perform traditional Christmas songs, this is the list of what we got to hear. 

Catching Up!

It's been months since I posted, so here's what we've been up to, with the latest stuff first :)

Jazz Festival
Both boys participated in their respective jazz bands at the Mid-Columbia Jazz Festival yesterday. It was awesome, and they both had solos!
Southridge - check out Cameron! Highlands - I only caught part of the performance, my camera conked out! Luckly I had just finished getting Wesley's drum solo. You can't see him, but trust me that it is him behind the music stand!

Halloween! 
Wesley was the only one in our house who took the time to carve a pumpkin, and he did a great job. You parents of teen males will probably recognize this pumpkin as a creeper from the video game Minecraft.

Southridge Homecoming, 2012 
Cameron and his date, Sandra, had a great time hanging out with the other band kids. They dined at Denny's and enjoyed frozen yogurt at the end of the evening.

King Tut and Seattle, September
We spent the Labor Day weekend exploring the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center and took in Woodland Park Zoo as well. The weather was wonderful and we had an awesome time.

First day of school, 2012 
Cameron entered 10th grade and Wesley started 8th. They both love school and are doing great academically.

Beverly Beach, 2012
We had an amazing week+ at the beach this summer, full of beach time, seafood, the aquarium, Depoe Bay, and laying around our brand new trailer.

Nanni came to visit in July, the boys really enjoyed a week of hanging out and doing things together. Her train was really late returning to Eugene, so we all saw her off at the train station.

Wallowa Lake, 2012

The first night of fishing :) The first of many nights of fishing!

The first night's catch - just enough "breakfast trout" to keep Dad and Wes happy.

Camping wouldn't be camping without s'mores!

This was the view from the middle of our campsite. I loved looking up each day, and watching the bats each night.

July 4 BBQ - burgers and dogs, watermelon, and beans (regretted that!). Yummy!

One of several games of mini-golf. Our favorite was the brand new course with all the water features. Here were were playing the "classic" course, meaning it's 50 years old and never been updated!"

Dad and Wes on our tram ride up Mt. Howard.

Mom and Cam on the tram.

Feeding the critters at Royal Purple Outlook on Mt. Howard. These critters are extremely brave :)

More critter feeding.

There's nothing like snowballs in July!

Angus LOVED swimming each day. He'd carry his bumper in his mouth on the walk to the lake, but since he was always straining the leash in his desire to get there quicker, he had to breathe out his mouth. His breath going in and out around the plastic bumper made him sound like Darth Vader :)

Check out the hail! A short video of the hail storm. We could see it in the distance for a few minutes, then BAM it was on us. I love a good Wallowa Lake thunder storm!

Bumper Boats at Joe's are always fun. I woke up at 6:30 one morning to what sounded like somebody walking around in our camp. I got up, went to the front door, and found this :) Apparently he wanted the cotton backing off my tablecloth.

Wesley's Marching Band Experience

Wesley had his first chance at marching band today when the Highlands band joined with Park Middle School and performed in the Jr. Lilac Parade in Spokane. It was so fun! And considering that Highlands didn't even have marching drums until a couple of weeks ago, I think they did an amazing job.

Headed down the street to start the parade.

Arrival, we called it "organized chaos."

The percussion section warming up.

Busses as far as the eye could see! Seriously, there were a LOT of middle school bands at this event :) The percussion warm-up. I'm impressed with how great they did considering the two schools had no time to practice together. And they were off!