Messiah in Concert

 Saturday afternoon I had the opportunity to sing with the Sarasota Choral Society again and to sing "The Messiah" in concert. It was another beautiful performance and I was so thrilled to be back after missing last year post surgery. Daryl came to see me sing along with Wesley and Davis. 

Their view from the balcony - this is the sanctuary at Church of the Palms. 

Disney Time

 Sunday after work in Cape Coral, I took off to Disney with Amy. Months ago I found out one of my favorite musicians Ben Rector was going to be at Epcot as part of the Eat to the Beat series. I made reservations to eat at Rose and Crown for guaranteed concert tickets. Amy and I enjoyed strolling around browsing and shopping, with some mimosa flights. We rode Living with the Land too. 

Our dinner at Rose and Crown was delicious. They have great allergy options. Tikki Marsala and non-dairy gelato, along with a cider. So good! 

We ended up in the fourth row - so so close. This was the first time I had seen Ben Rector in person and he has such a genuine stage presence and a love for performing and for his fans. It was SO good! 

Then Amy and I  found a quiet place to watch the fireworks before heading home.  

 

Two Celebrations on One Night

On Tuesday night, our celebrations kicked off with Davis' winter concert. He's in the middle school Chamber Orchestra this year and is the only double bass again. 

We were all there for the first part of the concert and then Wesley and I took off for the Court of Honor. Daryl and Parker stayed and got great videos of the pieces Davis played. 

Troop 50 Court of Honor - The rest of the family made it in time to celebrate. Wesley ranked up to Star and received two Eagle required merit badges (Citizenship in Nation and Citizenship in Society). Davis also received the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge. 

Here's Wesley pinning on my mom pin for the Star rank. 

 

Date Day and a Mother's Day Concert

Daryl and I went to Connor's for lunch yesterday after massages. The food was fabulous! 

And then on Friday night all five of us went to the Orioles Spring Training facility at Ed Smith Stadium for a Sarasota Orchestra Pops Concert. This was my mother's day present a little bit early. The concert was awesome - Dancing in the Street, the Music of Motown! They brought in three soloists to sing along with all the amazing hits. And there were fireworks afterwards! 

Weekend Adventures

Saturday morning was the Fruitland Park Day Parade. Davis got to march with the Carver Middle School band. There was no parade in 2020 or 2021 because of Covid, which means Wesley missed his chance to march in this in 2020. It was a smaller event than in years past, but it was so nice to be able to be part of this one more time before we move. 

Then on Saturday night, Daryl and I left the boys home by themselves and we went to the Garth Brooks concert in Orlando at Camping World Stadium. It was a sold out event - 71,000 people! It was an amazing concert - our first time seeing him in person. He's a hell of a showman in person and we relived all of our favorite Garth Brooks music from the 90s. He brought his wife out at the end as a surprise - and Trisha Yearwood is another of my favorites. I loved hearing them sing a duet and then her sing one of her greatest hits. 

And then on Sunday morning, I had one of those mornings where everything coincided at once - playing handbells live in both traditional services, singing in the God's Echo ensemble in both traditional services and preaching in all three services. Whew! I needed a big nap in the afternoon.