Thursday, March 3, 2011

This, that, and what's next!

As we ramble down the road into 2011 we take some time to look back on all the changes, exciting adventures and unexpected turns this past year has brought to our family.

In January we performed from Florida...

all the way up to Oswego New York....

February found us back in Florida performing.

We popped a tire

Christian picked up the Zen drum!

In March we celebrated Saint Patty’s Day

We had a great time doing a fiddle workshop with Florida fiddlers!

In April we auditioned for America's Got Talent

We performed at the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. on a stage and for the televised parade.

We traveled to Georgia and worked with the nonprofit Amigos for Christ to raise money for feeding centers in Nicaragua

Kathryn and Christian went to prom (with friends)

CNN traveled with us and put together an article

In May we went to Las Vegas and spent a week with America's Got Talent and met some amazingly talented people. We jammed with musicians, stretched with acrobats, learned to throw cards, do magic tricks and survive in a pressure cooker.

Then we were back up in New York!

June we traveled to Alaska, saw some of the most beautiful vistas, rode horses at midnight, danced until we dropped and hiked until we couldn’t walk. Performed all over the state. Performed our first show in Fairbanks.

Performed 4th of July on Beaver Island. If you’ve never heard the star spangled banner on the bagpipes you haven’t heard the star spangled banner….on the bagpipes.

Then a cousin's wedding in Minnesota

Performed from Michigan to North Carolina

August we had another cousin's wedding in Massachusetts

Said goodbye to Andy :(

September we performed in Michigan and Pittsburgh and visited family

October we bounced down to Georgia and back up to New York

November back down to Florida...

...and back up to New York

and all over!

This January we opened our brand new show at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and Christian, Mom, and Dad also debuted their first Trio performance!

Total miles traveled this year: 27,591

Total Shows performed: over 2,000

Total Fun had from 1 to 10: 11

Plans for the year to come:

This coming year we’ll going back up to Alaska, Andy will be going back to school and in the Fall Kathryn and I will be leaving for college; Kathryn to study Foreign Relations and I will be studying Musical Theater.

What will happen to the group? We’ll continue to perform together as a family during our breaks. It’s been great to have Andy back with us and in the show during his time off. He’s also been performing solo while in college. None of us want to stop performing together as a family. It’s just too much fun! Meanwhile Mom, Dad and Christian are going to perform as a trio-"ShaeLaurel, Party of Three" There have been some rumors about a Frank Sinatra Tribute show but you didn’t hear it from me :)

While our group performance schedule will be limited to our school breaks we plan to jam pack as many shows as possible into those few months to make up for all the time we’ve missed.

That’s our year in review, we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to too! Use the comment box or send us a private message to share your story.

We hope to meet up with you out on the road. If you get a chance to talk with us one-on-one ask someone to tell you the full Alaska story, and what really happened when we tried our hand at yard work. Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

ShaeLaurel