Bill Riley Talent Search - EXCITING!!!

It was a really hot day. And I mean REALLY hot. The van thermometer read 140 degrees. I admit, it might have been slightly off...maybe. :) Did I mention that the air conditioner barely works? We were sitting in the stifling van, trying to eat supper without getting our performance clothes messy. Although we do it all the time, it still can be an interesting experience. Anyway, we arrived safe and sound at our destination - a high school 3 hours from us that was hosting one of the preliminary rounds of the Bill Riley Talent Search.

10 Days Earlier...

We have always thought it would be fun to enter one of the bigger talent contests, but never have. When we went to the Iowa State Fair for the very first time ever, we got to see parts of a couple of the contest rounds in the Bill Riley Talent Search. It's a big contest with 4 levels of judging (in the Senior division - 3 levels in the Sprouts) that you have to get through, with the last three rounds taking place at the Iowa State Fair over a period of 10 days. When we got home from the fair, we decided it'd be fun to enter the contest next year. The competition we saw was very stiff, but we knew we could be a Christian influence to the thousands of people there and, of course, it would be a fun opportunity! I was extremely disappointed to learn that once we finally decided to enter, I was too old. I would turn 22 before the contest. Everyone would be able to do it except me. Sad, but God is good, and He knows what is best. After all, He controls all things and this wasn't by accident. 

A few days later, Karen just "happened" to find out that there were still 2 qualifying rounds in 2013 which meant I would be able to enter! It was such a gift! We couldn't make the first qualifier, but we could go to the second. We had 10 days to prepare. Silas entered the Sprouts Division and the other five of us played as a group in the Senior division with our Mom as an accompanist. At the competition, Silas was the second performer. There were other Sprouts who sang, acted, or danced. He won first place! He gets to go on to the next round! We were so happy for him. He played amazingly well on his piece - Sarabande by Bach. It has lots of chords and double stops.

We wondered though whether the judges would pick our group now that a string player had already won the sprout division. They only get to send two acts to the state fair- one sprout act and one senior act. In our division there was an opera singer, dancers, tap dancers, regular singers, a yo-yo artist, a baton twirling act, and a good barbershop quartet... The results? With God's help, we won! So, now we are all going to the State Fair next year to compete in the next round. We had ice cream to celebrate on the 3 hour late night trip home.

And they all lived happily ever after.

~The End~

Silas being announced first place winner in the Sprout division 

All of us with Bill Riley

Sneak Peak Behind the Scenes and a Whole Day of Concerts

After playing at our home church in the morning, our next engagement was at Antique Acres.

In our spare time, we enjoyed looking around at all the working old machinery on display such as this one where they were making boards. I can totally understand how so many people were injured in the old days! This thing is dangerous! If you aren't careful, your hand could be sliced off.

Quiz Question: Know what this thing is?

Answer: It's either an old thresher, or a combine, or a different old piece of machinery... anybody know for sure?

Horns can be annoying things I'm sure! It looks like the weight of those horns would make his head off balance. 

 To boost our energy in between concerts, Daddy got us some ice cream. Go Daddy! It certainly helped.

Our next stop was in Readlyn, Iowa to give the concert at their special Farewell to Summer event in the park.

 Both the band shell and park were very nice. As you'll see later, the one downside was the heat and the sun.

 Making the jump.

Rosining bows before the concert.

That sun was powerful and it was shining straight into our eyes, reflecting off the walls, and generally making it an oven on stage. Thankfully, our audience could sit in the shade and enjoy refreshments while we played.

In fact, it was soooo hot that my chin rest cushion melted and turned into a gooey mess.

 Over half of us ended up wearing shades to cut down the glare.

It was a good day. In fact, some heat would feel pretty good now, wouldn't it?

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

P.S. Some of you may wonder what we do behind the scenes on our concert trips. Here's one example of the things we figure out to entertain ourselves with. Believe me, we have a hilarious time!

Dows Corn Days

We had a great time playing and enjoying the Dows Corn Days festival.

Arriving just before the parade started, we were able to see more fire trucks in one parade than we thought a small town would ever attract.

With all-you-can-eat sweet corn and watermelon, 

how can you go wrong? 

Oh - there was ice cream too.  :)

 Did I mention - they literally dipped the sweet corn in 

buckets of butter.

Unbelievably healthy. A great way to enjoy your vegetables.

 Comin' back from the flea market...

 Inflatables for the kids

Right before we played, we got to listen to some other fun musicians!

 ...and watch historical dances

We stuck around after giving our concert to watch a world famous juggler. He was fantastic, juggling everything from flaming torches to machetes. Besides that, he juggled behind his back, on a unicycle, under his leg, with Frisbees, and more. It was fun inspiration. It's great to watch others who are great at their craft and understand the hard work it takes to do something well.

Have a fabulous day!

Women's Connection Brunch

Setting up - the same routine as always!

 The food at the brunch was delicious and the people were wonderful. Scott Gottschalk was the speaker this time and he had several thrilling stories to tell about his many near death experiences before he was saved. What a life! Scott has had twenty-seven times when he probably should have died. He has had twenty-six fractured bones and been unconscious on five different occasions. Poisoning, a machinery mishap, a horrible motorcycle crash, a buffalo charge, and more! I'm so thankful my life isn't as hair-raising as his has been!

I hope you have a wonderful day rejoicing in all the blessings Jesus has given to us!

Kalona Gospel Sing

Our family had a great time performing at the Kalona Gospel Sing! 

One highlight of the trip was meeting the Garms family for the first time. We spent several fun hours deep in conversation... :)

We also had a chance to catch up with the Wissmann family and other musical friends.

Yum! Soft pretzels - a surprise treat from Daddy!

Piano pedal troubles! The pedal quit working, so it's great we could borrow one! Thanks guys!

We're searching for a screw we lost when trying to fix our pedal. Those screws are so tiny - we never did find it.

Praise the Lord for a refreshing evening of gospel music!