Lydia did a stunning job! Before playing each piece she gave an explanation of what was happening in history at the time each piece was written, along with a brief biological sketch of the composer of each piece. Her introductory dialog, accompanied by the virtuoso playing made for one classy evening. My pictures don't do it justice, but with only a point and shoot camera plus a toddler on my lap most of the time it was the best I could do. :o) 
Craig Webber, much loved teacher and mentor, presenting her with flowers after her final performance. With much praise to God, we all say "Well Done LYDIA!" The countless hours of diligent practicing paid off with an amazing mark of 85% on her Diploma in Piano Performance given through Conservatory Canada. I am reminded of Solomon's words: "Seest thou a man diligent in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men." WAY TO GO SIS!!!
Lydia the beautiful visiting with friends afterwards. By the way, Chloe designed and sewed Lydia's performance dress!
Good 'ole Grandma! She wouldn't have missed this for the world. :o)
After the performance our family came over to Chloe's summer home for tea and dessert. All of our grandparents attended Lydia's recitals, which was very special to her. Also pictured here is Joel Jost, lifelong bud of our brother Luke who came up to videotape Lydia's performance for her.
Our little family spent Saturday night in Lethbridge with Chloe, and then after attending our "old church" (from when we lived in Lethbridge) on Sunday morning, and after a spontaneous lunch with friends, we made the drive down to the farm to stay for a whole week! Hopey-Doodle was very happy to have a smoothie when we got there, as she had been too tired to eat her lunch!
And...being the kind of Mom that I try to be, I dutifully got my daughter ready for bed at her normal time, but since the family was just pulling out popcorn Josh and I decided Hope could stay up for it since it's one of her all time favourite foods.
Everyone was glad to have her at the table with us. :o)
MONDAY MORNING! Everyone loves it when Luke's on dishes, because every counter is left spotless, every dish is put in it's place, or, if it doesn't have a place, like people's water-bottles, he finds a place for it! No flip-flop line ups in this family, but check out the Contigo Collection! :o)
It was a special treat to have Chloe with us for Holiday Monday. We were all sad when she had to go back to Lethbridge that night, but she's a working gal now, and you gotta do what you gotta do! Hope snacked on leftover popcorn while I get ready to take her berry-picking with me.
Ahhhh..... sweet happiness. Little girl, red wagon, and clothespins to play with. Simple things are the best!
Josh the willing lent some labour to the guys who were digging a trench and burying an irrigation water line on the east edge of the farmyard.
Almost done...
Meanwhile, the plentiful saskatoons were merrily falling into my bucket, and I gave Hope a few to occupy her busy little hands.
Uh, I kinda don't think she wants to eat it. What do you think??? :o) Actually, she did eat a few, but she didn't find them addicting like she does with grapes. :o) 
Luke bringing some tools from one place to another. That old golf cart of Papa Collin's sure is useful for carting stuff around on the farm!
My wonderful guy with two other of my wonderful guys!
Having picked the short hedge clean for the moment, we moved on to more luscious surroundings - Granny's garden. Chloe and I gleaned saskatoons and had such a good talk while Hope kept herself busy in and out of the wagon. :o)
One of the beautiful beds of bountiful flowers! Go Mum! I'm so happy the farm is on a water coop now. It allows Mum to do all the creative gardening she always wanted to do when we were kids, but couldn't because there was no consistent water supply.
Granny and Hope become friends at last. :o) Mum pulled out a couple winner toys she had just inherited from her parents when they sold their house, and Hope loved them!. I remember playing with these Fisher Price toys when I was a "widdle kid" and they seem to have kept their charm. Pardon the fuzzy and dim picture...I was having trouble with my flash, but Hope playing underneath the coffee table was a shot that just had to be captured!
Doing the "Oh lie down....SIT UP" game. :o)
Before Monday came to a close we found time for a sister walk, with Hope in tote! Avery sorta forgot to include Hope in this shot, but you can see Chloe's hands on the stroller handles.
There she is!
There she is! Now for the story before the stroller....
We thought we'd take Hope down our old gravel road in her red wagon and pull her down the prairie trail to the old schoolhouse where our ancestors attended school. Well, it was a great idea, but halfway to the schoolhouse the bolts on the steering gear of the wagon came loose, and so there went the wagon idea! We only found one of the nuts, so we couldn't put it back together. We stashed the wagon away on the prairie trail and had a very slow walk the 1/2 mile back to the farm, as Hope really wanted to walk too, not be carried. So, though the walk was tedious it gave us more time to talk, which was the point right? :o) Chloe went back later and picked up the wagon in the van so the guys could fix it.
There we go! Gotta love that yellow mustard in the background. Crops are very late this year because of all the moisture they got this spring, so even though it really was August it sure didn't look like it when you looked at the crops. :o)
There we go! Gotta love that yellow mustard in the background. Crops are very late this year because of all the moisture they got this spring, so even though it really was August it sure didn't look like it when you looked at the crops. :o) Stay tuned for more pictures from the farm....
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