Back in the Blogger on Father's Day

So it's been awhile!

I recently started looking back at the blog from when I started it in 2008 and to be honest I have really enjoyed going back in time with Hannah and Liz and all the friends and family of the Raz Report. So I'm bringing it back.

Now, of course, it will be different since Hannah and Lizzie are 16 year old young women - but we still have a lot of fun that I'd like to remember when I am old and grey (which I already am, but whatever!) So here is blog number one for 2019 - we decided to go to the pool because it was bright sunshine and it was Father's Day and Rob wanted to go and so we do what the Dad wants on Father's Day.

And then - as they say - not so much.

Luckily I don't like to swim anyway.

Hannah looked at the sky about 10 minutes before this and WARNED us all that we should get up to the car, but we were chatting with another family and ignored her. So she is the smarty-pants and we are the dummies.

So, I'll be posting some catch up things over the next few days. If you read me on facebook you will still see some of these things there, but I like the blog because FIRST I can actually FIND things on here (just try searching for a funny story that you post on FB and it's nearly impossible!) and SECOND because I like to write LOOOOOOOOONG stories and use LOTS of photos, and that (apparently) is not good facebook etiquette, the blog works for me..

So here we are. Again.

Now, onto summer!!

house for sale

I am posting these for the Raz extended family to see, so I'll be deleting this post once they have seen them. However, if you are interested in buying a nifty house (FIVE bedrooms) in Cape May County, give me a shout and I'll let you know the details!

I Hear Music

Hannah's last official concert as a Varsity Singer was Tuesday night. She has really loved being a part of these select chorus and it has brought her several opportunities including performing the National Anthem at a Phillies Game, an overnight trip to Erie to perform at the Pennsylvania Music Educator's Association's annual conference and tomorrow she's headed to Hershey Park for a huge chorus competition followed by fun at Hershey Park (unfortunately it looks like they'll be Singing in the Rain for this one, but when you are 14, you don't care about the rain!)

Here are a couple of songs from the show.
This first one features Hannah in a short solo. I absolutely hate this arrangement of Africa (I can't help hearing the Toto version in my head and this quite different!), and I don't like the way the solo is arranged either, but the hand motions in the beginning that are meant to imitate rain are really really cool! This is the entire 7th and 8th grade chorus and it's one of their competition songs for Hershey.

And then there was this song which is my favorite Varsity Singers song of all time. It's performed a cappella and it's got four part harmony, which is pretty tough to do. I think it's beautiful!
So enjoy it, and I'll post the results from Hershey over the weekend.

#PutBobOnTheBoard

Rob's running for school board. I think he'll be an excellent School Director and I will enjoy all the perqs of being a school board widow! (None, I believe!)

Here's some of his campaign stuff:

Intro:

Robert S. Rasmussen, 53, of South Coventry is seeking a seat on the OJR school board because he wants to make sure OJR students continue to receive the best education possible in a time of fiscal uncertainty. 

Bob has attended nearly all the school board meetings for the past seven years, and offered counsel on a variety of topics both as a supporter and an adversary. A former accountant and current software developer, Bob has the expertise to stretch resources while enhancing the district’s reputation for academic excellence. 

As a member of the Coventry Lions Club for the last 17 years, Bob has served the community by bringing awareness to their projects while also helping OJR students through fund raising for scholarships. 

As the father of OJR eighth graders Hannah and Lizzie, and husband of Tracy, Bob wants to create a school district in which his children can flourish and where taxes remain reasonable so that he can retire here. 

Bob has been an interested spectator to the board’s decisions and is looking forward to the opportunity to be a participant in those decisions.

Aladdin!!

Okay, I don't mind saying that I am SO HAPPY that Aladdin is done! It turned out to be a lot of work (for me -- ha ha!) during the last two and a half weeks and poor Lizzie was out of the house every day from about 7 a.m. until 8 or 8:30 p.m. But I think both girls would say it was worth it!
Lizzie was dancing/performing on a bruised heel/achilles tendon, too (because she wasn't already nervous enough!) but managed quite nicely.
Family and friends came to see them, too, which always makes them happy. I didn't get a picture of Terry, but she was there on Friday night. Also Lizzie's dance teacher Miss Michelle and our neighbors also came to check it out.
I saw it three times and enjoyed it (really!) each time! Here's a snippet of one of the songs where Hannah has a short solo. I thought Lizzie's leap came after this so I missed it (bad videographer!!) but you can see her dancing as one of the harem girls (pink pants) and running up the stairs.

Here are some other photos from the event!
Hannah was a matron and Lizzie and Phoebe were harem girls:

Hannah taking her curtain call!

Lizzie taking her curtain call:

Striking an Aladdin pose:

Hanging with special guests Aunt Linda and Uncle Dude after Sunday's show:

Lizzie (far right), the harem girls and Aladdin

Lizzie and Hannah headshots for the show:

The whole cast (Liz and Hannah are identified with arrows!)

Winning and Dancing and Cleaning

Well, it looks like photo number six has the edge over the other Hannah photogenic photos. It was not my top choice, but pretty much everyone who voted (except for me) had it as one of their top two. I'm still waiting to hear from some pageant peeps, but it looks like that will be the choice. One more thing checked off the list.

And these days I NEED a list. We get a lot done on weekends around here and I, personally, cannot wait until summer when things slow down a little bit.

This past weekend was no exception. In between working the girls continue to have lots of activities. On Saturday Rob and Hannah were up really early so they could clean up a stretch of the highway with the Lions Club. Rob's been doing this for years, but this is the first time Hannah helped. Hannah may not CHOOSE to pick up trash, but she's happy to do it when asked (by anyone other than her mother.)

Here's the gang:

While they were doing that, Lizzie was doing what she does every Saturday - dancing. In the morning she had her usual Rep rehearsal, but in the afternoon she got to go to a Master Class with Denis G., who formerly was a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet.
Liz said it was fun, but she didn't like getting corrections (does anyone?!)

Here's the group of advanced dancers at her studio with Denis:

This weekend I also had to deal with a very sick dog. For reasons that we still have yet to discern, Cash went into liver failure on Friday. He spent Friday night at the vet getting fluids and IV antibiotics. He perked up enough on Saturday to come home, but when we returned to the vet on Monday his liver levels still showed failure, so tomorrow he goes in for an ultrasound to see if they can figure out what the problem is. Until then I have to give him four pills twice a day - which all dogs LOVE - and I have noticed some improvement. He still won't eat HIS food, but he is again showing an interest in MY food. We'll know more after the ultrasound.

Right now we are in the thick of Spring Break, which deserves its own post! Craziness as always!

Photogenic Voting

Hannah had some headshots done a couple of weeks ago and it's getting close to the time when I have to pick one (or, let's be real, two or three) and I can't decide. So I thought I'd let my loyal blog reader(s) let me know what they think. You can email me at tgr101@comcast.net or leave a comment, whichever is easier for you. Feel free to just tell me the number of your TOP TWO or comments about any of them.
These are straight out of the camera, so things like weird hair and blemishes will be fixed for the final shot. I am more interested in facial expression. Photogenic shots need to show both poise and personality. This is for MAC, which is more conservative. So what do you think?

PHOTO 1

PHOTO 2

PHOTO 3

PHOTO 4

PHOTO 5

PHOTO 6

PHOTO 7

 EXTRA PHOTO WHICH IS HANNAH'S FAVORITE BUT HAS NO CHANCE OF WINNING BECAUSE I LIKE HER SMILING!!!!! It does give you a nice look at her interview dress though.

Thanks so much!!!