Clare

 I am so proud of Clare. She is doing so well. Even though she was THE LOUDEST complainer about moving to Houston she has adjusted marvelously.  She is settled into school, working hard and stepping up to the plate and getting her assignments done. She stands out as a bright student and her teachers enjoy her in class.  

Clare is taking Jazz class this year and loving that. It is Tuesday afternoon. One of my good friends has a daughter that goes to the same studio and has class right before Clare so she takes Clare each week for me. Clare hangs out with the two little brothers and the mom while little Claire is in class or works on homework. She enjoys this time out.  Clare enjoys going with Christy who is lovely inside and out. When I first asked Clare if she liked going with Christy her reply was: "yes, she is so nice. And she is soooooo beautiful. ...Way prettier than you mom."  Clare doesn't lie.


Clare is very independent and has great endurance. She can go out and do things all day and not tire. Even if she is hungry, thirsty or whatever, she will power through. It is neat. She reminds me of Dave in that way.

Recently Clare went to the BYU football game at University of Texas. It was a long day... 11am - 1am. lots of heat, walking, etc. She had a great time. Dave was going to go with just a couple of other guys but then Clare got all dressed in her BYU clothes and begged to go so Dave hopped online and got her a ticket. She was too cute to resist! Also, on Dave's day off he would have felt bad not to spend that time with family. Taking Clare out all day worked well because he got lots of good one on one time with her and talked to her about school and the move, etc. (when she was still complaining a lot about it)!

Clare loves to read and stays up reading every night. She loves Cam Jansen, A to Z  mysteries, Nancy Drew crew, Clementine...

This year we bumped Clare up from a 30 minute lesson to a 45 minute lesson on the piano. This also means she has to practice 45 min a day instead of 30. She is doing very well with this. She is making good progress too. It is noticeable to me how much she has improved even in just a month of playing. Her new teacher has her doing scales 2 and 3 octaves. It is amazing to watch her fingers move up and down the keyboard.  Since she can read and play more she can play more interesting music which I think helps her enjoy it a lot.  Her teacher is names Sergei Savaitski. He is a young man (maybe mid or upper 20's) and he comes to our house for lessons. He teaches Clare and Calvin and will soon start with Alexey as well.  We all like him very much.

 Clare loves riding bikes