BBQ take II!

Hello everyone!

Last night, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, Texas style, at the best BBQ party ever.
Rick and Berk threw another one of their crazy BBQ parties (you can see the last one here) and once again, they did not disappoint!
It was the perfect day to have a BBQ too!  Perks of being in Texas -- while my friends up north are dealing with snow in May, we can frolic about in summer dresses!  Please let us enjoy this moment of 'haha! we have better weather than you!' as this will not last for very long. we'll be having 100 degree weather with 100% humidity soon enough...

As it was last time, the BBQ was full of meat--complete with Rick going around offering a plate of bacon to everyone--, lots of beer, lots of food in general, and of course, lots of chillin.
Sorry for the lack of photos... When the first thing you get offered when you get there is a jello shot, some things get forgotten along the way  haha

Jello shot!

the deceptively spicy and amazing pulled pork

haha  my goof  ;)

 One thing that was quite different from last time was the fact that there were so many puppies there this time around!  And of course, that just makes everything so much more enjoyable!
 And where do you find happiest puppies?  At the BBQ of course!  with lots of people willing to feed them scraps of meat!
Poor-lucky- Houdini's belly was so big by the end  haha

And though Houdini was not too interested in these 9 and 10 month old puppies, they were quite interested in one another, much to everyone's amusement.  =)

AHHH I can't wait to see my puppy soon!!!!   Only 2 more weeks or so until I get to hold my McKinley man again!!

Anyway, there were a couple of us who attended Interlochen together during our high school years, so we decided to take the 'Inty love' photo.  Only when I got home, did I realize that every single time I've been involved in the 'Inty love' photo, it's always been the same four people!!
so I thought I'd group the three photos together:  first taken during the first week or so of school, second taken sometime in the middle of the school year, and the last one taken last night  =)
Totally not planned, we promise.  but we make a pretty cute Inty group, don't you think?  haha

The Interlocheners!  and Toby in the last photo  =)

My favorite part of this may be the fact that it shows all sorts of different stages of Conrad's beard growth  haha   ;)  I can't remember how many times I've walked by Conrad this year without realizing it was him because he had gone from the second photo stage to completely clean-shaven!! 

We came home having thoroughly enjoyed and stuffed ourselves, and then passed out on the bed pretty much right away.  Why is it so tiring being outdoors even when you do nothing but stand around, eat, and chill?  I don't understand...

Anyway, it was such a great evening; thanks Rick and Berk for hosting another incredible BBQ!  ;)
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are all having a fantastic week!
--Janny

RIP Mr. Hazelwood.

Dear friends,

I write this in a bit of a state of shock.

There is a man who influenced and inspired me in so many ways during my stay at Interlochen Arts Academy; a man who introduced me to the incredible depth of orchestral repertoire, a man who had enough patience with a mere child who failed to bring in the whole 2nd violin section at a concert, and a man who believed in that same child enough to pushed her to be a leader the next year.

Mr. Hazelwood was an incredibly caring teacher who was always willing to help any and all of his students with whatever they needed, and who believed in them so much that they achieved things they had never thought to achieve before.  I have so many fond memories of the Interlochen Symphony Orchestra in many memorable concerts under his direction, and I can't express in words just how grateful I am to him for showing me how wonderful orchestral playing can be.

Though he achieved so much and did so much for many during his stay at Interlochen, I will remember the little moments with the most fondness; his laugh, the way he greeted us at the end of each break, his diagrams as he tried to teach us how to count polyrhythms, the sparkle in his eyes after a great concert, the post-concert pat on the back or a hug, and how we all, Mr. Hazelwood included, cried as he read the goodbye letter to the orchestra as he left for Bogota, Columbia.

Thank you Mr. Hazelwood for all of the work you have done at Interlochen as well as with different orchestras around Michigan and Bogota, Columbia.  You leave a great legacy behind, and you will be greatly missed.

RIP Mr. Hazelwood.
Much love.
--Janny

Ode to Interlochen

Hello everyone!

There is a place, a very special place, somewhere in the tundra of Michigan where squirrels share your dorm room and where everyone is sleep deprived and frozen year-round. This place is called the Interlochen Arts Academy.  It is a place of the beloved Fighting Blueberries (our mascot) where two truly insane, yet incredible years of my life were spent.  I met so many incredible people and made wonderful friends there and I learned so much from so many amazing teachers and mentors who truly cared so much...

The reunion for Interlochen Arts Academy's 50th Anniversary is happening right now, and I just wanted to give a little shout out to a place that holds an incredibly special place in my heart. I have so many fond memories like seeing for the first time the word 'masturbation' on a test while taking Mrs. Gaede's Russian Literature, Mr. Dean shooting off a real canon during our Civil War class, spending hours and hours writing my senior thesis under the guidance of Mrs. Driscoll, blowing things up and talking about dance with Ms. Wibby the Chemistry teacher, Mr. Nadji's hat from Nepal, Mrs. K and our endless email correspondences about calculus problems,,  Not to mention Mr. G who helped me fill in some of the crater of holes I had in my violin playing, as well as Mr. Holland who was always there for me with a warm smile and a pat on the back, as well as a gruff 'how are you doing', 'are you eating crap?' (well... yes?), Dr. Boyle whose teaching seriously got me through all of college theory, and Mr. Hazelwood who introduced me to more orchestral repertoire than I had ever heard before in my life...

I am oh so tempted to start on the amazing memories I have had with the roomies, the stand partners, the friends, the chamber groups, study partners, the first significant other, etc, etc, etc, but I will spare all of you from reading a huge book.  =)

Instead, I leave you with these pictures.

was being completely serious about the squirrels in dorm rooms..

studying for that 'masturbation' test mentioned above...

Beloved. first roomy. ever.

this. this was our back yard. how could we not be inspired?

We are nothing if not diverse!

This happiness at seeing the first snow does not last.  trust me

truly a wonderful place.

AND this. The Ode to Interlochen  =)

"Oh, sound the call to dear old Interlochen!

Land of the stately pine.
Where stalwart hands and loyal ever greet you,
Faithful for Auld Lang Syne.
Old friends you'll meet,
New ones you'll greet,
A welcome you'll ever find
So sound the call to dear old Interlochen!
Shrine of the muse divine."

Thanks everyone for all of the amazing memories!
--Janny