Johanna Speaks

I am really happy that I was able to get into chamber choir! Here's how the choir went on Tuesday:

When I got there, I saw so many new choir kids who weren't there last Tuesday. I even saw my old choir friend Sophie Shearmen! The Garza girls were not there because they got sick, so I was afraid of not having anyone to talk to, but I was wrong, thankfully. I even made a new friend named Candice. She's super sweet and easy to talk to. We were sitting next to each other, and we were both nervous about auditioning for the chamber. But she said she had done this before, so she wasn't as nervous as I was. 

So after choir, we all used the restroom, and then it was time for the auditions! 

Candice and I are both sopranos, so we got to sit next to each other, which was nice. 

Mrs.Dummer said that Candice and I would go first and echo her in her singing. I was super glad that we weren't going to sing by ourselves but as duos instead. So we sang a bit, and then Mrs.Dummer had everybody else do the same thing. Then she had us sing Amazing Grace all together while she and Mrs.Brown ( also another music teacher ) went around the room listening to our voices. It was honestly nerve-racking because it felt like we were in the army as they kept walking back and forth between us. 😂 And Mrs.Dummer had a yellow piece of paper scoring our singing. 

Then, it was time to go home. She told us that she would text us who would be making it in the chamber choir. And I just found out yesterday that I will be making it!!! I honestly thought I wouldn't make it in because there were a lot more better singers. But I guess I did! I am super happy about it because I think Candice also made it in!! It said on the piece of paper that Candice Moore is doing chamber choir, so I hope her last name is Moore. I will ask her on Tuesday if it is. 

But yeah, I am just so happy and excited about it!

I had my first day of choir last Tuesday, September 3rd! I was really nervous and excited about it because I wanted to audition for the chamber choir, and I wasn't sure if she wanted us to audition that very day or not. So yeah, I was terrified. 

My mom and I went to Starbucks, a thrift store, and then choir. We had to check me in at a couple of the tables, and then I was all set to be in the choir. I had about fifteen minutes to kill, so I saw the Garza girls, and we ran to the park and back. (The park is right next to the building.) 

Then, it was time for the choir to begin. 

It was actually a lot of fun! She didn't have us audition that day, but since so many kids wanted to audition for the chamber choir, she told us to send her a video of us singing either "Amazing Grace" or " My Country Tis Of Thee." And then, the following Tuesday, she will have some of us audition face-to-face. I haven't sent her a video yet, but I will today. We just have to get the video in by Saturday. And today is Friday. So I am already scared about next Tuesday. I honestly won't be sad if I don't get the part because then I won't have to audition face-to-face. I think......👀

Most of the time, Mrs.Dummer was explaining the rules and other things about the choir, so technically, next Tuesday should be our actual choir rehearsal. But we did sing a bit too at the end. We did a two-part harmony on doxology, which was really nice. And two other songs. 

It's weird; for some reason, whenever I'm at Costco with my mom, I always see choir people—like almost every time! Costco has become my favorite place to be because there's always someone I know there, the delicious samples, the size, and the big food court. I also like the dollar store. I just realized I am getting very distracted by talking about different stores. 😂

Well, anyway, I'll make another blog post about how the auditions went. 

Bye!

I made a jumping course for Ria in the backyard and pretended she was in a competition. I also like to pretend that she is a horse in a jumping competition, 😁 or even barrel racing. It's actually a lot of fun! Ria jumps over all the jumps. Except if the jumps are too high, she will try to go under them somehow. 😂 

I've been doing this a lot with my neighbor Claire since she also has a dog, a German Shorthair Pointer named Sidney, which is about Ria's age. Ria loves playing with Sidney a lot! But almost every day, we always do the jumps, making it even harder for the dogs to jump over. Claire and I always dream of Ria, Sideny, and a couple of the neighbor dogs all pulling a sled or carriage with us driving them. If that ever happened, that would be so much fun! 

So, one day, I just made my own course for Ria in my backyard. She's kind of getting it on her own without me pulling her around the barrels ( aka buckets ), which is great! I just want her to go around the barrels fast instead of slow. She is going around them, just not as fast as you would see in a real horse competition. 

Apparently, nobody really uses huskies in jumping competitions because they get so distracted, hard to train, and are stubborn!😂 But it's easier with border collies because they are so focused and, I think, learn pretty fast. Here's a video I saw on YouTube with a husky doing a competition:

Here is another video of Ria and I doing the course:

I have been playing a lot of pickleball with Ezra, Nicholas, and some friends! We usually meet on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings. At first, I could barely hit the ball and get it over the net—that's how bad I am at it! And my serves were terrible! I kept hitting the ball outside of the lines. Plus, I had no idea what the rules were. But now I know how to keep the ball inside the lines when serving, and I know the rules and whose turn it is to serve. 

My serves have been getting a lot better than before because I have been doing some tight serves, where the ball doesn't simply go over the net slowly but is a fast and kind of tight ball to hit for the receiving person. But I want to practice a lot more and try doing more complex hits or different serves. 

We played last night! Nicholas usually comes, but sadly, he was too busy with his work this time. So it was Ezra, French Jonathan, me, Caleb Mintz, and Zach Mintz. The Mintzes go to our church, and they are good friends with our family in general. And French Jonathan (aka French Frie) also usually comes, and he is a pro at pickleball! He will always spin the ball when he plays, so when it lands, it goes in a completely different way, so it throws you off a lot. And he's super good at doing fastballs, too. So basically, he's known for a lot of ball spins to everybody. And Caleb Mintz is known for always spiking the ball like crazy! He always spikes it on any chance he gets, and that's how he basically takes people out. 

Nicholas, Zach Mintz, Ezra, and I aren't exactly known for anything because we do a whole bunch of different things. But I'm known for missing the balls a lot.😂 But honestly, everybody else is incredibly good at pickleball. 

It's a lot of fun to play! I am always looking forward to playing every week. And sometimes, I will be practicing on our garage door. 

My mom signed me up for choir about a week ago, and I am super excited about it! I can't wait! My mom also wants me to do chamber choir because the timing is really good for our bible study, which starts at 5:00 on Tuesdays. But if I want to be in the chamber choir, then I need to audition for it!!👀I am terrified because you have to sing in front of everybody. Then, after that, Mrs.Dummer will choose who will be in the chamber choir, probably a week later or something. I've done it before when I tried out for solos when I was in the Juinor choir but this time I feel like it's going to be a lot worse because I haven't sung in front of people in like two years!

I also get to be in the senior choir, which is for people 13 years old and up. I'm guessing the highest age is 18 or something. So I get to be in that one. And during this semester, I will be turning 14 years old since my birthday is in November, and the choir performance is in December. 

My friends, the Garza girls, will also be doing choir, which is amazing because I will be able to see them every Tuesday! And Abbygail will be trying out for the chamber choir, too. 😊 I am really happy she is because it just makes me a tiny bit less terrified. And Annie might be doing it. I really hope she does!

I will definitely write another blog post about how the first day of Grace Notes Choir went! I also forgot to mention that the choir will be starting on September 3rd. 

Bye!