Last weekend we got to celebrate Janae's 16th birthday!
She, Alaina and I spent Saturday on Granville Island--Alaina, Eric and I had gone there twice in the summer while Janae was at her Shakespeare camp, but Janae hadn't been there since she was little.
Even though it was cold and rainy, we had fun shopping and trying different foods, including a Mexican lunch.
Janae had wanted to buy a Turkish lamp for her birthday, and she found a store with lots of options ... it was hard to pick just one!
Then on Sunday, Janae's actual birthday, she had some friends over for cake. Janae had requested a DQ cake covered in her past and present "crushes," similar to one she had seen on the internet.
Eric helped me pick out the pictures and Alaina came up with the three-row design--we thought it turned out pretty well, and it kept Janae and her friends laughing for the rest of the evening :).
Then this weekend we got to see Janae and Alaina perform in their school's annual jazz gala! This year we were able to fill a table with my mom, Sheri, Anita, Tina, Ted and Luke (and Jason and me, of course).
The evening started with Janae's vocal jazz ensemble--they sang lots of new songs, including "Blue Skies" (Janae had a scat solo in this one!) and "Singing in the Rain." Then we heard from Alaina's junior jazz band and finally Janae's senior jazz band.
This was both girls' first year in jazz band, with Janae on the piano and Alaina on the trombone.
Janae has been playing classical piano for 10 years, but since September she has been learning how to accompany the band in this very different style of music. Now she definitely looks and sounds like a jazz musician!
Alaina has also developed a lot more confidence playing jazz, after being in concert band last year. We've been hearing more trombone at home, and Alaina is doing a great job of playing alongside her much older peers.
Another first this year was Janae singing with the big band! She sang "The Girl from Ipanema" at two different jazz festivals and then last night at the gala--and she sounded amazing. I had heard her singing this song at home to her cat, Peaches, and thought Janae's voice sounded so beautiful and well-suited to the song. (Here is a recording of an earlier performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ_o1v5xUII)
(She also made all the girls' dresses for the ensemble, back in October.)
I told Janae and Alaina today that I wished I could go to the jazz gala again tonight :). I loved watching them perform and really enjoyed all of the music.
So, we are pretty lucky to have both Janae and jazz in our lives, and it was fun to celebrate both this month!
Here are a few professional photos from the gala:
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