My Grand Kids

One of the greatest things about being a grandfather is seeing my grandchildren growing up. You have all seen the bumper sticker that say My grand child is cuter than yours. I won't put it that way, even though it is true, but I have some very special grand kids.

Rather than try to cover all 11 in this post, I will start with the three oldest; Megan, Bridger and Lindsey, all 8 years old and in second grade.

Megan is the oldest, daughter of Lyle and Lauralyn Larsen on American Fork. About three years ago, she started taking violin lessons. At first it did sound a little like screeches and squeaks. As the time went by she got better and better. She now can play a solo for birthdays and she sounds really great.
Last year she auditioned and was accepted to play with a local symphony ensemble the Lyceum Junior Strings that is hosted by The Music School. (www.themusicschool.us) She really has excelled and with the group has played in the concerts, one being held in Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake. We are very proud of her and her achievements.
I have attached an short clip of her last concert. She is the cute blond in the middle.



Bridger is our first grand son and the son of Erick and Annemarie of Lehi. He was born with a very rare heart condition and has to fight bad days and pain from the time he was born. When he was about two, I knew there was something very special about this boy. He could carry on an adult conversation from the time he started to talk. At the end of first grade he could read and pronounce words by sight. We tried to find one he could not pronounce but it was almost impossible. Now in the second grade, he is reading on a fourth grade level. He has read the first five Harry Potter books. We wondered if he was understanding what he reads but when you watch one of the movies with him, he will tell you how it differs from the book. He retains about 90% of what he reads.
Also, if you want a real challenge, play chess or a video game with him. He will beat you most of the time! We expect great things on this young scholar.






Lindsey is our second grand daughter and is the daughter of Ryan and Elyse Schmidt of Lehi. She also has great talents. She is the actor and dancer of the family. She has been in a number of plays, dances and musicals. At Christmas time she danced, along with her little sister Hollyann, in the Nutcracker.

Last month, she played Sandy the dog in the musical Annie Jr. Though she only has a couple of singing lines, she played an extremely good dog. I wish that I could have taken a movie or picture of her in that one but they would not allow cameras. Maybe next time.

She is also taking piano lessons and we are looking forward to hearing her play. She has many other talents that will develop as she grows older.

She just had her first piano recital last Saturday and other than the air conditioner blowing the misuc down, she played very well. She played O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini. Here is the movie:






Next time, I can start on the other kids. Every one is very special and has fun things they are doing.