I Don't Want to Live on the Moon

Since I missed last week I decided to add a second post this week.

My calendar says that this week is the anniversary of the first moon landing.

My radio tells me that the space shuttle is on its last mission.

It seemed like a good week for one of my very favorite Sesame Street songs ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeNO56xNlZo

This is the classic, but you can also find Ernie with his good friends Aaron Neville or Shawn Colvin.

I am a little sad about the Space Shuttle era ending. It's been around since I can remember. I suppose this is how my parents felt when the moon missions ended. I expect that something new, exciting and completely unexpected (at least by me) will come to take its place, but for today, I will just feel a little bit sad.

Brush Your Teeth and I'll Kiss You

This week's song was inspired by a trip to the dentist.

When I was a kid my dad would sing "the tooth brushing song."

So naturally, I sing it to my kids. They don't always hold still and open up on cue, but it makes the whole experience considerably more bearable.

No cavities this check up. Hooray!!

For those of you trying to place that tune, (and those of you who recognize it) here's a great little video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWvurnpKjE4

Sleep well, and don't forget to brush your teeth.

ps. I decided I didn't need to number my posts anymore. It was satisfying at first to see that I didn't give up at number 2. Sometimes I require a lot of positive reinforcement.

pps. I took the video, loaded it onto the computer, and posted it to the blog all by myself while Keith was at scouts. This is a big deal for me. Now you can all send me lots of positive reinforcement. ;)

Week 7/Happy Birthday America!

This year we started a new family tradition of singing together after Sunday dinner. We sing a lot of rounds and fun songs. We also learn songs to go with the seasons and holidays. Each week in May we learned one verse of "America." By the 4th of July we could sing the entire song from memory, with only short pauses while someone remembers how the next verse begins.

Watching the parade on the 4th of July.

Chesson took a large paper grocery bag to collect her candy in. That's optimism.

America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrim's pride,

From every mountain side, let freedom ring.

My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love.

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills

Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from al the trees,

Sweet freedom's song.

Let mortal tongues awake,

Let all that breathe partake,

Let rocks their silence break,

The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom's holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King.

This song is great for the kids because it has a fairly limited range, less than one octave. Everyone can sing along without getting too high or too low. We also had fun practicing conducting in 3. It starts on beat one and goes along nice and steady with no surprises.

I have a thing for songs about singing. This one, especially verse 3, is all about singing the praises of our country (we have so much to be thankful for), and God who made it possible.

Song of the week #6/Goin' to the Zoo

Today's post is inspired by a trip to the zoo. Our zoo isn't all that big, but we like it. We can see the whole thing in one visit without getting too tired.

Invariably this song comes up in the car on the way there. The verses included here are the ones printed in "Gonna Sing My Head Off" by Tom Paxton, but there is no end to the verses we can create when we get in the mood.

Tom and Estella set sail through uncharted ... woodchips?

Echo, Chesson, and Tom ride those buckin' ... barrels?

Big Mike, American alligator, the newest attraction at the zoo. He displaced the flamingos. We were worried for a minute, but we found the flamingos safely standing around on one leg by some monkeys. This is where we ran out of batteries in the camera.

So, here's the family singing, and me strumming away at the guitar, "Goin' to the Zoo."

Why song of the week #5 is missing

Ok, so why is it so hard to post audio to the web? There are tons of sites (including blogger) that will let you post pictures and videos.

If you want to post an audio file you have to find a web hosting service and host the audio in your own web space. Then you can link it to your blog.

Our solution is to take the audio and make it a video with no picture. Then we can post it here. See song of the week #6.