"STUPENDERIFIC"

Proud mother moment...

Jessie's final verdict on her international music experience in Scotland was "STUPENDERIFIC!" (Yep, she's definitely my daughter.) They practiced their hearts out, visited a phenomenally beautiful sea-side castle ruin (where part of the Hamlet that Mel Gibson starred in was filmed), stayed with the nicest people on the planet, and had an all-around wonderful time.

There were two highlights to the trip. The first was having her dad arrive when she wasn't expecting anyone from our family to be able to come. Apparently Jess was so surprised that she just stood open-mouthed while her friends laughed, finally getting over the shock enough to squeal and hug Kyle. (Now that was a good reaction!) The second was being picked by the director to sing a "semi-solo" (her phrasology--we non-teenage varieties call that a small group ensemble) during the concert. She felt very privileged to be selected, and she did a fantastic job. Her adviser from school kept referring to Jess as her "star," and Jess didn't quite know how to deal with all of the attention and kudos. (I can understand, though; all I ever want to do is run away when I perform so that I don't have to talk to anyone afterward...) In fact, she was partially glad to come home just so that people would stop congratulating her. She's still just young enough, too, that she actually missed us. I like that part--big grin.

I'm thrilled that she had such a wonderful experience and that my sweet Kyle could be there to see our not-so-little-anymore star shine! What a talented kid!!