We later visited a small animal farm that opens its doors to the public, housing primarily goats but also bunnies, prairie dogs, puppies, and even an ostrich! Not sure what it is about kids loving animals, but there seem to be few things as engaging and interesting to youngsters. After one of our kids had a sensory meltdown, a quick cuddle with a baby goat calmed him down sufficiently for the time being (if only we had a goat at home…). Before leaving, we tried some mango-infused goats milk and ice cream made from goats milk, which tasted surprisingly creamy and delicious.
Penang also has beautiful sunsets! At home, Ellie has the best vantage point for sunsets from her balcony on the top floor, overlooking the trees, hills, and a partial view of the ocean:

Well, he really started learning the violin a year ago, but this summer is when he decided to take it seriously. He recently had his first concert, which was a treat for both him and us. What made it especially tasty was the summer-long journey he took to get there.

Below is a clip of one of our favorites from the concert (Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Suite):


Note: you can only see the top of his head--a slightly lighter shade of brown hair compared to his pure-blood Asian section mates (he can thank his muggle parents for that) :) He's in the 1st violin section, just behind the white-sleeved giant in the front row. You can finally see Erik briefly when they all stand up at the end to bow.

If you saw Tiffany's Instagram post this summer, you know about Erik sadly deciding to quit the violin last May. The short story: without even knowing Erik's plans to quit, his teacher invited him to play in this concert--this provided enough meaningful purpose for him to keep playing.

My little maestro was very close to quitting this instrument six short weeks ago, on account of "sounding terrible" (his words, not mine) and deriving very little enjoyment from practicing his scales and exercises. Truthfully, he threw a little emotional tantrum every day during practice and a more elaborate spectacle before his weekly lesson (though I don't condone these outbursts, I recognize that particularly for a perfectionist, string instruments are beastly to learn). Reluctantly, we gave him permission to withdraw from his music school. Before sharing this decision with his teacher, she extended a serendipitous invitation for Erik to join a summer junior orchestra. The repertoire is far beyond his current ability, but she expressed confidence in his work ethic and he willingly signed on. Everything changed, just like that. I never have to remind him to practice anymore--he just picks up his violin and plugs away at beautiful orchestral arrangements and his technical level has skyrocketed! His first rehearsal was distressing, as he focused on the performance gap between himself and his peers, but that's motivated him to quickly close that gap. Kyle and Libby were so inspired that Kyle went out and bought a viola (and has become quite good already) and Libby signed on to start cello lessons this fall. We're now dreaming of our family string ensemble, and none of this would've transpired if Erik had gone through with his reasonable plan to quit. That's the power of purpose, folks. He had the potential, he had the passion, but only with a thrilling, fulfilling sense of purpose in his playing did it all come alive.

A post shared by Tiffany Larsen (@wanderwomantiff) on Jun 28, 2017 at 6:57am PDT

Erik's heartfelt focus this summer was bringing the joy of the violin to himself and others; we are so proud of him for sticking with it. In fact, we've all benefited from this decision (even baby Cosie requests "Schomkomfsgee" (Tchaikovsky) to lull herself to sleep these days). Since Erik can be particularly hard on himself, I hope the memory of this experience will remind him of how meaningful purpose drives greatness (which helped him endure many hours of difficult practice).

Sidenote: I'm of the school of thought that music shouldn't just be listened to--it should be felt. Without feeling, musical expression becomes mechanical and empty, void of any substantial meaning or inspiration. Whether it's Chopin or De La Soul, Miles Davis or Led Zeppelin, music is an emotional gift from the creator to the listener and should be treated as such.

Erik and his teacher, Rebekah, after the concert.