I made it back from Texas last weekend just in time to catch Ellie’s first live performance.  She sang Taylor Swift’s “The Best Day” as if it were her own.  Her best friends came along for the recital along with her big sister and fellow performer Brittany.  We all had tears in our eyes near the end.

It was unbelievable just how comfortable and confident Ellie appeared onstage as she sang.  Normally she’s a fairly cautious if not shy little girl, but she seemed really at ease.  I have no idea how a 9 year old kid can remember all those lyrics – this song has quite a number of verses.  And it was such a sweet song for her to pick.  We all felt like she was singing to each of us personally.

We signed Ellie up for singing lessons, not just because she walks around the house all day singing, but because her sister enjoyed it and we thought she would too.  You do that with kids.  You sign them up for stuff until they discover what they like.  This was a home run from the start.  We’re a bit more experienced at this after Brittany and knew an excellent voice instructor.  Monica Augustine is simply fantastic.  She hugs Ellie every session and they have a blast.  But she also teaches her everything from getting good rest and nutrition to all the vocal basics which I can’t really describe.  Monica runs the Wildflower School of Voice and wrote a song I love and still listen to regularly on my playlist – Telluride.

Here’s a pic of Ellie’s three biggest fans having a post performance dinner.  And now the Mahoney family has two incredible singers.  I should say three with Karen.  Karen played guitar and sang for me on our very first date, and the rest is history.  Check out the Youtube link above to see Ellie’s performance.  I know many of my friends and family already have – she has nearly 150 views to date.  And if you haven’t seen Brit’s Youtube site, click on this link.  She’ll sing you a song if you request one.