Band-O-Rama

It hasn't been easy: hours of practices in 90+ degree heat, sore shoulders from marching with a Sousaphone for the first time, battling dehydration and fatigue, memorizing music, trying to figure out all the drills after missing almost all of band camp while we were on vacation. Still, Seth did great and we had a fantastic time watching his first marching band performance at Band-O-Rama this past Friday night.

Auburn High's band did a field show featuring Beatles hits. A lot of other area bands came to march, and we were treated to a couple of performances by Auburn University's band as well.

Some of the schools were really small but you could tell that everyone--large and small school alike--had put in a lot of hard work. Seeing some of the local small town bands took me back to the good old days marching with our little high school band in Ohio. Good times.

There he is in the middle--the tall skinny one.

And again on the left in the back with the dark blue shorts.

It was so fun to see him play. I thought he did great despite missing all those practices.

I'm looking forward to a great marching band season this year. And many more.



View AHS's performance at Band-O-Rama above or HERE.

My Busy, Busy World

Today was busy. Crazy busy. The kind of busy that makes it hard to find time to shower and make dinner, let alone get all the housework done that needs doing.

Here is an outline of what our day entailed:
1. Christmas parade downtown. It is too hot here for Fourth of July parades so our town has a Christmas parade. I loved it. My favorite parts were the live camel, the unicyclists (tons of kids from a unicycle club at a local elementary school), the marching band (singular) and all the parade entrants waving and yelling "Merry Christmas!"
2. A walk with David and Freeno. Had to be doneThe most leisurely part of the day by far.
3. Errands. Picked up Christmas gifts for the grandparents, bought a new bike light for David's bike (so he can ride to and from work the next week while the buses aren't running because school is out for the semester), got groceries and gas, made a drop at the local thrift store, dropped David off at work.

4. Getting ready for the band concert. Seth is in the Jr. High Honors band. His fall band concert was this evening. I nearly forgot about it in all the bustle of the day. I spent the time from when I got home until it was time to leave ironing, blowing dry Seth's cummerbund that had somehow gotten soaking wet, bathing the little boys since Danny had colored all over his face with blue marker, showering and getting ready myself and generally rushing around in a panic. We settled on fried eggs for dinner and David got home from work and fried them so that I could get ready.
5. Going to the band concert. It was fantastic. All the stress from the rushing around and craziness just melted away as I sat and listened to the band play. We had the fun experience of getting to hear the premier performance of a commissioned band piece and even had an opportunity to speak with the composer for a few minutes after the concert.

Seth's school tuba is quite a bit bigger than the one he has at home to practice on. It is almost as tall as Danny.

6. Getting little boys ready for bed. David had to go back to work so it was up to me. Daniel had a little nap this afternoon and I let him sleep because I needed him to stay out of trouble even though I knew there would probably be consequences (like him still being awake even though it is almost 11:00 pm). That kid has the most messed up sleeping schedule.

I'm glad that tomorrow is a day of rest.

Thanksgiving Week Update

Nate with his buddy Marshall. These two little boys are apparently thick as thieves at school.

 Tuesday was Nate's Thanksgiving feast at school. I have been suffering from a serious lack of organization lately so I had the time wrong and went early, but I was able to eat lunch with Nate which I think worked out better anyway. I went while Danny was at preschool so I was able to give Nate my undivided attention. I was able to have face time with him and I think that would have been harder to accomplish at the feast (which I'm sure was chaotic because all the families were invited).

 

We also found some leaves to play in this week. Usually the lawn care people that do the landscape maintenance for our town homes have the leaves all taken care of before we get a chance to enjoy them. I think the recent tornado has them a little behind schedule. We didn't mind. The little boys had a great time, crunching, throwing leaves in the air and making "leaf angels" while we waited for Seth's bus on Monday.

 

Danny's steri-strips and super glue finally came off his chin on Tuesday. The gash appears to be healing nicely. Life is good.

More on our Thanksgiving festivities HERE.

Colonial Week

 

Colonial Week. It's a big deal for the fifth graders at our elementary school. They spend the week learning about colonial times, playing colonial games and making colonial crafts. The big huzzah at the end of the week is a colonial feast and when the entire fifth grade dances the Virginia Reel.

It was so fun to see. I actually got to dance a little bit of it with Joel so that was fun too.

Joel's fifth grade class

Joel and some of his buddies.

Most of the fifth grade. They wouldn't quite all fit in even with my camera on the wide angle setting.

 More about my part in Colonial Week HERE.