Here Comes the Parade

This morning Matthew made a guest appearance on T.V., not his first, but a landmark day all the same. Matthew hit the news years ago when his 3rd grade class was spotlighted during Harry Potter Week. This morning the marching band from the high school had the opportunity to march in the Days of 47 Parade, the biggest parade of the year around here. He had a good time and we had fun watching him from here where it is air conditioned! 

Here Comes the Parade

After three years of waiting, Matthew has finally made it high school and marching band! He had three days of band camp this week in preparation for yesterday’s parade. When Daniel did summer band they marched in multiple parades, but Matthew, who is in a different school, just did the one in our own little town. He had a great time and worked some different muscles. This little peek at marching has him very excited to get started in fall marching band which will start at the end of July.

Last night was also the annual fireworks show and family gathering with Kevin’s clan. I skipped out due to a week’s worth of headaches and late nights, but everyone else had fun. Malia was, as always, pleased as punch to spend some time with her girl cousins. Daniel and Matthew used the remaining daylight to play a little frisbee. Even Nathan was able to join in the festivities by calling to talk to Kev’s mom for a few minutes. With the current missionary contact rules, they are allowed to call for big family events as well as the major holidays and weekly calls, so it was all perfectly legal. I think everyone had a great time and while I would have liked to be there, I got some much need sleep.

One Second of Fame

As I've mentioned before, Daniel is loving marching band. He looks forward to marching band season and always feels a bit of a letdown when it is over. This year band lasted a bit longer than usual. For the first time ever, all the marching bands in our school district got together and formed one big band. They practiced hard for a week and then marched in the Days of 47 Parade. With over 300 kids in the band, the chance of spotting Daniel in the televised broadcast of the parade was pretty slim. But we lucked out and they happened to show his section at just the right time.

It's kind of like "Where's Waldo?" Can you see him? I caught sight of him pretty quickly, but I'm his mother. I know exactly what I'm looking for. Anyway,  he had a great time and it was kind of a big deal to see him on t.v.!

Day Off For the Holiday

We like the 4th of July around here. There are just so many fun things to do that include red, white and blue. This year our holiday was a bit different than usual. We were invited to a shindig my Kevin’s manager so instead of our own evening festivities we partook of food and fun elsewhere. As a result, some of our patriotic traditions were set aside. We didn’t do the tri-colored beverages (which Nathan missed), the red, white and blue dessert (which I was actually okay with as I’ve been feeling pretty crazed of late), and our own little fireworks show with sparklers and poppers (which I actually missed but not until it was too late to do anything about it). We did have a patriotic breakfast and we made some fun flag inspired shirts.

In spite of some of simplifying our day, we still had fun. And I’m already thinking about what kind of shirts to do with the kids next year…

June and July is also parade season which has come to mean marching band season for Daniel. He has marched in six parades in the past month, the last of which was this morning. I think it’s great that he has found something that he enjoys so much.

Here Comes the Parade!

Like many high schools, our high school has a marching band. And they are great and invite all the middle schoolers to participate. Most of them don't but it is an option if they are interested. Daniel has loved band so much that he was super excited to participate in summer band. He rehearsed  four days a week during the month of June and marched in numerous parades over the past month. His last parade was this morning. He has enjoyed it so much that he’s already planning for next summer. I’m thrilled that he is finding his happy place. And making connections with other musicians. And getting to know the high school band teacher. And generally loving the whole music thing. :-)