Family Frenzy Friday

I've not done a FFF post in a long time.  Not sure why...it certainly isn't for a lack of things going on.  So, here's a breakdown of what's going on in our house...

Ashton...
She is wrapping up 7th grade...only one more week.  Dance competitions are over and she only has the recitals left.  I'm proud of how she has grown this year and can't believe she'll be in the 8th grade.  7th Grade was a challenge...especially science...but boy did she kick butt in math.

She and I have had some pretty major squabbles lately...teenager girls and moms don't get along real well.  I'm hoping these are simply blips on the screen and not going to become the norm.  I'd hate to have to ship her off to boarding school.

Quinn...
This boy!  Wrapping up his sophomore year.  I'm in huge denial that he only has two more years of high school left.  There is something seriously wrong that.  He's achieved another 4.0 year and just took his first AP exam yesterday.  We're all anxious to find out what his score is.  He finds out next week if he will be part of the band leadership.  He's hoping to be section leader.

The National Student Leadership Conference is coming up in July.  I booked his flight this week and quickly burst into tears.  It is physically painful for me when I think about him going that far away from home on his own.  (There is still time to help support his trip too...http://www.gofundme.com/8bzsn4)

Tony...
My darling hubby is burning the candle at both ends.  I'm not sure he knows how to "take it easy".  He is presently working 3 jobs...and might possibly take on fourth.  He's at the fire station 10 days a month, works part-time at Dick's Sporting Goods and takes care of the lawn for his two "girlfriends" (sweet little ladies from church).  The fourth job he might take on is being a coach at Crossfit.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  And he does all of this for me.  So I won't have to go back to work full time.

We had our 19th wedding anniversary this week...and I count my blessings every time I think of just how lucky I am to have to him.


Me...
I love my part-time job.  Working from 9-1 is perfect.  I feel guilty that I'm not working full-time though.  (Especially since Tony is working an unbelievable amount.)  Tony says it's my turn and he would actually prefer I don't work at all, but after 15+ years of bring home the bacon, it's weird to not...ya know?  I seriously miss my days of just laying around in my pjs though...I did get spoiled to that pretty quickly.  

Somehow, being out of the house and not just laying around has caused me to gain a few pounds...ugh!  So, I'm tracking my calories on the MyFitnessPal app and I've started trying to exercise some.  I seriously think my POTS is getting better, but I'm still scared to push myself too hard.  I refuse to go through a fatigue crash where I'm stuck in bed, but I also refuse to let this syndrome control my life.

On top of trying to eat better and adding exercise back into my life, I've also starting drinking a Zeal Wellness drink each day.  Zeal is pretty fantastic if you ask me.  I've been on it for a month now and I can tell the difference.  I can tell that my body is doing better at fighting off sicknesses too...especially with the serious fluctuation in temperatures lately.  You can visit zealforlife.com for more about what is actually in the drink.

I promise to try to do better at keeping up with my FFF posts.  Especially with summer fun coming up!!!

Family Frenzy Friday

Five Things on this Family Frenzy Friday

1.
Summer band camp culminated with a parent preview night.  This year we have approximately 210 kids...that is a lot of feet to try to synchronize, huh?  I know they work and I know they'll improve as the year goes.  I can't wait to see what the final performance looks like when they take it nationals in Indianapolis again this year.

2.
During August Quinn started driving school.  He's done his drives and the instructors said he is a really good driver.  I can't wait until he gets his permit in October...that way he can drive us everywhere.

3.
Ashton, her friend Maggie and I went to the Mustache Bash.  We had a lot of fun and enjoyed being silly together.

4.
School started for the kids on August 16.  Ashton is in junior high this year and Quinn is a sophomore.  It is so hard for me to believe that I have a 7th grader...let alone a 10th grader.

5.
We've had our first football game and I had forgotten how fun it is to be at the game and see my boy have so much fun playing in the stands and marching on the field.  I am one proud momma!!!

Family Frenzy Friday

We've had a wonderful week.  It started last weekend with the OSSAA Regional Solo/Ensemble Contest.  Quinn performed a solo, in a trio, a brass ensemble and a trumpet choir.  The different performances aren't competing against each other, but they are working for a ranking between 1 and 5 with 1 being the best.  If a score of one is given, you move on to the State Competition.

We weren't able to watch or even listen to the performances.  We hung out in the commons area with all of the kids warming up and practicing.  Yes!  It was crazy whack noisy!  And it wasn't like it was a uniform noisiness...it was horrible. 

The scores were posted that day and Quinn scored a two in both the trio and his solo and the brass ensemble and trumpet choir both got a one.  We are so proud of the scores and can't wait to see how they do at the state competition.

Sunday was a girls day!  Ashton and I met our friends, Misty and Madi, at the Warren to see Safe Haven.  First off...I love it when Josh Duhamel smiles.  Swoon!  The movie was cute and I thought it did a good job following the book.  I probably won't buy it on DVD, but I enjoyed seeing the book brought to life on the big screen.

During our little bit of winter last week, I got the hankering to buy a puzzle.  When I was kid, my sister and dad would always put together puzzles in the winter.  What I forgot was that I never really enjoyed doing it.  I suck at puzzles.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember that until we'd already bought it. 

We've started putting it together and I think I've contributed a whole 10 pieces.  And now that the border pieces are all done, so are any chances of me adding value to the process.  It is pitiful how bad I am with puzzles.

Yesterday was Muffins for Mom at Ashton's school.  It was chaos.  The parking lot was packed and so was so the gym.  We ate our SINGLE mini-muffin, but the best part was spending the extra time together.  Ashton's BFF, Lily, sat with us too since her mom had to be at work early.

I hope you all had a great week and have wonderful weekend plans ahead of you.

Family Frenzy Friday

Well, as I told you, we cleaned most of the day on Saturday, however, Ash and I managed to find some time on Sunday afternoon to watch two rentals.  And I recommend both of them. 

The first movie was The Words....first of all, Bradley Cooper...yummy!  The story is very intricate...it's a story within a story within a story.  But it was so much that it was hard to keep up.  The story is about a writer that can't get anyone to publish him.  Until he finds a book that someone else has written and he turns it in as his own.  The rest unravels from there.

The second movie was Now is Good.  This is an obscure BBC movie that I'm not sure it ever came to the theatres.  But it has Dakota Fanning in it, so I thought, it can't be that bad.  Let me tell you first that I like obscure.  I think these make the best movies sometimes.  Dakota's character is a 17 year girl dying of cancer.  She has a list of things she wants to do before she dies and the movie is the journey through her last few days.  I thought the movie was beautiful and thought provoking.

While we were cleaning on Saturday, Quinn snuck away with his friend, Ben, to go play Airsoft.  He's gotten pretty deep into the Airsoft thing...most of his Christmas was Airsoft this year.  There is a field near our house that the boys can go to where there are actual "games" that take place.  It's sorta like paintball, but instead of paint, they shoot small, plastic bb's at each other.

Ashton set up an "art studio" in our living room.  I posted this pic on instagram and one of the comments was that she looks peaceful...and the more I look at it, I agree.  She does seem peaceful and in her element when she is creating.

The last "big" thing going on in our house and Quinn's new trumpet!  We finally broke down and got him an intermediate trumpet.  The sound is much richer and we are told that it will improve his playing to have something better than a student/beginner level instrument.  He loves it!  You would've thought the heavens opened up and the angel chorus was singing when he opened the box.

Our weekend will be somewhat uneventful, but I am perfectly fine with that.  Hope you all have a great weekend with your friends and family...I can't wait to see all of the great Superbowl commercials!!

  

It's Concert Season

Before Christmas, we attended two band concerts in which Quinn performed.  These performances are kind of a kick off to the concert season...which is now in full swing since the kids are back to school after the holidays.  The spring concert season holds Chamber Music, Ensemble and Solo performances, the HS Musical and much, much more.

The first concert was the Jazz Bands of Southmoore HS and Moore HS.  There are two jazz bands at SHS and one at MHS.  I wasn't sure concert band would be as fun as marching band, but man, I enjoyed this concert.  And luckily, they didn't only play Christmas music.  It was fun seeing the kids enjoy themselves with such peppy tunes. 

The second concert was the Southmoore HS Holiday Concert.  This night was a long one...a total of 5 bands played...both Jazz Bands, HWJH 8th Grade Band, Symphonic Winds, and Wind Ensemble.  The performances were stellar.  And well worth the time in such a busy season.

I love seeing all of Quinn's hard work on stage.  (Now we just need to find him a better trumpet....anyone know of a great quality...but inexpensive...trumpet we can buy???)

It's Over!

Marching Season is officially over!  It is a bittersweet ending and Grand Nationals is an extremely flawed system.  The way it works is the top 21 from each day were sent to semi-finals.  So theoretically, a lower scoring band one day could be in semi-finals and a band with a higher score from the other day wouldn't make it in.  And this is exactly what happened to our band.  We missed making it into semi-finals by one position...but had a higher score than at least one band that made it from day two.  Very, very frustrating. 

I can't even tell you how proud I am though.  You saw the performance (if you watched the video)...but what you didn't see (or hear) were all of the things that happened to this group before their performance that day.  If it could go wrong, it did.  So, for the band to pull together and perform so well is truly inspiring. 

And the drama didn't end after their performance day either.  They arrived home this evening...4 hours later than planned.  They departed from Indianapolis at midnight Saturday evening.  Around 5 am this morning, bus 3 broke down.  So, while the kids slept and had no idea the buses had stopped, they frantically tried to figure out what was wrong.  A replacement bus was finally brought in after sitting on the side of the highway for 3 1/2 hours.  So, to have them finally home is a HUGE relief.

Thanks for all of your well wishes and your happy thoughts and prayers. 

Preliminary Performance

The band performed in the preliminaries last night at 10pm (eastern).  I can only imagine how tired they all must have been.

We were able to watch them perform.  The competition streams the performances live and a local music store let us watch it on their big screen.  It was neat to watch them perform live even though we couldn't be there with them.  (Be sure to expand it to full screen on your computer.  It will make it much more enjoyable to watch.)

I recorded it with Ashton's ipod, so the quality isn't the best (and my normally shaking hands didn't help).  But it is an awesome performance and you can even see Quinn several times throughout it.  We will find out tonight if they make into the semi-finals.

Indianapolis or Bust!

Yesterday evening, the band hit the road for Indianapolis to participate in the Bands of America Grand Nationals Championships.  This is the big league my friends!  Ninety bands from across America participate.  Of those ninety, thirty will move on to semi-finals and the top twelve of those will compete in finals for the title of Grand National Champion.

Our equipment trailers/semi and a large group of the boosters hit the road yesterday morning to meet the kids there.  Then last night, the students, chaperons and directors all boarded four charter buses to drive through the night.  They safely arrived in Terre Haute, IN this morning and are practicing today at Indiana State University. 

Our band will perform in the preliminaries tonight at 9pm CT....they get to perform on Lucas Oil Field in downtown Indianapolis (pretty cool, huh?).  Please send up prayers that they'll perform their very best.  I think we have a very viable shot to make semi-finals.  Also pray for the adults...look at all those kids.  I can only imagine how crazy it is to wrangle 180'ish kids at one time.  I have a huge amount of respect for this group that takes care of my kid and the other kids as well.

So, I also ask that you pray for me.  This is the furthest away that Quinn has ever been and I am kinda freakin' out a bit.  And we all know that boys are not the best at keeping in touch with their mommas...so he hasn't responded to my "good morning" text yet...ugh!  Luckily my friend Misty is there as a chaperon.  She will be my line to all things going on with the trip, the band and my son.

I am actually a little sad that I didn't go, but with Ashton's birthday today, I just didn't feel like it would be right to leave her.  We will find tomorrow evening if they made it into semi-finals, so I will let you guys know how they do.  Thanks for your prayers and happy thoughts.

Our Football Friends

Watching a high school football game on Friday nights has never really been a highlight for me (even when I was a cheerleader in high school).  But with Quinn in the band, we want to be supportive so we have attended every game we possibly could.  During these games, we've had our good friends around us that are also there watching their freshmen kiddos.  So, as a group we have supported each other through the games and cheered on each other's kids.

Misty, Justin are dear, dear friends of ours.  They are family to us.  Both Madi and Spencer are like our adopted children.  It was so sad for us when Quinn and Madi were separated for a year in junior high, so it was sigh of relief for the kids to be back together for high school.  I'm crossing my fingers that one day we'll see both of our kids directing the band as Drum Majors...how cool would that be?

Leslie and Tom are friends that we met through Misty and Justin and have known casually for the last couple of years.  We've had a lot of fun getting to know them better and getting to watch their daughter, Abby.  She is on the Varsity Pom Squad.  Ashton has loved watching her dance and really looks up to Abby.  {Because of Abby being on the squad,Ashton even went to the Pom Clinic that was held this past weekend (there will be a post on it soon) .  Otherwise, she would've passed on the experience.}

Without this group of friends, I don't think we would've enjoyed this past football season near as much.  I guess we'll be moving our group inside in a few weeks when basketball season starts.

The Family We Call "Band"

I never knew just how intricate the relationships that are developed in band could be.  These kids are a family.  They may get annoyed with each other.  And they may pick on each other.  But if you aren't in band and you mess with one of them, you better look out.  Not only that...they all date each other too...so just imagine how complex that can become when a new romance develops or a romance ends.

I would have to say that these two are Quinn's closest friends.  Quinn and Madi met in 1st grade when they were both at the same private school.  Unknowingly, we moved into the same neighborhood with Madi's family the summer before we transitioned them to public school.  So, we shared carpooling and before and after school responsibilities.  These two quickly became like brother and sister.  And they take their friendship very seriously.  You better not mess with one of them, or there will be heck to pay.

Quinn and Ben met in 7th grade when they started at the same Junior High.  Ben has become an adopted son and we are happy to have him in our "family".  I would say he is at our house at least 45% of each week...if not more!  But we don't mind.  Both of the boys are pretty honest with each other...when one of them needs a break from the other, they are not afraid to say it. 

This is one of the groups that Quinn hangs out with.  (And yes...that is the girlfriend next to Quinn...she is just too adorable.)

This is another group that Quinn hangs with....Trumpet Besties!  They are all freshmen and have been in band together since the beginning.  I hope to one day have this picture side by side with all of four them still in band together their senior year.

I am so glad Quinn has this group of kids to call friends.  I can only imagine what is like to be part of such a large group of kids.  The band is the biggest extra curricular group at the high school.  About 10% of the kids in the school are in band!  Who would've thought it....go figure!

Lovin' Those Fundraisers

(This is what our fridge looked like when the Blue and Gold came in...and this was only half of it.  The rest was in a cooler.)

I want to say a big 'ol huge Thank YOU to everyone who has supported Quinn through his band fundraisers over the last few months.  I know I have shared the surprise with how costly band is and it is going to be this way over the next four years.  The Booster organization is wonderful at providing a number of great fundraising opportunities to help offset those costs. 

Thanks to the purchases that my wonderful friends and family have made, we have only had to pay 50% of this year's band fees out of our pocket.  The rest were covered by what was raised.  What a blessing! 

We will continue to raise funds throughout the year and will start banking them in Quinn's account for next year and the years to come.  So, don't run away or auto delete when you see me coming.  It is okay to tell me "no", but I have to ask. 

2012 Renegade Review Marching Contest

Saturday, the band competed at Union's Renegade Review Marching Contest.  This was their 3rd contest to participate in and it was the toughest by far.

First, the weather was not very cooperative.  It was extremely windy and the threat of severe weather loomed over us the entire day.  Their prelim performance was at 1:30 and the band managed to squeak by without any rain.  There were other bands that were not as fortunate though.  A couple times during the afternoon it rained pretty dang hard.

Second, we were up against bands from OK, AR, and MO.  And these bands were really good and some were really big.

I am sad to say that we didn't make it into finals.  It is a bummer to not make it when you know how hard everyone has worked.  There were 21 bands in attendance and we were ranked 15 after all of the prelim performances.

Unfortunately, not even the bands that made finals got to perform.  A huge storm was headed to Tulsa and the contest organizers were smart enough to call it quits.  Finals were cancelled due to weather and we all hit the turnpike to head home.  We drove home in some pretty heavy rain, but we all made it home safe and sound.

The kids have been out on fall break the last two days and have had 4 hour rehearsals both days.  I'm glad they get to rest and recharge with a three day weekend.  There are two more contests before Grand Nationals in Indianapolis and they need to be able to deliver their A game.  The next contest is Tuesday!  Wish 'em luck! 

Owasso Invitational Marching Contest

Two weekends ago was the first out of town contest for our band.  We traveled to Owasso, OK in the Eastern part of the state.  Let me say, I think our band is great.  Especially with almost half of them being freshmen.  And I thought we had a pretty large band...I mean, we have 185 members.  But some of the schools that were at the Owasso Competition had 250 and even 300 members in their bands.  They were HUGE!

I learned a little more about band competitions...first off, your band ranking isn't necessarily the same as your school ranking.  Southmoore is a 6A school...but when it comes to band, we are a 3A band.  Who knew?  I also learned that in preliminaries, you are scored against those in your division.  But in finals, everyone is scored together.

We didn't so well in our preliminary performance, but we managed to pull out a 3rd place ranking in the 3A division (out of five 3A bands).  There were 19 bands total in the prelims and only 12 make it to finals.  I was sweatin' it when they announced who was going on.  Let me just say, I about fell on the ground when they announced Southmoore.  We apparently squeaked into finals by our musical performance...but our visual performance was sorely lacking.  We did better in our finals performance, but still not good enough.  We ranked 11th in finals.

I was very impressed by the top three schools (Union, Coweta, and PC North).  It was so neat to watch such stellar groups.  We are still a young music program and I am looking forward to Southmoore rising to such grand levels.

Tomorrow we head back East to the Renegade Review Marching Contest at Union HS in Tulsa.  We'll be up against some pretty big bands again, but I know our kids have been working really hard the past two weeks and I hope they can walk away proud of their performance this weekend.

(On another note...during the downtime during the day at Owasso...Quinn mustered the nerve and asked a girl to be his girlfriend...shhhh...don't tell him I told you.  Maybe he'll let me do a real post about it...of course, I need to be officially introduced to her first.) 

Moore Outdoor Music Festival

Saturday was our first marching competition.  Luckily it was local, so our initiation wasn't as painful as a competition that is further away (that will be this coming weekend).

It was an amazing day.  The kids started the day at 9am at SHS.  Just a bit of practice time before heading over to the contest.  The forecast called for 82 degree temps...but oh no!....we couldn't get that lucky!  It was HOT!  Really freaking hot!  And in the aluminum stands, it was even hotter.

The amazing part of the day isn't what happens on the field, but what happens off the field to support such large bands.  The Boosters do a fantastic job making sure the kids are cared for.  Imagine planning not one, but two meals, to feed 200+ kids and band directors.  (Hopefully, I can have pictures of this amazing feat on my next competition post.)

There were 14 band that competed.  Each band performed a preliminary performance where they were critiqued and give immediate feedback.  Then they each performed a final evening performance for awards.  I thought the band did a great job in their final performance.  I even got chills and a little verklempt.

Our band ranked 2nd .... woo hoo!  This is fantastic for the first competition of the year.  This coming weekend we head to Owasso and our competition is going to much steeper.  I'm looking forward to spending another day with this great group of kiddos.

First Home Game

Friday night football was Westmoore vs. Moore.  It was our first official home game too.  It was a great night with nice chilly football weather.  It was also Tony's first official time to get to come to a game.

 

We had an interesting moment when a fuse blew 3 minutes before the half and the stadium went dark.  For about 15 minutes, the only light was the scoreboard.

The band performed at halftime and they did a phenomenal job.  Our first competition is Saturday and I can't wait to see how we do.

Oh, and the football team racked up their third win!  Yay!