In the heat and sun, my two teenage girls began marching band practice at the end of July. They just finished their season this past weekend, and it wasn't too, too cold here in Colorado! It was about 50 degrees for a low, which was lovely! It didn't snow at the state championships but it was windy.
This year my husband and I rode the students' bus as chaperones. It was the first year that we had done so, and it was GREAT! We were pleasantly surprised at the kids' manners, the noise level was not too bad, and we were able to watch movies! We saw "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (haven't seen that one for a while!), "Rise of the Guardians," and then on the way home we saw "Cars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." Our 15-year-old daughter sat behind us with a friend.
We stayed in a different hotel than usual, and it was a good experience. We quickly learned our way around and got acclimated to it. The continental breakfast was comparable. We slept well, and it was pretty quiet even though there were 80 kids in the building!
After a practice at a local church, the marching band performed in the quarter-finals and earned 7th place, one-tenth of a point above another band from our town. The following day, they performed in the semi-finals and earned 8th place, which was high enough so that they could perform in finals that evening. Last year the finals were canceled, so they were excited to be able to perform in them this year.
That evening, our band played in the finals competition and again earned 8th place. It was a great experience for the whole band. I felt bad for one student who ended up sick with the flu. We are so proud of all of the students, and our daughters for performing well and giving their best to the team. There were many tears after the final performance of the year, especially for all of the seniors, which was about 25 kids! Our older daughter is a senior and said that she wants to perform in the marching band in college!
We missed having Joshua's mom and sister attend with us, but medical problems got in the way for them this fall. We will hopefully travel together again with them next fall. Maybe our son will come with us too.
Front ensemble/pit performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"
We will miss the marching band performances for the rest of this year, but there are still a few pep band nights at football games and two parades this fall.
What are your kids involved in? I'd enjoy hearing about it!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Numbers 10:9
When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.
Psalm 150:4-6
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