first game

 marching season officially began tonight at the first football game.  it was an away game that i decided to chaperone.  i was assigned to the percussion bus, so i got to keep a close eye on little sister. ;-)  not to get sappy, but this marks the last "first game" for big sister!  and just like her first game freshman year, i thought it was fitting that i chaperone her first game of senior year.  she let me take her photo in the band hall before the game just like i took her freshman year. :-)  what a beauty!!

little sister was there too, lol!  she did not get a first away game opportunity last year, since the band only attended home games.  but maybe i can recreate this one in just two short years!

we arrived at the game just as it was starting, and since i also volunteered to be part of the pit crew, i got to witness the kids unloading the semi and helped push equipment into the stadium.

once i was able to find a seat in the stands, my rest was short-lived.  i had to watch the clock and go back down to help with more pit crew duties halfway through the second quarter.

i caught a little bit of the percussion warmup.

halftime seemed to go by really fast, but being on the field had its privileges.  good thing both girls have front row spots in the show!!

i was able to catch a few more tunes from the stands as the game was winding down.

and, yes, i was that mom snapping photos of my child, at least the child i could find...

little sister spent almost all of the second half loading the semi and only finally came back to the stands as the band was playing amazing grace.

by the time we left the game, drove back to the school and got all the instruments unloaded, it was nearly midnight.  but we all had fun and made lots of memories.

meet the lobos

tonight was first (and last!) time both girls 100% represented the band at the annual community pep rally to kick off athletics for the new school year.  last year there was no such event, but little sister would have represented band & volleyball.  in both 2019 & 2018, little sister was only volleyball while big sister was band.

not only does tonight's event mean that football season (i.e. marching band season!) is here, i also hope it means that our hot, humid days are numbered and we can get a taste of some fall-like weather soon.  fingers crossed!

big sister stood proudly with the clarinets and little sister was in charge of playing cymbals.  percussion did not bring any of the large front ensemble instruments with them.

the first tune they played was the hey song.

next up: the drill team song.

then the percussion section played a cadence.

after all the athletes were introduced and made their way across the field, the band ended with sweet caroline, the fight song, & the alma mater.

back on campus

 the girls were excited this morning to head back to school.

new clothes...new shoes...and, thankfully, huge smiles!!

it's the first day of sophomore year for little sister.

height: 5'-9"

schedule: 

english 2

band 2 - percussion symphonic

culinary arts

pre-calculus honors

world history

spanish 1

chemistry honors

 

and it's the LAST first day for big sister - her senior year!!

height: 5'-4"

english 4

band 4 - symphonic

economics

forensic science

audio video production 2 w/ lab 2

pre-calculus

early release!!

have a great day & year, girls!!!

*******

flashback to 2009 and big sister's kindergarten debut!

no rest for percussion

 while the rest of the band got a tiny break from rehearsals, percussion was hard at work perfecting their performance.  they had rehearsals two afternoons this week, luckily inside where it's cool.  little sister has been really trying to learn the music for the whole show so it just becomes easier and easier to play.

camp performance

 parents were treated to a preview of this year's marching show as the final act of band camp today.  here are the highlights.

band camp - week 2

 week 2 saw hotter temperatures than week 1 - but the girls still tried to make the best of it.  for the most part, mornings were spent outside learning drill, and afternoons were indoors.

as is the tradition, on the last day of camp, freshman get paired with an upperclassman and receive gifts including a personalized matching tshirt and becoming band siblings.  only big sister got someone this year, a baritone - so last night we made matching shirts.

little sister wore her sibling shirt from last year today

(minus the sleeves she cut off herself ;-) !)

as is the tradition on the last day of camp - here is the group photo and the 2022 seniors.