17 is my senior trumpet player, and 14 is my alto sax player. 14's been ready to march in this band since she was, like, born. Seriously. Because this band is the best in the state of WV. One of the largest competing marching bands in WV, they were crowned State Champions last year in competition. Don't believe me? Watch this. Here's just a bit of background on this performance: it was POURING DOWN RAINING and they gave their best performance of the season at this competition. No lie, it was iffy as to whether or not they'd even go on because of the weather. There was a break in the storm and they marched onto the field proudly. They had just begun to perform when the skies opened up once again and drenched them. They marched through the gales and kicked some serious ass.
Storms of Africa
Video courtesy of Vox Domini Channel - Youtube.com
Ok, so those 4 people in the front with the umbrellas? That's us, me, hubby, 14 and her bestie Hannah Banana. Just for the record, at 5:22 that's 17's little solo. And yes, that's me screaming right afterwards. You can hear me screaming A LOT in this video. And at 9:35? That's the 'company front' and I swear to God I get chills every single time I watch it. You hear me scream doubly loud after the company front. Yes, I'm a goober but also a damn proud mom.
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| That's my girl! |
My point (and yes, I am getting to it) is that this band continues to increase in size (145 when 17 was a freshman, currently 172) and there seems to be no end in sight. We always say it, every year, that it takes a village to move this band. We are required to have 1 chaperone for every 10 students on trips, we require 4 buses PLUS 2 trucks to move all the equipment. It's crazy. But we LOVE it and we wouldn't have it any other way. When it comes to marching bands, "SIZE MATTERS".
This year's show is Romeo and Juliet: Undead. I've seen some of the rehearsals and it sounds like it's going to be fantastic. Both my girls are so stoked about it. I, however, will not watch a single halftime performance, because I work in the concessions stand at every home football game. Lucky for me and for the rest of the dedicated parents who work every Friday night home game, we do get to see our kids perform at band competitions, like the one in that video. It's really special for us, because we are so unbelievably proud of these kids and the hard work they put in all year to perfect their show.
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| They're going to Disney!! |
So why do I work in concessions instead of sitting in the stands watching? Because marching band ain't cheap, my friends. No sir. Band fees, instrument maintenance, band camp (no American Pie jokes please), and this year, "We're going to Disney World!" That's right, every 4 years, the band does one major trip, and how excited am I that it falls on a year when BOTH my girls are in the band? I'm freaking tickled. Seriously. But like I said, it ain't cheap. And by working in the concessions stand, we get a small percentage of the evening's profit, so we work to offset the cost of things. This year I'm thinking of taking a part-time job, but sadly, the only skills I have are blogging and wrapping up hot dogs. Any and all donations are accepted.
Know anyone hiring a hot dog wrapping blogger?
