Jazz Champs Part 2

Sorry some of these are blurry. I had to really zoom in and with out a tri-pod, well you see the results. Okay, Amber is off and I'm doing my usual mommy thing with the boys, and getting dinner ready. Not long after dinner I get a text from Amber saying " Why does making the right decision have to be so hard??? :( " I m like u-oh, and text back asking what was up. To make a long texting session short, after dinner they were all going to a movie. Everyone wanted to see The Lincoln Lawyer, which is Rated R. She talked to Mr Britt, the band director, about her standards regarding R movies, and he let her go see Soul Surfer instead. I asked if she was the only one going, and she said "Yup. I asked the others if they wanted to see it, but no one else wanted to. It'll just be me and a chaperon." We text back and forth about how hard it was for her to not be with the group. She already doesn't feel like she fits in, and this wasn't helping. A lot of the kids have coupled off into boyfriend and girlfriend, and she feels like an outsider sometimes. I told her living the gospel standards isn't always easy but it would be worth it in the end. Later I get a text from her about how she LOVED the movie and wants the book that is out about it, and how glad she was that she went to see it. I was helping Ben study for a test during all of this, and he was interested in what was happening. I think it really made an impression on him as well. Amber is setting a good example for her brother.

Amber playing in the semi-finals

We left Tuesday around 1:30 to go listen to Amber play. They were performing first at 3:15 in Des Moines. We were worried we wouldn't make it on time. But with Bret's fancy driving and a good tale wind we made it just in time. We had to pay 40.00 for us to get in, it would have been 50.00 if Keaton would not have been in preschool. They played there three songs and then waited to hear if they made it to the finals that night. We didn't hang around to long, and drove to Sheels, and then on to Jennie and Kevins, where we were meeting John and Marilyn, who were in Omaha taking care of Sheri and Derrik's kids while they were in Mexico. So we dumped all of the kids with Kevin and Jennie, (thank you SO much by the way!) gabbed John and Marilyn and headed for the Civic Center for the final battle of the bands. We had to pay another 40.00 for each of us, and man were we glad we didn't bring our boys, because we were going to, that would have been another 30.00! Sheesh!

The whole group playing in the semi-finals

Getting ready before the finals

It started at 7:00, but Harlan is 3A so we had to sit through the 1A, and 2A schools, each playing for about 20 minutes. Finally it was Harlan's turn. I love listening to Jazz, and like hearing the other schools play, but I was anxious to hear Harlan. They are so much more entertaining than the other schools, and really play more difficult and interesting songs. They blew everyone away with their selections. I didn't want them to be finished! They just played their hearts out and did such a wonderful job!

Getting ready to start

It was almost 11 when we got done listening to the 4A schools play, and as soon as they were done we took off. We picked up the boys and said good-bye, and waited for the text from Amber that would tell us if they had won or not. About half way home I get it. "WE WON WE WON WE WON!!!!! 4 YEARS IN A ROW!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!! She was very happy! Now the pressure is on for next year to make it 5!

State Champs! Part 1

Last Tuesday night the Harlan Jazz Band won the State Championship for the 4th year in a row. It's an interesting story, filled with excitement, hard choices, and painting with turkeys, so I'll start at the beginning.

I'm taking the boys to school on a sunny Monday morning, and as I drive down 19th street I see all the signs for the members of the Jazz band, that the parents have made to wish good luck to the band as they drive out of town. It's a tradition, that they do every year. They are huge signs with each name on it and usually the instrument they play, and also a cute and creative (see above) We had been gone all weekend, and the week before was just crazy and I didn't think much about making a sign. On the way home from Kansas, Sunday night, Amber asked me about it. I felt bad, but I would need to have it done before tomorrow, and I really didn't have the materials or a board to make one. I kinda said, "Is it okay if you don't have one this year? Or we could just use the old one I made last year." She was a good girl and said "That's okay mom, don't worry about it. I felt fine, and thought I was off the hook. But that morning as I saw all the other signs going the full length of the street, and knowing the bus carrying the band members would go down that very street on their way out of town, and knowing that all the kids would be looking for their signs, with their names, their own little reminder that lots of people would be rooting for them, I went home, and instead of doing my morning run, I went to the old garage and dug out the old sign. It looked terrible. The white paint was now a yellowish color and the edges were all faded, it was dirty and it was covered in cob webs. I couldn't use that. I remembered that last week Amber had sent me a text of what she wanted to put on her sign this year. "Slide to Victory at IJC" So I got to work. I cleaned off the board and sketched out a design and headed for the hardware store, got red, black, white, and gold paint, and a couple of brushes. I set up shop in our driveway, and got to work. I had let out the chickens and turkeys so they were roaming around, and the two Tom turkeys came over to see what I was doing. They were fluffing themselves up for me gobbling loudly, and wouldn't leave. So I had an audience. Also the Schwans man came by too, which I really didn't have time for. The band was leaving this afternoon! All these interruptions! Some of the paint had been sitting on the shelf for too long and I had to go back to the store and exchange it for some that I could actually paint with, and the bugs kept landing on my wet paint! But finally a little after noon I had it finished. I now needed to put it up in one of the yards on 19th street. Brother and Sister Burris live on that street so I usually put it in her yard. So finding a couple of nails and a hammer I went to put it up. When I was all done, I sent Amber a text to look for her sign as she left town. She was very surprised and very grateful that I had done that for her. When she saw it she loved it, and said I was the best mother in the world. Definately worth all the time and effort, and missing my run. What we do to make our children happy ;)

Birthday, wedding, Great wolf lodge

What a fun weekend, with family and wonderful friends and summer-like weather! To start off the festivities we had a birthday party for myself and Uncle Kevin, (Bret's Brother) as it so happends, we have the same birthday! He of course, is a bit younger than myself. John and Marilyn came from Omaha, which was a wonderful treat to have them here. They flew in from Spokane to help watch Sherri and Derrick's kids while they go to Mexico! So jealous! Anyway they brought over Austin and Bryce for the party to play with my boys, and also Addy and Brinley came from Des Moines. So we had a house full of cousins, aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa. We missed you Sheri and Derrick and little Chase! But we had a great time chowing down on pizza, salad, and chicken. Ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, and cupcakes. Yummy!

Cousin Austin

Showing us his new CTR ring.

"It says shoose da wite."

Showing us his bear shirt :)

Brinley and Marilyn watching the presents being opened. Not as exciting as a kids party.

All the cousins having a great time!

And of course the birthday girl. One year older.

(Not sure how I feel about that)

Friday we had the kids stay home from school so we could drive to the Winter Quarters Temple and watch Eric Buell and his lovely bride to be get married. What an exciting time. I Love temple weddings. It just reminds me of what is really important in my life. I can get so caught up in day to day living that I sometimes need a slap in the face every so often. I'm also such a dork as well, I didn't take one picture at the temple or the luncheon afterward. (stupid!)

After we ate, and after Bret thoroughly embarrassed the crap out of me in front of EVERYONE, we left, and headed down to Kansas City to The Great Wolf Lodge. Which I again didn't take one picture! I forgot my camera, and was just having so much fun that I didn't take any with my camera phone. (Stupid again!)

Friday night we went swimming and water sliding, and all kinds of running around in our swimming suits getting sprayed and dumped on with water. The kids are now at an age where I don't need to worry about them much. We put a life jacket on Keaton and let him loose. So since I did not have much to do, After a few water slide trips, I went and relaxed in the big "adults only" hot tub. It's huge and quite hot!!

We had dinner at the Olive Garden quite late, like 8:30, then came home and crashed. The next morning was breakfast and the kids played, Magic Quest, which is a game they have set up all over the hotel, you have to buy one of the special wands, then go around the lobby and all over the rest of the hotel and fight dragons, and find treasure, and all kinds of magic spell-mid-evil adventures. Its a interactive game and the wand is connected to all these things and actually works like a real wand. It's quite cool. Bret and I hung out at Cabellas while Amber and the boys did their wand thing and then Bret took the boys swimming again, I didn't really want to do that and neither did Amber, so we went shopping. Always fun to do that. It was also 90 degrees!!! It felt so good to be in shorts and sandals again, and actually hot!

That evening we went to the wedding reception, (the main purpose for the trip) and had such a wonderful time eating good food, dancing, and seeing old friends again. I've learned that Ben, Sam, and especially Keaton are quite the dancers. I did manage to take some pictures of this with my camera phone, but it was so dark that none of them turned out. Hopefully I'll get some sent to me from the Buells. It was also fun to dance with Bret, he's such a good dancer. We don't do that enough. After a late night we all went to bed, tired and happy. We drove back Sunday after attending church with the Buells, and having lunch with their wonderful, loving, sooo fun family, back to reality, and housework.

Oh I forgot to tell you all what I got for my birthday. I got a 12 ft step ladder (which I wanted) I got a 22 inch LCD tv for my work out room, a sent lock hunting vest, a hunting cap, and hunting fanny pack. Also a lovely necklace and earrings from Jennie and Kevin, and an absolutely wonderful new cookbook from Sheri, which I read on the way to Kansas City and I love it! I also got a Luminok arrow tip, and a grunt tube. (Bret thought I needed all my own hunting stuff ) and Amber got me a tapestry which has the picture of the signing of the declaration of independance. It was a great haul this year!!

Thanks everyone!!!