Band Saturday!

Today was another busy band Saturday!  It started with a parade competition not far from our house.  We were worried that it might get cancelled or rescheduled because there was a chance of rain but thankfully there wasn't much and it didn't impact the day.  Here is a video of their parade block:

And here are photos of Olivier and Anna in the block.

After they went through the judging area, we all headed to the base of the pier for the drum line competition and got to see their high school play.  We got a couple of photos first!

And here is the drum line, fun stuff!

After that we had a few hours it was time to go to the next band event.  The field show competition at their school.  There was a smaller group that played the anthem and since they were closer to the stands I got a good photo of Olivier who was in that group.  

And although they weren't competing, we got to see their field show.  Fun to see them showing off their hard work!  

Happy Halloween!

Last night in lieu of our normal family game night we carved pumpkins!  With busy schedules it worked out well that we were able to do it then!  

Here are the finished results.  From Mason:

From Olivier:

From Anna:

Tonight we hung out and handed out candy.  It was a chilly but nice evening.  Lots of candy passed out!
 

Ghosts! And more travel - this time band!

 Every October I pull these cute ghosts out and put them up in my office because they make me giggle.  The boys made them I believe just before they turned two.  

Today Matt made the trek to see the parade and field show competition that Anna and Olivier are part of.  They are on the bus and had to be at school at 4:45 a.m.  And they should be home around 1 a.m. tomorrow.  We will all enjoy being home tomorrow as we get ready for Halloween and another busy Saturday coming up!  

Blur of a weekend!

 This weekend we had a blur of activities.  There was a home football game on Friday night so Anna and Olivier played with the band and Matt went to watch.  I headed up to the bay area with Mason when he got out of school for a volleyball tournament.  

Saturday morning Anna and Olivier had their normal activities and it was a little bit of a juggle but Matt was able to make it work, and they were thankful for an easy afternoon.  Mason ended up playing four volleyball games on Saturday the won three of their games!  It was some hard fought for wins, especially their last game of the day when they had no subs and all six players had to play the entire game, and many in positions they have never played!  It was great teamwork but they were exhausted by the end of it.  Lots of videos and photos but this one I really liked as Mason waited to get the all clear to serve.  

On Sunday Mason's team played another four games and got one win and three very close games.  Thankful to make it home and being able to sleep in our own beds tonight!

Look at those teeth!

Today Mason finished up with his Invisalign trays and got the bumps off his teeth!  Wa hoo!  His invisible Invisalign is actually invisible because it is gone! 

 

Busy normal week!

This week we had a busy but overall normal week which has been nice.  The weather cooled down to normal fall temperatures, the kids have been busy with school, and we are keeping busy with work.  

On Friday I was able to tour the PAC with a group and hope to go back with the kids and Matt soon.  We got to go in the huge pipe organ and it was amazing to see the inner workings.  We went to the second landing but opted not to venture to the third which seemed a bit more complex to get to.  This is another member of the group and you can see the ladder and walkway we were on, surrounded by pipes.  

There was a small space in the middle that had a bit more room.  

We then went to the control room and it was odd how small it made the PAC seem!  

The giant black box to the right of this staff member is the projector.  Learned some cool stuff about what it can do as well!

And a cool view from the stage where you can see the control booth.  We got to check out all the rigging and learned a lot about how they turn the space over for the various events they host.  

And a cool view of the chandelier!  We didn't get to tour it this time but I am working to get us in there when we go back!  

And we got to go under the stage and see where the extra seats get stored.  

And the cool walkway between the seat storage and the PAC space itself.  Cool but weird!

Yesterday Anna and Olivier competed with their band in a field show competition in Simi Valley.  They earned 2nd play in their division as well as the High Auxiliary Award.  Way to go band!  

Hot week!

This week have all just about melted.  Thankfully the evenings have cooled down!  Anna and Olivier were especially grateful it cooled down at night because Friday was the homecoming football game which meant a running rally at school in their marching uniforms, followed by uniform photos after school, and of course the football game.  We were able to go watch the game and it was a big win for their school!  We got to see the first two movements of their field show.  I recorded it in pieces.  Here is the first part.  

And here is the second:

And we got to see the national anthem:

This is a photo the band shared that I enjoyed seeing because it has a perspective we don't typically see and it has Anna and Olivier included!

And Saturday night Mason went to the homecoming dance with some friends.  

We are keeping busy working to keep up with these three!