Sib Swim

My brother's family is visiting Erin's grandparents today, so the kids have watched a lot of cooking and DIY shows, and had a swim.

Traveling with a storm

We [well, Jeremy] drove all the way to Indiana in a horrible storm tonight. 

The plan was to go at night so Annah could get some night driving hours completed. However, as the guys were about to come home from open mat at the school, this weather alert popped up on my phone...

Keywords here are the name of the town we live in, and the direction we would be heading the entire night being the same way the storm was moving! 

 When we got to Gibson City, we stopped to get McDonald's, and Jeremy said he would drive so Annah could eat. Then we got a little farther down the road and the storm got worse and worse--lots of lightning and torrential downpouring of rain!  I could see on the future radar that we would be with the storm all the way to our destination. Annah never got in the driver's seat. Jeremy had times he couldn't see the lines on the road, and a few spots of hydroplaning. I sat behind him praying. It was not a fun trip.  We got to my parents' house at 1:30 a.m.  I am thankful for the protection God gave us.

It's been a pretty chill week around here so far.

On Monday, we went to the library. Caeden read 26 hours in the past week, so he was able to turn in his Summer Reading Program sheet for prizes and entries into the grand prize drawings. 

 We went back to the eye doctor on Tuesday for the fourth time this summer.  Everyone's eyes are good. Contacts are working well, but we have to wait a while to order them, because $$$$$$$$.

During Sylvia's cello lesson on Tuesday, Caeden and Annah read in the car... 

I participated in my first Crochet-A-Long this month, and finished the Cateline Cabled bag today.  I even won a prize during the first week, and am looking forward to using the cake of mandala yarn I won.  This bag was not easy to make, and I learned a lot during the process.  The directions and tutorial were great, and I plan to make another in a different yarn using the things I learned making this one.  

Church family

During worship service this morning, Pastor Karin interviewed Pastor Scott about Pivot Youth.  At the end of his interview, she asked the congregation to turn and lay hands on any member of the youth group they happened to be sitting near while she prayed over Pastor Scott and all the teens. I happened to be sitting next to Caeden, though both girls were serving in KIDS.

It was a pretty great moment.

Saybrook Parade

The girls had to be in Saybrook at 9:30 this morning for a little more marching band rehearsal and warm-up. Less than half of the band members were there, but it is always fun to watch the new freshman learn.

Here on the prairie the marching band rehearses between the antique tractors
when getting ready for a parade...

VIDEO: warming up

I feel for Sylvia and Isabella, who have a new instrument [mellophone] to learn at the same time they're learning how to march! And it's not an easy one to carry, either!

VIDEO: monster stomp practice

Percussionists and their very heavy drums...

Everybody around was enjoying this fun upside down truck in the parade. 

Isabella and Sylvia, french horn turned mellophone buddies

Kyle, Isabella, Sylvia, freshman friends, ready for their first parade!

Annah was on the run, and hard to get a picture of when it was time for line-up.

As Caeden and I were walking to find a spot to stand and watch the parade, a voice yelled his name from out of a fire truck.  He turned around to see Owen and Eliza! 

 They were riding in the truck with their grandpa.

The band was early in the parade lineup this year--right behind the firetrucks and sirens--so they didn't have to march behind any horses.  Mr. M said that was ok if they weren't heard, because they were playing a new song and had less than half their members present. Ha!

They finished the monster stomp and weren't playing when they came by the spot where we were standing.

Annah!

Sylvia!

They started playing just after they passed us, then played a whole song while marking time as the ambulances went around the corner very slowly.

My piano student, Alex, had come to his 8:30 lesson this morning in his Cub Scout uniform, because he was marching in the parade. He spotted me and waved, what a sweetie!

VIDEO: We ran around the block to catch the band again as they finished the last leg of the parade.

There's Annah playing her clarinet!

There were only 2 trumpet players who could come today, so Mr. M jumped in to play trumpet as well. Sylvia was a bit nervous about playing right into his ears!

Sylvia playing her mellophone!

(She may or may not have been "stabbed" in the head by that trombone slide behind her a few dozen times today.)

I had to get some pictures of Reece playing that big bass drum for the first time to text to his momma, who is in Italy visiting her sister right now.

Our cute little tie-dyed twinsies after the parade...

They were fortunate to have nice mild weather today, and didn't even break a sweat marching the short parade! It was a fun time.

Meanwhile, Jeremy is up in Naperville golfing at the 21st annual Fischer Golf Outing!
Such a great day for it!