After church, we had lunch at Noodles and MeatHeads.  There is a place where they are close together with Chipotle, and people always just get food from whichever they want and then choose one to meet at with their friends/family to eat together.  

After that, we stopped at Walmart.  

That was...entertainning...

 ...???

 I came across this great reminder today.

Limestone Field Competition

The Marching Mustangs went to Limestone High School for a field competition today.  Just like last year when we came to Limestone, it rained really hard on the way there!  Just like last year, we stopped at Busy Corner on the way and Jeremy bought pie!  Just like last year, it stopped raining and the competition happened!  

Annah and Ryan, all ready for the show

freshman saxophones

Our mello girl!

Getting lined up in the parking lot to walk to warm-ups

 Again, the band had a long walk from warmups to the field.

When they got to the field, Annah set the band to march on.

Opening set

Because of the rain and humidity, I decided not to take the good camera out today.  I took a few pictures while taking video on my phone.

Today was the first time I'd watched this show from up high in the stands, and it was neat to see the sets form.

VIDEO: full performance


VIDEO:


After the performance, the band marched back to the parking lot and changed out of their uniforms.  Mr. Marchese had to leave immediately to catch a flight out of O'Hare, so Jeremy and I filled in as him for the rest of the day.  I got the clipboard and signed out everyone whose parents had come to watch and were taking them home.  I got on the bus that was going home early and marked down everyone who was on it and reminded them to unload the trailer when they got back to school.
We were able to watch a few of the class 2A bands perform (We were 1A today.), then Annah had to get back into her uniform for the awards ceremony.  Jeremy stayed in the stands with the rest of the kids who stayed to watch the awards.

I waited with her at the gate until al the other drum majors arrived and they headed out towards the track.  Jeremy texted that he could see us behind the chain link fence, so we hid behind the clipboard so he couldn't see us anymore.

Since Ridgeview was the first band to perform, Annah was the first drum major in the line-up for the awards ceremony.

It was pretty awesome watching them all come onto the track.

VIDEO: The crowd really gave them a warm welcome!

Ridgeview didn't win any awards or place in the top 3, but hopefully the kids will something from their performance, the judges' feedback, and from watching some other bands perform today.  

Full Half Day

The kids had a half day of school today, and we had play rehearsal from 12:15 to almost 5:00.  We got a lot of scenes blocked!  And we ran the scenes we blocked on Monday too!

Pay Phone scene

Lazy Eye scene

We also had lots of visiting when the seniors started reminiscing about acting during recess in elementary school.

The teachers had a meeting about cell phone and earbud use in class, and Mr. Metz joined us afterwards.  We blocked Wheels.

Annah actually fell asleep like this on stage and slept for about half an hour while we were blocking Wheels!

Then we blocked Fireworks.  It was a productive and nice afternoon!

Caeden spent the afternoon at home by himself because he didn't want to sit at school and watch rehearsal.  He is currently grounded from screens for 2 weeks because he stole his sisters Twinkies that she was going to share with her class.  So, after practicing all 3 guitars and piano, and finishing a book, he busted out the Legos!

He built a helicopter anding pad with a sliding door.

Husband Appreciation

Wearing my favorite t-shirt today in appreciation of my husband!

We had a big talk last night about a variety of things.  I tend to forget to use words to express my appreciation for people I love, because I feel like it always comes out wrong or not as big as I intend. I really don't know how to express my gratitude for my husband as well as I would like.  

The company he has worked for, for over 20 years now, is going through a lot of huge changes, and his department is experiencing a lot of job cuts--especially in the management area, and especially at his level of management.  He recently made the decision to interview for an analyst position, which he was almost instantly hired into.  He will start that job in about a month.  

I am proud of him for his humility in stepping out of management after many years of doing a fantastic job in it.  He is sacrificing a couple of "rungs on the ladder" he has worked so hard to climb in order to keep providing for our family, and I don't know what words are even appropriate to convey my gratitude.    

I did make a little post on Facebook today, which I hope didn't embarrass him rather than celebrate him as I intended.

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Husband appreciation post!!!

I’m not good at letting people know how much I appreciate them, and I want to get better at that. So today, I would like to ”shout from the rooftops” my appreciation for my favorite person in the world—Jeremy!

My dear husband, I adore you, and I want you and the rest of the world to know it! You are amazing! You are handsome! You are smart! You are funny! You are caring! You are fun!

You work so hard at everything you do. Thank you!

You take such good care of me and our kids. Thank you!

You spend quality time with us and encourage us. Thank you!

You constantly sacrifice your needs and wants to give us our needs and wants. Thank you!

You are strong and make us feel secure and safe. Thank you!

You point us to Jesus and remind us to always keep Him first in our hearts and minds. Thank you!

You discount our insecurities and remind us that fear is a liar. Thank you!

You speak Truth to us and over us. Thank you!

You keep us laughing even in the roughest times. Thank you! 

You are grateful for every blessing, big or small, that you’ve been given in this life, and you remind us to be grateful too. Thank you!

I’m eternally grateful that God created you for me and blessed me with you as my friend and husband! I’m thankful you still want to come home to me and take care of me and love me after 27 years. I’m thankful that you look past all my imperfections to do that every day! I’m thankful you want to keep making our adventure together better and better. I really could not ask for more. You are my favorite. I love you always. 

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Archway

I saw Archway cookies at Meijer today and had to buy some!  We used to get them all the time when I was a kid, and they always make me think of my dad.   I hadn't seen them in stores for years, and even though the packaging has changed, they still taste the same.  The molasses ones are shaped like flowers now, but they are probably still my favorite. Jeremy was pretty excited about them too!  I The kids didn't even know what they were, so I was glad they got to try them too.