Wordful Wednesday – Curwood Festival

Curwood Festival.

For us it’s the unofficial start of summer.

School is out and it’s the first weekend that the kids can stay up late, ride all the rides they want, eat all the treats they can handle, hang out with friends, and enjoy the fun.

For me, and other parents, it’s a time to watch our kids march in the parades. A time to be so proud of how talented they are and incredible they are.

Floats, bands, Ronald McDonald, and old west gun fights are all part of the parade.

curwood

This year all three of my girls were in the parades during Curwood. Lauren marched in the kids parade on Friday evening while Natalie and Caitlin marched in the Heritage parade on Saturday afternoon. All the while Andrew looked on waiting as patiently as a 3 year old could to see his sisters. There is no doubt in my mind that they heard him yelling their names as they marched by.

kids

One of the highlights of the day (aside from getting an elephant ear from my favorite stand) is the performance that the high school marching band puts on after the parade. It’s the last performance that the seniors take part in… this event happens after they’ve graduated too! They all come back to perform and to me that shows pride and dedication to the band that they put so much time and effort into over the past 4 years.

Cait

This year my daughter is front and center as one of the TMB majorettes and I made sure that I was in place early so I could be “that mom” to get the perfect pictures of her performing.

It’s been a while since I linked up with Angie from Seven Clown Circus and Amanda from Dude Mom for Wordful Wednesday so that’s what I’m doing today and because I had some great pictures to share with all of you.

Proud Mommy Moment ~ In the band

Today I’m linking up with Kmama,  a good friend of mine that I got the privilege of meeting a couple weeks ago in Chicago at Bloggy Bootcamp, to tell you about one of my proud mommy moments.

Band is a big thing around here and they take it seriously. It’s so big that if you’re not in the band here you’re nobody!

Since the beginning of August my daughter has been at school along with over 200 students at band camp. They been marching and marching through the blazing heat, the rain, and oddly enough through thunder storms and funnel clouds. No worries…. they sent the kids inside and then home. But the kids are dedicated and have put in a lot of work to remain one of the number one high schools in their district.

This is the first year that my daughter is marching with the Trojan marching band (TMB). Freshman aren’t allowed to march and at the end of the year take a playing & marching test before they can get into TMB… see I told you they’re serious here. To say that I’m a proud mama is to say the least.

Caitlin has been in band since she was in the 5th grade and has been first chair & unchallenged since the day she started. She’s excelled in band, as well as other classes, and has won several ribbons for her achievements in various competitions. Honestly, she’s good enough to do something with her music after high school.

This past Friday was the first football game of the season which means that it was also the first performance of the TMB and I was that mom. You know the one in the stands fully dressed in the team colors with multiple camera’s and of course the iPhone in which to quickly share pictures of my kids out of the football field.

Owosso Trojan Marching Band

That's Caitlin... front & center.

 

That night I took 2 or 3 videos and over 100 pictures of my daughter, the band, and the football game. See… I told you that I was that mom! But in my defense I wasn’t the only parent that was doing it!

Owosso Trojan Marching Band

I was lucky and was able to get great seats right on the 35 yard line, 3 rows up right in front of where she was standing for many of the songs that they played. Notice the crooked hat… I asked about that and they’re not allowed to adjust it, brush hair out of their face, sweat off their brow, or anything like that. So she marched with her hat like that for that entire routine.

Owosso Trojan Marching Band

The majority of the band watching the game

When they’re not playing the band sits in the end zone in bleachers that are specifically for the band. They play when there’s a touch down & at other important moments in the game (yea, I don’t know all technical details just that they play).

So tonight (I know it’s a Thursday game because of the holiday weekend) I’ll be in the bleachers with my cameras in hand again taking pictures and video of the band and my daughter. Why? Because I’m a proud mom!