Tag Archives: Owosso Trojan Marching Band

Proud Mommy Moment ~ In the band

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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!

PMM ~ Part of the band

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I probably don’t tell my kids often enough how proud I am of them and their accomplishments and I know that I really should. This past weekend was one of those times that I was really proud of my oldest daughter.

She is an exceptional kid…. smart, talented, and pretty good looking (ok… I may be biased on this last one). She has been in band since 5th grade as well as jazz band since 7th grade and has played the alto sax the entire time. She is so good that she hasn’t been challenged by another student.. ever.. and she’s now finishing up her freshman year. I think that this is simply amazing.

Caitlin was asked to march with the TMB (Trojan Marching Band) last weekend in the Tulip Festival parade in Holland, Michigan. To me this was a really big deal because the freshman do not march or play with the 10th- 12th grade kids. As a matter of fact the band program in our town is a pretty big deal and not just anyone can take part in band. It’s serious here! Here’s the deal, band is open to anyone through 9th grade and then after that you basically have to prove that you’re good enough to be in band… there’s a playing test, a written test (I think), and possibly even a marching test (my daughter told me & I’m old and tend to forget things).

Holland Tulip Time Parade

By being asked to take part in the parade told me that she is good enough and that she knows what she’s doing (I already knew this….duh), but it more or less confirmed it all.

Like any proud parent we dropped her off at school to take one of the four Greyhound buses to Holland and then we followed. The weather was terrible. Rainy, wet, and really damn cold considering the entire week previous was sunny, warm and about 80 degrees. But we dressed for the weather and had our umbrellas in hand and I swore that it would not rain during the parade!

TMB was a premier band meaning that it played in the street (3 different locations) prior to the start of the parade. Of course I was there staking out my spots (yes… spots… both sides of the street since I didn’t know what direction they’d face when they stopped) and had my camera in hand. I’m pretty sure that my daughter was thinking that I was crazy or ‘that’ mom… you know the one who shoves their way in to get the perfect pictures of their kid. Yea, I was sorta that way but in my defense those other people did not have kids in the band nor were they taking pictures or video. Oh…. I said excuse me too.. I wasn’t that rude.

Holland Tulip Time Parade

I was able to get a lot of decent pictures during the premier band show as well as during the parade. Needless to say I’m very proud of her accomplishments as well as those of her younger sisters. To me they’re all amazing kids.