He Survived!!!

For six days in a row, CJ marched his butt off in 99+ degree weather for eight hours each day. Why? As a member of the Houston High School Marching Band of more than 270 kids, well, it's just what they do to get ready for the school year.

Their first football game is August 24, and beginning in the end of September he travels to competitions every weekend until November. Louisville, Kentucky; Vanderbilt in Nashville; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and Tiger's Stadium here in Memphis are among the destinations. But all the work leads up to a major competition and trip to Orlando in April.

We're so proud of him. Joining the band--THIS band in particular--was a huge commitment, and he followed through without so much as a single complaint. He's looking mighty tan, too (laughs)!

Today we got to watch the kids do a runthrough of the first two-thirds of the show. Let me tell you, they sounded like many college bands would HOPE to sound. It's amazing what they accomplished in a week and a few random summer rehearsals. The HHS band kids are truly a dedicated bunch. But they work hard and play hard. Next Friday they have a rock-a-thon fundraiser. They'll rock in chairs all night while eating pizza, watching movies, and playing games with their buddies to raise money for the band.

And Samantha got some good news from her ortho doctor. She's been cleared to do colorguard or marching band. After further evaluation, he feels the activity will not cause permanent damage to her knees. She's wearing a funky sleeve on the worst knee now that really seems to help with the pain.

So that's all the band/colorguard news from Memphis! Thanks to dad sending me his camcorder, I can digitize tapes of the performances and put them on YouTube for you to see. I'll try to get previous colorguard, jazz band, and concert band movies up there soon. That way you can watch if you want, or ignore if you wish (grins).