Band Camp / Leprechaun Days / Drill Week

It's the time of the summer when marching band takes over, and all free time goes to that activity. I think G went to TKD this week? I worked, maybe? I do know that Ava got a job (hooray!) so that's a big to-do that is DONE. Ava will be working at one of the childcare facilities in town. It's not the one that we had originally thought she was going to work for, but that's ok. She seems very pleased with how this other facility is managed, and thinks she'll really enjoy it. Onboarding starts this Monday morning, and her first day is this upcoming Tuesday at 8am sharp!

Assuming it works out, this job will be one that she carry into the school year, and one that will be a great fit for her potential career (elementary ed.)

All that aside...let's talk about the RHSMB! Ava was at band camp, Mon-Fri (two weeks ago), at a university about 2.5 hours NE of home. The weather was much more tolerable in years past, and the kids had a great time and learned so much. 

My mom and I drove up there on Friday afternoon, watched the 1st two (?) acts of this year's field show, and then headed back home, with our favorite trumpeter. We enjoyed a McDonald's dinner, and I think Ava enjoyed being in a quiet space, with no one else around (besides me and Mom.)

Silly at McD's

Pria missed Ava

The quiet didn't last long as the next day was the Leprechaun Days parade, and the RHSMB was early in the lineup. It was a HOT HOT HOT day, and our cheering group had a shady spot and were still steamy...I can't imagine how the marching kids felt. We had friends up from out of town, so we spent the day and part of the evening with them at Central Park, where the Leprechaun Days carnival and music were taking place. Some neighbors met up with us, and G was able to explore the carnival on his own. Ava was off with her own set of friends, having a blast.

That night, G and I headed home to watch the fireworks from our neighborhood park. It was a great view - even better than from our guest room. I'd say LD was a success!

This whole week we've had appointments: dentist, ortho (for Ava's wrist, not teeth), fingerprinting for background check, Pria's grooming, etc. It was also drill week, which means Ava was at school 1-9pm each day. I've been stressed because I inherited organizing the dinners for the trumpet section. Luckily, the trumpet parents stepped up and contributed to the event. It's been a great way to get the kids fed nightly during drill week, and also get to know the new parents (or parents I don't see very often.) This group is a bit more active on our FB page, asking questions and being engaged. I think that makes a lot of difference for the enjoyment of the parents...we spend a lot of time supporting our kids, and it's good to have friendly faces to chat and commiserate with.

G made little trophies and had them surrounding his breakfast one day

This new rock was peeking out on our walk this week - Pink Panther!

Drill week might be done, but the next thing on the RHSMB list is a doozy. We've got the MEGA Garage Sale coming up next weekend, so collections start this weekend. It's a great fundraising event (earned over $50k last year) but it's an exhausting one. We need to grab whatever downtime we can get, so we can rest and recharge!