The One With Back to Back NESBA Wins

 

 

We just got in a few minutes ago from Danvers second NESBA competition this fall. This time, we were in historic North Reading for a competition following last week's first place finish in Melrose (ironically over Melrose, who came in second).

 This week brought a new set of challenges for the band. They were adding their third piece to the Alice in Wonderland show. And, they were looking forward to seeing how it looked. New movements, a new song, and new flags for the colorguard.

 This week's show did not disappoint. Emmie and I, and what we believe to be the largest group of Danvers band parent volunteers ever assembled for a competition, were able to help Danvers take the field. And they rocked it. Kiff did an amazing job with his parts. Several kids from the performing arts came to watch. As a bang, not only did they perform the third song well...it might be the best one of the show. To top it off, they came in first place again (also again over Melrose) and scored an 80%.

 It is the first time they scored  back to back first places as far as we can tell. To cap off the fun evening, Bri and Jack visited as well, showing support for their old crew!!!

 

 

The One With the First Football Game of the Year

 

 

 

 

Friday marked the first official DHS football game at home. Of course, it also marked the return on DHS Marching Band, which is always fun.

 

As we have for the past two years, Emmie and I are volunteering to help out...which has always been a fun thing to do. This year, we are helping to coordinate volunteers for the half time show, which is a salute to Alice in Wonderland. Now, it is weird to only have one student in band again, now that Bri has moved onto college...though she thinks she might do band next year there.

 

The show itself is entertaining. DHS stepped it up this year, evening getting special costumes for the Alice in Wonderland effect. And it looks pretty good (though, it appears the boys are not full fledged fans of the shirts). The first show went well, with the first two songs a resounding success. Kiff has two interesting parts in the show - a tug of war with another student while playing the trumpet with one hand and a solo before the send of movement two. 

 

Show one went down nicely...and the football team, with many of the kids Kiff played flag football with, ended up winning, too. All and all, a nice day for DHS. 

The One With Caught Stealing

 

 

Kiff and I decided to end my second week back at school and his first week with a movie. While Emmie was having dinner with fellow college Moms, we went to see Caught Stealing.

From the previews, it looked like it would be a decent take. A person - Austin Butler - gets caught up in the shenanigans of his neighbor and has to find a way out. In reality, it was quite an intense movie. Spoiler alert - a lot of people die. The action is solid, and intense in some spots, but well defined (and a little gratuitous....but there are reasons for that). There are a lot of twists, and although it was predictable, it was entertaining. I did have to turn my head a couple of times - once when Butler's character ralphed all over a door (but you find out that this actually moved the plot) and another when you see a bone sticking out of his knee.

 All and all and entertaining take. There was a surreal moment when Zoe Kravitz was on screen and looked a lot like her mother - who was one of my favorite actresses of the 1980s. I would give in a B.  

The One With Good Harbor Beach

 

Today, after several false starts, we finally got our chance to go to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. Now, what made today interesting was the water was actually closed for swimming and surfing - although I felt bad for the surfers because the waves were rollicking because Hurricane Erin was passing far out in the Atlantic, but sending in rough surf.

The waves were definitely pounding the shore - a fact enhanced by the idea we were there one hour before high tide (we stayed until just after high tide arrived at 11:28 AM). In fact, you could see the rip currents (which were definitely a danger). In fact, a few people who stepped into the water went a little to far, and the life guard whistles blew.

Incidentally, what was the reason the beaches were closed....sharks had been spotted there the past two days. In fact, we saw a harbor patrol boat in the area. My assumption was he was looking for potential sharks.

The visit was a memorable one!!! 

The One With Mayflower Beach

 

 

We spent some time down at the Cape and we had the pleasure of going to Mayflower Beach, on the bayside of the Cape. Normally, it would have been croweded but we picked a cool and windy day! A cold front had just passed through and the wind was whipping. The white caps were amazing, despite the fact it was low tide. In fact, it was so low that we were able to see people walking far out on the sand.

 

More interesting was  the fact that there were para-surfers using the windy conditions to surf with parasails. It was incredible to watch. And the beach was amazing!!!

The One With the Fireworks

 

 

 

Tonight, Danvers hosted its second annual triumphant return of the fireworks (the image above is from the ones from last year in Danvers). Normally, we would have rushed to see it (in fact, Bri did). However, Kiff was making his way over to fireworks held in Beverly, to enjoy him with a former preschool friend that he has reconnected with. So, we dropped him off at Lynch Park, Emmie did a few errands, than we went back to pick him up. Fortunately, we got there early enough to watch the end of the fireworks show. It was actually pretty great. And, it turns out that this is a perfect place to watch them, too!!!

The One With Colin Jost

 

 

Tonight, we had the opportunity to go to MGM Fenway to see Colin Jost. What a great show!!

 We started the night be going to the Cask and Flagon. It was a good take, as usual.

Then, we made our way down to MGM. We were able to quickly get in and had good seats. The show actually featured three different openers, including another one from SNL as well. The first opener was solid. The second one was a little new, so he was still working on things. The third one - the guy from SNL - was hilarious. And Colin Jost was amazing. He was funny, but, as a former student at Harvard, also enjoyed interacting with a Boston crowd....particularly one that was interested in where Scarlett Johanson was.

 He even stayed longer than he was supposed to, answering questions from the crowd at the end (several of which were Scarlett related). After we left, Emmie mentioned that the person next to us looked like his mother. In fact, we are pretty sure, if she was indeed there, we spent the evening next to her.

All and all, it was a great night.