The One With Senior Night

 

 

Last night was Senior Night at DHS. It was a sentimental moment that marked Kiff's last official regular season performance at a football game (though the team is having a strong season and should host a home playoff game).

The night started off with the big line up in the atrium...always a fun thing. Emmie took some great photos of band moms, Kiff with friends, and the five kids from Highlands who still do band from his class. It was very memory-filled.

While Kiff originally just wanted to get it over with, he settled into the awkwardness of the moment and relaxed. When we got called to cross the field, he got an amazing cheer from the band. It was cool to witness.

Emmie set it up so that all the senior parents could enjoy the game and the final official performance at half time...which was awesome. Although I did help man the raffle booth with Mr. Norbaka, we were able to enjoy the game while raising some $$$.

The night ended with a win and a great send off. Listening to the drums pound one last time as they marched off into the night at the end of the game was such a poignant send off. 

Later Kiff reveled in some of the moments at the end of the night, seeing his send off poster, getting a note from one of the staff, special shout outs from their director, and learning that some students had special notes ready for him.

It is hard to believe this part of the band experience is coming to an end for all of us. It has been an amazing seven year ride between them...and one that I hate to see ending. 

The One With the Frankenstein Encounter of Sturbridge

 

 

Last night, went to The Frankenstein Encounter at Sturbridge Village. It was the first time we had been to Sturbridge in a couple of years, since we went to the Christmas experience there, which was awesome.

 

 We did not know what to expect from this event. We had been to several of the different themed Halloween nights at Sturbridge, from the Trick or Treat nights, to the Circus events, to the Pumpkin aglow events they had. But, because it was an 1818 Frankenstein theme, we said let's give it a go.

We were not disappointed. First, when we arrived, we had a "WHOA" moment. We had to park way in the back on the left fields....a place I didn't even know existed. There was a huge line to get in. But we soon found out why. They were acting out vignettes to the story and all of the open buildings had themes related to Frankenstein, from the four humors  to a coffin making store. There was live music, the fog-clocked covered bridge, and even fun lightning in the trees. And, the Frankenstein creation and final battle were great.

 

We all loved it and hope to go again next year....though we plan to get their earlier. 

The One With The Second Football Game

 

 

Last night was officially "Alumni Night" at DHS, which is ironic because both Emmie and Bri were in attendance. 

However, we were all there to see the second official half-time show with the marching band. The show is still coming together, so it was interesting to see the intricacies of the set starting to be put together. The large box for the Pandora show now had a lock and chains on it. And the front screens had black shim on them.

Overall, three pieces of the show are ready. But it looked nice. And Kiff had a chance to do the trumpet solo as well. He did great...tho he says he lost tone as he held the long note at the end.

It was also the tailgate party, so we had a chance to hang out with band parents as well. All and all, it was a great evening. 

And, best of all, the football team won as well and are now 4-0. They were top 20 in the state. 

The One With the Last First Band Show

 

 

For the past 7 years, since Bri has been in 8th grade, we have always had a first band show of the year. Although her initial first was quirky because of Covid, it was also memorably warm and rainy at DHS field.

Fast forward to earlier tonight when Kiff took the field for the first time this season, entering with his sun glasses as a senior.  However, it was a little bittersweet as well, because it is his - and out - last "first" day of band.

The crew sounded good and displayed the first half of their show that will go onto competition. They sounded strong and will continue to grow, as will the football team, which scored a 16-0 win.

 It is hard to believe this will be our last year as band parents. 

The One with Odyssey in IMAX

 

 

 

One of this year's summer blockbusters is The Odyssey. Although we saw it the day it first came out, Kiff had been longing to see the 70 mm cut on IMAX at Apple Cinema in Providence at Providence Place

 While the idea of taking an hour car ride to get to a theater wasn't fully tempting, we decided to make a go of it. Of course, getting tickets proved to be almost as arduous as Odysseus's voyage. They were sold out for weeks.

However, we found a date and time that would work - YAY - and made the trip down earlier today. It was worth the wait. A few things I noted about the film...

1. Figuring out concessions took a little longer than we realized - they have a self service set up - but it made sense.

2. It is clear that the popcorn is loaded and has been in there for a while. It was decent movie popcorn, but not warm. I would recommend the butter next time to warm it up.

3. The theater was amazing. The seats were comfier than normal for IMAX. However, like every IMAX I have been to, you could not see the seat numbers quite well.

4. The movie going experience was phenomenal. The trailer for DUNE prior to the movie - the only one they showed - echoed through you. And the scale of the screen made you feel like you were in the movie.

5. A fly did land on the projector which is something you don't usually see with the standard digital movies. That was a throwback moment.

Bonus - as we left and quickly got some food from the food court, Emmie and I were amazed that the DQ there served Orange Julius!!! Of course, we had to indulge...and it mostly like the old times.

 

 

The One With the Umass Move In Year Two

 

 

Today was Bri's move in day at UMass. Having gone through it once before, we felt much better prepared for this year's sojourn (the best way to describe it) to UMass.

This year, was going to be a bit different for two reasons. First, Bri is a sophomore, so the crowds were not as large as when she was a freshmen. Also, she was moving into one of the towers, so it would involve her transcending 15 flights. 

 As we got closer, we realized, like last year, the signs were confusing. But Bri figured out if we went down Massachusetts Ave (just a little past the street we normally go down to get to the SW region), we would be fine. And, it turned out the wait was much better than last year doing it.

We checked in and quickly got to the tower. The crew that helped move in was AMAZING. They got everything unloaded in five minutes (I wish they could have helped us pack). I went to park, Emmie and Kiff were getting ready to meet us, and Bri went up with her stuff. She had to walk and literally texted us from the 9th floor saying we should not make the trip up. She - who goes to the gym regularly - was out of breath.

 So, we waited while she put together her room. We hear it looks great. And she came down and went to Hampshire to eat - the stir fry is delicious. Year 2 move in proved much smoother than Year 1.

The One With Apple Picking

 

 

 

Today, we went to Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury to go apple picking. We were looking for a place that was open before Bri went back to college...which was a little tricky because we are at the start of apple-picking season.

However, found that Cider Hill was open, which was great. I zipped home after school and we headed up, getting there about 90 minutes before closing. They had four variety of apples available - we were fortunate. But, even more fortuitous is that we were THE ONLY people picking apples at the time. That had never happened.

We got a bushel of apples ($42, but it was worth it) and took some great pix. And, we kept our apple-picking tradition alive.