The One With the Veterans Day Parade

 

 

 

 

Today, we have the opportunity to go to yet another Boston Veterans Day Parade. This time, only Kiff was in the band (unlike the past few years, before Bri went to college, and they were both in it). The day started off a little bit raining....but ended up clearing beautifully by the time the parade stepped off.

Nancy came to join us, which was a lot of fun. We drove in and parked in our normal lot and then walked up City Hall Plaza to get to our spot on the Common. There were several other Danvers Falcon parents there as well.

 The winds started picking up as the Danvers band turned the corner of Tremont Street. But, nothing would take away from the performance of the military marches as they passed by with the color guard in the front. Kiff looked focused in the middle of the front row of the trumpets.

They passed quick and we followed along until the stopping point at the plaza. The Falcon band took a picture and then ventured off to the buses. They were going to stay in Fanieul Hall for lunch. Emmie, Nancy, and I did the same thing, enjoying some chowder before heading off. 

Overall it was an amazing day. 

The One With the Veterans Day Breakfast

 

 

 

 

Today, we had the annual Veterans Day Breakfast at Kennedy. It was the 23rd annual ceremony.  As always, it was an amazing ceremony. However, going into it, we were wondering how it was going to be.

 First, and sadly, many of our veterans who were staples are no longer able to attend. Sadly, we have lost several of our World War II and Korean War veterans in the past few years. And, with the government shutdown, some of our local facilities were unavailable.

Still, we ended up having 25 veterans and active service people show up, which was awesome.

Adding to the fun of the day was our attempt to do things a little bit differently this year. We decided to have more rotations - three downstair and four upstairs. We decided to add a few new elements as well. We made sure to add a poem, a reading, and an introduction all read by students. We also had opening remarks by Brian (Jeff was out on paternity leave) and me. 

It ended up being an amazing day. To top it off, I reconnected with a former Troop Seven member, Matt, who was also a veteran. All and all, it was a great day!

The One With Frankenstein

 

 

Tonight, we ventured into Coolidge Corner to catch the latest edition to the Frankenstein movie franchise - the updated Frankenstein.

It was one of those artsy movies that Kiff enjoys going to, with the guy from Star Wars last three movies in the lead as the doctor.

I did not know what to expect - and coming into a crowded movie theater late didn't help (though Kiff made a deal with the other people in the row to make sure we got to our seats. However, as the movie would prove, I was pleasantly surprised. It followed the canon of the novel more so than typical Frankenstein movies...incorporating elements of Mary Shelly's classic tale including the tale of the blind man and the ending in the Arctic. But, there was plenty of homage to classic Universal Frankenstein as well.

In the end, it was a spectacular movie and one I would give an "A" to. In fact, it was so well done that people applauded in the theater when it was done. What a great movie. 

 

 

The One With Halloween

 

 

 

 

Yet another Halloween was upon us. And, as in recent years, this Halloween was no different. Bri was enjoying Halloweekend at UMass. Kiff was at a friend's Halloween party. That left Emmie and I at home to enjoy a Friday Halloween of trick or treaters coming to the door.

 While it seemed like it was going to be a slow night, even though we gave out the big bars, we eventually had 25 kids come to our door...it was the second in the past eight years (we got 28 one year).  

After trick or treating, Kiff came home and we watched It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown which we had not watched yet this year (which is shocking).  

The One where Kiff Turns 17

 

 

 

Today was Kiff's 17th birthday. And, we celebrated in rather unusual fashion. 

First, we all ended up being home, including Bri, who had been home from college. As a result, we were able to do our scavenger hunt all together with Kiff.

Then, we ended up taking Bri back to college. It was a little bit of a long trip - and probably not the way to spend a birthday. But, we were together. And, she gave us a nice tour of UMass. Emmie got Kiff a birthday gift there. And, Bri got his some birthday macaroons.

After that,  we made our way home. We opened some gifts, including one that will commemorate the movie Stand By Me....which is pretty cool.  We went to Century House for take out for his birthday. Kiff loves their food. Then, Kiff was able to put the ultimate wrap on a TV show he has followed since earlier this year. He watched the final episode of FRIENDS (which is ironic because the titles of this blog are modeled after Friends).

 After Friends, we watched Frankenstein, which Kiff has been waiting to watch.

 Then, we called it a night. Quite a 17th birthday adventure. 

The One Where Emmie turns 50

 

 

 

Happy birthday Emmie...you turned 50 today. However - and I mean this - you look so much younger.

 Happy to be with you! I hope you like some of the things we have planned throughout the week:

 

Roofman

Tony C's

Ruth Chris's

Ghost and Graveyard Tour

Sugar Factory 

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!!!