Distracted!! - And a fun week!

I got distracted (that funny Kavan) posting my blog about last week, so I'm gettin' back on track.

On Thursday, there were 22 fifth grade students at Kyler's school inducted into the Beta club and Kyler was one of them.
We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. We are thankful that he strives to do well in school!





(Kyler and his fifth grade teachers - Ms. Roy, Ms. Peace, Ms. Hughes, Ms. Drake, Ms. Snyder, and Ms. Cypress)

On Saturday morning, Karlee had her 2nd grade Christmas play. She was so excited about it! It was really cute! They had made reindeer shirts to wear, and they sang so good, and it was just really fun to watch!




After Karlee's play, we were off to Athens to see McKenzie perform at The University of Georgia Middle School Band Festival. Kenzie was invited to participate in this UGA Midfest about a month ago and left Thursday to begin her fun weekend. Thursday afternoon, all of the students (one by one) played for judges. They were then placed into one of 8 bands. Those with scores high enough were placed into the Honor Band who was directed by Cheryl Floyd. Kenzie said she was soooo nervous and was disappointed with how she played. We reminded her that it was an honor just to be there - and to be able to have the experience is awesome!
McKenzie's conductor was Mary Land. They met Friday morning, rehearsed for 5 hours. Met again Saturday morning for a 2 hour rehearsal. Then, concerts began at 1:00pm. Kenzie's band performed at 3:00pm. They played four pieces:
...And The Nations Rejoice/Smith
High Water Mark/Sweeney
A Christmas Auld Lang Syne/Swearingen
Zia, Zia!/Smith
and it was wonderful! It was hard to believe that they had only played together for a day!
Although they were there to play music, the kids did have an opportunity to goof off. They ate, hung out at the mall, ate some more, watched the UGA band perform, and even went bowling (bedtime - midnight or beyond, wake-up call - 6:00am). Kenzie also got to meet up with Zachary Koschene (a close family friend) who was there from Harlem Middle School.




On a side note, two of the guest conductors that were there, Steve Tyndall and Russell Bertles, I had remembered from my own band experiences at school and All-State. So for me, watching McKenzie perform brought back many great memories. I am so thankful and excited that McKenzie got to have such a neat experience! She is already hoping for the opportunity again - and that makes me smile!
Thank you so much to those who helped with this endeavor - Mr. Whitaker (Kenzie's band director), of course McKenzie, and especially Mom and Dad and the Koschene family!


(A very cold and tired, but happy, McKenzie!)