Katie Bug's 14th birthday.

Oct. 6-7, 2011

Our celebration of Katie's birthday was split over two days. On her actual birthday, a Thursday, we took her and a friend to Souper Salad for supper (say that three times fast) and then to the RHS game.

After the game and before we could pick up Ryan at the band hall, we dropped by Walgreens for a bit.

 Hilarity ensued.

The kids' school had a school holiday the next day, so K and her friend were able to hang out for a while. When I finally got home that Friday evening, the birthday girl was DYING to open her presents.

She loved her singing Glee card...

...and the Glee season 2 DVDs.

When it was time for cake, she beatboxed a nice rhythm as we sang.

It's unbelievable that my baby girl has 14 candles on that cake!

Happy birthday, Bug! We are so proud of the young woman you are becoming, and we're so thankful that our heavenly Father chose us to be your mom and dad!

FNL Game 6.

Oct. 6, 2011

(Even though I'm throwing this into the "Friday night lights" category, this game happened to fall on a Thursday night. And this Thursday just so happened to be Katie's 14th birthday! Since we couldn't do the big family dinner that night, Katie invited a friend to go out to eat and to the game with us and then spend the night at our house.)

As the high school football season rolled on, I became more and more obsessed with comparing our school's inflatable tunnel to our opponent's. I just knew someday we'd come across a tunnel that did not surpass our own.

I was wrong. But hey, ours still works, right?

It was a GORGEOUS October night.

Every team has to run the flags. If I had to run 100 yards carrying one of these things, I'd have to do this:

(Obligatory football action shot)

The opposition, CHHS, had a cool marching show that featured a grand piano on the sideline. Cool.

This was also my first time to see a guard girl riding the snares across the field. Nifty.

This was NOT our first time to see the drill team perform its "Daddy-Daughter Dance."

It is so much fun watching these dads/family friends support the girls.

What good sports they were! It's sweet, really.

Of course, the highlight of all of these games comes when our band takes the field.

And throughout the game, it's so much fun to listen to and watch the band in the stands.

Go, band! Go, Ryan!

Fright Fest 2011.

Oct. 1, 2011

Between BOA prelims and finals, Katie and I drove across town to Six Flags.

We thought this was the first of a couple of Fright Fest visits, but with our crazy schedule, this turned out to be our only Six Flags trip this October. The park was super crowded, but we arrived just as the haunted houses were opening, and that was Katie's numero uno reason for going in the first place.

New this year: a 3D haunted house!

I don't do haunted houses, so I rode the Superman while Katie walked through a couple of houses. (I did NOT do the bungee thing, however. That's a whole other level of scary!)

Before heading back to the bands, we took in the Arania's Nightmare show at the Southern Palace and checked out the creepy decorations.

Even though it was a quick trip, our time at Fright Fest was to die for!

BOA Regional.

Oct. 1, 2011

How nice of Bands of America to schedule the Arlington regional around my football schedule! Last year I rushed over to Arlington after the Texas-ou game to see Ryan's band in the finals, but this time around, Katie and I were able to watch the prelims and make a day out of it.

After watching RHS march in prelims, Katie and I booked it over to Six Flags to get some Fright Fest action. We left the park in the early evening to get back to UTA in time for finals.

Because of shuttle bus issues, we made sure to get to the stadium extra early. Once there, we got to join the crowd waiting to grab the best seats.

It was worth it to have a great vantage point to see our second favorite band, BHS:

Of course, the highlight was seeing "The Diary," RHS' show.

Highlights from some of the other shows:

After watching all 10 bands perform in the finals, it was time for the retreat:

It was so impressive to see all the pageantry.

Even more impressive? Seeing RHS place third in this prestigious contest! WOO-HOO!

Iowa State: How do we spell Texas?

Oct. 1, 2011

How about some chocolate eyeballs for EYE-owa State?

By the way, Texas blew away the Cyclones, 37-14.

A blog post in every drop.

This cold I've had for nearly a week now has led me to consume a steady supply of cough drops. On the road this weekend, I was unable to replenish my stock with the usual off-brand drops, so I picked up some Hall's.

Apparently some marketing genius has decided that those afflicted with coughing spells are lacking self-motivation. "A pep talk in every drop" is the trademarked tag that appears on the cough drop wrappers. (This must be the offspring of the "Have a happy period" campaign.)



Among the pep talks: Impress yourself today. Put your game face on. Inspire envy. Elicit some "wows" today. Go get it.

Um, I already went and got it, assuming "it" is a cold! Now if you would kindly take a break from the pep talks, maybe you could help me STOP COUGHING!

Now excuse me while I go seize the day.

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Intermission.

We interrupt this annual backblogging extravaganza to bring you two photos from this crazy-fun weekend. Katie and I are in San Antonio tonight for the Bands of America Super Regional finals.

Last night, after watching our band in prelims, Katie and I ate dinner along the Riverwalk and then walked over to pay our respects to the Alamo. Then this morning, we drove into Austin for breakfast at Kerbey Lane before watching the Horns wreck Tech. Now we are back in the Alamodome for finals, anxious to see our band perform.

To sum up: All kinds of AWESOME.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone