In Search for Edmund

On Saturday the 29th, we went in search for our perfect Christmas Tree for the season. We found a great u-cut place last year called:Luckily for us it turned out to be the same farm Kevin and Jessica would be working at for their Winter Percussion fundraiser! So with coupon in hand, and boots on feet, we headed out there. Jessica drove us, so it was an adventure on those windy roads! As we got closer, and higher on the mountain it got pretty foggy.
We like this farm because of the nice covered area where they serve you hot chocolate, and provide fires to warm you up. They also have a nice big wagon they take you up to where you want to cut your tree. The roads are all labeled with Christmas names, and on a clear day the view is beautiful.

I think this was one of the fastest finds we've ever had. After we took the wagon ride up to where the 9 foot nobles were, and less than a half hour of hunting, we had all agreed on Edmund. The kids name our tree each year, and they decided it was a boy, and that was the name for him. (Billy Bob Joe Jr. want-a-be the 5th, being one of the most memorable names yet). The farm provided the saw, and the measuring pole. After we cut down Edmund, they picked him up, hauled him down the mountain,bundled him, and hauled him to our car! Great service! (Next weekend, Jessica and Kevin will be helping haul the trees with their band buddies- they get $5 a tree for those that bring a flyer they handed out.)

Edmund now stands proudly in our living room. Rachel, Melissa, and Jennifer covered him in lights when we were at choir practice Sunday evening. The living room is now full of decoration boxes ready to be emptied!

Thanksgiving Day

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving again this year, and plenty of turkey and yummy food for all! The Wiseman Family wasn't able to join us this year (because of a death in their family they had to pack up and go to California). When we found this out on Monday, my kids freaked. We have been celebrating Thanksgiving with them for as long as my kids can remember. We started to even contemplate traveling to SLO to join the crew there, but Jennifer had work, and Kevin and Jessica had Winter Percussion practice Wed evening. So when I was "fiddling around" (more on that later) with my friend Barb that evening, she told me that she and her son John, were own their own this year. We eagerly joined forces. Yeah! It seemed like a holiday again now that we would have company to share it with.

We had a lot of wonderful food: spinach dip (by Rachel) with veggies and bread to hold us over, shrimp cocktail, strawberry layered salad, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls, sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, pumpkin cheesecake (by Jessica), pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cherry cheesecake, and bubbly juice to drink. Because Rachel doesn't like pie, she made some real cute turkey cupcakes for us this year. They were peanut butter cakes, chocolate frosting, with kiss heads, and melty tails. Gobble, Gobble!So we had a fun, FULL, day. We enjoyed lots of good food, laying around watching some of the James Bond marathon, playing rock band and other video games, and played our instruments for about an hour that evening. It was a nice day. Thank you Barb and John for joining us!

American as Apple Pie

We enjoyed a great Westview High School Symphonic Band Concert last night. It is their yearly American As Apple Pie Concert. For $5 you enjoy all American music, and are served a piece of apple or pumpkin pie. This concert is one of the main fundraisers of the year for the band. You can also pre-order Marie Calendar pies to take home for Thanksgiving.Both Kevin and Jessica made it into the symphonic band this year so we enjoyed hearing them perform; Kevin on French Horn, and Jessica on Saxophone. Brian filmed it so I will try to get some snippets posted later. It was a great concert.


Here is what they played:

Washington Post March by John Philip Sousa

A Copland Portrait by Aaron Copland arr. Clare Grundaman

Elegy For A Young American by Ronald Lo Presti

The Blue and The Grey by Clare Grundman

Black Horse Troop by John Philip Sousa

Each Time They Tell Their Story by Samuel R. Hazo

At Dawn They Slept by Jay Bocook

Songs of Old Kentucky by Brant Karrick

and of course. . .
Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa

There was a short intermission and the Jazz Band played 6 songs- they also sounded great, but none of my kids are in that band this year.

I bought 5 tickets, but Jennifer had to work, and Melissa and Rachel had a Young Women activity, so I gave the extra tickets to Katy, Jacky, and Joel Adams. This was their first band concert! For YM, Kevin said they had the choice of coming to the concert or playing basketball. Blair, Zach, and Brother Young came to the concert and enjoyed eating pie!