Back to School: 2024 Edition

2024 Back to School = 8th and 11th grades for our kiddos! 

 Luke is a junior and has a full load of AP classes at his high school.  He is also taking college courses this year online through the dual enrollment program with our school district, and he's loving the freedom of driving himself to school:

This is Leah's last year of middle school, and she is Big Man on Campus this fall.  She seems excited about her teachers and having friends in classes with her, and we lucked out with the bus route this year so she is riding it in the morning and afternoons.  This is a game changer for me, as hours of my life are spent weekly in carpool lines some years:

Neighborhood Bus Stop Crew

The first week of school was filled with marching band rehearsals and the first home football game of the season.  The weather prevented the Viking Band from performing their halftime show, but they played pregame and entertained everyone with Stand Tunes throughout the game. 

Marching into the stadium.

National Anthem.

Wake Forest kicked off their football season this week, too, and Mark and I cheered on the Demon Deacons and had a fun date night at the game:

It is such a fun, busy time of year for our family.  Hooray for Back to School!

Viking Band Camp 2024

Band season kicks off for L&L in mid-summer with three weeks of Viking Band camp.  The kids have camp from 8:00-4:00 each day and they learn marching basics, show music and choreography, and drill.  At the conclusion of band camp, they perform the first two movements of their show for Friends & Family, and it is incredible to see the progress that they make.  The band works SO hard, and they also have SO MUCH FUN!   Luke is on the Leadership Team again this year, and will serve as Lead Field Commander this season.  This is Leah's second year of marching band, and she is thrilled to be a "veteran" this year, and no longer a rookie.  A highlight of band camp is Spirit Week, and the kids go all our with the themed days.  Enjoy these photos of Viking Band Camp 2024:

Week 1:

Leading stretches/exercises.

Rainy day drill in the gym.

Mornings in the parking lot = learning their dots, drill downs, and working on their form:

Teaching his "Little" how to march.

Mello Mellophones.

After learning marching basics and proper body mechanics for several days, instruments are added:

Sousas have bells removed at the beginning to gradually adjust to carrying weight.

Afternoon indoor music rehearsal = air conditioning and a break from the hot parking lot:

Spirit Week (Week 2):

McMath Monday:

Pink Day:

Music Genre Day:

(Heavy Metal) Mellophones

America Day:

Section Choice Day:

The Sousaphones chose "beach", and won with their creative execution of their theme.  This also meant that teenaged boys were filling up baby pools in our driveway at 7:00 a.m. to set their scene:

Meanwhile, the mellophones chose Star Wars as their theme and we spotted the cutest C3PO:

Spirit Week concluded with a Friday night pool party, which is a favorite part of band camp for all the kids!

Week 3 (Friends & Family Performance):

Looking forward to a fabulous season ahead!