8th grade graduation

We had a graduation party with family for Owen finishing 8th grade. We had pizza and cake with some time together outside!

Like with Willow's graduation, they didn't invite parents on campus, they just provided the livestream of the ceremony for the students. Again, like Willow's, the audio was really bad and hard to understand. Here are my horrible pictures of my computer screen at school when he got an award:

He's growing up fast and catching up in height to his dad!

He had his picture in the local newspaper to be recognized with his peers who earned all As through middle school! (He's the one NOT wearing his graduation shirt...he gets that from his dad)

 

That shirt is fitting pretty well! Hopefully it'll still fit for high school graduation!

Band Performance

We enjoyed Owen's spring band concert! It was exciting to see him be selected to stand for a saxophone solo for the first time!

Jazz songs:Song 1Ain't Misbehavin'Fat Burger (solo in this song)8th grade band songs:

King of Pop

Byzantine Dances

Shadows Unleashed

Corale

Awkward middle school friend pictures:

Dogwood Festival

Owen was excited to get back together with the marching band for practice a week in April for the Dogwood Parade in downtown. They played one song together in the parade in the afternoon. That morning he was able to play with the middle school jazz band and even had his first solo that he stood up for! We were grateful for both sets of grandparents being there to watch!

Song 1

Blues Machine

Ain't Misbehavin'

Just Fine

 They practiced one song to perform as they walked the short parade route around our little downtown. Go figure they were "resting" while they passed us! Argh! We could hear them after they rounded the block. 

Band Concert

Owen loves all things band....concert band, jazz band, marching band, a band he's created with his buddies. We had a chance to hear the concert band at their recent performance!

Lexington MarchCeltic Air and DanceConundrum

Band Concert

Owen continues to love being part of the 8th grade concert band and jazz band. They had a great concert in December! It's always a bit hard to SEE the kids from the seats, but they sounded great!Been There, Done ThatBlues MachineJingle All the Way

Ash Lawn EchoesMetalheadsAll I Want for Christmas is You

Holiday Parades and Elementary Band Tour

Dance at Night

 Daytime Dance

Marching bandOn the morning before Christmas Break, I've enjoyed the high school band coming to my school to play a few songs for us. It was fun to watch Owen be part of that this year!

The band director calls up a handful of students to show their instrument and give a demonstration. I hadn't realized that they select those students beforehand based on who has siblings at the elementary schools they visit. Owen was able to request to play at my school! Here's Owen's demonstration!

BANDtober

Owen has been loving marching band! He told me recently that he had a hard time deciding which he liked better: halftime, stand tunes, or competitions. What a good problem to have! They've had 4 competitions this season, which have been fun to watch. As they learned their show, they placed duct tape pieces in the parking lot where they practice. Each kid has a different color and it looks like confetti scattered through the parking lot. He was proud to show us his tape spots!Friday night lights!! Nana and Grandpa joined us for the away game in Christiansburg. Gramps and Gramma made the home games! They all made it to a couple competitions too!

I'm grateful for band parents who take pictures with their nice cameras, then share them!

I was thankful he was on the end during one of the away games so I could watch him have fun...and get a few videos!

At one competition you could buy a cupcake with your school's colors! What cute musical sprinkles!

 Here's the entire show and here's a video following Owen. 

In November he was able to be part of the combined county bands that marched in the Veterans Parade. Video here!