Days with the Dorans

More band but this time it was our high school boys! Z had his first band festival (you can see that HERE ) and Joe had his last band festival (you can see that HERE ). With Covid still alive and well we had people stay home and I recorded it. Joe did run into some of his besties who came home from college to listen which I thought was so cool!  

So the shirts were done and the boys were off for Band Camp. I didn't help pack AT ALL (that's what Joe was in charge of when I was ironing shirts) and I slept in so Jeff dropped off the boys before disc golfing. Of course I asked him to snap some pics (that box contains all those shirts). And it seemed they were all checked in and ready to go so Jeff left, and I got a phone call. Joey forgot something. Are we surprised? Need we go back to when he was a sophomore and forgot just about EVERYTHING? Well, mom got out of bed and drove over to the school before they all left and saved the day (again)!! This will not happen when he's in college. They were on their own after that (except we got to spy a bit...). Ali, Shannon and I volunteered and had SUCH fun! Shannon made THIS hilarious video about our time! And of course there were photographers (including Nana!!!) who took pictures! Here are some of my favorites! Section Leaders: Devin, Joe, and Victor Where's Walddo? Or J...

  I can't believe my baby is a senior and off to his LAST Band Camp. It was HOME camp first so he and Z went off each morning for a full day of music! I was busy working on the laundry room so I didn't volunteer for this camp (except to send donations of things). Thankfully there are people there who take lots of pictures so I got to "see" what my boys were up to. Mary Hulliberger (their teacher/ director) also snapped a selfie of she and Joe and sent it to me so I had to include that here too. They had a blast and I think it was so nice to have some NORMAL back. Joe, Victor, and Patrick- SENIORS

It kind of blows my mind that our kids are still learning and doing school from home. Especially band! I'm so proud of Z! Here is a video of him.  

  Even though the kids aren't IN school, they certainly are still doing it. I found this video of Z playing (he must have had to turn in a video) on my phone. And likewise... we got a concert from my favorite fourth grader. School has been interesting for him because I'm finding I need to be more on top of him and help him with questions and things. I love that he has his own instrument to play too. I wonder what he will choose when it comes time for middle school!

It's crazy how big Zach's 7th grade band is and how crowded the auditorium gets for the concerts. Again we eventually found a seat together in the balcony.  Thankfully we were able to zoom in on him and he's easy to spot. He does like playing that horn and it's fun to hear him practice but also to see what it sounds like with all of the parts together. I took a video of him playing that you can see HERE . I can't believe he's almost done. Pretty soon we'll be heading off to Cedar Point with the band. I can't wait! Nana wasn't able to make it but Da Papa did! We're all so proud of the Goose! Great job, Zach!

After the snow day, the concert was rescheduled and we were smart to get there early so we'd have a good seat. Nana brought her camera too so that we could get some good pics of the Dorans! HERE is a video of Zach playing! I love how good they are!!! The 7th and 8th grade always have a concert at WLN which ends up including the high school Marching Band. I remember when Joey was in middle school loving the concert, but it was even cooler now that all three of my kids were in it! Ali didn't have the best time in the pit (despite how happy she looks in these pictures) mostly due to social stuff. She is thinking about learning the horn though and the director has offered to teach her which is exciting! She's started hanging out with a lot of Joey's friends from the band and is hoping to get another of her best friends to join next year. That, with the addition of the 8th graders next year (the reason she's laughing in these pics), will make it more e...