RMPA State Championships

So yesterday, Alameda's Winter Percussion ensemble competed at the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association State Championships. There were four schools in their class - Sand Creek, Standley Lake, Glenwood Springs, and Alameda. Three schools would make finals. Here is a video of Alameda's show (during a rehearsal right before finals).


The kids played well during prelims. We discovered that after prelims, Glenwood Springs had a score of 84.20, Alameda had an 81.70, and Sand Creek had an 81.50. So yay! They made finals, but were pretty comforatbly in second place. The kids watched some of the shows and went out to rehearse a bit before finals. They absolutely ROCKED their finals performance. It was by far their best performance of the year! It was so fun to see them play. They knew they played their hearts out. When they announced the scores, they said, "In third place, with a score of 81.15, Sand Creek High School. In second place, with a score of 84.40 (and at this point we all gasped! Our score had jumped almost 3 whole points since prelims!!!) Alameda High School. In first place, with a score of 84.90, Glenwood Springs High School." The kids (and instructors) were THRILLED with their score! They knew they had given it their all and it paid off. So they were all excited, but then they kind of felt weird knowing they were only half a point out of first place. Either way, they were very proud of themselves, and we are so happy for them! They've been through a lot in the last year.

Along those lines, Monday was the anniversary of last year's accident. For those who don't know, last year, on the way to the competition, a band parent was driving the percussion trailer and was in an accident and was killed. Four other people were hospitalized, including several current members. After the finals performance yesterday, the news crews wanted to interview Kevin. Here's a link to the story: http://cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-alameda-band-crash-year-later,0,2926440.story

These kids really have overcome a lot, and we're all so proud of them! It was a very fun and rewarding day.

Kevin's First Win!!

Kevin celebrated his 24th birthday on Friday. We had a crazy week, so we had a low-key celebration on Friday night. We went to Old Chicago in Boulder so Kevin could finish his third World Beer Tour. His parents and sister came too. The kids at his school found out it was his birthday, so when he left for lunch, he came back and they had decorated the band room and had a little party for him. Every period, one of the choirs would come in and sing "Happy Birthday". The kids were making fun of Kevin for being so young - he's the youngest faculty member at AHS by far, so they gave him some gag gifts - bath fizz, coloring books, and baby shampoo:) Kevin was happy that the kids wanted to celebrate with him.

Saturday, Kevin's Winter Percussion Ensemble competed at the Northglenn Competition at Northglenn High School. These events are run by the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association (State Championships are next week!). This was the first time they performed their entire show for the judges. Their show is a Metallica show - the songs "Fuel" and "One". There were only two schools in their class at this competition - Standley Lake and Alameda. For Prelims, Alameda scored an 80.20. Standley Lake scored an 81.00. Very close! SL has been ahead of Alameda all season, so the Alameda kids were excited and wanted to pass SL. The kids rehearsed all day between Prelims and Finals, and were exhausted by the end of the day. Finals were late that afternoon and both schools had good shows. When they announced all the scores, we discovered that Alameda had passed Standley Lake - 80.30 to 79.90. This was Kevin's first competition win as a director! He's very excited, but mostly he's proud of the kids. They have been through a lot in the last year, and they were so happy. Kevin still wants to better their score for next week championships! There will be four schools in their class, and three make finals, so we think there's a great shot! They have to rehearse hard all week, but hopefully this win will give them the motivation they need. We'll try to get some pictures up next week.

Even though we were exhausted Saturday night, some friends came to Old Chicago for another birthday celebration for Kevin. It didn't last too long! We were pretty tired.

Today, Amy went to the Rockies game with her sister. That was really fun, except they both got sunburned! Extra Crispy. Too bad the Rockies lost, but it was still fun. Kevin went golfing with some friends. Time to gear up for another crazy week!

"Working"

For the past few weeks, we have both been keeping very busy. Kevin has been working on the musical at his high school. They are performing "Working". The rehearsals kept him busy, but what was really hard is the musical they were performing didn't have any instrumental music parts written out. Kevin spent hundreds of hours listening to the recording and writing out music parts so his students could participate in the musical. He had students who actually wanted to participate, and didn't want to turn them away. He worked very hard, and pulled a few all-nighters. Last night was the final performance. Amy was able to go, as was Kevin's family (his dad and brother were playing in the orchestra too) and Amy's dad. It was fun to see him up there conducting. The orchestra sounded great, and people said it was the best musical Alameda had done in ten years! It was a great experience for everyone, but we're glad it is over so we can actually spend time together again.

Amy is still working hard in school. Her current course will end on Tuesday, and she will start a new class the following week. She is still enjoying her classes, and is looking forward to April, when she will begin taking two classes at once so she can finish sooner. One of our assignments was to interview a school counselor to find out more about the profession. I chose to interview the mother of one of my best friends in high school. So last week I went and interviewed Kimsey's mom. It was great to talk with her and to see her again! Last night, one of the girls in my class had a St. Patrick's Day party, so after the musical I stopped by for a bit. It was fun to hang out with someone new! I love all my friends, but it is nice to meet someone new who wasn't in band! While at her house, I saw a girl that I have known since 2nd grade. I hadn't seen her since high school, but her husband is friends with my friend's husband. What a small world!

As some of you know, Amy has been working hard on her scrapbooking. She has been going in chronological order trying to get caught up to the present. She is very excited that she just finished working on pictures from the trip to Georgia in 2006. Next up is wedding stuff, so she's almost done!!

As you can see, we've been keeping busy! We're looking forward to spring break the week after next. Amy doesn't get any time off, but is probably going to take a couple days vacation from work anyways. We're hoping to get some stuff done around the house and maybe look for a new car!

February

Wow, February is a crazy month for teachers and college admissions people:). Kevin is busy with his Winter Percussion group at the high school. They had their first performance on Saturday and got some great feedback. They are doing a Metallica show. He is also busy with the musical. Amy has been keeping busy with school and work. Her audition days are finally over and she is looking forward to having a relaxing weekend at home (and not working on Saturday!) and watching the Academy Awards on Sunday. We have a few more weeks of hard work until Spring Break. We received our wedding invitation to Amy's cousin Matt's wedding in Orlando in April, so that is something we can look forward to.

Let us know if you're reading our blog by posting a comment, and also let us know if you have one of your own!

The Places We'll Go...

So as some of you know, our good friends Heather and Jarod and Jess and Jeremy have begun talking about taking a trip this summer - to Peru. I have started looking into this option and am really really excited about the possibility. I think Peru is quickly climbing up on my list of places I want to go. As an archaeology person, I think it would be amazing to see Machu Picchu, Chan Chan, and everything else Peru has to offer. I've been looking online, and saw pictures of Lake Titicaca (which apart from being fun to say is GORGEOUS). This whole thing has made me start to think about the places I want to go. I've been to Cancun and Chichen Itza, Puerto Vallarta, Belize, Ireland, and London. I would like to go back to Australia so that I can remember a lot more of it this time - I was very young when we lived there. My list of places to go is: Austria/Switzerland/Germany, Peru, Jordan, Egypt, Italy, Norway/Sweden/Denmark, South Africa, New Zealand, and so many more! I also want to visit all 50 states in the U.S. I have 31 right now. I love to travel! Does anyone have any suggestions of places we should go?

New Year, New Blog

Hi everyone! Seeing a couple old friends over the holidays inspired me to create a blog so that I can keep my friends updated on our lives! Kevin and I got married on July 14, 2007 in Boulder, CO. Kevin works as a music teacher and Amy works as an admissions counselor/academic advisor, but she is in school to become a high school counselor. Right now, we're enjoying being married and living with just the two of us and our two cats in the apartment. Ellie is the black cat and Shelby is the black and white one (Yes, they're both named after cars - blame Kevin). It's nice to have some freedom while we adjust to married life. Be sure to check back every now and then to see what's going on in our lives!