A Capitol Experience...

Tuesday, December 12th found us here...

The Capitol of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mr. Wise secured the opportunity for the 7th Grade Band from Oldham County Middle School to play a brief concert in the rotunda of the Capitol. How cool is that??? Hayden was very excited about this opportunity and we assured him we would be there to watch and applaud.

Here is the OCMS 7th Grade Band in position and receiving final instructions before they play. Where is Hayden? Okay, he is in the blue shirt...well, that doesn't help much does it. Find the blue curtain and look to the right side of that. Hayden is the next to last row with his hand on his chin. Yep, that is our young man. 

I watched Mr. Wise tell them to listen carefully and watch him. He had obviously taught them there would be a rolling of sound as they played that was not anything they were used to. Sure enough, that sound just rolls around and around after it is made in that rotunda. Mr. Wise was very careful to have them stand watching him when they finished each song until the sound stopped and then they could put their instruments down until the next song. So fun to hear and watch. 

The kids were allowed to walk around the rotunda and up to the second floor where there are stairs to the end with the House of Representatives and another set opposite them to the Senate. This picture is Hayden taking a selfie. Gotta love the digital age.

I got this one as they prepared to hike down the steps in front of the Capitol and to the wide avenue where their buses were parked. I sent it to his parents. He looks great, doesn't he? 

So happy he got this opportunity and for a great band teacher who made sure it happened for these kids. 

I Missed the Polar Express...

This year the Polar Express was held in Sadieville again. The Scott County Library does this with support for Sadieville and we use our red caboose and our City Hall which is the old train station in Sadieville. Perfect setting. This was Friday, December 8th and Saturday, December 9th. They did four readings each night and could have done more. In addition, this year it was very, very cold with wind chills in the single digits. Those who live where it is that cold a lot may scoff at us but in Kentucky that is very, very cold. We even had snow flurries on Saturday night and the little bit of snow caused ice to close down roads in Lexington and Georgetown. At one point I-75 between Sadieville and Georgetown was closed in both directions because of the ice. Even with that weather, we had great attendance and very happy children and parents.

I was not well. Had a bit of a head cold and so I stayed home and down while Claude took over and made sure the Library had all they needed for a successful evening. We had most things ready but there is always something last minute and Claude made sure all those bases were covered.

Again, others took pictures and these are a few for your enjoyment and my remembering. They are Santa arriving in the fire truck; Claude on the left with Detta Wilson (a City Commissioner) and Santa and three volunteers from the Friends of the Library who helped with cookies and hot chocolate; Santa through the wreath on the City Hall door; and the caboose with Christmas lights around the deck. 

Claude said one of his highlights was the Mom coming in with triplets all dressed up for their pictures with Santa. I truly missed taking all the pictures I usually take of the kids and Santa. It is a testament to how poorly I felt that I didn't go do that. But so very happy they all had a great time.

Hayden's Christmas Band Concert...

The Oldham County Middle School Bands held their Christmas Concert Thursday, December 7th. Claude and I both made it there. Yeah us!! Joyce, Michael's stepmother, was also in town to watch the Mini's perform. So we took up a fair amount of one of the bleachers in the gym to observe Hayden perform. Of course, there were other children performing but really we were just there for Hayden. Andie had the privilege of sitting with the other bands when they were not performing. You might call her the Mom Bouncer!! 

Mr. Wise is the band teacher. There is a band for 6th Grade, a band for 7th Grade and a band for 8th grade. Hayden is in the 7th Grade Band this year. Mr. Wise is an excellent band teacher. These kids all were on pitch and in time. They watch him very carefully and pop to attention when he steps on the stand to lead them. It is very good to watch that kind of discipline in young people. This year they had two student teachers also lead them as well the Oldham County High School band teacher. He works closely with the Middle School so they are ready for High School after finishing with Mr. Wise in Middle School. 

I have two pictures to share with you. The first has Hayden on the next to last row, his right hand is raised. He is looking to his left. If you look at where Mr. Wise is pointing. Hayden is right at the end of his fingers. Since Hayden is a good bit shorter than the others, you have to look to find him sometimes.

In this picture of the entire band, Hayden is in the same location. If you look at the white boards in the background, look at the lower left corners of the whiteboard on the left and you will see a tuba on the floor. The bottom of that tuba is right above Hayden's head. Hayden has his Baritone to his lips playing away. That's our young man, right there. 

These bands do an excellent job. Mr. Wise keeps the program to exactly an hour. It was great to watch the improvement in the band since they started in sixth grade. So happy he loves music and is learning to play an instrument. 

Bailey's PAC Performance...

Bailey opted to participate in the Performing Arts Club at Buckner Elementary. This would be their Christmas performance. I was not able to attend for reasons which will be posted later. But Claude was in the Louisville area and made sure he was there for the performance for the student body during the day. I asked for pictures and received these for which I was very, very grateful. Bailey is in the black top and pink poodle skirt. She is not very inhibited. But then, her teachers has said she is 'savagely quirky'. Hmmmm....

After the performance, she was able to connect with her Grampa for a selfie. Claude didn't realize her eyes were closed in the picture or they may have tried it again. These two are truly a cute pair.

So very happy Bailey gets these opportunities and takes them and makes the most of them. Grateful we are close enough to see many of them. Love this girl and her energy.

TSO...

Sensory Overload...

We watch for tickets to events that might be fun for us. An alert came from one of the places we follow that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was coming to Rupp Arena in Lexington. We have one of their Christmas CD's from several years ago. Claude thought it sounded interesting. I thought it sounded interesting. So I purchased two tickets. Thursday, November 30th, we made our way to Rupp Arena after a nice dinner on the town. 

We entered Rupp just before start time. The man sitting next to me asked if we had ever seen Tran-Siberian Orchestra before. I replied that we were just discussing that. We knew we saw Mannheim Steamroller at least once but we weren't sure we ever saw TSO. He assured me that if we had, we would remember it. Then he explained that they started out as a hard rock band and there is still that in their program. He and his wife attended the year before. While she enjoyed the program, she did not feel a need to return. He, on the other hand, was very anxious to experience this group's performance again. I turned to Claude and shared this with him just as the program was about to begin.

What a program it was. They must bring all this staging with them as well as all the lights and fire, etc. It is a full blown sensory experience from beginning to end. They did begin with a Christmas song. Then they opened a story about a young girl who ran away from home and was trying to find shelter from the snow and cold for the night in an old dilapidated theater. As she dozes, an older man comes in and finds her and starts the lights and a program unfolds for her. This is all around great music. When this part of the program is over, TSO just plays music for the remainder of the evening. 

Here are a few pictures I was able to get. The four stages off the front of the main stage that each go up and down. There was also a stage in the center of the back of the arena that raised and lowered with band members playing on it or fire flaming coming up from it. The laser lights were amazing and there were many, many of them. There was a U-shaped cat-walk that came down from the ceiling and the entertainers would get on it and it would raise them up above the audience as they performed walking around the cat-walk. There were screens all around the cat-walk that showed what was being shown on the main stage. All the screens in Rupp around the bottom of the box seats also showed the same scene as the main screen on the stage. 

I couldn't get over the use of fire. I commented to Claude that it must have been fun to get all the permits needing to be cleared for just this event. 

The band has huge energy and were often walking down the aisles and up into the stands.  

It was a one of a kind experience for Claude and me. Well worth the price of admission. But, if you go, be prepared for lots of volume, lots of lights, lots of fire, and the list goes on. Wow!!