December Pictures

On the 23rd, we took a trip to the Indy Zoo to see the Christmas lights. Lauren brought a friend along. Nobody noticed that Justin forgot a jacket, so we had to buy him a sweatshirt at the gift shop!

Mommy on the morning of her birthday.

Mommy's birthday dinner.

Lauren on her clarinet and Jared on his saxophone (both wearing the fluffier santa hats) playing in the Christmas band at our ward party.

Justin (the one with the hat) singing with the Primary at our Ward Christmas party.

Travis and Santa at the local grocery store. Justin wasn't brave enough to sit with Santa!

Lauren & Jared dressed up for their holiday band concerts.

Bath Time!

Thanksgiving Shoot

Lauren bravely shooting the .45.

Jared shooting the .22 revolver.

Daddy shooting the .44. This was by far the loudest firearm at the shooting range that afternoon. It was fun to shoot, but left Daddy with a sore hand!

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we went shooting with Grandpa. He had two new "toys" that he needed to sight-in, including a .44 magnum revolver and this AR-15 being handled by Lauren. We are quickly becoming gun enthusiasts as a family!

Lauren - Marching Band

Lauren waiting out in the cold for the stadium to open for the competition.

Plainfield Marching Band on their way into the Stadium prior to the start of the event.

Plainfield Marching band receiving the 6th place trophy.

All ten bands lined up on the field for the awards presentation.

Lauren's band after their preformance watching other bands perform.

Plainfield band on the big screen during their performance.

Lauren's band performing.

It has been a very busy Marching Band season for Lauren (and for Mom & Dad!). Lauren's Plainfield High School Marching Band recently made it past Regional and Sectional competitions to qualify as one of the top ten out of 50 or so "Class B" size bands in the state. The top ten bands from each class got to compete on Saturday in the Indiana State Marching Band Finals competition at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. All ten bands got huge trophies just by reaching State.

In spite of being one of the smallest bands in their class that made the final ten, Lauren's band did very well and came in sixth. Their show was titled "Hunting Wabbits". Kathy, Travis and I attended the competition and had a great time. Our school had a good size group of fans at the event to cheer them on. Luckily, Lucas Oil stadium has a roof, so we were out of the cold. After the competition, band members and their families had a huge potluck in the High School cafeteria. Now that Marching Band season is over, Lauren will be participating in Concert Band, Pep Band, and Academic Super Bowl.

Concert for Justin

Justin and the cast of Disney's Imagination Movers. Justin's favorite cast member is Rich, who is kneeling to Justin's left.

Justin waiting to for the cast to appear for the meet and greet session.

As a late birthday present, Kathy and I took Justin to an Imagination Movers concert in Downtown Indianapolis. This is Justin's favorite TV show from the Disney Channel's "Playhouse Disney". Kathy found a lady in town that was selling special VIP tickets that she had won in a contest (and couldn't use) for only $25 each. The tickets included VIP parking, snacks in the VIP lounge, third row seats right up next to the stage, and a backstage visit with the cast members following the performance. Justin got to talk to his favorite cast member (Rich) after the show, have a picture taken with the cast, and have another picture that he had brought along signed by all the cast members. Justin had a blast, as did his Mom & Dad!

Justin & Travis: August, 2009