Homecoming 2011

The past 2 weeks were homecoming for the high school. They had a variety of dress-up spirit days. Annabelle participated in a couple of those, such as "generations day," in which juniors dressed as little kids:



And "would you be my friend if I wore this day":



Unfortunately, I didn't get up early and take pictures on "identity theft day," in which she poofed her hair and donned a black blazer and flag pin and went as Sarah Palin. I hear she had some of the teachers in stitches with her spot-on impersonation!

Friday night was the homecoming parade and game. The band performed their show before the game (along with the national anthem and school song) since half-time would be all about the homecoming court. I recorded it with my dinky little camera, but I found a better recording on YouTube (Annabelle starts off on the right-hand 45-yard line, in case you want to try to follow her):



Here's a still shot of part of the band. You can click to make it bigger, the better to see Annabelle standing on the 40-yard line:



Saturday night was all about the dance, which she went to with a group of friends. They met at one friend's house for sparkling cider:



and pictures, first inside:



then outside:



and finally, outside with a touch of crazy:



Then they set off for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant before going to the dance. We picked her up at 11, and she reported that it was a great evening but that her feet were killing her!

Playing tourist

We had a great time this past weekend! My friends Pat and Melissa came up from Texas for a business trip and planned a couple extra days for hanging out with us.

On Sunday we drove over to Kansas City to visit the World War I museum, which was fascinating. The museum itself is underneath the Liberty Memorial:





After we wandered around inside and looked at all the exhibits, we went to the top of the memorial for some really great views of the city:



We thought this was interesting. We drove past it on our way in, and it looked like a stack of random shipping containers. If you look at it kind of squinty though from a distance, it sends a message:



Here we are up at the top, Fred and me:



Pat and Melissa:



After the museum, we went over to Union Station, which you can see just beyond the green lawn in this picture:





Today Melissa and I were able to squeeze in one last lunch together:



We need to not wait 8 years to get together next time!

I've heard of a guard dog before.

But a guard grasshopper?



That's just ridiculous.

Brace yourself!

Braces on:



Braces off:



It's a big day for the Taylor family! I think we've had one kid or the other in some sort of orthodontic treatment for the past 5 years.

Here comes the band!

After many exhausting, painful, and sweaty hours spent at band practice over the past month, Annabelle finally got her first taste of a marching performance and loved it! The band performed for the first time this year at the football game last Friday night.

Here is part of the band lined up for the pre-game show:



This is a close-up of the same view. Annabelle is the one with the big-ass saxophone:



Here's a video of them playing the National Anthem:



Some sky-divers landed before the game, including the LHS mascot, Pioneer Pete:



Annabelle's friends Ben and Edd accompanied us to the game. Ben is also Annabelle's saxophone teacher:



Lined up on the sidelines, waiting for halftime:



And here is the halftime show:



We lost the game, but the consensus among people who know these things was that we did better than expected. Can't wait for the next game!