Cajon Drum

 Hunter wanted to do something original for his girlfriend's Birthday. 

 She plays percussion in the band and was wanting a Cajon drum

He did alot of google research and video watching on youtube

 and decided it would be special if he made it........

 He and Joe started Wednesday night.

They measured and cut, sanded and stained



Watched and waited for polyurethane to dry.

There's a place for a whole, it was Joe's idea to cut a cross instead, good call!



The inner working of a Cajon drum

After four days it was finished! 

 He went over to her house tonight, the day before her 17th birthday

 and gave it to her.....and she liked it!  Really, really liked it! 

The End :) 

Call Him "Tiger" For Short

When Joe turned 40 his sister, brother and sister-in-law all wore shirt that said "It's All About Joe".   In keeping with that theme he can have back to back blog posts :)  

Tuesday he had a team building, male bonding, boondoggle golf tournement . 

Mission accomplished. It was a perfect day weather wise and he had a couple great shots.

Not Such a "Good Friday"

Joe was sheduled to arrive home friday afternoon after a 2 week trip to Kazakhstan. Thursaday night we found out that wasn't happening.

He left Atyrau, Kazakhstan early Friday morning for a flight to Houston with a connection in Moscow. He noticed they were circling Moscow, the pilot came on and said something in Russian. The only word Joe understood was "Sheremetyevo", the name of the WRONG airport.

He asked the flight attendant and she said they were being diverted because of fog.....THE SKY WAS CLEAR.

They landed, come on the intercom and asked by vote if they wanted to stay on the plane (for several hours) or get off. It was a unanimous get off! There were only 23 passengers making connecting flights. Joe was going the farthest.

The 23 were segerated.......forever. No monitors, very little info, wrong airport, lots of frustation. At one point I texted Joe and asked when his plane for Houston was leaving; his reply.....20 minutes ago. There is one flight a day from Moscow to Houston on Singapore Air.

Finally he flew to the correct airport 100km away and started the process of trying to get home and hoping there would be a seat on any airline. There were several scenarios, but the best was for him to wait and take the same flight Saturday morning.

I'm thinking fun, 1 day and night in Moscow. Then he reminded me, you have to have a visa processed in advance.

He spent the next 18 hours in the airport lounge with these two chairs together trying to sleep.

  

He finally made it home Saturday afternoon after 45 hours of travel......and had a very Happy Easter!

Fo' Rent

If you talk real nice to me, tell me I'm pretty and offer to clean our pool....I'll go before the king, on your behalf, and beg to heat the pool for a birthday party...... for someone of no blood relation. In other words, we're the teenagers answer to Chuck E. Cheese and I don't think it's any cheaper.

And when the friends decide to come over and make a cake and cake balls, I'll go to the store, buy the ingredients and clean the kitchen no less than 3X in one afternoon, all for the sake of a good time. Oh how I wish I had taken pictures...the mess it took to make this cake...

When heating the pool isn't enough.....we'll throw in bubbles

While you luxuriate in  the bubble tub, Hunter will serenade with "My Heart Will Go On" on his tuba. Not makin' this up.... 

 Then there be movie time, agin and agin and agin 

All for the love of our kids and their friends :) 

Drew's Epic Paper

This was the title of his word document.  He's trying out for Drum Major today. He decided before spring break and at the time there was more than a hand full of contenders.  At a meeting about the job description and learning how to conduct he found out there would only be 4. The drum major from last year and 3 new recruits. Of the four, two will be chosen.  Since there's a good chance last years DM will be one, she is great, he's got a 1 in 3 shot.

The process is as follows:

Conduct a band with a piece of music they provide in advance.
March and Conduct in a pattern. They've chosen for them to march in the formation of a sword.
Be interviewed by Directors and other outside people they bring in to judge.
Be voted on by peers
Write a paper saying why you're interested.

This is what Drew wrote:   

For as long as I have been in the Langham Creek band I have heard about the trombones of old. I want to be a DI because I want next year to be the year that people look back on as a model for future trombone sections. I want to be a Drum major because I want the same for the band as I do for the trombones, to be the model for future bands. I think I would be perfect for DI or Drum Major because I care about achieving these goals. For example on the marching field the past two years in the trombone sections there was a lot of time that was wasted by waiting in between reps therefore losing valuable practice.
Of my DI’s and Drum Majors the past two years I can pick out qualities that I like and want to replicate for myself. Anthony Harris always gave something to work on as well as new ways to look at a concept. Michael Greenburg would show up to every practice energized and giving it 110% all the time. Elijah Ramos provided a good model for marching and behavior. Kevin Land was a great teacher because he was patient and went the pace needed for whoever he was helping. Edward Alcantara would not only help those who ask, but he would also seek out the chance to help others out. These are the qualities that I would try to have as a DI or Drum Major.

No matter the out come it's win/win.  He loves band and would like to be drum major but would like even more to march and play his instument next year.

A friend posted the best quote of facebook today ...."every accomplishment starts with a decision to try".

We are so proud Drew made the decision to try!