marching season 2016…

2016, Mikayla’s final marching band season!! for days I have been gathering photos & videos from this past marching season & I think I am finally ready to put them all together. I am only missing a few videos from early practices that I lost when my phone died on me. oh well, not going to stress about the few videos I lost because I was there, I really was. ha.

i completely did not realize how emotional i was going to be to see Mikayla march thru her final high school marching band season. i cried so much this season it is a little embarrassing. but, it has been such a huge part of her life & her growth, which means it has also been a huge part of my life. one thing I never knew about being a parent until I became one is that their success is your success, their failures are your failures, all of it.

i am just so thankful that Mikayla had this band, to push her & give her the best, most amazing high school experience & of course, her, maisy & juma have been together since the beginning. what a great thing to watch, those three flourishing & their friendships grow & they met all because of this band.

anyway, it was an emotional few months, knowing that it was a last. every thing that happened, it was a last of something & that is emotional…

they ended up taking second in state this year!!! which is amazing!!

what a memorable final marching season. memories that will last these kids (and us parents) for a lifetime…

final band camp. July, 2016…

Sophia & I had a blast being water girls…

every year we have our “reveal concert” where we get to hear the show music & see what they have learned of the show so far. it always amazes me how much of their show they can learn in this one week. thru the years i also realized that what you see reveal night is probably nothing like what you will see at their final show of the season. throughout their season the show is always changing, they are making tweaks here & there up until their final practice the night before their state competition…

final end of band camp round up…

a few weeks after band camp they have their annual all day practice, the show gets changed & tweaked & perfected & changed some more all in this one day. it is supposed to be 10 hours of practice this one day but it usually ends up being kids getting to the school at 7 am & getting home about 10 pm. it is a long day. Sophia & i always head up to the school about 8 pm, that is when they start their full run thrus of the show after their long day of practice…

and a few videos of this evening…

 

 

 

 

 

after this long Saturday, the next Saturday is my favorite of all of our band days… the march a thon. a fundraiser for the band where they walk in about an 8 mile radius around millard west, like their own amazing parade, doing lawn concerts along the way to raise money. it is just such a fun day…

 

 

 

 

 

after the march a thon starts football season where the band performs at home game half times & of course in the stands during the game. I have no idea what happened in any of the football games I went to in the last four years, I was only there for the band…

 

 

 

 

 

and competition season begins…

this first video is their first full performance in competition, watch this one, then at the end I will post their final competition performance before state, it is amazing how different they are. it is amazing to see their improvement in such a short period of time. what an amazing show this year wildcat band!!

performance wildcat marching classis competition…

 

and, I am sorry for the shaky videos & my screaming throughout the videos in this post. I am there & I want to be present but I also want these photos & videos to look back on of these moments so, they are not perfect!

mid season practices…

 

 

 

love these photos of my girls celebrating the first place finish of the millard west band at the elkhorn marching band contest…

these are the days.

Mikayla was nominated homecoming queen this year so we got to walk her out onto the field during half time at the homecoming football game. one of her best friends, who is also in the band won homecoming queen & it was so awesome to see them both be nominated this year & to have Juma keep it in the band fam!!!

and at the final home game of the season it is senior night, where all of the seniors in the band are recognized & are walked out onto the field with their parents. so emotional to see all of these kids saying good bye to something that they love so much.

all of the graduating seniors…

and then their final practice of the season the night before their state marching band tournament. the final practice ever for these seniors & us parents.

bittersweet moments for sure…

 

 

 

and my favorite part of the show, the bridge. a beautiful piece of music that will probably always make me cry every time I hear it. this was their final time practicing it & it was emotional…

 

 

and of course, state marching band competition, where they came in second. loved having so many people there to cheer Mikayla on…

 

 

last walk off the field…

 

they did amazing.

this year after state Mikayla had some friends over for a little bonfire to celebrate their awesome season…

full show from their final performance before state, their state performance was even better, the best all year but I couldn’t record there.

love this show. loved this season…

 

 

what an amazing year!!

the week after state is the band honors night. where, of course there are tributes to the seniors in the band all over the place…

and that’s a wrap.

I loved watching Mikayla grow thru her years in the band. I loved watching her work hard with this group of kids that are all of her friends, I loved watching them work together & push each other to keep going.

I can not write a post about Mikayla’s final year in marching band without mentioning the friendships she has made with some amazing people.

her, maisy & juma were inseperable their entire 4 years in this band & throughout high school & I believe they will be friends for a long time to come. Mikayla could not have picked more amazing people to surround herself with…

I am so proud of all of the hard work you put in these past 4 years Mikayla.

I am proud of all of the life lessons you learned along the way.

thank you for the amazing memories Millard West marching band.