Music Appreciation

Last night we went to watch a free field-show demonstration from each of the three high school marching bands in our district: Littleton, Heritage, and Arapahoe (which Todd attended). We got a bunch of sandwiches and fries from Arby's on our way to the school and ate them when we got there. Halfway through eating, though, I realized that Evie needed a change--of both diaper and outfit. I changed her diaper, but genius me had taken her spare outfit out of the diaper bag without replacing it. Fortunately, I was wearing my jacket, and I zipped her in with me and covered her legs with her blanket. I took several pictures of her like that, because she looked so cute and funny.

Todd hadn't gotten home from work yet, so when John called Todd to tell him where we were sitting in the bleachers, I asked him to ask Todd to bring a change of clothes for the little munchkin. Then I went back to finishing my sandwiches. On the way to the school, I'd found the bump of Evie's second tooth! Last night, it was still just a bump, but it sprouted today! It's coming in right next to the first one, so I fed a couple of tiny bites of the bun to Evie and she ate them with no problem. Although, I did discover that she doesn't like the sesame seeds on top. I tried to give her plain bites, but somehow one snuck in. I looked down at my jacket where Evie had been sucking and found a perfectly clean sesame seed sitting on it! :D

The music started with Littleton High School. Their three songs had a Japanese theme and Evie was very interested in what they were doing out on the field. She was so still and quiet, just soaking in the whole experience. The second school was Heritage High School, and they played "Mars," "Venus," and "Jupiter" from Holst's The Planets. "Mars" is very energetic piece of music, and Evie had lots of fun bouncing/jumping up and down in rhythm. "Venus" is slower and more melodic, so Evie just watched what was going on out on the field. During "Jupiter," Evie was having so much fun that she decided to demonstrate her appreciation by singing along. Loudly. So I had to hurry and clap my hand over her mouth. Everyone sitting around us looked over and smiled, but I was still a little embarrassed. Once Heritage finished their performance, it was time for Arapahoe. Theirs was by far the best show. The other schools had just kind of marched across the field in unclear lines while the drill team waved flags. Arapahoe, though, was fun. Their theme was "Triskaidekaphobia," or fear of the number 13, and I was initially concerned that the music would be all discordant and weird, but it was actually really interesting. While the percussion played, the rest of the band lay on the ground and the drill team crept onto the field from behind the huge speakers. Then the band members "woke up" and continued their piece. In the second section, there was an invisible singer, which made a really cool effect. Finally, during the last piece, the drill team twirled their rifles and sabers and two members flipped over the square of turf on top of the 50-yard line to reveal the number 13. During the whole thing, the band made interesting shapes and lines, the percussion kept up their fun rhythm, and the drill team twirled and danced in impressive ways. Meanwhile, Evie was alternating between watching what was going on out on the field, and playing with her Daddy. Overall, though, she really had a good time last night, and demonstrated her own musical appreciation to us.