We're gonna' get a taste of the Big Apple!

i can't believe it's almost here! if you didn't know, B will be marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade this year with his high school band. get up early so you don't miss it. they are the first band in the parade. they say the order doesn't depend on how good you are, but on lots of other things...ha! tell that to any of the parents of the 280-some kids that will be marching for SFSD... as one parent put it... America will be watching them, but SFSD will be cheering the loudest! B told me that he is the fourth mellophone in from the left side if you were facing the band. the 1 row of mellophones will be right behind the trumpet section. WHAT is a mellophone, you ask? (so did we before our bandparent days... the things kids will teach you!) it's basically a trumpet on steroids! :) if you forget all those details... just look for the best looking kid in the band... that would be... B! :)

B leaves tomorrow and J & i & M leave on Sunday morning. we get to go to the Lincoln Center and see South Pacific and see Ellis Island and Rockefeller Center and eat New York pizza and bagels.... yes... i am a little excited! i'll need to post pictures when we get back. S will join us to watch the parade and for Thanksgiving dinner with the band. it will be great to have the 5 of us together to celebrate the gift of love and all the good it brings to our lives.

a quick update on the day-to-day...

B- his real passion seems to be debate at this point in time. he's had a couple of tournaments. he hasn't always been too excited about the judges' opinions, but has used them to inspire him to work even harder. besides band and schoolwork, swim and piano keep the calendar full.

M-was home last weekend for a women's faith workshop that we went to together. brought a couple of her friends with. was a treat for me... hopefully for them too. has a boyfriend. enjoys the girls in the Bible study she is leading. signed me up on facebook. enjoys borrowing the kitchens in friends' apartments to cook "real food". (thus the recipe posts...)

S-back at Wash U. enjoying living at the Catholic Student Center instead of on campus. shares with us through photos and stories and more phone calls than in the past. :) i think he is looking forward to a real Thanksgiving dinner this year. last year he ate fake canned tuna and half-cooked dried beans on the Altiplano of Bolivia.

J&T - just trying to keep up with all of the above! almost have a major remodeling project finished... need to get the grill attached to the deck and do some work on the curtains. i'm taking spanish again. J is busy with work. try to help out at church... you know the drill...

in closing...

Happy Thanksgiving to you from us!