Hello!
It's Christmas! Time for me to fill you in on what we've been up to. We've been busy!
#1 is now 21 and is
a Junior Chemistry Major at Virginia Military Institute. How time flies! And no, I’m not old enough to have a college
junior. This fall he got to participate in Ring Figure and got his VMI Class
Ring. VMI is the toughest college in the nation and their rings are hard
earned!
#1 continues to sing
in the Glee Club and play sax in the Regimental Band and Jazz Band. FYI: VMI’s
musicians travel much further than their football team. He played for the
Presidential Inauguration in Washington DC this past January, spent Mardi Gras
in New Orleans marching in the Endimyon Parade, spent spring break in Florida
with the Glee Club, and is looking forward to the Gubernatorial Parade in
Richmond in January and the St. Patrick’s Day parade in March in Savannah.
LLB is a Freshman
Applied Mathematics and Physics Major at VMI. (I can spell that!) How do they
grow up so fast?! She graduated from high school in June. Her senior year was
busy and full. She once again directed the Pit Orchestra for the spring
musical, went to USC for an Honor Band Clinic, and ran track for the first
time. She did all of this while
she took AP classes, did an independent study in Multivariable Calculus, and
fought off the symptoms of Senioritis.
All of her hard work paid off and she received a 4-year Navy Scholarship
as well as an Institute Honors Scholarship to VMI.
LLB continues to play
the trumpet and is also a member of the Regimental Band, the Jazz Band, and the
Glee Club, as well as the Brass Ensemble. LLB has had an amazing fall. She was
selected to play the Herald Trumpet, played a few Jazz gigs for pay, and got to
see her brother get his ring at Ring Figure. She was privileged to be able to attend the VMI vs.
Citadel game with the Regimental Band in Charleston this fall. (As a freshman,
or Rat - as they are called at VMI, her time off campus is extremely limited.) She
is looking forward to Break Out – that time where they cease to be Rats and
become full-fledged 4th Class Members of the Corps. She will march
all those parades with Matt, and has been informed that the Brass Ensemble will
be headed to Morocco next year. Unfortunately, they don’t need chaperones, so
Mr and I will be here…
LLB likes to get off
campus and away from the Cadre on Sundays, so she is playing handbells at the
Lexington Presbyterian Church. She has a wonderful host family who provides her
with a soft place to land between church and rehearsal.
There is so much more
to tell, but I’m running out of space…
Mr works. He enjoys sawing fallen trees with his
chain saw and mowing our acreage with his tractor in his spare time. Once a month, he plays bass guitar in
the Church Folk and Gospel band. I
direct a handbell choir and am active in the Prayer Shawl ministry at a local
United Methodist Church. We are involved in the VMI Parents Council and a half dozen other volunteer
committees. Basically, we keep busy.
