Senior Night at SMS District Stadium

Last night was the last home game of the season for the Raiders (only 3 this year) and it was also Senior Night.  The senior football players were announced with their parents before the game.  It was then time for the last pregame show.  I must admit to getting a tad emotional when listening to that southern classic "Robert E. Lee."  (I am pretty sure the band played that pregame when I went there).  I stood and sang the school song and the fight song (remembering doing that after Brenton scored) and the game began.  Brenton and Cady made a fast dash from Ottawa after football practice and made it to the stadium at the end of the 1st quarter (South was only down by 7 - shocking). Brenton hadn't been to a South game for years and he remembered a lot of those boys as freshmen his senior year.  They looked very small to him (of course he was very small when he was a Raider too).  Brenton and Cady wore their conference championship rings (which prompted the man behind me to comment to his wife that "those two have matching super bowl rings" - very odd).  Halftime came and the senior pacesetter, drill team, and band members lined up on the track.  Shelby was 6th in line (they were alphabetical) and when they called her name she stepped forward, put her right arm out to the side, and nodded. (Insert mom in stands almost in tears).  Brenton went out on the track and gave her a bouquet of flowers (green and yellow daisies) and gave his little sister a big hug (insert mom in tears).  After all the names were called, the parents in the stands released balloons symbolizing letting our children go.  Okay, now I didn't think that much about it until my boss made the following comments "Is Brenton going to have to hold you down and pry that string out of your hands? I'll have to check to make sure you have all of your fingers on Monday in case he has to cut one off to get you to let go." I can honestly say I have all my fingers and no one had to pry the balloon out of my hand, although it was very hard to watch that dumb yellow balloon fly away.  We then watched the final half-time show (which was awesome).  I learned that Brenton and his friends used to gamble during pep assemblies and that he once made $15 betting how many times the drill team girls dropped their flags.  He was a bit disappointed in the show because no one dropped anything (he felt the show lacked a high degree of difficulty and that "daredevil feel" with no high tosses).  It was a very special night for Shelby and even though the Raiders lost (West is not the powerhouse they once were but we desperately needed Clarence, Jake, and the OU O-line), she had a great time.  My only regret was not getting someone to take a picture of me with her.  Will have to wait until Senior Night at the bowling alley (ok - no balloons thank goodness, but that one will be really hard).  Congrats, Shelby - you were (and are always) amazing!

 Shelby - Pregame show

 Shelby Byrnes - Percussion

 Shelby hates this picture, but I love it.  That is the expression of joy!

 What great kids we have...

 Awwwww

 The end of the halftime show

 The matching "Super Bowl" rings

Brenton, Cady, and Shelby

Heart of America Marching Festival, Ottawa Football and Raider Homecoming

Shelby was quick to point out that I am woefully behind on my blogging so must pack a lot into this one.  First of all, the Rompin, Stompin, Raider Band went to KU last weekend to perform at the Heart of America Marching Festival.  If you have been following this blog since it's inception, you will remember that I always called this one the tone-deaf music festival as I felt the judges were tone-deaf as the teams that placed were always substandard in the musicality department.  I can honestly say that this year was a surprise - I actually agreed with the results.  Our Raiders placed 3rd in their division with their Jekyll and Hyde show.  It was the first time they had performed the entire show as they had just gotten the 3rd section earlier in the week.  They did an awesome job - had a few miscues - but all in all, were pretty darn good.  Lawrence and Papillion-La Vista South High (from Nebraska) Schools beat them and just looked a bit more polished with a louder sound than our Raiders.  Our show was more complicated than theirs though but we never seem to get extra credit for degree of difficulty.  Next up is the Warrensburg competition at the end of the month.  Should be a good one.

Next up was some Ottawa Brave Football.  After a horrible game at McPherson, our Braves got their act back together and defeated Sterling, Southwestern, and Tabor College.  Brenton got to play in the Southwestern game because of course, I wasn't there (I was at the KU Marching Festival).  Alas.  Anyway, he has played in all the JV games and had a great one against Baker.  Cady and some of the softball girls came to the game and Cady helped me take some picture of the action.  The Braves are now 5-1.  They get next week off - Brenton is heading to Oklahoma that weekend to attend the "other" OU game with Cady and her parents.

 Last and certainly not least our Shelby attended the Homecoming Dance with Gerry Kraai (fellow band member).  Our Raiders actually won their Homecoming game and the dance with the next night.  Shelby looked quite lovely and I must admit, I got a little choked up when she came down the stairs and Gerry said "She looks so beautiful!"  I thought I refrained from making them pose for an excessive amount of pictures but did take some (go figure).

Overland Park Parade 2010

The Rompin, Stompin, Raider Band marched in the Overland Park Parade last weekend.  It was Shelby's last parade and the weather was beautiful.  Tim's dad, Tom, also was in the parade - riding a fire truck with the retire firefighters.  The morning couldn't have gone better!

Tom is in the blue shirt