All Wrapped Up

Sit back, relax and grab a cup of warm wassail as I "wrap up" our entire Christmas in one extra long blog post.  We headed north in search of cooler weather and (brr) did we find it.





Mackenzie and I enjoyed the cold weather. The boys, on the other hand, not so much. Per my request Grandpa had an extra large batch of his famous Christmas cookies waiting for us to frost. Decorating cookies was a holiday tradition when I was a kid.  Sadly, this tradition has been lost on my own kids.  I could never make cookies that tasted as good as my father's.  However, don't feel too sorry for my kids. The Texas Trash (Chex Mix) tradition still lives on in our household.  








On Christmas Eve we attended mass at Our Lady of the Mountains in Jasper, Georgia.





We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day exchanging gifts, skyping with extended family, assembling new toys, and especially eating.  Thanks Grandpa and Nana for all the wonderful meals you prepared.

After Christmas we did what we NaplesMorgans do best, we became tourists. We hit Atlanta with a vengeance. We visited Snow Mountain where we were able to go snow tubing.  We were able to zoom down a 400 foot hill in a family size tube but preferred going alone as single riders. We happened to pick the coldest day to visit Snow Mountain. While waiting in line for our tubes we experienced sleet, snow and hail.

We were able to convince Grandpa and Nana join us when we visited The New World of Coca-Cola.
   


The adults enjoyed "Taste It" where you can take your taste buds on a trip around the world and sample over 60 different Coca-Cola products. The seasonal specialty was "gingerbread coke" and I must admit that it makes for an interesting flavor of coke.



The kids enjoyed their complimentary glass bottle of coke which was made and bottled on site.



 

Lastly, we participated in a freezing night walk at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It was listed in Forbes 2012 as one of the 10 Dazzling Holiday Light Displays around the world. It was absolutely beautiful.











We are back home in Naples and already missing that cold weather. My one and only regret from our entire trip is that I didn't get a picture of all six of us together.  Sorry Grandpa and Nana, I won't let that happen again.

This is our last post for 2012.  Here's wishing every one of our readers a healthy and happy new year. See all of you in 2013!

Merry Christmas

Hope you have a "tree"menous holiday.  We are taking some much needed time off to enjoy family and friends. Check back with us in a week.

Prism

This past week Mackenzie performed in a very unusual concert called Prism.  To better understand the concept of this concert the audience was asked to consider the effects that a prism creates as it refracts spectacular colors and forms to unexpected places.  The concert was designed to create prismatic events through a sonic and spatial environment when least expected.

It is the band's most popular yearly concert.  Because it is so popular they have to perform the concert three times, once during the school day for visiting elementary and middle school students and then again twice at night for parents and the community. It includes a full sample of the variety of instruments and music available at Gulf Coast High.

The drumline dressed up in painter's coveralls and used trashcans and lids to create their music. 





They also performed a drum cadence under a black light.



The concert lasted nearly two hours and ended with a grand finale. The entire band (over 325 kids) filled the aisles and played their halftime show - it was amazing!





Last but not least, we cannot forget about Mason. He was not feeling a 100% this week but he perked up in time to attend.



He also performed in his own final holiday concert this past Friday at the elementary school's Cookies with Santa.



We have a busy week ahead as we end the first 1/2 of the school year.  We are looking forward to a little rest and relaxation next week when we begin our winter break.

Holiday Cheer

We are only eight days into December and the holiday events have already begun.  Mackenzie participated in her Winter Chorus Concert at the high school.  I was impressed with how simple yet beautiful the stage was decorated.





Mason participated in his first of three musical performances. His 5th grade class was asked to perform at the tree lighting ceremony on 5th Ave.  It was so exciting for the kids. They sang at least 11 songs before they helped the Mayor of Naples countdown to 10 and light the tree.  As soon as the tree was lit they helped introduce Santa to the crowd of hundreds. It is sure to be a night that the kids will always remember.  





The 5th grade class also had a DARE graduation ceremony. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education.





There is still much more holiday cheer to come in the following weeks so come back again.

The Big Apple

Mackenzie is home safe and sound from New York City where she got to walk around Times Square,


visit the 911 Memorial,
 

watch Wicked on Broadway,


see the Statue of Liberty,


and most importantly march in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade.


Did you miss your chance to watch the band on television?  No problem, just click on the video below.

It was a "once in a lifetime" trip and one that she is sure to never forget.

NYC/Philadelphia

At 6:00 am this morning, Mackenzie boarded a plane bound for NYC.  We had our doubts she would actually make her flight after an unexpected bout with hives last weekend and a severe stomach virus this weekend but she rallied and was almost back to 100% by Sunday night.

Mackenzie and around 200 other members of the Gulf Coast High marching band are headed to NYC for three days of sightseeing before heading to Philadelphia to march in their Thanksgiving Day parade. 

Mackenzie's complete itinerary is:

Monday: Arrive at JFK, Times Square, 911 Memorial, Dinner in Little Italy
Tuesday: 5th Ave, Hard Rock Cafe, Bus Tour of NYC, "Wicked" at the Gershwin Theater
Wednesday: Statue of Liberty, Depart for Philadelphia, Liberty Bell, Dave and Busters

Thursday: Good Morning American,  Dunkin Donuts Philadelphia Parade, Thanksgiving meal at hotel, depart for JFK 

Late breaking news: Mackenzie's band has been asked to perform on Good Morning America. Set your DVR's because the band will be performing a Christmas song between 7:25 and 7:40 am. The Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day parade should be nationally televised after GMA. The GCHS band will be at the beginning of the parade.

    

Patriotic Concert

It was very fitting that Mackenzie performed in a patriotic concert on Election Day. This was her first choral performance at the high school and first time she ever had to wear a full length gown.



The Gulf Coast High Choir along with the Paradise Coastman sang Marches of the Armed Forces. It was very touching because all veterans where asked to stand when they heard the song of their Armed Service Branch.

I have to chuckle because seeing these two groups perform together shows how two worlds collide in Naples, the world of the seasonal retirees and the world of the young families who live here year round.

Halloween Happiness

Superstorm Sandy may have wreaked havoc up north but it brought cool breezy temperatures to Southwest Florida. We enjoyed the most pleasant Halloween weather last night. Due to our warm climate, it is traditional for Floridians to set up tables, chairs and sometimes fire-pits at the end of their driveways. Kids rarely ring doorbells while trick or treating in Florida.



Mason waited patiently for "the gang" to arrive.



"The gang" began back in preschool when Mason met his BFF, Ben.  The two of them have trick or treated together for the past six years.  Over those years, Ben has gained two more younger siblings.









As you can tell Mackenzie is missing from the pictures. Because Halloween fell on a Wednesday she didn't have much free time to celebrate due to her heavy workload of homework.  She did take a break every now and then to hand out a few pieces of candy.

Game Over

Mason's tackle football season officially ended yesterday.  All I can say is that sometimes you win (like last year) and sometimes you lose (like this year).  All that really matters is that Mason had a good time.



Mason played every game on both the offensive and defensive line.



He wore one of our favorite numbers, 84. Darin and I met in 1984.



This year there was a new addition to field - Darin was a part of the chain gang.



Mason is sad that it is over but he is already looking forward to next year.

Homecoming 2012

This weekend was homecoming for Gulf Coast High.  Due to poor planning and even poorer execution this is the only picture that I have to share. I will spare you the details but needless to say I hope to never relive this photography nightmare again.



Sorry I digressed, back to homecoming.  Foremost, Gulf Coast won their football game Friday night which is shocking since they have only won one other game this entire season.  The score was 3 to 0 but it was still no less a win.

As with every other homecoming there was a dance Saturday night. The new trend is to attend the dance with groups of friends rather than with dates.  Mackenzie organized a gathering of a few of her freshman friends at our house prior to the dance.  We had agreed to drive the girls to an upscale restaurant for dinner. Mackenzie and I had chosen the perfect place because it was full of other groups attending the dance as well. It was exciting to see all of them dressed to the nines. Darin and I sat at the bar as not to embarrass the girls.

I was so proud of Mackenzie. She and I had found the perfect dress in less than a two hour shopping spree at our local mall.  As a special treat, I took her to the nail salon the day of the dance but otherwise she did her own hair and makeup. She looked amazing!  But more importantly she had an even more amazing time at the dance. When asked if she would attend again next year, absolutely!

On a side note, the restaurant bill for the girls was a whopping 26 bucks.  The bar bill for Darin and I was even more than that.  No wonder the girls stay so slim.

Walk for the Way

For your listening pleasure, the Gulf Coast drumline performed at the United Way walk-a-thon yesterday at North Collier Regional Park.



What is a cadence?



It is a rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words.



What is a drumline cadence?



It is a drumline piece played in a parading marching band between or in place of full-band pieces.

Mighty Nice Italian Ice

For his 11th birthday Mason requested a party at Rita's Italian Ice.  We rounded up some of his friends and headed over to Rita's on Saturday afternoon. We were taken behind the counter and told we would be making a batch of coffee flavored ice that would be sold in their store.
 


The boys took turns measuring the ingredients which included



water



cream

 

and sugar.



All ingredients were added to the italian ice machine and the timer was set.



Ten minutes later the ice was ready. However, before serving it had to be mashed.



Mackenzie opted against trying the coffee and ordered pumpkin instead.

 

After all that hard work the kids were able to cool off with some mighty nice Rita's Italian Ice. Happy Birthday Mason!