The Billionaires Club

A few months ago I was perusing the band's online calendar and noticed the drumline was scheduled to perform at the Naples Winter Wine Festival.  This three day festival is the most elite and exclusive charity event in all of Collier County.  It includes sixteen celebrity chefs, 28 vintners, hundreds of bottles of the finest wines ever produced, plus one-of-a-kind items and trips that are auctioned off at the Ritz Carlton. Tickets begin at $8,500 per couple.

When I mentioned the festival to Mackenzie last month she said, "We'll probably wear our drumline t-shirts with jeans and you'll just drop me off at the Ritz". Meanwhile I'm thinking, "I doubt that but we'll see." In her defense, the drumline had played for the United Way charity earlier this year.  It was a very casual event at a local park.

On Wednesday, I got a text from Mackenzie at school telling me that the drumline had to take a bus, dress in full uniform, and was in need of chaperones.  I hadn't chaperoned any of her other previous trips, but she knew I would jump at the opportunity to attend this festival, sister "had my back" on this one. Apparently the band director has been trying for five years to get his drumline invited to this premiere event because of all the other opportunities it may provide.

Before boarding the bus, the students were informed by the band director that they were not to engage in conversation with any of the attendees, they were not to touch or even breathe on the Ferrari F12berlinetta (auction item), or gawk at any of the billionaires and their wealth. They were told to think of themselves as hired help and their job was to perform.

The students were not paid any money to perform but they were given a free lunch.  Once they arrived at the Ritz Carlton they were ushered into a private room and treated to pizza.

 

After lunch they were escorted out to the lawn to perform a number of cadences while the guests mingled and enjoyed wine and appetizers.

 



An announcement was made for the guests to follow the drumline into the tent to find their seats so the live auction could begin.

 

Inside the tent the drumline played a few more cadences before exiting.



My favorite part of being inside the tent was seeing the drumline performing on the large screen monitors.

 

All of my photos were taken using my iphone. I left my good camera at home because I didn't want to be considered a gawker either. I was surprised by how many members of the press were in attendance. The Naples Daily News posted some great pictures of the band.

On a side note, over 8.5 million was raised at the live auction. The Ferrari F12berlinetta sold for $750,000.

Licensed to scare Mom and Dad

It took a four hour online course, a drug and alcohol exam, a road signs and road rules test and two trips to the Department of Motor Vehicles but Mackenzie finally has her official Learner's Permit. Mackenzie is very motivated to learn to drive since Darin has agreed to give her his Acura and buy himself a new car once she turns sixteen.



Her first driving lesson was in a church parking lot. Check out her first parking job.



Mackenzie practiced turning, braking and a little parking. Darin found humor in the fact that Mackenzie wasn't the only student driver in the church parking lot.

A Trip Down Christmas Card Lane

Every year we receive fewer and fewer Christmas cards in the mail.  I am afraid that the traditional Christmas photo card may become obsolete. Until then, I thought you might enjoy taking a trip with us down our Christmas card memory lane.

2001 "Sea"son's Greetings



2002 "Marry" Christmas



2003 Holiday "Cheer"



2004 "Dairy" Christmas



2005 "Peace" on Earth



2006 Jingle "Belts"



2007 Not a creature was "stirring"



2008 "Mare"y Christmas



2009 Mistle"toes"



2010 Oh, Tan 'n Balm



2011 "Snow" place like home



2012 "Tree"mendous Holiday

Fifteen

Someone had a birthday today.



Instead of a party, she opted for a sunset dinner at restaurant on the beach.  Of course I wouldn't expect anything less from a girl born and raised in Florida.



Like all teenagers, she prefers to bring a best friend along rather than just hanging with family.





Happy 15th Birthday, Mackenzie!

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.