Erica's Jr Year was packed full of many activities. She juggled church/work/school/band/friends/and a long distance relationship and kept all of her plates spinning pretty well. She was still taking voice lessons and playing her sax.
Her sophomore year ended on a good note.....especially for her and band. The guard had competed well and she had played well in concert season. The band year always ends with a Band Banquet which is a meal together with students, parents, and the Band Staff. It is a time for the Boosters to reflect on what they had accomplished during the past band season and for the Band Director to brag on her students and hand out her awards.
Erica really enjoyed Band and came to love her band director, Melody Ramsey. Melody saw leadership potential in Erica early on and put her in her guard position in 10th grade and then taught her how to be a good leader. They developed a close relationship that is still growing to this day.
This was the year Erica added Pageants to her agenda. And...being the kind of mom I was....we were either going to do it 100% or not at all. After her first pageant.....we learned tips and gained a wealth of knowledge about modeling/wardrobe/talent/and interviewing. We hired a pageant coach to help us put all of this into practice. She really enjoyed the pageant life and did well considering that she didn't grow up doing pageants starting at age 2.
Melody always wanted her Sr leaders to go to a leadership camp sponsored by Fred J Miller. They usually were done locally but we were not able to find a local one she could attend. But , we found one in Florida in June of 03 that she could attend. She and I flew to FLA a day early so she could enjoy the beach before going to camp. I stayed in a hotel nearby and we were able to talk everyday. Erica got a taste of dorm life and decided that she didn't really want to live on campus when she went to college. She liked her having her own space.
I was able to attend her last day performance at camp, before we flew back home.
Here is an action shot of her saber toss during her routine. She enjoyed the camp and came home with alot of ideas and was ready to teach and share them with her guard girls.
June was a busy month for all of us. We had to squeeze things in during June since Band Camp started in July and that lead directly to the school year. As a family, with our extended family, we would go to Greers Ferry Lake and spend a week boating and eating and having water fun at a rental area called Tanenbaum. This particular year we had to go in June....normally we went in July. The weather took a turn and we had a cool spell during our week there.
Here is Erica driving the boat with her Fred J Miller camp hoodie on for warmth!
After a busy but fun summer....the inevitable had to happen. She had to start school as a Senior!
Here is Erica on her first day of her LAST school year. I always loved that messenger bag!
Her Sr year was 2003-2004. I was so thankful that I worked at ECS so I could be with her as much as possible during her Sr year. I am grateful that I was able to be a huge part of both of my children's lives while they were growing up. My jobs allowed me the opportunity to be room moms and to be a part of the PTF regularly. I was a highly engaged Mom but worked hard to NOT be a helicopter parent.
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