The Iron Chimps Rock Concert {Ampersand Music School}

Nicholas has been taking private guitar lessons for 4-5 years with Ethan at Ampersand Music School. Last summer, the school started offering a Rock Band class.  Students signed up for the class and the instructors put them together with other students to make a band.  Nicholas couldn't wait to sign up.  

Each band has to come up with their own band name.  Nicholas' band talked together about famous bands that they liked and they came up with their band name The Iron Chimps.  Here is a condensed version of their thought process.  It was a tip of the hat to honor the popular bands Led Zepplin (Led got changed to lead then changed to "Iron") and Arctic Monkeys (Monkeys got changed to "Chimps"). 

The kids meet once a week for an hour to practice.  The instructors are great at working with the kids on how to play instruments together with others.  They have to keep on the same beat, listen to each other and improvise if things go wrong.  It is really taking their music instruction to a whole new level....plus they are having a blast!

This was Nicholas' second rock band concert with Ampersand.  Last time the concert was free but this time things were done a little differently.  Tickets were sold for $3.00 but the music school didn't take any of the money.  Instead they donated part of the proceeds to the church where the band practices and holds the concerts and the rest of the money goes to the students so they can get a taste of what is is like to really make money with their band.  There are three different bands in the program and the turn out was great.  

The Iron Chimps performed four songs in the concert.  Here are the videos...

Legend by The Score


Sky Spills Over by Michael W. Smith


Smack Down by Thousand Foot Crutch


Beat It by Michael Jackson

We are so grateful to the Ampersand instructors, Ethan and Benjamin.  They are great with the kids and they help them both in band and individual lessons.  Our kids have enjoyed their lessons and we love seeing their music abilities shine.

We got a final picture of the three bands all together.  It was a great night and we are so proud of all of these kids!

Dallas Stars vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 10/09/2018

Since Nicholas is playing high school hockey, he received a free Dallas Stars ticket for High School Hockey Night.  The Stars played the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Yes, it seems weird but the plural of Leaf really is Leafs when it is used as a proper noun.  Additional tickets to the game were just $10 so we grabbed enough for the whole family and a friend.

Our seats were about as high up as you could get.  Stuart joked about needing a Sherpa and an oxygen tank!  But we were at a Dallas Stars hockey game so it was all good.

We always try to get to the game early so we can watch the teams warm up.  People haven't gotten to their seats yet so you can walk right up to the glass.  That's close enough to count the missing teeth on each player. (ugh!)

There was a cameraman in our section and he was determined to get Rachel on the Jumbotron.  She was cute in her Stars jersey and jumping around with green pom poms.  I'm amazed Stuart thought to catch it on video.  He's Super Dad.


Nicholas had to explain to his friend a little about how the game of hockey is played but he caught on quickly and was soon cheering like a true Stars fan.

The Stars lost the game but we still had a great time.  As we made our way out of the stadium, we stopped in the gift shop for a bit.  Stuart and Nicholas tried to hide this hockey puck from me.  They know I worry about Nicholas losing a tooth from playing hockey.

The terminal for the DART rail is right outside the American Airlines Center so it was just a short walk back to the train.   

We hopped on the next green line train which is just the one we needed to head back north.  However, we didn't realize that it was not going to the end of the line (our stop).  Instead we learned that it was going out of service about half way along our trip.  This meant that we had to get off at a stop unfamiliar to us (and possibly not in the best part of town) and wait for the next train to come through.  Not our best planning moment but we survived.

We were scheduled to arrive back to our station at 11:47 pm so you can imagine there weren't many people on the train at that time.  However, Little Bit insisted on not sitting in a seat because she wanted to ride holding a handle like she has seen in the movies.  She was slightly on tip-toe as she stood there but she was determined to do it.  Silly girl!

With both kids playing on the Stars hockey leagues, we will get a few more sets of tickets to Dallas Stars games.  As always, I can't wait to go back!

First Goals at JV Hockey

Nicholas played on the Flower Mound/Marcus Junior Varsity hockey team for the first time this summer.  It is a step up from the regular Stars house league that he has been playing on.  But the summer season is a more relaxed time.  There are less players and there aren't practices, just a weekly game to keep their skills sharpened.  It was fun but he never scored a goal during the summer games.

But now it is fall and everything is ramped up.  Nicholas is still on the Star's house league which has a weekly practice and a game on the weekend.  He is also continuing with the Flower Mound/Marcus Junior Varsity team which has practice twice a week and a game on the weekend.  That's a lot of time on the ice but Nicholas has shown so much improvement over these last few months!  It's really fun to watch his games.  Nicholas (#72) did particularly well in the JV game this past weekend.

Nicholas' JV team is a bronze level team and they were playing another team at the bronze level.  However, the other team had some players filling some spots and these other players were from their gold level team.  You could definitely see the difference in the level of play from those other players and it certainly gave them an unfair advantage over our players.  However, in spite of all of that, Nicholas still scored a goal on them!


It was a hard game but the boys kept going.  Eventually the ringer players on the other team had to leave to go to their own hockey game and the play on the ice leveled out to a more even field.

And Nicholas scored on them AGAIN!

As it turns out, Nicholas scored the only two goals on our team.  These were his first goals at the JV level and we are so proud of him!

Eat at Chili's Today and Support Flower Mound/Marcus Hockey

You know you want a good lunch and those crummy leftovers in the fridge just won't do.  And why bother cooking tonight when you can grab an amazing burger at Chili's instead?

Take a day off from cooking and come out to Chili's in Flower Mound (Long Prairie/FM 3040 location only) to support the Flower Mound/Marcus Hockey Club! This is Nicholas' first year to play on their Junior Varsity team and he is loving it.

Chili's will donate 20% of your check between 11am and 9pm TODAY only! If you really want to support the team, you could go out for both lunch AND dinner! Just be sure to tell them you are there to support the FMM Hockey Club!  
We stopped by for lunch today and it was great.  We had to try the Skillet Queso which is a Chili's staple.  It is creamy queso with beef and chili in it.  

The kids both got burgers.  Rachel got the Big Mouth Bites sliders.  It comes with four mini burgers loaded with cheese, bacon, sautéed onions, and homemade ranch sauce.

Nicholas ordered the big honking 1/2 pound Queso burger.  Look at all of that creamy queso oozing out of the burger!  There is also pico and tortilla chips in it!

I tried to order something other than "my usual" but I just couldn't do it.  I ordered the Cajun Chicken Pasta.  My fav!  It comes with penne pasta in a delicious Alfredo sauce topped with grilled chicken, Parmesan, chile spices, tomato, and green onion.

I know I sound like an advertisement for Chili's....and that is my point.  Get off your bottom and head to the FloMo Chili's at Long Prairie and FM 3040 and get yourself some grub.  Be sure to tell your server that you are supporting the Flower Mound/Marcus Hockey team and they will donate 20% of your bill to the team to help out the boys. 

Your belly will thank you and so will the team!

Secret Keeper Girl

Dannah Gresh is the amazing Mom-inventor of Secret Keeper Girl.  The movement began as a book that she wrote called, "Secret Keeper Girl: The Power of Modesty" which is about keeping some special things secret until you find that special man to marry.  Dannah didn't stop with that one book though.  She realized that worldly advertisements and social media were causing anxiety, depression, and even early sexual debut in today's teen girls.  She has since written many more books and even created a live event that tours the country each year to remind girls that they are special and loved by Jesus.

Tonight Rachel and I went to our first Secret Keeper Girl live event.  This year's tour is called Masterpiece. It was an amazing mother-daughter experience.


The event took place at First Denton church and we had to buy tickets in advance.  I took this picture as the show was just starting but soon the seats were pretty full so I would guess that it might have been a sold out event.

The show began with a reading of Genesis and the story of Creation.  The girls were reminded that they are a beautiful creation by a good and loving God.  The theme scripture for the event was Ephesians 2:10 which we recited several times during the night to help us memorize it....sometimes in silly voices, sometimes singing it like an opera singer.

There was some discussion about what a masterpiece is.  We learned about several famous pieces of art, including the Mona Lisa.  We learned how a masterpiece must be protected and preserved because it is special.  The girls were reminded how they are each God's beautiful masterpieces.  It was a powerful message but it was kept fun with lots of singing and dancing.  Many times the girls were allowed to go up on the stage to sing along.

A cute souvenir that many of the girls just "had to have" were the light up flower headbands.  Rachel looked so cute in it that I just couldn't resist getting it for her.  She loves it.

The music performances were great and everyone was singing along.

My favorite part of the night was when they sang "Masterpiece" by Danny Gokey.  It was so perfect for this event and it is one of my favorite songs right now.

We learned about the Truth or Bare Fashion Test that we can use to determine if our clothes are too revealing.  We only covered three of the tests at the event but the website lists several more.  Then we watched a mother-daughter fashion show modeling outfits that were adorable yet modest.

The night ended with an invitation for girls to say a prayer to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  It was such a beautiful event.


If you would like to learn more about Secret Keeper Girl, please check out the Secret Keeper Girl website or follow Secret Keeper Girl on Facebook