Pommers and Firefighters

How goes it, Internet.

Today was, well, busy as all get-out. Shot out of a cannon, right out of the gate, and not stopping until late at night. 

Seems like we've been doing that a lot lately, doesn't make for very relaxing weekends, that's for damn sure.

MPA Regionals were held today at Heritage High School, in Saginaw. Abby and the rest of the Northeast Pom team were slotted to perform first thing in the morning, so we had to get there by, like, 8am or whatever. This, of course, wasn't the very first item on our agenda for the day - as you all know, whenever there's a pom competition on our calendar, Kris and the rest of the moms have to get the kids over to the Community Center by 6:30 so they can start working on hair and make-up. 

There's no reason anyone should be getting up that early on a f***ing Saturday.

Anyway, so the pom competition lasted all day, but we did what we always do and left after the Middle School and JV squads received their scores, around noon, before the High School and College teams performed. For the first time in the school's history, Northeast Pom advanced and will be competing at the State Championship next month in Ypsilanti - needless to say Abby and the rest of her team were pretty stoked about that.

The Northeast Pom Team (and their coach) get a group pic in while they await their scores from the judges.

My folks were able to get a fam pic of us with Abby, which usually doesn't happen because she's so distracted by all the post-results emotions, teammates crying, etc.

Lots of crying today, but fortunately it was the good type of crying (none of the heartbreak we had to deal with last year when they didn't qualify for State.)

Abby and her coach.

After the performances and the awards had wrapped up, us and the Johnsons headed over to a nearby restaurant, Timbers, for some lunch in order to celebrate the team's hard-earned victory. We've done this the last couple of years, as it not only celebrates Abby and Ella's achievement, but also gives them some time to settle down and let their adrenaline levels stabilize. I once again managed to sneak a video of their performance, so throughout the meal the girls scrutinized their routine in order to ascertain where the chinks in the armor were (so to speak.)  

Sharing the video - and teenage commentary - with the parents.

Ryan and Erik pony up to the bar to order some free drinks for the wives. 

We had a few hours to kill in the afternoon once we got back to Midland, during which Kris and I knocked out groceries, errands, and all the usual weekend catch-up crap that boring-ass adults have to do. Around 4pm, however, we had to head home and start getting ready for our big evening plans: the annual Midland Firefighters Youth Foundation Charity Ball (and Silent Auction.) Erik has been going to this thing for years, and last year invited a few of the other couples from our friend group along (we had something else going on that evening, so we didn't get to go that time.) 

Courtney, Kris and Mees (the Larson and Bos families had to back out suddenly.)

This year, the Inner Five families - us, the Johnsons, Larsons, Colliers, and Bos' - were all planning on going. Tickets were $60 apiece, which was a hell of a lot better than the twice-as-expensive Cancer Soiree that we attended last April, but this included all you can eat and drink. The booze options weren't as classy as those we had at the Midland Country Club (this was at the Holiday Inn, over by the mall), but it was half the price of that event, after all. We weren't complaining.

Each item had a QR code you could scan in order to place bids online. . . 

A big staple of these charity events Midland hosts from time to time is the Silent Auction, and unlike the Cancer Benefit we attended last spring, this one was a little more, well, 'accessible' for middle class schmoes like us. We were able to place bids on multiple items, gift packages, vouchers, and getaways, and only lost on these because Kris and I lost interest in them once they exceeded their value price.

Free bourbon is pretty awesome.

I don't care if it's 'for charity,' I'm not spending $200 on a $125 hotel room experience. I had been bidding on a CPL class registration that was about a third of what it usually cost, but once the bidding exceeded what a class seat usually costs, I was done with it. I don't really care about the cause of events like this, I'm here for the free booze/food. Pony up, guys.

So yeah, this charity ball wasn't as formal as the one we did last spring at the Country Club, but it was still a good time. Had a good meal, had plenty of drinks, the wives got to dance for a bit, they had a photo booth on hand (because wives like their pics taken), and we passed some time placing bids on crap we didn't end up winning. And the firefighters got $120 from us. . . for the children. . . or something, I don't know.

All in all a good evening.

Here's the rest of it, folks. Enjoy. . .

Me and the ol' ball-and-chain.

Waiting for our table's time to hit the buffet line. Dinner was several different options, but one of those self-serving situations where your table was called up and you got to take what you wanted.

Some photo journalist was documenting the event for some local news outlet, and randomly asked Courtney to share her thoughts on it. She immediately agreed to the interview, but then while waiting for some other guy to wrap up she began to get nervous. Kris went out to offer her some encouragement at one point.

Not sure if this interview turned out well or not - no one saw it - but I'm sure it was fine.

Food was pretty good, but nothing I'd rave about - not my kinda thing. I'm not a huge 'foodie' sort of a guy.

They had another one of those digital photo op stations set up, but unlike the one at the Cancer Soiree, this one didn't email you a digital copy - all you got was a 4"x 6" print out. I prefer having the digital copy so I can upload them to things like this, so we had to wait for Kris to scan them in at her work.

Because the Larson and Bos families bailed on us at the last minute (Kellie was recovering from an intestinal surgery, and the Larsons were hosting Morgan's extended family for a belated Christmas), we had like four empty seats at our table. Erik and I bumped into one of our Masonic brothers, Tom, so we invited him and his wife to share our table.

They brought the lights down so folks could start dancing, which was perfectly timed since it was right around when some folks were beginning to show signs that they had overly-indulged in the 'open bar.' We saw a lot of drunks this evening.

Group pic of our squad.

And we even managed a couple's one.

The wives had danced a bit, but things were beginning to wind down. The event lasted until 11pm, but they shut the bar down at 10pm (probably to get all the drunks out of there on time.)

We ordered one last round and wrapped things up at the ball before heading next door to Big E's for a nightcap and a couple appetizers.

In case you're not aware of this place, Big E's is a sports bar that's attached to the Holiday Inn. Drink selection is good, the food is okay (though it used to be better), but service is hit-or-miss. It used to be our friend group's default destination, but it sadly never bounced back from Covid.

We enjoyed one, last round (and the wives had some snacks) before heading out around midnight. The close of a very long (but entertaining) day.

- Brian