Lizzie's class participated in an art contest this past fall 2010. They each painted a patriotic scene with only 3 colors - red, black, and blue. Lizzie was selected out of the several hundred participants as a winner! She took second place in her grade level out of the entire school district.
The Veteran's Association in our area put on a fancy dinner/reception to honor the winners. We got all dressed up and headed over to the Veteran's Memorial Building (the same place where Jordan and Stephanie had their wedding and reception!) for a special evening.
Here's Lizzie receiving her award. She wanted to do it just right. Some of the other kids saluted back to the uniformed person giving them the award. Lizzie was quite determined to look like she knew what she was doing up there.
It was a proud moment for her standing up there on the stage. All eyes were on her and she knew it!
Lizzie's awesome teacher was there to see her get her award.
And here's the proud girl with her new medal. Check out all that personalized engraving. WOW. What a great thing for our girl.
It was a special night to honor our special, artistic (who knew?!), talented girl. Her award winning artwork now hangs contently in our home.
The season of Destination Imagination is in full swing! Trevor and Logan have been involved in weekly practices, early morning, and after school practices since the teams were aligned last December. This year, there were seven different challenges our teams could choose from (read about them HERE).
THESUPERSMARTALAKAZOOAIRHEADSOFD O O M: Trevor's team (coached by Aunt Kari & assisted by team parent ME) chose the improvisational "Mythology Mission". This is the team's 3rd year together - it is so refreshing to see these kids work as a team. They are comfortable with each other, themselves, their ideas, and they don't worry about looking like a little bit silly every now and again. If you remember, this team took first place at Regional and State finals last year and went on to compete in Tennessee at Globals.
The video of their regional competition performance is posted below. But first, I wanted to give you a list of all the things that had to be incorporated into their improv so you could be on the look out for the elements they were judged on. Their time ended at the EXACT moment that they finished their skit. It was AMAZING!
1. Mythological Creature (Kappa) + several facts about the creature 2. Culture (Ancient Japan) + several facts about the culture 3. 3 souvenirs 4. combine 3 souvenirs to one great mega-prop 5. Improv Element - how well they incorporate and resolve this element 6. teamwork
It's hard to see or feel in a video just what it was like in that room, but the energy was almost palpable. Those kids were on fire! They knew exactly what then needed to accomplish and they went out there and nailed it! We are so proud!
THE SEVEN DI warfs: Logan's team was coached by Uncle Matt and Jeremy. This is their 2nd year together and are really starting to gel as a team. They chose the structural challenge "verses! foiled again!". Here are all of the elements they were judged on in their skit. I wish they'd been partially judged on their use of humor - they were sooo funny!! Here are all the elements to watch for when you view their video:
1. side trips (karate & dancing) 2. teamwork 3. props made of wood and foil 4. 4 lines of verse penned by the team 5. 4 lines of verse from a published/copyrighted song 6. storyline that involves a character that is foiled
7. structure a. how much weight it holds b. the design and use of wood + foil
Watch it again and listen for Lizzie (she was sitting right next to me during filming) singing along and saying the lines with the team. She knew this skit by heart!
This team totally came together to make this performance the best they'd ever done. That structure weighed only 24 grams. 24 GRAMS. Guess how much it held. Take a wild guess. It ended up holding 255 POUNDS! Is that amazing or what?! Yes, they are smaller than the other team, but their energy was just as electric as those older kids. They were so fantastic!
Lizzie's class at school had an art day earlier this year. They were given blue, red, and black paint to create a patriotic painting.
Here's the description of Lizzie's artwork in her own words: "That's the street and the sidewalk. The flag is on the sidewalk at our school. It's raining. And that's the sky [at the very top]. And there's also clouds mixed in with the rain."
We had no idea that Lizzie's artwork had been entered into a contest. Lizzie came home from school with an invitation to an "Art Gallery Reception" for all the winners. Lizzie had taken 2nd place in the district! Awesome!
Congratulations Lizzie! You are a magnificent artist full of endless creativity!
Yesterday, I came across an abandoned vocabulary card. Trevor had left this 4x6 index card on the desk and I picked it up to return to his binder. I quickly glanced at his work and literally laughed out loud when I read his definition and coordinating sentence. Here is what he wrote:
Romance: a love affair (as taken from the thesaurus) this was his sentence: Romance is gross.
I like Trevor's added illustration of the guy that looks like he's about to hurl.
Well, we know where Trevor stands on the whole "romance" topic. That's good. Girls should still have cooties in 6th grade. I know the day is not far off when he will change his opinion about all things romantic. Until then, I am quite satisfied with his view, "romance is gross."
Trevor's the old man on campus in 6th grade! Logan's stoked to be an upper-grader in 4th grade! Lizzie cannot contain her enthusiasm for 1st grade! Who would've thought it would be so exciting to eat lunch in the cafeteria?
The first day of school began quickly. The kids were up earlier than usual - giddy, excited, and nervous for the day they'd been anticipating since 3 days ago. (Reality never sets in for these kids until it is nearly upon them.) They dressed quickly and got their shoes and socks on in record time. And what beautiful NEW shoes they were!
Jeremy made a delicious first day of school German Pancake breakfast then hopped in the shower while they baked.
Then the smoke alarm went off.
Mass chaos ensued while mama tried to persuade the smoke coming from the oven to go outside.
Jeremy's yelling from upstairs, "WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE!?" [the smoke alarm continues to screech] The kids are all yelling simultaneously in response: "THE OVEN'S BURNING!" "DAD, IT'S OK!" "IT'S JUST SMOKE!"
Jeremy yells again because he can't hear a dang thing they're saying, "DO YOU NEED HELP?!?!" The kids yell back again trying to outdo the volume of the ear piercing smoke alarms: "THE OVEN'S BURNING!" "DAD, IT'S OK!" "IT'S JUST SMOKE!"
Jeremy yells again, "DO YOU NEED HELP?!?!" The kids finally get that he can't understand when they're all answering him at the same time. They all yell at him in unison, "NO!"
Just then the alarms quit. *Sigh of relief.*
The volume of those smoke alarm were... well... alarming! Oh, the ringing in our ears! No worries, it was only some butter burning off the bottom of the oven that spilled over the side of the pan that caused all that commotion.
The yummy pancakes were eaten in record time. And then lunches were packed while the kids ran outside to take some back to school photos with dad.
We ran out the door (without the carefully prepared lunches! Ah! Completely forgot to pack the lunches INTO the backpacks!) and drove over to the school for the traditional first day of school "parent drop off". There we met up with some of the kids' good buddies and took some more embarrassing pictures before saying our final goodbyes.
All in all it was a great start to the 2010-2011 school year. (- besides that smoke alarm business and forgetting of the lunches.) We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!
Lizzie and her class prepared for months to be ready for this end of the year program. She tried her best to keep the songs a secret from us at home so her program would be a big surprise. Lizzie just couldn't contain her enthusiasm - she sang those songs every day, she knew them backwards and forwards, and so did we!
The program was held in the cafeteria. That room was packed! There were wall to wall parents in that place. The kids looked so nice in their nice outfits, "nice, but not too fancy" as per the teacher's instructions.
I got 3 of her songs on film. The 3rd one was done at home with her BFF from school. My favorite part is when Benny holds his sign upside down - so cute! Pay close attention and you'll see that Lizzie knows every word to EVERY song! This girl LOVES to sing!
After the program the kindergarten teachers had arranged a reception in the kindergarten play area. It was complete with goodies, juice boxes, parents and friends. We took the opportunity to snap a few pictures:
The STAR of the show,
her adoring fans,
the most awesomest kindergarten teacher ever,
and some of Lizzie's kindergarten buddies.
Lizzie had a great kindergarten year. She had the best teacher and made lots of new friends. She excelled in her academics, loved learning, and loved going to school each day. She earned straight "C's" on her report card (C for completed). She finished out the year at reading level 4. And is ready for first grade! Lizzie can't wait to stay longer days at school and eat lunch in the cafeteria. It's the little things in life that make it so exciting to be a kid. :)
Here are the school kids on their way to their last day of school.
The 2009-2010 school year has come to a close and summer vacation is here. Don't they look ready for summer? Their already sunkissed skin. The lazy looks and carefree smiles...
And sheesh! they look so much older than the first day of school pictures. My how time flies. When did my babies get so old? 3 in school full time? How old does that make the parents?
These kids are movin' on up! So long 5th grade. Catch ya later 3rd grade. Adios kindergarten!
Trevor had a fabulous extra curricular year. He was involved in sooo many things! 5th grade is the year that all sports, music, and other extra activities open up to the student in our school district. Of course Trevor wanted to do it all!! Music was one of his many extra things he chose to do this year. He so badly wanted to play the trumpet in the school band (he'd never played a note before in his life) and was hoping desperately to get one of the school's instruments. They have so much interest in band that they had to do a lottery to see who would get the school instruments. His name was drawn first out of the hat!
It was an up and down year trying to juggle all of his different activities. He learned which ones he liked and which ones he didn't. Trumpet made the "challenging" list. Learning to play an instrument takes lots of time and practice - both of which suffered this year. He liked being a part of the band, he likes his music teacher, and being able to get out of class.
He did great in his end of the year concert. He really looks great behind that trumpet!
Here's Trevor's cousins, Emma and Jacob, and his buddy Jacob E. All of these kids were also on Trevor's D.I. team, in the school play, in his primary class at church, and in his cub scout troop. These kids will be best buds for a long time.
Here's their band playlist.
Next up was the choir. This extra curricular activity is Trevor's #1 FAVORITE! He loves to sing! (This fact makes me burst with pride!) Their director chose to do a small tribute to the Jackson 5 as part of their Spring curriculum. There was some choreography and they sang to a recorded track. It's always a great performance when you can tell your kid is totally enjoying himself up there!
It has been a great year. Can't wait to see what he chooses to do next year.
As many have seen that recently visited our family blog, Trevor's Destination Imagination team won the regional and state competitions earlier this spring. Part of winning state means that his team gets to participate at the global finals currently underway in Tennessee at the University of Tennessee. Well, we finally made it here (after a lot of fundraising and donations, 3 plane rides and 4 hour in a car from Atlanta). Jennifer is being a good sport and holding down the fort while me and 3 other DI coaches/fathers (Matt, Robb, Jared) hang out with the kids and do the DI thing. Of course, inquiring moms want to know what the heck is going on with all their kids (I include myself in that group) all the time and so I thought I would do a little recap of the last 36 hours. For the blogging world out there- I'm sorry for the travelogue that will follow, please feel free to skip over and read about Jackson's tortilla chip eating habits!
Babe- here you go (some of the highlights):
Exhausted in the airport in Denver after our 3 am wake up call.
Excitement of finally arriving at Atlanta
This mornings big adventure was the Smoky Mountain Zipline Canopy Tour. Here's the whole group pausing for a photo after the trip with our two guides: Bodie and Cornbread (that's right I said cornbread):
On the way up the mountain:
Trevor in action
Check out Trev shooting down the cable from behind. Does that look fun or what?
Matt getting stuck before landing on the platform
A few of the little zippers
The whole zipline tour lasted almost 4 hours and left everyone ready for some good ol' southern BBQ. We stopped off at a place in Pigeon Forge that was recommended by one of our guides. Called:
If you look closely, you'll see Robb acting a little goofy inside the window.
As soon as we got back to Knoxville, Trevor and the team was dying to get out in the courtyard to do pin trading, a very big deal here at DI. I send some pen photos tomorrow.
That lead up to dinner in the student dining hall and then the global grand opening here at the University of Tennessee. A few things we saw.
We decided that we would rather stay up late and get up late rather than adapt our bodies to East coast time, so the kids headed on down to the swimming pool after the opening ceremony to "cool off" (it's in the mid 80's and a little humid).
We are all running on a little more than 6-7 hours of sleep over the last two days, so I am thinking that we will crash hard tonight in our luxurious accomodations. Only one day here and already its looking like the college dorm room that it is.
Lizzie's class participated in an art contest this past fall 2010. They each painted a patriotic scene with only 3 colors - red, black, and blue. Lizzie was selected out of the several hundred participants as a winner! She took second place in her grade level out of the entire school district.
