Pinewood Derby

Earlier this month was the Annual Pinewood Derby for Quinn’s Cub Scout Pack. It was only his second time participating since he started scouting a bit later than most. He chose the design for his car, and James helped execute. He also chose to leave it ‘wood’ colored using spray varnish rather than paint it another color. The weight was spot on the night of the event, at 4.95 ounces (maximum of 5 ounces). However, it proved to be a bit light in the front. 

Each time down the track, the car’s front end popped up at the bottom of the hill and then coasted wobbly to the finish line. One time down, it actually popped itself right off the track and when it hit the floor, a wheel fell off. They stopped the event for a few minutes while his car was repaired and it was able to finish out the remaining three heats (each car has to race in each of six lanes, causing there to be six heats). Quinn wasn’t embarrassed by this turn of events at all, laughing through most of the races. He doesn’t take this too seriously, and James had warned him that the car was too light in the front because of his thin design so we weren’t surprised.

Keely took the event a lot more seriously than last year. Her car last year was simply the block of wood, painted to look like an iPhone. All style, no race design. It was way too light, naturally and had to be pushed across the finish line each time. I think she was actually a bit embarrassed, and this year she resolved to do better. She chose her design and then painted her car white with purple stripes and black and white tape decorations. The car was actually weighted to 4.95 ounces just like Quinn’s.

Out of 13 sibling cars (yes, that means 13 heats) she placed 1^st in one heat and 2^nd in two others. She finished 3^rd overall out of the 13 cars. She was so thrilled. The smile never left her face. She was given a ribbon for her efforts, and probably made the biggest comeback from one year to the next.

 

No more PWD for us, although Quinn can help next year load the cars as a Boy Scout. He can also make a car if he wants and race it in the ‘adult’ category. It’s a fun event, albeit a little lengthy with all the heats and I know the kids enjoyed themselves!

The Cabin Getaway

A few weekends ago, we met up with Tom, Judith and kids for a fun weekend getaway. After their weekend trip to see us in December fell through, I had been looking for a place where we could meet in the middle or somewhere pretty close to the middle.  I found Occoneechee State Park in Clarksville, Virginia…a state campground that also has some pretty nice cabins. It happens to be about a 3.5-4 hour drive from both of our houses, and that fit the bill.  We were able to agree on the first weekend in February, and the plan was set.  We hadn’t seen them since July at the beach house so we were long overdue for a visit. 

We arrived on Friday night…late and the craziness ensued.  The kids didn’t wind down until almost 1 AM only to be back up before 7 AM.  Thanks to coffee, I was not too unhappy about that lack of sleep.  The kids just have so much fun together….being that they are all within 4 years of each other.  I don’t think I heard ‘I’m bored’ one time the whole time we were there. 

After a breakfast of pancakes in the morning and lots of much needed coffee (for the adults), we decided to take a hike over to the park office and visitor’s center. The park was once the home of the Occaneechee Indians and there is quite a nice visitor’s center dedicated to their history and unfortunate demise. The weather was cold but that didn’t stop us from enjoying nature. 

When we got back from our hike, Judith and I headed into ‘town’ to grab a few necessities (we were roughing it, but there were some things forgotten that we couldn’t do without lol).  The kids took to playing down by the water in their ‘fort’…the adults stayed close to the fire, chatted and played games. The dogs were there too, and Callie and Max had fun together as usual. 

For dinner, we grilled burgers and hot dogs and I made baked macaroni. We also played musical chairs, ping pong, and lots of games including Catch Phrase, Beat the Parents (the kids won yet again!), and Taboo. The hours seemed to disappear fast…even though there were no TVs, we were never bored and there was always lots of great conversation and laughter. We had makeshift s’mores for dessert…using cookies and brownies instead of graham crackers. 

Everyone was tired on Saturday night and we got a much better night sleep. On Sunday morning, it was time to pack up and depart in our opposite directions. It was a really quick trip, and one that I think we will do again. We had so much fun and we can’t wait to see them again soon!

On the School Front

In what seems like the blink of an eye, the school year is halfway over.  Actually, more than halfway as the 100^th day just passed.  Only 80 more to go.  Crazy.  Report cards came home last week. It’s still strange to look at the new grading system (1 ,2 ,3 or 4).  Both kids got good report cards.  Keely received all 3s and 4s, top marks.  Quinn received mostly 3s and 4s…except for Arabic because he doesn’t enjoy the class, and missed the first 3 years of it so I think he’s a bit lost.  He also received some lower grades on his conduct and behavior…but when queried about those, he said it’s because he graded himself on those areas.  A self-assessment perhaps, but one that his teachers didn’t disagree with because that’s what came home on the final report.  My little social butterfly…it seems this is the only trouble spot.  However, he’s still getting top marks in an advanced class despite socializing and having fun throughout the day.  It’s hard to get mad about it given that fact. 

On a side note, Keely has been recommended for the AAP (as a reminder, Advanced Academic Program).  This subject has been one of frequent conversation in our house since 3^rd grade began.  We have mixed emotions about the program.  Obviously, Quinn has been in it for most of 4^th grade and now all of 5^th.  He does well, and it seems to challenge him more than the regular 4^th grade class he began in last year.  Getting into the program though is quite suspect, and that’s where our issues lie.  All students are tested and only those in the top percentile (95 or above, I believe) are automatically considered.  If test scores are lower, there are other ways a student can get into the program.  A teacher can make a recommendation and that triggers a packet to be put together for consideration.  If the student is denied, a parent can ask nicely and their child can be added as a ‘guest’ to the program.  A guest is for all intents and purposes a full fledged member of the program. Guesting is common, and to be completely transparent Quinn was a guest in 4^th grade.  However, his test scores were in the high percentiles and that combined with his teacher’s recommendation and his already established performance in the 4^th grade AAP class earned him the status of an AAP student.  Our trouble lies with the demographics, or shall I say percentage, of this year’s 3^rd grade classes.  There are three classes, one AAP and two regular.  Each of the two regular classes has 15-16 students, while the AAP has 22.  So what they’re telling me is that more than 1/3 of these 3^rd graders is ‘gifted and talented’.  Quite honestly, I want to ask the AAP specialist how many of these are actually in the program and how many are guests.  I think this is a question of what comes first – chicken or egg.  Does a student do well in the class because they are already smart, or does a student do better when placed in an advanced class?  In any event, what happened this year has been a personal assault to Keely as almost all of her friends (including her best friend and all of her soccer team) is in the AAP class.  It’s almost comical that all of these girls could be the best and brightest in the 3^rd grade…oh, and they all happen to play on the same soccer team.  So back to Keely, she has been trying so hard this year to impress her teacher because we told her that was the main way we would feel comfortable recommending her for 4^th grade AAP.  We also had her re-tested, this time emphasizing the importance of these tests, to see if her scores would improve.  The scores came last week.  They were better, in fact higher than average, but not high enough to be considered an automatic.  Her teacher, though, did decide to recommend her.  If she goes through this process and is not accepted, her teacher’s recommendation and our insistence could get her into the class as a guest.  So we will see how it turns out.  Honestly, I have been happy with her situation this year.  Low student-teacher ratio, and she’s done well.  I’d be fine with her staying in the regular classes…but she won’t quit.  We won’t hear the end of it.  You want your child to be happy, most of all – and have the best experience.  Will she turn out fine without being in the AAP class?  Absolutely, no doubt in my mind.  But I do think she’d do fine in the AAP class also, and if that makes her school days happier then I’ll try to make that happen.

On another (and hopefully shorter) side note, Quinn is entering middle school next year.  He’s chosen to go to Poe, which is our neighborhood school.  We will be attending an open house next week so we can learn more about the school and its curriculum.  Quite honestly, I’m still in shock that my baby will be in middle school.  He’s taking it in stride though, and seems quite relaxed about this upcoming transition.  It will be a huge change though, and I’m not sure he quite understands how different it will be.  

Catching Up

It has been way too long since I last posted, and for that I apologize - mostly to myself because I hate to let this blog slip.  Truth is, it seems life is filled with everyday normal activities as the kids grow older, and they are not growing and changing as quickly as they used to.  I wonder when this will stop becoming a useful outlet...with all the other social media, etc. I'm not sure this blog has much purpose.  I started it as a way to keep family and friends that were far away from us in touch with our life and happenings.  Now that we are closer to most of the family, it seems the need is less.  I do still like to record certain things in our lives though...and this is still the best and easiest way to do that.  Now just to find the time to keep it updated.

Christmas was quite lovely.  We stayed home through Christmas morning, and it was only the second time in 11 years that we have been alone on Christmas morning.  It was nice to have time with just the four of us, because the rest of the holidays proved a little busier.  We attended Mass on Christmas Eve at the Basilica on the campus of my alma mater, Catholic University.  What a beautiful church!  I hadn't been to Mass there since my Baccalaureate and the kids never had, so it was nice to do.  That said, I'm not sure we will do it again on Christmas Eve.  It was packed, we were lucky to get seats and we arrived about 45 minutes early.  There was a nice choir to listen to though, and we didn't mind the wait too much.  After church, we went out to dinner.  Another first...I've never been out to dinner on Christmas Eve.  Now this though is something I think we will do again.  It made the evening so much less stressful...we chose an Italian restaurant not too far from our house, and had a really nice meal.  Having stuffed ourselves, we headed home and relaxed until it was time to force the kids to go to bed.  We actually forgot to leave cookies out for Santa until they were already in bed (though not asleep) so Mom and Dad did that for them.

Christmas morning we woke up about 8 AM, and the usual present opening commenced pretty quickly.  The big gifts this year were a Google ChromeBook for Quinn and a Nintendo 3DS XL for Keely.  Both loved all of their gifts and we were all treated well by Santa as well as our family, both near and far.  After presents and a quick breakfast, we packed up and headed to New Jersey.  We were on the road by 11 AM, and arrived at my parents' house just after 2 PM.  Not a bad trip at all, I think most people were already where they wanted to be and traffic was light.  We arrived just ahead of the extended family arriving, and the craziness ensued.  We hadn't been at the main family gathering since Keely was 2 months old, and it was nice to be back.  We also celebrated with Uncle Joe and J.R. and some of my dad's family the next night.  I even got to make a few contributions to Christmas...sweet potato casserole and the Bomb chocolate cake.  Definitely not something I could do if we were flying in :)  The next night James and I cooked..penne a la vodka & crab cakes.  Definitely a lot of good food and fun had by all!

Another year is gone, we're already a month into 2013 and time is flying by.  The rigors of daily life have picked back up...guitar, CCD, indoor soccer, Girl and Boy Scouts, Odyssey of the Mind, Drama Club, Chess Club, Band.  A lot of activities!