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!

Jingle Bell 5K

Last Saturday was the culmination of Quinn and Keely's season of the school running clubs...Girls on the Go (GOTG) and Young Men in Motion (YMIM).  This was Quinn's second season, and Keely's first.  They have been meeting once a week since late September to train for a 5K. 

We got really lucky with the weather considering it was early December..it was in the upper 40s and overcast.  The race was held in Arlington, starting and ending at Pentagon Row.  It was an out and back, which I usually don't like but this ended up being a bonus because it allowed us to see people almost the entire time.  This is critical when trying to keep two nine year old girls moving towards the finish line.  James ran with Quinn, and I ran with Keely and Julia.

Quinn's goal was to finish in under 30 minutes, a substantial goal for him.  He ended up running the entire time, and finished in 30:03.  BUT James had to stop and use the bathroom along the course...causing them to lose time, and they estimate the stop cost them about 45 seconds.  So he (un)officially met his goal.

Keely's goal was to finish in under 35 minutes.  Actually, she didn't really have a goal but I set one for her because she finished the Beech Tree 5K in May with no training in just over 37 minutes.  She came close to the 'goal' finishing in 35:55.  It was a tough go at the beginning, the crowd was hard to navigate with so many people...and Keely complained of cramps and itchy feet to name a couple of things.  She finished strong though, and I think could have run faster because she sprinted once she saw the finish line...so there was some gas left in that tank.  Pacing (or pasting, as the girls sometimes call it) is such a hard concept, and 3 miles seems so long at the outset.

Both kids did great, and we enjoyed another family 5K and celebrated with a nice breakfast at Jukebox Diner :)

Holiday Surprise

We had two family events planned long ago that we knew would have us traveling to New Jersey two weeks apart...Uncle Joe and J.R.'s commitment celebration and Danielle's Sweet 16.  Thanksgiving weekend was sandwiched between those two events, and for a long time I insisted we wouldn't be traveling.  But something pulled at me, and it was hard to turn down a quieter, intimate family get-together just to stay home for the holiday.  Decisions, decisions...even a few days before, we were not sure what to do. I've said lately that being close is a simultaneous blessing and curse because now we can procrastinate the decision until the very last minute if we want.  Being close also has its advantages though, and we can have the best of both worlds...a Thanksgiving with family, and a normal weekend at home.  So that's what we did, but not without some fun surprises!

I set the stage by telling only Aunt Gail we were coming to their house for the day, and we didn't tell Nana, Papa or Annie.  I'm not usually a good liar, but it was actually pretty easy.  Being in New Jersey the weekend before and after was reason enough for us to want to stay home, and that's the story I used.  We arrived at Aunt Gail's before my parents and Annie, and parked the car down the street a few houses to keep the ruse up until they walked in the house.  Annie arrived first, and Keely ran up to her.  Boy, was she shocked to see the kids and then James and I.  We even got a few happy tears :)  Nana and Papa were last to arrive, and when they got there we were out back talking and enjoying the lovely sunshine.  Quinn got so flustered and started running the opposite way, so I turned him around and told him to run towards them.  They were shocked to see the kids, and then us...just like Annie.  It was great, so much fun and then we were all together to celebrate the holiday.  Amazing food, lots of laughter, fun games, singing and dancing, and so much more. 

So many holidays we weren't there.  So many times I've seen pictures after the fact.  Always wishing I could have been there to experience it firsthand.  Wishing we were close enough to be part of the fun times.  Wishing no more, we are now close enough to be there for most holidays and celebrations.  We're there three weekends in a row, and if we were living across the country we would have had to make a choice.  How hard, knowing we would miss one or more of the family gatherings.  But it was not like that, because we're here and we're there for each and every event.  It may be a bit tiring, as we build up miles on I-95 but I honestly wouldn't trade it for anything.  We're young, and we're blessed to have the ability to do it...and for that, I am thankful.  I am thankful for my family, for my kids to have fun with their cousins, aunts, uncles...for them to know the big family that I know I couldn't live without...to spend time with not only one set, but both sets of grandparents.  It's precious time, and worth every minute.

First Quarter Update

The first quarter of school is in the books.  We haven't received report cards yet, but we did have parent teacher conferences last week. 

Keely is doing very well in her class.  Her teacher couldn't find anything bad to report on her academics, she is at or above grade level and often ahead of her classmates in most of her subjects.  She will help other students with their work when she finishes early.  I try not to compare, but it was very similar to the report we received when Quinn was in 3rd grade.  Her writing is something she can work on more, to be more expressive.  As her teacher said, Keely loves everything when she writes...so he is working to get her to be more descriptive and specific in her writing.  The only other thing she needs to work on is her self-control.  She tends to get caught up in silliness and antics with other students and that can be distractive to the class.  She also always wants to be called on when raising her hand...and is often expressive (not in a productive way) when not called upon.  This was not a surprise to us, and is consistent with what we have been stressing at home...an inside voice for things that not everyone needs to hear.  We discussed her academics as an indicator to being a candidate for the AAP program, and at this rate she is a possibility for 4th grade.  However, with 22 kids in that advanced class and only 15 in her class, I'm happy where she is and feel that she's getting the best education right now.  We had her re-tested a couple of weeks ago, and will see how her test scores come in this year before deciding to put together a packet for acceptance into the AAP program in February.  Her motivation is purely social, as that's where all of her best friends are but we feel that not being in class with her best friends is most likely helping her academics and concentration...and we would like the recommendation to be from her teacher and her test scores.  I'd say she's on track, but we will wait a few months to decide.

Quinn is also doing very well in class.  It was a bit funny at first when the teacher said she had to tell us something that she was telling each parent - please have your child wear deodorant every day!  The onset of puberty makes for an unpleasant smell in her classroom...we'd asked Quinn to start wearing deodorant earlier this year (March or so) but I don't think he's consistent.  You can just imagine the combined smell of 15 boys not wearing deodorant!  Hygiene aside...he is doing well in class.  His only problem is being concerned more with his friends and being social than his work sometimes.  It's not a problem...yet but could become one if he keeps letting the social aspect of school distract him.  This is very important as we inch closer to middle school.  The demands next year will be much higher, and time management is critical.  It's important to set good habits now.  That said, Quinn is mostly on the straight and narrow.  He is most likely on track to take the 6th grade math SOL (state test) and we talked a good deal about their current writing project, NaNoRiMo.  I'll likely dedicate an entire post about that project at the end of this month, but basically each child is writing a novel in one month's time.  Quinn has set a goal of 17,000 words, and as of right now has almost 6,000 written.  They are typing it too, so not only is it good for their writing skills but their typing skills as well.  Most of their writing is prescribed this year since they are preparing for a state test, so their teacher wanted to give them something they could control and decide.  It's been quite energizing for Quinn and we have not had to nag him at all...he writes every day in school for 45 minutes, and also at home each day - even on weekends. 

As usual, one quarter of a school year has come and gone pretty quickly - but it looks and sounds like 5th and 3rd grades are going well for the kids.  They have settled nicely into Beech Tree, and we feel fortunate to have a great school with great teachers.