2nd Grade Talent Sharing

My little cutie performed in her music class "talent sharing" today.  My apologies for the poor sound quality.

Art Feast is coming! Art Feast is coming!

For those of you who don't know, Art Feast is Chesterfield Arts' annual fundraiser.  It's fun and interesting and unique and entertaining!  We host up to 500 guests at the Kemp Auto Museum in Chesterfield, MO and show them how Chesterfield Arts helps foster the growth of the arts in our area.  My part, in the past, as been to do whatever Stacey (my boss) needs me to do...my part, this year, has been to put together and organize the silent auction.  HOLY COW!  This is not an easy task...but I have to say, it's been a lot of fun.  My committee is AMAZING!  I am very lucky!  However, now is the hard part - getting all the signage done and figuring out what will go in each zone and how each zone will be organized.  If you see me and I seem a bit dazed...you now know the reason why!  For more information, visit chesterfieldarts.org.

Other than that - Anna has a meet coming up the morning after Art Feast in Collinsville, IL...about 45 minutes from where we live.  She's excited for her next meet and hoping to continue her improvement!  We are all VERY proud of her.  

At school, Anna's 2nd grade class is doing a virtual torch relay.  If you want to participate, just take a picture of yourself (or your child) with this torch and then email it to highwayheat.Olympics@picasaweb.com.  Please type your location in the subject line (ie. Valencia, California, USA)  Lastly, click on this link and follow the directions at the top!  Thanks for participating!

Jake is doing chess club at school and has beaten most of the kids in his grade and is now working on the 6th and 7th graders...he always wants me to play, but I really don't know any strategy, so I'm pretty worthless as a chess opponent.

Andy's job is going well and being back in St. Louis has been nice and hard at the same time.  We're all so busy that we really don't have a lot of time for social stuff, but we're working on it!  The biggest plus, however, is my fabu family!  Grammie takes the kids over to see Grandma (she's 96 and lives on her own) as often as she can...sometimes, Rara comes along to play (Robin kicked a little butt at Apples to Apples Junior).

Happy January to everyone!

He never ceases to amaze me! Part III

Today was the MICDS Middle School Geography Bee (Geo-Bee).  Jake competed against his section before winter break and won, then competed against the other 5th grade section winners last week and won for the 5th grade.  Today was the final against a 6th grade boy and 7th grade girl.  It was a "one wrong answer and you're out" format.  It was quick and slightly painless...one question...two wrong answers...one right answer...one winner...not Jake.   The question was: In what modern day country is Mt. Sinai located?  Answer: NOT Israel (which is what the two boys put and what a majority of us in the audience thought it was...)  EGYPT

Job well done, Jake!  We're very proud of all your hard work!  Video to come soon!

He never ceases to amaze me! Part II

Jake was in the middle school spelling bee today.  He made it into the third round.  His first word was HUE; 8 people went out in the first round.  His second word was PORTFOLIO; 2 people went out.   His third round word was OREGANO - he misspelled it and went out.  The winner was an 8th grade boy.  Way to go Jake!

Meet Me in St. Louis

Anna competed yesterday at the SLGC Open (St. Louis Gym Centre).  They had a great time and Anna got a medal for 10th place on floor.  She was happy to get a medal!  The whole team did very well and more importantly they had a great experience!  Megan and Jane rock!  We are lucky to have such loving and caring coaches!

Jake, as usual, enjoyed playing his DS and looking up every once in a while to see how Anna was doing.  The meet was at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield.  Grandma, Janice and Ira came too, which was extremely special for Anna!

He never ceases to amaze me!

Jake won the 5th Grade Geo-Bee today, qualifying him to compete against the rest of the middle school - pretty cool!  Not only that, Tuesday he competed against his section in a spelling bee and he won his section.  Monday he'll compete against the other 5 grade sections and all of the sections from each of the other grades in middle school. WOW!  I am a very proud mommy today!

Happy Birthday Jake!

Wow!  Jake is 11!  That just sounds strange...but it's true.  11 years ago tonight, I lay in the hospital with a new baby wondering what the heck to do with it.  11 years later, I sometimes feel the same way!

Last night, Jake had two friends spend the night.  They had a great time playing poker and PlayStation, then up this morning to scarf down a few donuts and continue the PS football.  After the boys left, Jake, Anna and I played a little black jack (Anna kicked my butt) and some Rummy-O.

Family and friends came over to celebrate and the food of choice for the birthday boy was Imo's pizza - YUMMY!  We have now entered the true pre-teen years...ugh!  Wish me luck!