Presenting England

For weeks, Joy has been working hard . . .

. . . on her sixth grade country expo poster.

She printed some of the pictures and maps, but many of the graphs and factoids were hand drawn by Joy, our artist in residence.

Today was the day for sixth graders to set up their posters in the middle school auditorium.

Joy was there to present her poster (and some crumpets we found at the grocery store) while wearing traditional British attire (read: the dress her geeky mother made when she belonged to a medieval club in college).  The fan isn't part of her costume--it was just really hot in that gym.

Joy's poster was right next to her friend Vivian's.  Vivian looks pretty thrilled to be on camera, doncha think?

Rock Paper Conga Concert

Anna has been really excited for us to attend her second grade concert this evening.

On the way into the auditorium, we bumped into Anna's friend Dhruthi.  What are the odds of two classmates both wearing bright yellow shirts to a concert?  Pretty high, actually, because each of the six classes was assigned to wear its own color.

We chose some seats near the front, and found ourselves sitting next to one of Todd's friends from preschool.  Now that WAS a coincidence. :)

Up on stage, the second graders played on the risers while they waited for the concert to start.

At the beginning of the show, Anna's music teacher explained that each class would be showcased in one of the songs the group performed.  For example, one class performed a folk dance while the other students sang.  Another class rang chimes in the final song.

Anna's class's turn in the spotlight came during an Asian song, which paused periodically so her class could play Rock Paper Scissors (did you know that game originated in China?).  If a student lost, they had to put their hands on the victor's shoulders and walk behind them for the rest of the song.  At the next pause, each victor would find another victor to challenge, and anyone who lost (plus the person behind them) joined their victor's train and snaked around behind them until the music paused again and the leader found someone new to challenge.

At the end of the song, two semi-finalists (each with a long train of shoulder-holding classmates behind them) played one last game of Rock Paper Scissors, then the trains dissolved and the kids performed the song a second time. 

The first time they performed the song, Anna lost her first match and had to be somebody's caboose for the whole song.  The second time they performed it, she actually made it to the quarter finals, with her family quietly cheering her on.

Recursive Bows at Archery Club

I was running (very) late this afternoon.  When I came barreling into the middle school parking lot, expecting to see Joy standing all alone with an annoyed expression on her face . . .

. . . I found her shooting arrows with her archery club instead.  She hadn't mentioned that they were meeting today.  Turns out I was 20 minutes early instead of 20 minutes late!

Joy likes the fact that her friends Arcadia and Vivian are in the club with her.  She doesn't like that they use recurve bows instead of compounds (since she is a math/computer geek, she calls them "recursive" bows; I don't think the nickname is intentional).

Aldi, a Doorknob, and a Field Day

Three snapshots from today:

Anna had a field day at school, and got a rainbow painted on her cheek.

I've started shopping at Aldi as part of a family experiment to see how much we can cut our grocery spending.  I'm amazed at how much money we save there.

Todd slammed our front door this afternoon, and the doorknob came flying off.  I hope maintenance will get it fixed soon, because if we all leave the apartment, we won't be able to get back in!

Regional Women's Conference (Hairnet Optional)

I joined three women from church on a little road trip today.  We drove to a regional women's conference up in New Hampshire . . .

. . . where I listened to some uplifting talks . . .

. . . and donned a stylish hairnet to pack meals for a charity.

Is this picture random?  Eh, kind of.  The only thing it has to do with the conference is that when I'm feeling peaceful and happy, it's easier to notice and appreciate the beauty around me. :)

Swimming (or Not)

The weather was sunny and warm today, so the kids put on their new swimsuits . . . 

. . . and headed out to the pool!

Todd hasn't had any swim lessons yet, so he spends all of his time sitting or standing on the steps.  He's OK with that (I think he takes after me--I like cooling my feet in the water, but that's about it).  I'll probably enroll him in swim lessons at some point because that's a good skill to have, but neither he nor I feel driven to rush that process.

On the other hand, Anna wants to play in the water with the big kids, but swimming makes her very nervous.  She took swimming lessons last summer, and had JUST BARELY overcome her fear and learned to (awkwardly) swim when summer ended and we quit going to the pool.  She has forgotten most of what she learned, but Joy is trying to help her revive her latent skills.  They made a little progress, but agreed that we should probably buy a pool noodle from the dollar store so Anna can swim (and practice kicking) more easily.

Good idea, Joy!

The Squishmallow Meeting

As Daddy and I debated whether to buy more squishmallows yesterday, I wondered if adding three more would A) triple the fun, or B) just make Luna less of a novelty.  So far, the answer seems to be Choice A.

I woke up this morning to find the kids holding a meeting about what their squishmallows' special powers should be.  For example, they decided that Globey the Elephant can glide (her big ears probably help with that), and Lilli the Cat is really good at climbing.

Joy, as president of the meeting, officially bestowed these special powers.  (Daniel asked me to be sure and tell you that he was the vice president.  He had no official duties, but the title sounded cool.)

Now everyone is ready to demonstrate their talents!