spelling bee

so right before thanksgiving, the kids' school has a class spelling bee.  each class receives a list of words to practice, and they have a class contest with a winner and runner up.  this year, luke and anna each won first place in their grade.  luke also won the second grade class spelling bee last year.  i hear spelling is hereditary and let me just let y'all know, it didn't come from my genes.  the reason i know this is because i just had to look up how to spell "hereditary," and i have no less than three spelling errors in each of my blog posts.  also, i have to look up the word restaurant each time i spell it.  :)  they did however inherit this from their amazing dad.  he won three spelling bees in his life, like really won his school spelling bee.  anyway, back to luke and anna, they would be competing in the school spelling bee for 1st through 8th graders.  we got the list of words less than one week before the school spelling bee.  here's a picture of the stage where their chairs were.

anna was so nervous, like i thought she might break into tears at any minute nervous.  luke was probably nervous, but it didn't show.  they each made it through several rounds and both ended up tying for third place with each other and a sixth grader.  they were in the top five until anna missed the word "chorus" and luke missed the next word "quarrel" right after anna.  then, the sixth grader missed the next word.  so basically, the three of them tied for third place.  we were so amazed!  they did fantastic and we were extremely proud of them.  the last two standing were a fourth and sixth grader. i think the sixth grader won.  here's a picture of them at the end, probably relieved it was over!

great job luke and anna! and for the record, i just did spell check and not a single misspelled word.  maybe i do get to take a little credit.  no, probably not.

first day for everyone

this marks the first year that all of our kids are going to go to school on the same day and at the same time.  they've all moved into the university model school.  it's part private and part home school.  they attend classes on tuesday's and thursday's.  then monday, wednesday, and friday, is spent at home with their homework and me acting as "co-teacher."  it's been a great choice for our family.  it also marks the first year that i have more than a two hour window by myself.  i never thought i'd hear myself say this, but i'm actually struggling with what to do with myself when they're gone.  the kids piano teacher called last thursday to set up lessons and asked if it was an okay time to chat.  i heard myself say, "ummm, yes, actually, i'm a little bored."  pretty crazy!  i know it's going to be a great year for all of us!  here are some pictures of the first and second day.  i couldn't choose a favorite, so i guess stop reading now if you aren't interested in looking at a ton of pictures of uniformed kids.  i am crazy about plaid and tucked in shirts!  oh and ignore the dead grass and plants, we are in a bit of a drought.

luke starting 3rd grade

anna starting 2nd grade

sam starting kindergarten

second day of school