As usual, our lives have been PACKED, but things are beginning to wind down, as school is rapidly coming to an end.
John's electronic's club has spent the month working on an independent programming project. He's creating some kind of online game but won't divulge what it is exactly. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
The end of attending electronics club meetings at school meant that John could attend track club three days a week now, instead of two, and he is rapidly improving.
He participated in three track meets this month. In his first, we were glad to see him finish all races he participated in -- 200m dash, 400m dash, and 800m dash. He was disappointed that he didn't get to do the 100, and he reaaallly didn't want to do the 800, but he is learning to do what his coach tells him to. That is really important!
In his second track meet, he got to try the 100, which he did surprisingly well in, beating at least one other person in his club. He also got to try the long jump. Unfortunately, he scratched all three tries. We need to get him some spikes so he doesn't slip across the line.
His third track meet was held May 31st in Richmond, and we made it a family day trip. This race was really nice, because it was seeded. That meant that John was racing in a group of kids that were closer to his own speed, so he really felt like he was racing them, rather than just running behind a bunch of kids that were way ahead. He managed to shave 1.5 seconds off his 100m time and set a personal record! He also participated in the 400m. He shaved off 6 seconds there, but didn't quite manage to beat his record from the first meet. He was also scheduled to participate in the 200m, but the meet was running so late that the coach decided to close up shop and call it a day. After all, we all had a long drive ahead of us!
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| On your mark, get set.... |
John also continues with his piano and scouts. This month he attended a Boy Scout Court of Honor, where he earned two merit badges: radio and engineering. We think he can also pass off the electronics merit badge due to his participation in electronics club, but since it wasn't a scout-sponsored program, we're going to have to jump through a couple extra hoops. Unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to look into it yet.
While the merit badges are nice, John is a little behind his age group in advancements due to his weak swimming ability. Luckily, he is registered for a swim class at boy scout camp this year that is specifically designed to get him to pass the requirement. Yippee!
Most of this month, Lyn was in rehearsal for MayFest PlayFest, a student-written one act competition held within Fairfax County. She did not have much to do with the writing of the play, but her classmates picked her for one of the leads. The play was laugh out loud funny, and Lyn did a great job. Their team ended up earning a Gold (highest) rating. Woo hoo!
Lyn also attended the 8th Grade Dance--her very first! It was Great Gatsby themed, and while it wasn't a costume dance per se, when mom posted her picture on Facebook, she received lots of comments that Lyn had really "gotten" the theme.
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| All ready for the 8th Grade Dance! |
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| The jewels completed the outfit! |
Lyn said she had a good time at the dance, but isn't interested in going to any more soon. It wasn't her kind of music, she said. Plus, as many of you may remember, she has never been a fan of loud noises!
Lyn also participated in her annual ballet recital. Every year she has said that it would be her last, and then every year she has decided to do "one more year." This time, however, it seems she was serious, and I think we are saying goodbye to our little ballerina. Sniff sniff. She was hoping to end her career on pointe, but she just never felt strong enough (and, granted, her body growth is still lagging behind her peers), so she performed in regular shoes.
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| We had to take the pictures indoors this year! |
She is super excited about begining her drama career in high school, however. We went to see some friends perform Wizard of Oz there, and since it was closing night, the drama teacher pulled the seniors out for a special farewell bow. Lyn leaned over to Margie and whispered, "That's going to be me in four years!" Ack!
Lyn also went a chorus trip to Busch Gardens--which is an amusement park a couple hours away. Her group sang well, got high marks, and had a fun time wandering around the park. (Like her parents, Lyn is not a big fan of roller coasters, but she did manage to find a few rides that she loved.) This is her last year for chorus, too. Next year she is excited to join the percussion ensemble and play with the orchestra.
Finally, Lyn got her first paid, solo babysitting job! Last year she got a little money for a "training" job, but Mom was right there helping her the whole time. This time, she watched three kids all by herself and got a nice chunk of change! This summer she'll be taking the Red Cross Babysitting course and will be ready for business. Good thing, because when she turns 14 on July 31, she'll be cut off from allowance and will have to make her own money!
Besides running after the kids, Margie had a busy month, too. It started with an amazing concert featuring Broadway greats from the past: Andrea McArdle, Maureen McGovern, Faith Prince, and Donna McKechnie. Though not all of the performances were that spectacular (let's face it, they're all getting older!), Margie couldn't wipe the smile off her face just from being in the same ROOM as these amazing, talented legends.
A huge amount of Margie's time was spent managing ticket sales for the 8th Grade Dance. She had no intention of being involved, but the committee was in a bind, and since she had so much experience selling tickets for the drama department, she thought it would be a breeze. Wrong! To make a long story short, she ended up making 350 tickets by hand--each one featuring a DIY scratch-off (like a lottery ticket) that revealed the secret password to get into the dance. It was a fun idea, but it ended up taking a LOT of time--not to mention the time at school each day selling them, counting money, etc. Whew!
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| Hand-painted scratch-off tickets. |
You might remember from last month that Margie won a spot in a regional "cook from your pantry" competition. That was supposed to happen May 10, but she had to skip it due to an unexpected visit (well, not entirely unexpected--we had a couple weeks notice) from Elder M. Russell Ballard, one of the top leaders from our world-wide church. This a HUGE deal and only happens about once every 20 years. The church organized a special choir to sing at the meeting, which Margie of course jumped at the chance to participate in, despite the fact that it meant she would miss the cook-off, as well as one of John's track meets. In the evening, Elder Ballard held a special meeting just for the youth 12 and older, and both John and Lyn got to shake his hand. It was very exciting!
Also this month, Margie attended a special "transition to high school" parents meeting. It was very informative and a little scary. I can't believe we have an almost high schooler in our midst!
Finally, you'll remember that a dear friend of ours passed away a few months ago. She was an amazing pianist, and while her funeral was lovely, many of us felt that it did not reflect the woman we knew and loved. Because of this, a few friends who were particularly close to her arranged a "Celebration of Life", which Margie was eager to attend. It featured videos and slide shows of her playing the piano and even included a few folks singing to recordings of her playing. We passed around the microphone and shared funny and cute stories about her, her love of music, her love of us, and our love of her. Now that's how a person should go out!
Dan had a pretty mellow month. He was asked to create a special headboard for LTA's production of Plaza Suite. The play takes place in one hotel room with different occupants over the years, and apparently the real Plaza is known for its elaborate headboards.
He also attended a father-son campout with John. They were only there for the campfire and program, though, and did not stay the night, since John had to be up early the next morning for a track meet.
And that's it for us this month! School is winding down and we are looking forward to further adventures in the coming months.
Hope you all are doing well.
Dan, Margie, Lyn and John
