Thanksgiving

It was a very nice Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh with my mom and dad, sister Kristen, nephew Evan, and of course Robert, Spencer, and Grant.

Getting ready to feast...Robert is taking the photo!

Wild turkeys - frequent visitors to the backyard.

My sister Kristen and I.

My nephew Evan and I when I ran the 5K Turkey Trot and won the Master Women's Division in 21:15. (More on that HERE)

There was a lot of gaming going on - electronic and not.

We spent some time at the new rec center that features an incredible indoor water complex. It had better be incredible since the township is struggling to manage this financially.





We also hit the ice skating rink, for the yearly donning of the rental skates and shuffling around the tiny maniac hockey phenoms who dart among us.

LEGO League

I'm a bit late getting these up from Spencer's Purple Panthers LEGO League Competition on November 8. Harding Avenue Elementary had two teams, a fourth grade and fifth grade team, and Spencer was on the fourth grade team. None of them had competed before so it was a very new experience for them and for us as parents. Steven Edwards was a great team coach, putting many hours into the two month prep period that included after school and Saturday meetings. The kids not only had to create and program a robot to perform specified tasks, they had to complete and present a research project. They were evaluated on their teamwork (not easy on a team of ten) and sportsmanship.

The team came second in the robot performance category and fourth overall, putting them in the alternate position for the state competition, but apparently they won't be going. It was a great experience and Spencer was pretty bummed when it was over for the year. They'll be back at it next year!

Spencer's Cello Recital

Spencer played Hunter's Chorus as a duet with his teacher, David Feldman. Then David and his colleague led the whole group in an improv session with the students providing the background. Impressive!!