Spelling Bee and other Good News

Grant with the Principal, Mrs. Marshall

Today was the 2nd Annual Harding Avenue Elementary School Spelling Bee. I'm the parent coordinator....in charge by virtue of having asked last year why we didn't have one. My youngest, Grant, had wanted to do one after seeing Akeelah and the Bee.

Grant, at just 9 years old, is driven, self-motivated, goal oriented, hard-working, and focused. (I can't imagine where he gets it?)  As parents, Robert and I try to be pretty low-key and low-pressure to try to offset highly focused kids.

At the school-level of the Scripps National Bee, children receive a list of words to study (try circumlocution or extemporaneous) and the bee is derived from that. Grant kept a list in the car, one at school, and one at home. He looked up online "how to prepare for a spelling bee" and discovered that exercise stimulates blood flow to the brain, so he practiced words while doing jumping jacks and burpees in his room. He said that blueberries are brain food so I indulged him with this out-of-season purchase.


When I watched the 4th grade bee, I had a pretty good sense of how Grant was feeling. I knew, thanks to my own racing, the pressure, the adrenalin, the desire to succeed. He was the defending 3rd grade champ and had invested considerable time working toward a good outcome.

I had done what I could to support him but to also let him know that I was SO proud of him simply for the way he approached his preparation. He had done everything he could reasonably do. It's 98% preparation but there's that 2% or so that is not always within your control.

While I was a judge for the other grade bees, for this, I was just a spectating parent.

What started with about 30 children, eventually whittled down to just two. I held my breath and with "gyromancy" it was over. Grant was a two-peater, the 4th grade Spelling Bee champion!!

I watched his elation and it was palpable. I knew he'd be riding that high for a while and I was so pleased for him to see....to feel...to really know...what hard work can yield. 

Afterward he said that all morning, prior to the bee, he felt "like his life was on hold."  Thanks to triathlon and marathons, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

It's been a GREAT week for the Martins.  In addition to the Bee and Cortney's Marathon last week, Spencer came home with straight As on his report card. That's no small feat especially considering the rigor of his Algebra class (that he takes with 7th graders). Robert has been working incredibly hard and it's always a good week for him when the Hokies win!!!

A weekend in Richmond

We all enjoyed a weekend - more like 40 hours - in Richmond, Virginia's capitol. I (Cortney) was running my third Richmond Marathon so it was a nice chance to get away as a family!

The race was Saturday and I walked to the race with friends, giving Robert and the boys instructions to make the most of the day. I'd put together a list of museums and things to see in easy walking distance especially since many roads were closed for the race.

They ventured to the Capitol building for a tour and returned with the highest praise for the tourguide who told enthralling stories. Spencer is planning to apply to be a page for next year, which would have him living in Richmond for 45-60 days and assisting in the Capitol!

We met up after the race and enjoyed a nice German-style lunch at the Capitol Ale House. Then they went off to the Science Museum of Virginia while I rested up some. We finished off the day with a Thai dinner and an early night.

Sunday we returned home, but not without a detour to Gander Mountain to look at survival supplies for Grant and Dixie Caverns to check out rock and mineral specimens with Spencer!

It was a fun-filled weekend with gorgeous weather a nice race result too. I'm so thankful we were all there together!

Firestarter

Grant has been working on his fire starting skills -- a little scary for mom, but a good skill to have!! He's using a magnesium striker for it, and in the garage because it was a bit windy out.

Halloween!!

We enjoyed another Halloween with our great Luster's Mill tradition, pulling the kids around in the hay wagon as a group. It's nice that the kids here are all growing up together and sharing in these great neighborhood parties. We have some great party planners around here - the Wilsons, Hobarts, and Holbrooks. They do it up big with decorations and adult beverages and we are fortunate beneficiaries!

Spencer recycled his "absent-minded professor" costume from the play last summer and Grant went as a pumpkin -- a last minute change of plans. It was his idea (garnered from the trip to Deer Valley) to cut the bottom off and wear the pumpkin. It initially weighed 16 lbs, so he scraped and scraped and SCRAPED until he got that thing down to about 6 lbs. We added a little foam pad between his head and the squash and he was good to go. He even managed to navigate in the dark and not fall down!!

Grant's trip to Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp

Grant was invited to go with his best friend William and his family to Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp for a long weekend. The temperatures had dipped a bit with highs only in the 50s and some rain on their first day there, but that could not dampen the fun! Grant joined in with the Etzler family to enjoy hiking, biking, digging, climbing, carving, eating, and sleeping!

I'd forgotten to warn Michael and Becky that Grant is a good sleeper. He took a big three-hour mid-day nap which had them a bit concerned that something was wrong. Nope! He just plays hard and sleeps well.

Many thanks to the Etzlers for an incredible and unforgettable experience for Grant and William!!

Grant's Winning Choices Essay

Here's a nice piece that Grant wrote for a county contest on "Winning Choices".

Good Sportsmanship 

A Winning choices Essay By: Grant Martin  (grade 4)

I am going to be talking about good sportsmanship. Good sportsmanship is respect, caring, kindness, and self control altogether! You need to know that I am VERY competitive. That is what pushes me to try my best. Sometimes, though, I get Overly-Competitive. If that happens, I cut myself no slack and I don’t have fun. Most of the time I can balance it. Usually, I push myself harder in the spirit of the game! A great example was at soccer!

So far our team was undefeated. We were up against a REALLY hard team and I was feeling tense. In the first half, they shot 3 times and scored twice. I was the goalie and, naturally, felt guilty. My coach told me that it wasn’t my fault, because it had to have passed everyone else to even get to me. I pulled myself together and was on defense for the second half. Our team scored 2 goals right off the bat. Their team realized they had to step it up as well. We played hard and about 2 minutes before the game ended; Aram scored! I was so happy!!! Nobody scored after that. I saw that their team was upset so when we got snacks I gave a donut to their teams’ coach. He said “Thank you very much!” and we all went home.

See what I mean? Good sportsmanship is being able to congratulate or have sympathy for the other team. Everyone has fun when you do this. No matter what happens and no matter how competitive you get; Remember, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about having fun!

Bike RIde on the New River Trail

Spencer and I did a 15+ mile bike ride on the New River Trail, a gorgeous park that follow the New River. We had hoped to combine it with some rockhounding. Though the rocky outcroppings and cut throughs were beautiful, there were no real unusual specimens to be found. This trail is a real treasure though and we probably crossed six or seven bridges each direction.

We "put in" in Draper, Virginia, about 26 miles south on I-81, then just a mile or two toward the river.