The only thing worse than public speaking for getting my stomach in distress is having my son participate in the annual Spelling Bee.  I was running to and fro to the bathroom all morning in anticipation.  So, it is with mixed emotion that I report that Oldest Son will be advancing to the next level of intestinal torture on January 7th. 

He missed the word "futon" after about a million back and forths between the two of them at the end and so came in second place to the same 8th grade boy who won last year -- same situation with an extended spell-off, so I was very proud of him (it actually crossed my mind that he might have missed "futon" from sheer extended stress, if not just impatience for it to end, since he already knew he was advancing.  He denies this).  They will meet again at the Smoky Mountain HEA Bee where last year the two boys placed 1st and 2nd place also. 

Oldest Son is motivated purely by the possibility of a trip to Washington D.C. if he can win two more contests.  I'm just glad he's motivated by SOMETHING.  Hmmm.  Perhaps I should promise him a trip to somewhere fun if he completes his Math and Grammar early this year??

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Posted by SmallWorld

Fabulous!! Congrats once again! And you know we always had that same 2nd place experience. Finally J said, "I will never beat so-and-so, so I might as well stop doing this now." He wanted to reach 1st place but saw the futility....oh well! Word Power turned out to be a better fit!

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Posted by QueenoftheHill

OS is in 6th grade and the other boy is in 8th grade, so OS will be eligible for two additional years. He doesn't seem to feel discouraged. He really only started studying a week or so ago, so he knows he did well considering how little he invested. Now, though, he's going to have to really throw himself into it, as they will definitely be asking harder words at SMHEA.

Oh, and an untold story is how well the youngest participant did -- she made the final 3! Cute little 3rd grader!

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Posted by arajbrown

Can you believe this weather??

And have you had any trouble keeping a straight face when the words "oh the weather outside is frightful ..." come out of your radio??

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Posted by onfire

for some reason, I am able to either sing or act on one without the nerves.
but speaking?
forget it.
completely forget it.

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