First day of school - 9th and 7th grade

 Avie started high school this year!  Wow!  Where does the time go!  She was so excited to start high school and there is a brand new high school building that opened this fall, which added to the excitement.  We were able to go in a couple of weeks early and tour the building with Avie and it looks amazing!  It will be interesting to see what classes she'll choose as there are lots of options in high school.  And it will be fun to see what activities she signs up for!  So far, she is loving marching band and she has signed up for Key Club, Speech Club, and Drama Club.  She also chose French, Choir and Move PE (instead of weight lifting).  First quarter has just ended and she is doing really well in all her classes.  We are so proud of her for all her hard work!

Archer started 7th grade this year and he was much less nervous to start school since he was familiar with the building and how everything works this year.  So that was a relief to us parents!  He signed himself up for Cross Country this year, which we are really excited that he found an activity that he enjoys!  The season is finished now and it went really well!  I'm planning another post for cross country with all the details and pictures.  With some persuasion, he tried out for Lego League, which is quite the process since he had to prepare several interview questions and program the robot during his interview.  He made one of the 4 middle school teams and Jarad is coaching his team.  He really likes Lego League so we are thrilled that he decided to try out!  His competition is December 3rd, so more on that is a future post.  Archer also joined the jazz band and is liking it so far.  We also submitted an application for Archer to get into the Extended Learning program and he was accepted.  So during his "What I Need (WIN)" period, he goes to ELP each day.   Archer also has Algebra this year, which is a high school class and he. will received a high school grade for it.  So far it is going really well as are all his classes.  We are so proud of all his hard work!

Kids Description - 8th and 6th grade

Avalon is in 8th grade and Archer is in 6th grade!  Avalon loves theater (especially at STC), dancing (she now has 4 dance classes at Bold), singing, , listening to music (mostly musicals), reading (favorite: Percy Jackson series and all Rick Riordan book series about greek, roman, norse and egyptian mythology ), texting with her friends, watching American Ninja Warrior and America's Funniest Home Videos, ninja training, parkour, choir, band (trombone), piano, and playing with her friends!  Archer loves playing video games (especially online with his cousin Dorian), cross country, tennis, reading the Wings of Fire Series (with his Mom), Minecraft and Star Wars galaxy of Heroes (with his Dad), playing French Horn, making up songs on the piano, board games, jumping, running, and playing games in his head outside!  The kids have convinced us to foster rabbits, so we have now had several different bunnies in our home and the kids are really enjoying having them in our home!

Avie - Frozen Junior - October 2021 - 8th grade

 This past fall of 2021, Avie auditioned for Frozen Junior at Story Theater Company and she earned the part of Troll/Summer Chorus.  She had so much fun at rehearsals and being a part of this amazing cast.  One of the other mom's took these amazing pictures and I've also included the link to the full show on YouTube.  

So proud of you Avie and all your hard work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4g079MVpR8&t=2s

Avie - Dance Recital - June 4-5, 2022

 Avie had her first dance recital since she was little and she was amazing!  So proud of her for all her hard work to get ready for the recital!  She broke her arm  11 weeks before the recital, so she had to sit out of dance class for 7 weeks, so she only had 4 classes left more the recital to prepare and she had to modify for 2 of those 4 weeks. I am so impressed with her ability to remember and preform all the dances.  

She also tried out for Shrek Junior the musical during that time and secured herself a part as a Duloc performer, water nymph (fairytale creature) and woodland creature, which all required learning even more choreography!  

We were not allowed to take videos during the recital but I have ordered a DVD of the recital.  But I do have some videos from the dress rehearsal to share as well as the professional pictures!  And the only 2 pictures that I took during the dress rehearsal.  At first she said no pictures but then she posed for me, probably just to get me to leave!  :). (As a side note, we did get her musical theater dress altered between the professional photos and the recital and it fit so much better for the recital - I guess that is why I wanted another picture of her in it).   Avie's favorite costume was her costume for Lyrical!

Love this girl and we are so proud of her achievements!

Band Duet - Mary had a little lamb & Second Chair Trombonist!

 Last year when both the kids were doing remote school they liked to practice their instruments together sometimes.  I just came across this video from February 8, 2021 of them playing Mary Had a Little Lamb.  So proud of these kids and how hard they work!  Enjoy!

They are both still playing in the band this year and enjoying it so much more now that they are back in person.  Avalon has joined the jazz band again and she loves it!

Also, Avalon was playing the second trombone part in the concert band and decided she would like to play the first trombone part instead.  She asked her band teacher if she could move to the first trombone part.  We're so proud of her for being confident enough to ask her teacher on her own.  The band teacher held auditions for the trombone and Avie practiced all week!  She was successful is securing her place playing the first trombone part and even moved up to second chair!  We are so proud of her!