Some Really Awesome News

Guess what?! Matthew competed in his first archery competition and had a GREAT time. Bobby snagged some pictures.

Lining up for their shots.

Bobby tells me all the kids were nervous about their first competition of the season. Matthew is taking it in stride, though. Bobby said he was having a good time with his teammates.

In other news, James qualified for regionals in the Great History Challenge this year! It's a quiz-bowl type competition where teams of students answer history questions. Fewer than 5% of kids nationwide qualify for nationals, but a lot of kids at his school make it every year, so he thinks it's not a big deal. He's happy to see ME excited about it, though.

James has also made significant progress on his pieces for the upcoming school art show. This is something he is actually really excited about. I picked him up from art club yesterday afternoon and he asked his teacher if he could show me what he's been working on for the show. His art teacher has a funny rule, though, about what gets into the show. Each student can submit a certain number of pieces, but parents aren't allowed to see them until the show. If a parent sees it, it's much less likely to get into the show. I can imagine a few reasons why that would be an important policy in a school where parents tend to be heavily involved and want their children to do very, very well in absolutely everything. There might be some undue influence, right? And it's a lot more exciting to see something for the first time in its best light, mounted and hung, ready for an audience, like any other piece of art in a gallery. The art teacher told James that he could show me one of his pieces, but then it definitely wouldn't get into the show. I told James I'd rather wait. I could tell he was having a hard time deciding what he wanted more. 

Nova is coming along really well in her Basic Dog Manners training. Alex has been working with her on all of the important basics. Also, in a stroke of seemingly-unrelated-though-possibly-not genius, Nova has learned to use the dog bells to let us know when she wants to go outside to potty. This is a HUGE step forward, and every person in the family is excited for her. Even the non-dog-lovers*

*Non-dog-lover was a term we coined at the beginning of the process of getting a dog. Bobby and Robert did not want a dog. They wanted no dog responsibilities or privileges. The dog lovers do all the work and get all the fun. Well, it turns out that non-dog-lovers can still be Nova-lovers. They both adore her and give her all sorts of love and scratches. She's come to really like them, too, and even seek out their affection when no one else is available. Both Bobby and Robert will gladly open the door for Nova when she rings the bells. Woo hoo!