Our Thespian

Jared completed his third season with Salt Shakers, this year.  Salt Shakers is a unique twist on a theater group, in that its goal is to bring the message of Christ out into the community.  Each semester the troupe spends time getting to know the kids in YMCA after school programs at local elementary schools.  The students lead theater games, do devotionals and build relationships with the kids in these schools, then at the end of the semester they preform an original play, demonstrating Christ like character through a variety of different skits.  As a bonus in the fall they also preform their play in a local nursing home, a treat much appreciated by the residents.

In the Spring Jared played "Doctor Shots" a doctor with really wild hair, who learned it was alright to be different. Click to watch Part1, Part2, Part3.

This Fall Jared played the Mayor of Curly Town (which is the fictional town where all the plays take place).  The Mayor was a bit of a germaphobe to say the least (a character development Jared came up with on his own.)

Salt Shakers is a wonderful creative group of kids whom enjoy getting together and playing outside of the theater as well.  It is great to see Jared continuing to progress in his acting.

Additionally, this fall, he also joined a "Dramatic Expression" class being held at a church walking distance from our house.  The dogs, kids and I enjoyed walking him to class and picking him up; everyday it wasn't raining.  Oliver was in charge of drop-off and Rex pick-up because Rex has major issues leaving people behind anywhere; he likes to gather more people.

Today they preformed (twice) the "Best Christmas Pageant Ever".  Jared played Ralph Herdsman with great dramatic flair, much to the great enjoyment of both audiences today.  

Jared's gift for acting is only overshadowed by his uncanny knack for directing. The stop motion videos he has planned for the coming year are going to be even better than those he did this year such as:

Video of the book "Miss Nelson is Missing" (in collaboration with his siblings) Click Here to watch

A comical product review Click Here to watch

When I was struggling to get an experiment to work, he sneaked upstairs and made me this quick video to show my class.  Click Here to watch, my Chemistry class loved it!

This is just a sample of his work, check out his whole YouTube Channel for more "J-Rod Studios" (One with Lego guy as the profile picture).  Better yet, please subscribe as he is trying to build his subscriber base and turn his channel into a business.

Dance, Dance, Dance

In June, Amber preformed downtown at the Duke Performing Arts Center with her ballet class.  She has such natural grace, beauty and confidence.  As the timing worked out, after the performance we went to see the year-end recital for Inis Cairde School of Irish Dance.  Amber had been doing an eight week trial with the Irish dance school.  Our whole family, enjoyed the performance and with encouragement from her brothers, Amber switched from ballet to Irish Dance this fall.  The boys liked the modesty of the dance, Chris and I like the activity.  

When she has an Irish Dance class, she gets a true, need water break kind of athletic workout.  Though she is talented at ballet, the other students held her back making classes very slow and unchallenging.  When Jared did Irish Dance a few years back the teacher said "Ballet is a discipline, Irish Dance is a sport.", we totally agree.  We also like that talent determines advancement, not age and time spent in class.  

She is currently working up to be in St. Patrick's Day Parade Downtown in the Spring.  She has been given permission to buy a "soft dress" in January, something she is very excited about.  It's a lot of fun to watch her dancing around the house, and trying to teach her brother's to dance.

Back to Classical Converstaions

This fall we returned to Classical Conversations, it was a strange road to this decision but it was a good one for both Amber and Titus.  The main push was community, finding a place for Amber and Titus to grow a friend base. 

Girls singing their Latin together.

The side benefit was someplace they could do more fine arts.  This fall they did art for six weeks and then the tin whistle for six weeks. 

Science experiments involved owl pellets, crayfish dissections and other messy fun, which helped direct both their inherent appetite for doing science experiments at home.

The other great part of CC for me is the weekly practice public speaking.  For Amber it's been a lot of show and tell but she's also done some "how-to" speeches as well.  For Titus, his speech content has been all over the board but animated and entertaining every time. 

Today was the last day of CC, which included a pancake breakfast and a "Christmas Market".  All the students in the community are invited to sell things they have made for $3 or less.  Amber worked diligently on making pot-holders/coffee cup coasters.  Titus made a dozen sets of the pieces of origami needed to play the Korean game Takjichigi.  I tried to prepare them for the possibility they would not sell any of their wares, that warning was in vain; they sold everything.  They set-up the market so that the first half the parents got to shop and the second half the students got a chance to shop; they each picked out different wares to bring home.  In the end they probably broke even, but that wasn't the point, the point was getting a chance to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit.  I was very pleased that most of the students in the community participated.

The second half will start the second Tuesday of the New Year.  Hoping for continued growth in learning and community. dv

Bullseye!

Archery had interested Jared for a while but finding a place close to home where he could learn was no small task, so we stopped looking close to home.  In May, he started lessons at First Flight Archery School, NE of Raleigh.  It's a hike from the house but well worth the trip.  The indoor facility is clean and quiet.  I find taking him to lessons quite relaxing compared to the noise an activity of the rest of my days.  

After his initial introductory lesson, he was hooked so we search Craigslist that night, found a good deal and negotiated it into a great deal the next day.  He shoots a compound bow and has competed at both indoor and outdoor tournaments for his JOAD team, the Raleigh Revolution.

After one month of shooting he got his first "Robin Hood" ie. one arrow hitting the other arrow.

Over the summer he competed in a USA Archery Outdoor competition where she scored 2nd in the nation in his division.

For fun he also competed in an outdoor field archery tournament, where you walk to different targets along a trail and each target is set up different, sort of like golf.

Shooting side by side with his coach.

As of today, he has advanced to his six star blue pin in Indoor competitions.  You can only move one pin per tournament, so that is a ton of advancement in seven months.  Today he had to score a minimum of 200 out of a possible 300 points (30 arrows max 10 points each).  He scored 217.  This was a nationally ranked competition but we won't get his standings for a month or two.  However, earning his six pin also earned him the right to start training with the advanced Archery students at his school.  His next pin may take a bit longer, as he will have to shoot 240, each pin dials in the need to more precise with each arrow and the wiggle room for even one mistakes goes down dramatically, but I know he'll get it.  Jared has a real natural talent for Archery. 

Employee of the Month

Letting him work was one of the best decisions we have made as parents.  The life skills learned (balancing a check book, filling out tax forms, people skills dealing with kids, parents, co-workers and bosses) has been invaluable; as a bonus he loves his work. 

Earlier in the year he spent time teaching with one of the founders of Goldfish when they came for a visit.  Then this Month he became "Employee of the Month".  Here's the write-up.

Employee of the month - Lance! He's one of our swim instructors and has some serious talent for working with kids. He's also very punctual and is respectful and kind to everyone on the Goldfish team. He almost never calls out sick! Lance is an all around awesome guy and we are so happy he is part of our Goldfish team. If you see him, be sure to give him a high five!

Sniper in the Trees

Airsoft sensation swept our home this year.  It started to creep in a little last year, then well....it grew.

First big event was Lance's birthday party at our house, thankfully our neighbors are not easily moved by a bunch of teenagers running around in camo, shooting each other with guns.

Lance graciously made sure all his brothers had the gear they needed to play, with each other or friends that came over.

Having a bunch of teenage boys over can be useful too; as this time I had them move the playset for me, while the girls played inside.

Then over the summer things took another uptick when the games moved to a friends wooded property.

The final match-up was today for Daniel's party.  Combining both day and evening competitions.  I find all all the different game scenarios the boys come up with very interesting, there's a lot of strategy and cooperation required; capture the flag, Terrorist vs. Police, and many more.  Love seeing boys be boys!

Refreshing Change

We took a much needed vacation with friends this week and it was all we hoped for and more.

Friday started out rather dreary and wet, we weren't sure how the day was going to turn out but we packed in the Beast and headed out to Grandfather Mountain.  Along the way the kids sang their favorite Veggie Tale Sing-a-longs and we listened to the audio book dramatization of "Teddy Buttons", by which time we were in Boone, NC.  As we continued on, we were thrilled to see the road was not nearly as curvy as we thought it might be and arrived at Grandfather Mountain in time to buy me a sweatshirt (mine was left at the house and it was cold) and join our group for the field trip.

What was unique about this trip, is that it was all planned out for us.  We decided to just go with the flow and often didn't really know what to expect; Grandfather Mountain fell into that category.

Half the group started with a class on Rocks & Minerals, the other half started by taking a tour of the animal habitats.  The rain made us a bit wet and the animals a bit elusive, except for the elk, eagles and otters.  They loved the weather and put on quite an entertaining show.  The rain stopped for the switch and the second group got to see the bears, cougars, elks and eagles on the move but not the otters.  One thing I found particularly interesting was that they were releasing elk back into the forest to help eat the invasive species, and cougars to keep their numbers in check.  Both groups also found the Rock & Mineral class very interesting.  I was in with the younger kids but the older ones said it was more entertaining and informative than they expected.  It probably helped that both instructors clearly had a joy for the material they taught and for sharing it with children.  After the tours were over we were free to enjoy the rest of the mountain by ourselves.

First stop was the restroom where I realized hand dryers make great clothes dryers as a dried my sweatshirt and Amber's coat.  Then we were ready to conquer the Mile High Swinging bridge!

Some kids were hesitant to cross but all made it over eventually.  The wind and fog made it exceptionally more intimidating I think, though we were a little disappointed to find out the bridge was only 80ft. off the ground at a mile high in altitude, not a mile high off the ground.  

After exploring the visitors center for a bit we went back out, the visibility was very little, then all of a sudden this strong wind came and blew all the clouds away.  The sky was clear, like God had just wiped the sky clean, now we could see really far away.  The older kids decided to go back down the mountain via the trail.  We adults, plus one, drove down to meet them and got to watch some black tail deer walk around.  Everyone made it down the mountain safely and we headed to meet the rest of the group at the arranged place for dinner.  

Dinner was a bit of disaster from a food standpoint but I must compliment the kids that no one lost it, despite waiting 90 min for their food to be delivered cold.

Everyone in the group stayed at the same hotel, which made for a fun evening of cards "Moose in the Hoose" and swimming for the kids (Lance was our official/unofficial lifeguard).

The hotel had a free full breakfast in the morning that everyone wandered down to enjoy and then we headed out to tour the Linville Caverns.

Once again we broke into two groups, due to our size this time.  The caves had beautiful limestone deposits down a narrow trail over an underground river.  The highlight for me was seeing a bat come in and fly by everyone, their numbers have dwindled dramatically in recent years due to a fungus.  Hopefully one returning this early was a sign of their come back.  Boys liked being in the "total darkness" and the story, with evidence, of how AWOL soldiers had tried to hide there and were found because the smoke worked through the crevices right up to the surface.  For us all it was truly a wonderful site to see.

After this tour we split from the big group to go hike Linville Falls with the Collins, what a great choice that turned out to be.  I have never seen colors and sites so beautiful in all the years Chris and I hiked the Smokey Mountains.  

As we hiked closer and farther from the falls to outlooks at different angles, the sight was more magnificent.  

The hike itself was an agreeable work-out 1.6 miles over some moderate terrain.  It was heart warming to watch Amber and Chris hop and "par-cor" their way back down the trail.  

When we returned to (what was left of) the visitor center, we took another short hike back to the car.  There were lots of people there enjoying the fall colors and as it turned out we parked so far out, our car was a the end another trail.  On the trail we saw a small waterfall, smelt a weasel of some kind and skipped some rocks in the pool at the end.

After Linville Falls the Collins headed home and we headed to tour the Historic Carson House, just a few miles from our hotel.  Our timing was perfect, it was only us, and we ended up getting a two hour private tour from a descendant of one of the families that had lived in the house.  She had so many interesting stories about the history of this house built in 1799 and the people who have occupied it over the years, we were all spell-bound.  The treasures in the house were amazing and we were privileged that she let us touch so many of them.  The crowning moment of the day was getting a great family picture and being told how incredible our kids are by our tour guide.  I would love to go back and take some professional pictures of the house, its contents and record the stories she told to so and put them in a book to save them for posterity, maybe some day.

We asked our kind guide to recommend someplace to eat with gluten-free options, she suggested "Jalapenos" (which Siri called Ja-lop-en-os).  It was just what our stomachs ordered, huge plates full of home made goodness enjoyed by all.  Kids played in pool for a bit, Chris soaked me by accident (stinker) and to bed we went.

"Looking Amazing"

Our check-out wasn't until noon so we ate breakfast and got in one more hike, this time to "Tom's Creek Falls".  We were the first ones on the trail.   

The trail started out as gravel path to the base of the falls, then it became a rather rustic off-trail hike to the top, a change much enjoyed by my children, especially Lance.  Lance's excitement over all the different types of moss and other items he deemed as treasures was contagious.  

On the off road part of the hike we discovered a mystery, two man-made structures that appeared to have once held a large water wheel.  

The wheel location was a short distance from the falls so we began to hypothesis how the water used to flow and what kind of mill it might have been.  On our walk back, I chanced to ask an older couple walking their dogs, (I thought might be locals) if they knew the history of the mill and the gentleman told me it used to be a mica mill; mystery solved!  What fun!

We got back to the hotel in time to clean-up, put on comfy driving clothes and head out.  Next stop the Catawba Science Center, on the road home.  

Our Science Center passes from home allowed us to visit the Catawba center for free, Bonus!  For a small center it was packed full with interactive exhibits.  The kids (old and young) enjoyed all the physics based hands (and feet) on exhibits.  

The final stop was the stingray petting and feeding, it had been many years since we'd had a chance to play with stingrays (Jared was soaked up to his shoulders). We closed out the center and headed home.  Tired, yet refreshed by a marvelous time with friends, as a family and enjoying God's creation.

Buster Baseball

2018 was another tumultuous year in baseball for Lance.  He took the spring off from school baseball and focused on training at KZone.

Lance "squishing" his training buddy at Meredith College showcase event.

Over the summer, we tried out showcase travel ball with the Mustangs, the travel was hard on everyone, and we didn't see any advantage to Lance for participating.   Lance took the good he could out of it, he loved the boys he played with and had fun when he could.  One incident that stood out was when he was playing catcher and some of the parents were taking the game way too seriously and complaining.  The umpire asked him "Are they going to be like this all game?", Lance quickly responded "They're usually worse.", to which he received a belly laugh by the umpire, saving his team from having the umpire annoyed with them the rest of the game.

In the fall, we decided to form our own travel ball team "The Capital City Misfits".  The team had a heavy emphasis on training and development (no showcase), players were expected to work-out and do hitting practice at KZone 2-3 times a week, then we had team practice on Saturday and Scrimmage on Sunday.  We started a little late in the season forming the team, which added to the difficulty but life is about learning.
Today we finished the season with a great scrimmage against a much older/seasoned, yet gracious team, The Toros.  We were really thankful for the kids to have the opportunity to play them in such an informal developmental setting.

Most of the Misfits, will continue to work out over the winter at KZone.  Lance really enjoys the comradery and exposure to the pros at KZone.  Over the spring, Lance will play for a new 'school" team, New Life Storm, that Chris is helping coach.  Then we hope to set up the Misfits to play 2022 tournament travel ball over the summer. D.V.