Finally - BQ Finals Post

Okay, I finally sat down and did it. I made a slideshow of the pics I took at Finals 2 weeks ago. Wow, I am really slow! Anyways, finals was a lot of fun. Friday night we went to John's Incredible Pizza with everyone after orientation. We had a blast. I don't have any pics of that on my slide show because the pics all turned out too dark. But, the beginner girls all had matching outfits from Children's Place (Thank you Sis Horton for picking those up for us!) Everywhere I looked it was pink shirts and headbands! Then after a late night of partying (and even later night of Denae crying because it was very hot in our room and she was over exhausted), we got up for a big day of quizzing. Our church junior and beginner quizzers all wore navy, white, and yellow this year. Everyone looked really nice. After a long day of great quizzing by all of the quizzers, Delaney and Darilyn took 2nd in the beginner division. First place went to another Sacramento team, Karly, Oriana, Katrina, and Kayla. They were a tough team and quizzed very well. Delaney was highest scorer on the all tournament team with 99 pts per quiz. Darilyn was 5th. And this tournament, the juniors and beginners were able to participate in the Ultamate Challenge competition, normally just a senior thing. Delaney and Darilyn both did really well in this too. In the charting competition (locate as many 1 time words as your can correctly in 30 seconds) Delaney was 2nd and Darilyn was 4th. In the quoting competion (horizontal quote as many vs 1's as you can in 30 seconds -horizontal is quoting all of the same vs numbers through the material Gal 1:1, Gal 4:1, Gal 5:1, Gal 6:1, Eph 2:1, Eph 4:1, Eph 5:1, and Eph 6:1) Delaney took 1st and Darilyn took 3rd. Delaney actually quoted all 8 of the beginner verse 1's in 30 seconds. Juniors and Seniors, of course, have more verse 1's to quote. But, if I can brag a little more, according to Danny Barba, our Ultimate Challenge coordinator, Delaney did the best of all the divisions! And, Bro and Sis Horton, our beginner program directors, received coach of the year! In the junior division, my nephews Christian and Austin, took first place, with Austin being 1st on the all tournament team and Christian being 5th (that looks familiar). Faith and Caleb, our 'adopted' niece and nephew took 2nd, and Faith was the junior Quizzer of the Year. And Carlos and Denise, received Junior Coach of the Year. Everyone did such a great job and worked very hard. Of course, juniors and seniors are still working hard getting ready for Nationals just 2 weeks away, but Delaney and Darilyn are done for the year and this Mom is ready for the break. Kevin is working dillegently from the official side of things making sure everything will be ready for the National tournament and tonight is actually at Kathy and Craigs helping Christian and Austin study. So for all those still working hard, rememeber EVED (every verse every day!)

They Did It!

Well, both of the girls beat the 25 min goal on quoting today. Delaney's time was 21 min and 12 seconds and Darilyn's was 21 min 7 seconds. Delaney is the overall faster quoter, but Darilyn has the overall faster recall time. Anyway, both did a great job and both decided to have thier Daddy buy them new tennis shoes rather get the money. A good choice as the tennis shoes will cost Kevin more money than the cash! So this afternoon Kim's going to watch Dallas and Denae for a little while and I will help the girls study one time words and practice interupting questions. Then tomorrow its off to Bakersfield! We won't quiz until Saturday, but we are having a End of the Year Pizza Bash at John's Incredible Pizza on Friday night, so that will be lots of fun!

Dallas Does It Again

Okay, so tonight I once again had to take Dallas in to the Dr for x-rays. His sister, who will remain anonymous due to her horrible feelings of guilt and sorrow, accidentally slammed his pinky in the door of the girls' bedroom during 'nap time' (which apparently is defined as the time for Dallas to keep sneaking into their room every few minutes (or seconds lol), annoying them to the point that his finger gets slammed/smashed in the door as they attempt to keep him from coming in). It was very indented, bruising and swelling quickly. He couldn't/wouldn't move it, so we iced it down and called the Dr.
We then had to take him in for x-rays. This was the aforementioned mishap which kept me from being able to finish Darilyn's timed quoting before church service. Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be broken, just horrible disfigured for the present time.
While waiting on the nurse to bring in the splint, Dallas and I were looking at the paper copy of one of the x-rays of his hand. We were discussing the bones and joints and were comparing them to how our hand moves. When discussing the thumb and its various joints, I showed him how the one closest to the wrist lets our thumb move and then had him do it. Then I showed him how the middle joint works, and he demonstrated that one as well. Last, of course, was the top joint. He made a fist and then wiggled his thumb at the top joint. "This one's for pushing the buzzer," he said. Spoken like a true up and coming Bible Quizzer. (And also giving me another entry into my "Kids Say the Cutest Thing" file.)
Anyway, hopefully it will be looking and feeling better soon. In the meantime, we will ice it and splint it as necessary and hope that our next trip to the Dr/ER won't be anytime soon!

Now that's what I call quoting

Kevin made a deal with the girls this week that if they can quote all 184 verses in 40 minutes or less, they will get $5. 30 min or less earns them another $5 (or a total of $10) and 25 min or less gets them a total of $20. Well, Delaney's first try was 32 min. She tried again today and did her verses in 27 1/2 min (that's all 184 verses with NO mistakes!!) She is now stoked to get an extra $10 out of her dad tomorrow by quoting in less than 25 min. I think she can do it, but it will take some serious speed. Darilyn's first try was about 47 min, but she wasn't really motivated at the time. Today, we timed her on half of the verses (92) and she clocked in at 14 1/2 minutes with only 1 mistake (and that was just due to quoting so fast)! This put her on a good track to finish everything in about 30 min, but we weren't able to finish her session due to a mishap which I will post about later. So, tomorrow morning Darilyn will get to try again for her $10, and let me tell you, she can speed through them when she gets to going! Let's see how much money they can get from their dad this week! I think I hear the mall calling me (I mean THEM haha!)

Baby Tales

Everyday for a month Jessie had faithfully, diligently cared for her new baby. Since the day Baby Sally was placed in her arms, she had not spent one moment away from her new 'pride and joy.' Oh what fun she had been having, holding the precious bundle, rocking her to sleep, feeding her when she cried, changing her clothes, sometimes several times a day. She took Baby Sally with her everywhere, too. To the store, to the park, to see friends, and of course to Church. She loved that baby so much. She couldn't remember ever loving another baby as much as this one. And there had been many. Baby Darla, Baby Josie, Baby Suzy, just to name a few. But none were as precious as Baby Sally. Jessie loved to see Baby Sally's smile and her blue eyes. She knew that no one would ever take Baby Sally's place and she would never, ever need another baby to love and care for. But, as always seemed to happen with Jessie, after awhile of caring for and loving the baby, she woke up one day and forgot to get Baby Sally out of bed. She ate her breakfast, not hearing the baby cry. She got ready to go out, not remembering to change the baby. She left for the park, leaving the baby forgotten in her room. All day she went about her business with no thought for the baby that had once filled her every waking moment, indeed her every thought. Two days went by, then three. Oh, what was to become of little Baby Sally, so completely forgotten and left all alone? No one to care for her, no one to see that she was held and rocked and loved. Then one Saturday, as Jessie was cleaning up her room, she came across Baby Sally, where she had fallen to the floor and been shoved carelessly under the bed. "Oh, Baby Sally! I had forgotten all about you!" She picked her up from the pile of toys and brushed at her hair and clothes. "I'll sit you up on my shelf with all my other baby dolls. You'll look so pretty sitting next to Baby Suzy." Then she gently placed the doll on the shelf above her bed with the others in Jessie's doll collection.

Rodeos and Fireworks: An American Tradition

For the Fourth of July we decided to go to the Folsom Rodeo. It's been a few years since we went, but we enjoy it and the fireworks are usually good. Besides, we thought it would be fun to see what Dallas, our resident boot-lovin' cowboy, would think of all the cowboys and horses and such. Kathy, Craig and the boys joined us and we had a great time. To be honest, the cowboy skills weren't that great that night, but we did see some good stuff. The mutton bustin' was the best part. Those kids were great. We asked Dallas later if he wanted to try that next year (all the participants were 5 or 6), but he decided he would rather tie up the calfs. And he didn't think he would want to try to ride a bull like Uncle Brent either. (One of the days we'll have to get Presley, Logan, and Dallas all together in their cowboy duds for a photo session. Uncle Brent could join them I guess, since he's the closest we have to a 'real' cowboy!lol) Anyways, back to the rodeo. They had a really cool flag presentation where a guy parachutes in with a humongo flag to the music of "I'm proud to be an American." We enjoy that everytime. I got a video clip of it (I hope that wasn't 'illegal'!), and if I can post it, I will. (I haven't had any luck posting video clips yet. Suggestions anyone?) After all the dust of the rodeo had settled, we got to see a great fire works display upclose and personal. We were only a few rows away from the arena floor where they shot off the fireworks. By this time Kevin was sitting on the row in front of us with Denae. When the fireworks started with a very loud BANG, Denae started crying. I thought, oh no, another one who doesn't like the noise. (Delaney is just now growing out of that.) She cried until she got in my lap, at which point the tears ceased, she pointed at the fireworks and said, "Yook, Mama! I yike it!" This is being interpreted as "Look, Mama! I like it!" She then spent the rest of the show pointing out the bright bursts of lights and colors to me just in case I wasn't seeting them on my own! All in all it was great 4th of July!

Kids say the cutest things!

Dallas about why he was so excited about the Family Fun Night hosted by Bible Quizzing; "Oh, yeah, and God is going to be there too!"

Denae's version of what a kitty cat says: "Memow."

Darilyn's main concerning when finding out my mom was in the hospital again: "Does Grandma's antibotics (her word) taste like bubble gum?"

Dallas on why he wants to quiz next year: "So I can get first place!"

Denae, after mommy told her to tell daddy 'I'm cute': "Mommy cute!"

Delaney's obeservation regarding losing some quizzes and then taking first at the last BQ tourney: "I guess Jesus was trying to show us that even if we lose some quizzes, we can still win." (This comment struck me as kind of funny, but true, too. Even if we lose some, whether it be in a game or any part of life, including our spiritual life, if we keep playing, living, or doing our best, we can (and WILL) still win in the end. Even kids can have profound thoughts sometimes!)

Happy 4th of July

I am proud to be an American raising American kids. God bless America!

One Way Street

Kevin called yesterday afternoon about three with this spur-of-the-moment idea: Let's take the kids to see One Way Street tonight. They were doing a show at CLC in Stockton. So, we did and it was great! The puppets were really fantastic and we got some great ideas for our own "idea files." The best part though was seeing how much the kids enjoyed it. As soon as the puppets came out, Denae started pointing and saying "puppet!" She danced around in the pew to the music and waved her hands when the puupets would. Dallas' favorite part was the big huge "body" puppets that they used with the black lights, especially two that sang and danced at the same time. He said they were like twins. The girls liked the puppet shows that played on the the screen. Their was a really neat mix of screen shows, black lights, music and singing, and puppet/puppeteer interaction. Totally cool!

All Done!

The girls finished learning all of their verses on Saturday. Yea! Now we just have to get them down enough to reference. They can reference 164 verses. The last 20, from Eph 6, they haven't started referencing yet, although they can quote them in backwards order, from verse 20 to verse 1. Tomorrow we'll mix that chapter up seperatley and by the end of the week, the last chapter will be in our reference stack with all the other verses. They enjoyed learning this chapter, especially about the armor of God.