State CHAMPION!

 We had the Indiana State Tournament for Speech and Debate this weekend. It had been postponed a few weeks due to weather and holidays but it made it so G and I were able to attend. WHAT A DAY it was!! Avery KILLED her preliminary rounds (She had straight 1's in Prose going into Finals and was in 2nd place for Oratory). Unfortunately, the Prose Final round judges were idiots and decided to reward kids for doing children's books like "The Day the Crayons Quit" with zero literary merit and stupid character voices. Avery took on the Ray Bradbury piece "All Summer In A Day" which was beautiful and poetic and challenging. We were bummer the final round judges didn't get it and she came in 4th out of 20. Which is still incredible! But she should have been 1st....

However, the judges in Oratory GOT HER! She wrote a beautiful and heartfelt speech on Beauty Standards over the decades and the harm it can have on adolescent girls. She talked about how we all need to stop being Bystanders and start being Upstanders. It was well written and incredible and she WON THE STATE!! Seeing her face light up when she took first filled my heart - G and I both cried. Her two friends were also in the final round with her - And seeing Adista and Lucy so happy for her was very cool. It was just AWESOME! I loved seeing her love the activity that was my favorite all through middle and high school. We hope to continue this next year at UHS so more to come....

It was a long day with a lot of adrenaline! She had to compete 8 times....It was a lot. When we got home, Avery and I could barely move from the couch. We cuddled with Maizey on the couch and Avery was asleep before 9. She woke up happy and proud - As did I!! I am just beaming and LOVE this girl SO darn much!

Team Party following the State Tournament!

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8th Grade Dance

 Avery went to her 8th grade dance this past weekend. She went with her good friends Kiera and Areen - They danced a bit, hung with friends and took some cute pics. I was glad she decided to go (she was debating not going since she had the State Speech Tournament the next morning). She looked adorable and I couldn't love this girl more. And added pics of her also making her first loaf of country bread -  It was YUMMY!!

Post Christmas Fun!

 While we were sad to see Christmas end and our guests depart, we had a fun week of winter vacation including:

• Playdate and sleepovers with friends - Tay had Jaden sleepover and he slept over at Miles' house on NYE
• Avery had lots of Claire and Parker time including dinner at Texas Roadhouse and Stranger Things on NYE.
• Avery went to Urban Air with Brooke
• Tay and I went with Jaden to see Zootopia 2
• We checked out Activate with neighbors on NYE and then had Hibachi and Stranger Things viewing to complete the night. Side note: Maisey was VERY nervous with the house so full of guests but she didn't nip anyone and stayed very close to me.
• We celebrated Christmas with Ben, Uncle Cullen and Aunt KJ. G made an amazing meal and it was fun to watch Ben open our gifts. He was particularly snuggly with Tay that night!
• Tay, G and Ben had a Sleepover at G's
• Tay checked out Slick City with his friend Jaden - It was a huge success and he can't wait to go back
• Aves and I had a girls sleepover with Brooke and Jaime - We watched Notting Hill and Devil Wears Prada. Avery loved them both and I loved watching them with her!
• Avery and I got massages at Feet Retreat
• We went to some UHS BBall Games
• We had Ben do his first sleepover at our house which was WILD - We watched Bluey until 2 am
• Tay got to go see Hamilton in Cincinnati with G - They had AMAZING seats, got to tour backstage thanks to Emma and an even better time having a little getaway just the 2 of them!
• We watched some movies together as a family
• Avery went with friends to an Escape Room and out to dinner
• Tay had Colin E over and we went to the laser tag arcade
• And LOTS of sleep and relaxation! Grateful for the downtime together.