A Georgia Girl in Germany

Zachary participated in his school Spelling Bee Tuesday night. He’s had his “Spell It!” paideia for a good month and a half, but he didn’t start studying until I asked him about it on Sunday afternoon. Yes, Sunday afternoon -- as in a mere two days before the Spelling Bee.

He commented Sunday afternoon that he didn’t really want to participate this year. However, I vetoed that request on the grounds that he had signed up to participate, and it’s not acceptable to quit before seeing it through. So, we cracked open his “Spell It!” paideia and reviewed about half the words in it before the night was over (except for the challenge words), and studied all but a few dozen of he remaining words Monday night.

Tuesday afternoon arrived, and I picked him and Benjamin up for a quick bite to eat before having to show up at his school for the evening Spelling Bee (A friend of mine took MacKenzie to her swim lessons -- Zachary skipped -- then for pizza afterward ... a tremendous help!). I was surprised when we got to the school and noticed only 20 chairs for the spellers. There were actually only 18 who participated.

The organizer of the Spelling Bee reviewed the rules and a few administrative details, then announced that the winner would receive a $100 savings bond. Zachary instantly took note of the prize. He sat up straight (from a slouching position), and his eyes sparkled. Incentive?

Round one started, and Zachary stepped up to the mic, shoved his hands in his pockets, and correctly spelled “canary.” Fourteen spellers began round two, and Zachary correctly spelled “finale,” again with his hands in his pockets. Round three gave him “algebra” and left eight spellers. Round four seemed to be a difficult round since only three students were left after given their words ... and Zachary was one of them after correctly spelling “mahatma,” once again with his hands in his pockets. By this time, I was nervous for him and had a feeling that he could do it. Well, the feeling actually started during round two, but it was much more evident by now.

Round five was his most difficult round. Unfortunately, he misspelled “herpetology” as “herpitology.” However, both of the other two remaining contestants misspelled their words, so the contest was still on.

Round six gave him “mariachi,” which he spelled correctly (hands still in his pockets as he spoke into the mic) and narrowed the field down to two. He was going to place!

Round seven was the pivotal round. Zachary’s word was “nachtmusik.” Yes, it’s a word of German origin. Yes, Zachary just finished taking a German Conversation elective. Yes, we studied this word the night before -- and he misspelled it the night before. But when the pressure was on, he nailed it. Then the other student got up to spell her word, and misspelled it.

The Spelling Bee wasn’t over yet, though. Per the rules, if only one speller correctly spells in a round, a new one-word round begins and the speller is given an opportunity to spell the next word on the list -- the anticipated “championship word.” If the speller is correct, he is declared the champion. If he’s incorrect, a new round begins with all the spellers who spelled in the previous round (in this case, Zachary and the other remaining speller in round seven), and the process continues until a speller correctly spells two words while all other spellers spell incorrectly.

Zachary’s next word: “insidious.” He paused, shoved his hands into his pockets, repeated the word, and began spelling. “I – N – S – I – D.” Looooong pause as he thought back to his study session the night before and our conversation about words ending in “-eous” vs “-ious.” I had my hands over my mouth and nose, tears ready to burst from my eyes after he spoke the next few letters (I was so nervous I couldn’t even hold the camera). He continued. “I – O – U - S. Insidious.”

The judge’s reply, “That is correct.”

YEAH!!!!! Zachary was the champion! In his sixth Spelling Bee, he was the sole speller left standing at the end of the competition! Wow!! And to think that he didn’t want to compete -- and hadn’t even begun studying -- a mere two days earlier!

I took this photo just after he was declared the champion. He sat back down for a moment, but was literally on the edge of his seat with excitement.

I commented to Zachary afterward that he looked very calm with his hands in his pockets as he spelled. He replied that he was so nervous that his palms were sweating, and putting his hands in his pockets was the only way he could wipe them off without looking too obvious about it! What a wonderful way to adapt and overcome ... and not let the nervousness get to him!

What’s next? The DODDS European Spelling Bee is in mid-March. He’ll represent his school and compete against all the other winners from throughout Europe to determine who will represent DODDS-Europe at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

This photo shows Zachary and the second-place winner with the three judges.

As a side note, Benjamin behaved very well during the Spelling Bee, and was thrilled that I allowed him to select a bag of chips, two small pieces of chocolate, a few brownies and a bottle of water afterward. He made a beeline to the refreshment table!

Labels: Benjamin, Zachary

Benjamin has quite a range of thoughts as to what’s “healthy” for lunch. So today, he first asked for eggnog (we’re on our last carton). Then he asked for ice cream. Finally, he went into the kitchen and pulled two cans of fruit cocktail out of the pantry. “Great idea,” I thought. Then I noticed he was going after a can of boiled peanuts that was behind the fruit cocktail. A kid after my own heart! He actually opened a few peanuts himself, although he quickly allowed me to help. And to think this kid would only eat a handful of boiled peanuts just last summer on the farm. More proof that he’s really growing up.

Second round of proof he’s growing up...
Last week, the night before his dental exam, I noticed a gap between his front two bottom teeth. Upon further examination, we discovered he has a loose tooth. Egads! Zachary lost his first tooth just before he turned 7 (the night before his first day of First Grade), and MacKenzie was also in First Grade when she lost her first tooth, so I was totally not expecting this from Benjamin yet!

Third round of proof he’s growing up...
We drove past a police car the other night with its lights on, so we began discussing the different color lights that emergency vehicles use. I explained that police cars are the only ones with blue lights, then Benjamin proclaimed that fire trucks also have blue lights because firemen were also policemen but they just couldn’t arrest people. No matter how I reworded my statement about the blue lights, he was adamant that fire engines had blue flashing lights. To emphasize his point, he proclaimed, “I said what I meant, and I meant what I said.” Wonder where he got that from? (Well, I know where he got it from, but I honestly don’t say it that often…he’s just very observant!)

Yup, my baby’s growing up!

Labels: Benjamin, Kid Quotes

Last week we drove by a construction site on base and Benjamin took note of all the activity.

Benjamin: “There’s a lot of surgery going on there.”
Me: “Surgery?”
Benjamin: “Yes. There on the buildings. And on the playground.”

He occasionally makes a similar comment when we drive past an industrial complex being built near our house.

Benjamin: “Mommy, why are they operating there?”

I suppose large construction projects are a lot like surgery and operations. {grin}

Labels: Benjamin, Kid Quotes

I couldn’t resist sharing these photos of my baby brother on his sixth 29th birthday (are you still counting that way?). For those of you not good with public math, that makes him 34 years old. As of his 13th birthday, I could no longer call him my “little brother” since he surpassed me in height. Even though he towers over me by a good eight inches now, he still means the world to me.



Check out Leslie’s blog to see more recent photos of him and his wonderful family. Take a close look, and I’m sure you’ll see another little boy with a strong resemblance to these photos. Yup, we all think his son Andy is a spitting image of David! Well, maybe not so much like this last photo -- gotta love digital photos these days so you’re not stuck with the scrunched-face-odd-old-man baby photos like this! {smile}

Happy Birthday, Bubba! I love you!!

Labels: Birthdays, Pam's thoughts

Yesterday as I drove the kids to school, MacKenzie pointed out to Benjamin that he would officially be five-and-a-half today, and he instantly fell in love with the thought. All three kids had dental exams & cleanings yesterday, and when one of the technicians asked Benjamin how old he was, Benjamin replied, “Five. But tomorrow I will be five AND A HALF!” Without missing beat, the technician quickly replied, “Well, happy half-year-birthday.” That made Benjamin’s day! (That was one smart technician to instantly recognize how significant of a change it is to grow from five to five-and-a-half and wish him well for reaching that tremendous milestone!)

This morning when I dropped Benjamin off at school, he barely told me bye, then ran to the side of the school and said, “Wait, I have to take these somewhere” as he picked up a pair of pink gloves laying on the ground and walked inside to drop them into the lost-and-found box before heading off to meet his class (nope, no kiss for Mom this morning). I was so proud of him for doing the right thing without being told! I suppose he really is five-and-a-half now.

HOWEVER, now that he’s officially five-and-a-half, he told me tonight that he already feels like he’s SIX! Groan...I’m not ready for that!

PS, no cavities for all three kids! Yeah!!

PPS, I love this photo from last month...Benjamin thought it was great to walk around the house wearing Santa’s “hat and socks.”

Labels: Benjamin, Birthdays

Yes, it’s been cold here lately. Colder than usual. I don’t think I’ve seen temps above the mid-30s in nearly two weeks (perfect opportunity for Russia to stop supplying gas to much of Europe by way of Ukraine). It was 6-degrees this morning when I drove to work! It’s been so cold that you have to take precautions so your pipes don’t freeze -- like letting the outside faucets drip and making sure your radiators remain on. Duh! It’s cold, so therefore our radiators will remain on.

So, Saturday morning, I had just returned from a week in Garmisch and was getting ready to take Benjamin to swim lessons (yes, we go to an indoor pool). As usual, we were rushing around at the last minute, so when Zachary asked me to come look at something in the garage, I let out a sigh. “No Mommy, you really need to come look at this,” he said with a tone of seriousness in his voice.

Much to my surprise, we had a huge puddle of water in the middle of our garage, and more water dripping down from the ceiling. When I checked the attic above, I discovered more water next to the water heater. Joy. I guess that also explains why our kitchen floor was cold the night before (we have in-floor heating downstairs).

I immediately tried calling our property manager -- no answer. So, off we headed to swim lessons, otherwise we’d be late. Enter my Blackberry (which I haven't really embraced yet). While watching Benjamin in the pool, I emailed our property manager with the details. She replied back, made a phone call, and, before I returned home, a repairman was in our garage assessing the situation (fortunately Zachary stayed home -- it’s so nice having a son responsible enough to be able to do that!). Score one for my Blackberry.

The culprit? Frozen sludge in the pipe that doubles as a drain pipe and the downspout of the gutters. It had clogged the pipe, so water backed up to the water heater in the attic.

The most significant victim of the water dripping from the attic? The Christmas tree box. Fortunately the tree wasn’t in it yet. Score one for procrastination -- I knew it would eventually pay off! I’m still waiting to determine whether the box can be salvaged or not. Fortunately I have an empty dishpack that I think will suffice as a replacement Christmas tree box if need be. When we tipped the Christmas tree box on its side to let all the water pour out, the water froze a rock from beside our garage onto the box. In less than 30 minutes. That’s cold, folks!

I was concerned about the stack of pro gear boxes full of work-related books and binders that were stacked neatly below the Christmas tree box. You know it’s pretty cold when icicles form on the outside of the boxes ... in the garage! Fortunately, the Christmas tree box collected most of the water and funneled what water did escape toward the wall or the fronts of the boxes below, so there was very little damage to the contents of the plethora of pro gear boxes.

The second-most significant victim of the water? Zachary’s Boy Scout camping gear. He has a huge bin where he keeps his camping gear so it stays together, yet out of the way, when it’s not a camping weekend. Unfortunately, he didn’t put the lid back on it after packing for his last campout, and water seeped through everything and collected at the bottom. Icicles formed on the outside of the bin and in his clothes inside the bin. I think he’ll remember to close the lid to his bin tightly from now on!

We spent a good bit of time completely emptying Zachary's bin, drying everything off that we could, laying out what needed to dry naturally, and washing all his clothes. Zachary cringed when he saw that some of his Intercamp photos were damp. I wonder why? Maybe because they were pictures of GIRLS at a CO-ED campout? MacKenzie gladly brought his photos inside to spread out -- it was very cold working in the garage. What fared best? His rain gear that was still inside a ziplock bag from a previous campout. How appropriate!

Water is still dripping from the water heater, so I have a bucket in the attic to catch it and am waiting on the landlord to send someone out to try to fix it once and for all.

Labels: Pam's thoughts

The last night I was in Garmisch, several of us went out to eat at Gasthof Fraundorfer, a nice little restaurant known for its dinner entertainment: slap dancing. The food was decent, and the entertainment was great. These two boys came out in traditional German costumes and performed several slap dances to accordion accompaniment. They were really slapping themselves hard -- I wouldn’t be surprised if they had handprints on their thighs. Then again, I suspect that their pants are designed to withstand such heavy beatings.

This kid was concentrating very hard -- just look at his face! Such a look of sheer concentration and determination.

The shorter boy didn’t have any socks (must have been an oversight). When they had to squat down close to the ground, he really got down … and slid a couple times. He was very agile, and managed to get back up and into the routine after only a half-beat delay.

Labels: Germany, Travel

Right now, I’m sitting in a hotel room (actually, a “lodge and resort”), getting ready to head out to dinner. The sun’s already set, but what a view from my balcony window at dusk! We were socked in by fog for the past few days, and it’s rather cold outside (I don’t recall the temps being higher than the mid-20s all week), but it’s still gorgeous here! I think this is the Teufelsgrat Mountain. The Zugspitze is out the front of the hotel. Yes, I’m here for a conference, so that means that I can’t get out and enjoy the wonderful winter activities.

Heading home tomorrow.

Labels: Germany, Pam's thoughts, Travel

New Year celebrations in Germany are wonderful! And they are most definitely different from those in the states! I don’t think anything will quite compare to the view I had to welcome 2007, from a co-worker’s house overlooking the city of Stuttgart -- when we watched the fireworks displays from above.





This year, we celebrated by having a quiet dinner at home and watching a few movies. MacKenzie wanted to stay up until midnight, but I figured she needed her sleep, especially with how difficult she is to get up in the mornings.

So, I spent 30 minutes watching the fireworks displays over our village (and neighborhood) from beside our kitchen door. Yup, all these photos were taken just outside our house. Fortunately, the kids slept through all the commotion.







This sidewalk is the one beside our house, where the kids walk when heading to the bus stop. Our next-door-neighbor’s house is on the other side of the sidewalk.




These street lights are the same ones that I showed you before ... when Zachary and MacKenzie chased down the eis truck.

I still think it’s pretty amazing how Germans try to outdo each other with their fireworks displays. The villages don’t sponsor or put on the shows themselves, but rather leave it up to individual citizens to provide the light shows. This type of display would never fly in the states -- too much liability involved!



The displays are beautiful and interesting though. And, to top it all off, the local church rang its bells for a good 10 to 15 minutes to welcome in the New Year.

Labels: Germany, Pam's thoughts

Labels: Benjamin, Christmas, MacKenzie, Zachary