Daddy Daughter Dance

Sara's first school dance, she was soooo excited!!
Not only did she pick out her outfit but also her dad's.
Good times!

2nd Grade Musical Performance

The princess had a swell time singing in the 2nd Grade Musical Performance to honor our nation's veterans.  It was great!

Academic Jeopardy

Jared was invited to be a part of Cottonwood Elementary School's 4th grade Academic Jeopardy team at Vail Pride Day.  His team did swell!  They earned 3rd place.  Way to go boys!

First Day of Preschool

Ready for a new year of Preschool Fun with Mrs. Malia!

Ready, Set, Go!

Sara carefully picked out her outfit and accessories for her first day.  Doesn't she look so pleased with herself?  It's gonna be a terrific year!!

Show and Tell

Sara was so excited to share Squeakers, the gerbil, with her preschool class. 
She was so grown up about the whole thing.  Cute, cute, cute! 

Sara helped everyone use hand sanitizer to wash their hands.  Then she carefully held Squeakers so each member of the class could pet him.

Everyone was just so taken by Squeakers.  It was absolutely adorable to see their excitement!

OM State Competition

This is the first year CWE has had a team advance to the state competition and they did 

G R E A T !!!

The judges were most impressed with how the team worked together.  They kept their cool, they never gave up, they did some quick thinking, exercised great communication and really let their teamwork carry them through.

Way to go OM team!!!  

Don't know why Daniel is upset and he can't remember either

 

cake to celebrate Jackson's birthday

the team receiving their award

Daniel with his 5th place ribbon

The CWE OM team and Coach Stanfill

 Here's the story...
The team had created a slide show as part of their set.  Unfortunately, during their set up when they were connecting the cable for the projector a pin bent.  The cable would not connect properly so they had no slide show.  Regardless of the lack of slide show the team forged ahead.  Next when they were setting up their cruise ship prop, they realized they'd forgotten the chairs that held the ship in place.  The team did some quick thinking and precariously propped up the ship.  The ship wasn't quite steady but the team forged ahead.   They did a little ad libbing when the ship fell mid-performance but they stood it back up and kept going.  The circumstances weren't ideal but the team was quick on their feet and really let their true colors shine through.  The performance part of the competition is timed so the team had to work together quickly to solve their technical challenges while doing their best to keep the performance rolling along AND staying within their allotted time.  They did great!

They also did a great job during the spontaneous portion of the competition.  During spontaneous the team is isolated with just the judges, no audience, no parents, no coach.  It's just the team.  They are given a challenge and they have to work together to come up with a solution.  Again this portion is timed and points are given not only for the solution but for the team work, creativity, and effectiveness.

As a mother, I'm really grateful the judges recognized and rewarded the kids for how well they did in the face of their challenges.   More than anything, I'm so proud of each of the team members.  They had great attitudes and really came together as a team.   

They are amazing children!!!

OM regional compettion

The OM team did a F A N T A S T I C job at regionals!! 

They did so great that they are  

G O I N G   T O  S T A T E!!!!!

Y  A  H  O  O  !!!!

The team waiting for the spontaneous portion of the competition.

Daniel aka Harry Potter with Coach Stanfill

Daniel aka Harry Potter

Daniel and Stevie with their 2nd place trophy!

Bryan and Daniel

OM Dress Rehearsal

Tomorrow's the big day!  The kids have worked their little hearts out.  They've been mentored, they've studied, they've built, they've scripted, they've practiced and now 

 I T ' S   S H O W T I M E!!

Dress Rehearsal in the school library.  Prepping for intro.

double checking the set up

Harry Potter signed up for Peter Pan's Tour

Harry Potter & Santa Claus paying Peter Pan at the close of the tour

GOOD LUCK CWE OM TEAM!!!

**To learn more about Odyssey of the Mind and this year's competition visit http://www.azodyssey.org/

Arizona Odyssey of the Mind Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote critical thinking and creative problem solving skills for students from kindergarten through college in a competitive setting.

School Project

Sara was so excited to show off her preschool project.

Frozen paper, sugar, and paint

School Fundraiser

Papa John's School Night

When the teachers do the delivering!

Mrs. DeBono, Daniel, Mrs. Miller

Daniel was thrilled to have his 5th grade teacher 

deliver to our home. 

First Day of Preschool

Sara ready for Preschool Fun! with Miss Malia

Star Student of the Week

First Day of School

Daniel & Jared ready for a new school year!

Jared the2nd grader

Daniel the 5th grader

Timeline Project

I really enjoyed working with Jared to do his timeline project for social studies. It was a wonderful stroll down memory lane as we talked about the memories around each of his pictures. I really love being his mom!

Last day of school

We're proud of you Daniel!!

You had a great year!!

Daniel & Mrs. Fishencord

She was the perfect 3rd grade teacher for Daniel!

Daniel & Mom along with all the great awards he received.

Spring Carnival

Once again the carnival committee did an amazing job with this year's event!! Everyone had a wonderful time. Of course, our favorite performance of the night was the 3rd grade show.

Daniel we're so proud of you!!

Sara loved clapping for all the performers!

Cake Walk

We saw some really great cakes at the cub scout blue and gold banquet. They were inspiring! So, I decided once again to attempt craftiness and mimic one of the cakes we saw at the banquet. What do think? We certainly had fun putting it all together. So much fun that we made two!

Check out Family Fun for the recipe.

Auction Items

Okay, so this year for the school carnival's silent auction I thought I'd attempt to be crafty. Scary, I know but what can I say, we like livin' on the edge!

a few supplies & a couple of hours later....

...the finished products!

Our Future Race Car Driver

Jared has decided he wants to be a race car driver when he grows up. So for career day (during spirit week) he dressed the part. He helped adhere all of his "race patches." Don't they look great?

Mrs. Bunch, his teacher, made the comment that she thought he looked so cute! I think he looks absolutely darling!

School Carnival

The kids had a great time at this year's carnival....

Fun times with Comet the Coyote!

During the carnival, the different grade levels performed musical numbers. Each grade did great!! Although, I must admit, second grade was my favorite!! I may be a little bias.

Daniel's favorite subjects in school are math & music. So, it was no surprise when Mrs. Murlless (the music teacher) came up to me after the event and said she loves having Daniel in class. She described him as being "a joy" to have around. We think he's pretty awesome too!!

Jenn & Jana did a fantastic job orchestrating the event. Our family loved the sign!!!