Field Day Update

Ok, so Madeline came home with a ribbon, but it wasn't for placing in one of her events. Everyone got a silver ribbon with blue lettering on it (the school's colors) that says "Field Day" on it. I guess that's better than nothing at all, but I still think an awards ceremony would have been cool.

Field Day!

OMG, I had so much fun this morning! I just came back from volunteering at my oldest daughter's school for Field Day. That in itself brought back a lot of memories, although I don't think this field day had any of the same elements as the field days that I remember as a kid. Except, of course, the tug-of-war! I remember actually keeping score and having one class be the "winner" of field day. I remember signing up for certain events and only competing in those. I remember blue, red, and yellow (Or was it green? I guess I don't remember everything!) ribbons for placing first, second, or third in your event. No, in this Field Day everyone participated in everything. Each class divided into two teams. One class was at each station at each time, and when the coach blew the airhorn they moved on to the next station. We didn't keep score. There were no ribbons. There was no one class that "won" Field Day. I guess the kids these days can't handle competition like when I was young! I volunteered to help out, not sure of what I would be doing. I was the first volunteer there, so I got to choose my "station". I chose what the coach called, "Crazy Croquet". It was done as a relay, and the balls were those big Swiss balls that you find in gyms and Pilates classes. The kids paired up and dribbled the balls through giant arcs, which I think were made from 2 hula hoops that were opened up and joined together, if that makes sense. There were three of these arcs, two in front and one in the back. Each team would go through the arc on their side, and then both teams would go through the arc in the back, and then go back through the arc on their side and then pass the ball to the next kids in line. It was pretty funny watching those Kindergarteners try to kick those big balls around! Some did really well, some rolled over the top of the ball! We had about 7 classes, and out of all the kids we ended up with one skinned knee and about 5 kids who got a little shook up when they toppled over the top of the ball. I guess those numbers aren't too bad. The song "Wipeout" kept going through my mind while watching... At the very end, after each class made its way through each of the stations, came the tug-of-war. This time we had one class pulling against another class. But we still didn't keep score or anything. May daughter's class lost to the class they were pulling against. I was there cheering them on and trying to give pointers (lean back! dig your heels in!), but it didn't help. I had a blast! It sure was better than sitting in front of a computer, which is what I'll be doing now for the rest of the day! [I was reminded that the 3rd place ribbons were white, not green or yellow. I guess I'm losing it! -sj]

Herman Schwartz Lives!

I spoke to my uncle the other day--he mentioned that he is featured in a cyclist's blog at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/. The blog in particular is called "Sunshine State to Golden State", and my uncle is the "welcoming committee" in LA (hint: look at day 43).

The journal is quite interesting. I started by just looking at all of the pictures that were posted--those by themselves are interesting enough--and now I'm slowly working my way through the narrative of each day on the cross-country trek. It's interesting to know that these guys rode pretty close to where I used to live in Northwest Florida. Makes me want to take up cycling...

Anyway, Herman I know you're reading--I just wanted to share the link (indirectly, anyway). I already sent the link to mom and Cheryl.