Spelling Bee

Max got to do something I've always wanted to do! He was chosen, along with 2 others from his school, to attend the Dubuque sectional spelling bee in January. He did awesome and ended up in the top 10 which moved him onto Regionals in March! For the first round, they gave us a list of about 300 words that all the words would be taken from. They also gave us all of the books that they would come from, and since I'm always on the hunt for new books for Max, I purchased a few and they ended up being amazing books, so I'll attach a pic in case any readers are looking for good books for their kids.

For the Regional spelling bee, they gave him a big packet of words and it just seemed so much more overwhelming than the original sheet that had words on the front and back. We did not study with him nearly as much as the first round. We were just hoping for the best! His goal was not to go out in the first round. He made it to the 3rd round and went out on the word "strudel". He spelled it "stroodel". Luckily, this is a 5th through 8th grade thing in Dubuque, so he should get a few more chances. The winner gets an all expense paid trip to Washington DC to compete in the national spelling bee. Here are a few pictures and video!

Happy 11th Birthday Maxwell!

Dear Max,

You are 11 today! Normally you're happier to be an even number, but you are really ready to be 11. We are so proud of you. You are kind, compassionate, smart, funny, creative, and inquisitive. People love to talk to you and be around you!

You do not get embarrassed easily.....you've had a couple funny things happen to you and you just take it in stride and laugh it off. Like when you fell in the pool with your towel and robe during a swim meet, when you swam a 100 yard freestyle instead of the 50 and everyone was screaming at you to stop, but you kept on going and swam two extra laps in the pool all alone! Or the other day when you got your coat stuck on your braces at school and had to go to the nurse to get it off! Being able to laugh at yourself is a great quality that many people (including me) wish they were better at!

Speaking of braces, you're at round 2 now. As of February 1st, you're a regular patient at the orthodontist in Dubuque.  You have lost all of your baby teeth so it was time to get started! The first round was more of an orthopedic issue and now they're straightening your teeth so they're perfect. Right now you just have the top braces on and in a month or so you'll get the bottom ones. You weigh 70 pounds and are 55 inches tall. We have a heck of a time finding pants that are long enough AND fit you in the waist.

You are doing great in 5th grade, but are really ready for middle school. You're involved in everything....choir, honor choir, chess club, math club, spelling bee and morning announcements. Your test scores are awesome and you even got your teacher to like you after a rough start. That one might be the most impressive!:) You tried swim team for the first time this last winter. Your good buddy William convinced you to join and it was a great decision. You now know all 4 strokes, can do a flip turn, and dive off the block.  You had a great first season and met some wonderful friends...Isaac, Walter, Duncan, Shea and more. Starting next week you'll be in track and field club. One of the things you miss most about Canada is running club, so I'm really hoping this is a good experience for you. This spring you're also playing soccer for DSC...your best position is a left back on defense. You're fast and don't let many balls get behind you. Dad and I love watching you do things you enjoy.

Right now your interests are the stock market (your under armor stock isn't doing that well though), looking at bleacher report and reporting all of the latest sports news to your dad and me, reading anything you can get your hands on....currently it's the Guts and Glory series, playing pool, anxiously awaiting the nice weather so you can play outside, play street hockey, basketball, etc. with the neighbors Nolan and Myles.

I'm pretty sure I could keep going, but I better wrap it up. Thanks for being such a great kid and making us parents! We couldn't have asked for a better son. Love you tons,

Mom


March 3rd, 2007


March 3rd, 2008


March 3rd, 2009


March 3rd, 2010


March 3rd, 2011


March 3rd, 2012


March 3rd, 2013


March 3rd, 2014


March 3rd, 2015


March 3rd, 2016


March 3rd, 2017


March 3rd, 2018 (btw...he was very worried about this photo...he knew he couldn't hold up 11 fingers so he didn't know what we would do!)