End of the Year Awards

It's that time of the year when everything is winding down before summer and we have the finals.  The final lacrosse game, the spring concerts, field day at the elementary school, the end of the year sports banquets, the last day of French breakfast-in-class.  I was ping ponging between activities yesterday thinking that we are either really blessed with rich opportunity or overbooked.  One of those two.

Big Girl had her first scrimmage at the end of an "instructional" season of lacrosse.  When they are at this level there are no games during the season and the coaches run around on the field with the girls shouting instructions into their ears.  There's no one posted at the goal to defend should someone decide to shoot and we all cheer the loudest when someone actually catches a pass from a team mate.  During most sports events, I am used to watching my kids be the hesitant players out there.  If someone from my family actually scores once during an entire season we talk about it all the time and it goes down in history with boys arguing as to what really happened out there.  As I watched my daughter on the field, I had to do a double take.  Was that tiger out there actually my flesh and blood?  She was getting in everybody's business and not taking no for an answer.  I had to laugh watching her as they were positioning themselves in offense/defense poses.  The whistle to start play had not yet been blown, but here was my undersized 8 yr old vying for the spot in front of her opponent.  The other player would re-position herself one half step closer to center field and then pop out her hip.  Big Girl would imitate her move, and so on and so forth.  I found out later there was also some words about cheating from the hip popping girl.  Big girl was having none of that trashy talk!  I see her really going places with this sport.

She is number 22

Proud of herself

She couldn't be more pleased with the participation trophy she received, and she carried it around all evening not wanting to leave it behind in the car while we went to a concert at the middle school.  So cute!  Little Girl was content with her bouquet of clover picked in the grass during her sister's scrimmage.

 

On to the spring concert for Little Boy....  He is currently first chair, and although I missed the 'tuning up with the first chair violinist' part, it does my heart good to know it happened.  It's probably best I wasn't there to be seen gloating.  He was moved down from that position a while back and just regained it a couple weeks ago.  It's an honorable position.  One which our family has never had a chance to be in until now.  They sounded wonderful and so much improved from the winter concert I could hardly believe it.  I wish I had brought my video camera but I am lame and forgetful like that.  The girls were very antsy and it was unbearably hot in that gym, so we headed out to the hallway where there were fans and room to roam. 

Free at last!

Peek-a boo.  I have my first sports trophy!

Then at the end I started to hear an awards ceremony taking place.  Surely there would be some awards for my first chair violinist son, so we rushed back in there.  He did receive two awards.  One for being in honor's orchestra last winter

The posing girl to his right has been seen flirting with my innocent boy

He also received an award for (from what I could understand from the description) having parents willing to fork out money for private lessons.  It was a bit weird when those three stood up.  Still I snapped a picture.  We make great sacrifice to pay for those lessons, I think it's worth a photo op.

The other embarrassing part was his un-tucked shirt... Oh well

Then his awesome orchestra teacher handed out several awards for different reasons.  She'd get choked up while saying this kid never gave up or that kid was always so happy no matter what she dished out.  She gave an award for the most responsible kid to leave in charge.  One girl got 8 awards in total!  That was one over achieving Korean girl!  Every time Ms V would go on about how much she loved this or that student for this or that reason I was thinking 'oh this has to be about Little Boy' and it wouldn't be him.  Later my son told me that she was giving out awards to the 8th graders who were leaving.  My son is in 6th grade.  That made me feel better, (why do I care so much?  I tried to show indifference).  I know she likes my kid a lot so in 2013 I am anticipating about 6-7 awards.  I have learned that you don't try and top the Asians when it comes to violin.  You will only end up depressed.

Little Boy told me that when they combined orchestras for one number with the 7-8th grade advanced students, that he sat by the award winning Korean girl.  They are both first chairs in their age groups.  She turned to him and said (possibly joking), "I play really loud and strong, so I might actually hurt your ears... sorry."  I watched as he hung tough with her.  His bowing strong, his vibrato almost there.  To be honest the orchestra pieces are not that challenging for a student with private lessons.  I never even hear them played at home, but you can tell by watching who's got the strong leadership bowing and who is following a half second behind.  The trick is to watch the tips of the bows and see who is ahead.  So like I said, he's hanging in there like a champ.  When the number was over she turned to him and said "Hmm... you're actually good."  That statement was worth way more than her 8 slips of paper printed out that afternoon on the school's printer.  I guess we'll keep having T moonlight to pay for those lessons after all. 

Looking up to his 8th grade 'friend'