Evan's First Academic Team Meet {2015}

Before the crack of dawn this Saturday morning, our little family was loaded up and waiting in the middle school parking lot.

Evan and Stephen had their very first Academic Team meet. Uncle Billy, Aunt Kary and Emily all went too. The boys' team was competing in a Divisional Tournament in hopes of earning a spot at Regionals. We had to leave very early to be at a little town that bordered the Arkansas state line. Along the way, we witnessed a beautiful sunrise.

We also saw very tall rolling hills. There are lots of hills where we live, just not near this tall.

We got to the middle school that was hosting the tournament in plenty of time. I was a ball of nerves! I was nervous for Evan. I was also really worried that Addi and Karsyn would not remain quiet. I knew that asking a 5 year-old and a 3 year-old to not talk at all was expecting an awful lot out of them. The team was in Room B for Round 1. Evan didn't play in the first half. When he got up to play in the second half, he looked nervous. He looked at me and I mouthed, "You've got this!" That seem to put him at ease. He did awesome. He buzzed in and answered a lot of questions correctly. Their team won! Payton sat back and took it all in. I think one day she'll be on the Academic Team. Addi and Karsyn were wonderful. They spent the entire round coloring and playing with stickers. By Round 2, Evan's nerves were gone. His teacher left him in for the entire round and once again he did great. During the lightening round, their team picked "College Nicknames and Mascots." Evan knew every single answer and they swept the round in 42 seconds. It was awesome!!!! Their team won once again and that put them in the bracket to play for first place. I was so proud! I was also really proud of the girls. They stayed quiet playing their tablets for Round 2. We had to move to Room A for Round 3. Even though the girls had been good, I decided to take them out to the hallway to play Barbies during the final round.

We had a snack and played while the boys' team was competing. Pay snuck over to the door to listen for updates. Unfortunately, she didn't bring back good news. The team lost Round 3. The good news, was that they took second place in the tournament and that earned them a place in Regionals. We were all over the top excited! Here's the team. (Jason put these nifty stickers in place for me.)

To celebrate the boys' big win, we crossed the border and ate lunch in Arkansas with Uncle Billy, Aunt Kary, and the kiddos. All the adults decided that we wanted to form a parent academic team that has middle school questions. Ha!

For the next few weeks, the boys will compete with local schools until Regionals. Here's to making it all the way to state!!!