Let's Dance

It was Callie's big night! She had been practicing all semester with her dance company. She had to perform two dance routines and she was slightly nervous. However, she didn't have too much time to think about it, because I had to spend half the day prepping her hair for the performance.

She looked lovely...

 And we were proud parents!!!

After the mandatory pictures with your parents before you go to any special event were taken it was time to go. We collected all her things (after checking and re-checking that we had them all).

The performance was at Lowe Mill, which on a Friday night was magical. After taking her to the dance company, Marcus and I had two hours to look around and eat. We found one of our favorite food trucks, I Love Bacon, and ate while listening to some folk-jug-band music. With still time to spare we decided to look at the local artists inside the building.

It was like we had a date night!

But soon enough it was time to watch Callie. Her first dance was to Journey's "Lights". It was from her Lyrical class. Sadly, she was on the opposite side of the stage so I couldn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. But I did get a few...

We sat through many performances, but were excited when it was time for her second dance. The jazz dance was to the song "Fame" and this time she was on our side...

 Time to throw the hat...

and dance like you mean it...

At the end of the performance they handed out trophies, and she was so happy. I cannot say how proud I was of her. Her naturally shy temperament seemed to disappear while she danced tonight. And she danced her heart out!

Homeschool in the Park

One of the advantages of homeschooling is you can take school anywhere. We packed up our books, made a picnic lunch, and went to Big Springs Park to finish our studies today.

After wandering through the Huntsville Art Museum we sat under some trees to work on reading and language arts. It was peaceful, and slightly hot. But we got to take breaks and enjoy wandering around the park.

Bowling League

There is nothing like being part of a bowling league... especially one where you get to learn with the bumpers up!

Montgomery Trip. Part 5

Computer Geniuses

The ACTE Team Programming Challenge is where a team solves some really hard computer problems (see below for more). After they solve problems they have to explain their solutions to the judges.

The competition was scheduled to be over at 8 pm, where they would hand out the trophies once they determined the winner. Callie and I arrived at AUM to see how the competition turned out. Instead, we were going to have to sit for almost two hours, because they were running behind.

Jackson, his team, and teacher were all in the designated classroom waiting. His team had not been called back by the judges to discuss their solutions. Seriously, we were going to be here a while... Callie and I had not eaten. We Hangry!!!

In the end it was worth it. Their team won the competition!!!

Even though it was too late for them to hand out the trophies, they won. Proud mom moment!

We went to the closest open restaurant to grab some food before going back to the hotel to crash... before driving back home in the morning...  where I intended to do nothing but sleep for a few days.

ACTE Team Programming Challenge

Teams of two to four students are given a series of problems, which they must solve during a two-hour competition time. Four problems of increasing difficulty will be presented in writing to each team. The computer must calculate computational solutions to the problems. Each team must be able to design the program, enter their programming code, execute the solutions to the problems and demonstrate the code and solution to the judges on their computer.Each team will be awarded points for each problem solved correctly. The team with the highest number of points will be declared the first place winner.

Montgomery Trip. Part 4

What do the girl's do?

Callie and I had to figure out what we wanted to do since Jackson was at his computer competition until 8 pm... yes, 8 pm! It was time for me to get sentimental, and also take Callie somewhere educational and fun.

Blount Cultural Park

This 250-acre park homes the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and the Hannah Daye Ridling Bark Park. It has ponds, walking trails, amphitheater, and picturesque views. I was glad to be here with Callie.

We lived in Montgomery (many years ago), when Callie was just a baby. She learned to walk when we lived here. I am sure she does not remember visiting this park, but we did. It is directly across the street from where Jackson went to school. St James Academy may have been my favorite school he ever attended.

One of my favorite memories was taking a family portrait in this park for my Mother's Day gift. It was the one thing I wanted that year, all of us together in one picture. 

Of course I found that picture. Back in 2008... when Callie was just 1 and Jackson a whopping 8... where has the time gone?!?!

And now 8 years later I'm taking pictures by the same bridge!

 

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival

On our way to the Art Museum, I took a wrong turn and went to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. It is also located in Blount Cultural Park.

The building looks like the art museums. It is beautiful and surrounded by sculptures. The theatre produces a number of plays each year, including my favorite (and its namesake) playwright William Shakespeare. I was sad that there was nothing playing today, or we would have gone.

The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1930 and is the oldest fine arts museum in the state. It also has ARTWORKS which is mainly for kids to learn about art through experiential learning. It's a hands-on, exploratory gallery. It has a large-scale kaleidoscope, interactive activities, and some fun art stations. ARTWORKS is free and open to the public!

Pool Time

After two extremely hectic days and this one not even close to being over (remember I have to go back to get Jackson at 8 pm) I needed some down time. We decided to go to the hotel's rooftop pool and enjoy the scenic downtown views as we played in the pool. 
Where I got a few minutes to lounge around before heading back across town to find out how Jackson did in his competition at AUM.