Katie's Quiz Trip

This past weekend, Katie had another great quiz trip. Esp nice since it was to the area where I grew up. My parents had invited the whole group (35?) to come for supper Fri pm. We made it there around 7pm, after leaving our church at 7am. Mom had sloppy joes and chips and cooked apples and macaroni. Lots of great food, of course. After we ate, some of the group went down and played pingpong. Some even went outside, even tho it was QUITE windy and a bit rainy and dark. They loved running around after riding in the bus all day. And several so loved the wind! It was funny how many of them asked mom, "Does the wind blow like this all the time here??"

And, even tho it was nice to be off the bus, I'm not all complaining about the bus ride. Coach bus with comfortable seats and overhead bins. The kids play cards or sing (one brought a guitar and one had bongo drums) or listen to iPods or talk. I read 2 1/2 books and 2 magazines. :) But, I wasn't so engrossed that I missed the exciting things going on around me-- like the game "Would You Rather". Yuck! Questions like-- would you rather lick a frog all over or eat toe jam from an old man's toes?

Katie and I slept Fri pm at mom and dad's and then we met the group at Jenison Bible in the morning. Each of our 6 teams had 6 quizzes that day. None of our group made it into the playoffs, but they all did well and I really enjoy watching it.

Here's Katie with her team during the last quiz. Each quiz has 20 questions, and Katie was the first to buzz (they hold a button in their hand) for 2-3 questions each quiz. Each person's goal is always to "quiz out", meaning they correctly answer 5 questions. She got a lot closer to that this time, and I'm sure next year she'll make it. She's also really good at answering the "throw-overs". When someone on the other team gets their question wrong, the same question is tossed to the person in the seat opposite on the other team. Katie's specialty, tho, is any of the questions that say "Locate this verse" (tell the reference) or "Quote".

Mom and dad came to watch the quizzing, and Mike and Liz made it for one quiz also. Then they ate lunch with us, and it was great to see Caleb and Logan again-- they are changing so much!

Below, Elizabeth with Caleb.

And below is Logan.

Below, Caleb. Both just adorable kids!

We left Jenison at 3pm on Sat. Drove to a mall food court in Toledo for supper-- food courts are great when you come with a busload of teens. :) Hotel in Port Clinton. Katie and I shared a hotel room with 3 other girls. Fun to hang out in the evening-- swimming, exercise room, talking, cards, etc. It's really a great group of kids, and it's a joy to get to know them better. Interesting that almost all of them are homeschooled. Katie and one other girls might be the only 2 that are not. Not positive why that is, but it may have to do with the time commitment this takes. Each week there is only one 2-hour practice, but the kids are learning 6-8 verses every week. That takes quite a commitment! I'm sure it helps Katie that she's a wonderful memorizer.

On Sun morning, after breakfast in the hotel, we all gathered in one room (a little crowded :) to have a "service". Sang with the guitar, prayed, and the kids were invited to talk about what they've learned from Hebrews. This is a terrific time-- knowing that the verses are going deeper than just surface memorization.

Headed home. Always stop at DQ in Breezewood. Any of the kids that quizzed out even once get a free blizzard. : ) Katie's coach was very kind and bought them all a blizzard.

Made it to the church by 5:30ish. Then I set up for Children's Choir. Chad took Katie right home, tho, so she could unpack and repack. Right now, she's on a 3-day trip with the middle school from Grace-- Outdoor School.

Video below is a bit of Katie quizzing. It's pretty hard to get her actually answering, since you never know which one she'll buzz on.