Amazing Race

     On May 28th, 2013, I, Jenna Wingert traveled around the world. Sort of. Mrs. Lane, the mom of a kid in my class, prepared a race for the whole fifth grade to compete in. Have you ever heard of the Amazing Race TV show? Well, It's kind of like that. She paired us up into teams of two. Around the school, she had set up different "countries", each with an activity. Before we started, she gave each student a fake passport. As soon as we finished an activity, the supervisor of that country put a sticker in our passport. My partner and I began in Turkey. Daddy was the supervisor there. Tables were set up around the room with Turkish items set up on them. A price was listed for each item. We had sixteen dollars, and each dollar is equal to 6.25 Turkish Liras. IF your calculations are correct, I had 100 Turkish Liras. I had to purchase five items with all my money. Once Daddy checked our answers, we were headed off to Baghdad, Iraq. There we had to put on traditional Iraqi clothing, eat pitas with Hummus, and drink a whole cup of orange tea! I cannot stand Hummus or tea! That took a while. Next, we visited Spain. I was taught how to do the basic steps of the Flamenco dance. The dress I was required to wear was a bit too long, and the consequences include an embarrassing fall. After performing to the judges, our next stop was Olympia, Greece. What we did there is to complicated to explain. All I can say is that it that it took forever. Next, I visited Tanzania. Just like the Tanzanian women, I had to carry water from one bucket to another in a bowl on my head. In Egypt, using a fake Rosetta Stone, I translated a verse in Hieroglyphics to English. China was fun. Cans were arranged about ten feet away from where I stood, each worth a different amount of points. I had to throw beads into the cans until I reached 50 points. Then we traveled to France. Pictures of famous French tourist sites were set up around the library. I rode around the library in a cardboard taxi.  I had to match the name of each site with its picture without cheating. Last was India. This was pretty simple. All we had to do was put together a puzzle of the Taj Mahal. Overall, I had a lot of fun, though I think we were in tenth place. :)

Nothing to Sneeze At

On Sunday, 5 of us drove in a van up to Chad's parents, and Chad decided to bike it.  He's done this different times before-- loves to check out different routes, etc. This time he ended up calling for a ride after 49 miles of the 80ish he was planning-- it was pretty windy once he got into PA.  He wasn't sure he could get it in before dark (he left at 1pm after morning church!) and his knees were starting to hurt from fighting the wind.  Still, 49 miles is nothing to sneeze at!  It's about 47 more than I like to go on these hills. :)

Plus, he enjoyed stopping at his aunt's house along the way and dropping in a at stranger's house to ask if he could store his bike there overnight. 

Too bad the last half of the trip is what he was most looking forward to-- he gets to ride near our house much more often.  Maybe some day he'll just do the 2nd half of the route he had planned. 

Flying High

On Saturday, we stopped to do some kite-flying on the way to a friend's graduation open house.  Chad had been waiting for a pretty day with wind.  It was windy!  They had a lot of fun with it-- even the one that went renegade and will never be in our possession again.  Flew off to a stand of trees, and then we could see it still flying (hooked to a tree) for a couple minutes after that. 

Antietam Rec

For the past few years, the school goes to Antietam Rec in May-- only the kids who have had good behavior all year. I didn't get many pics this year, but Jenna and Claire had a GREAT time, even tho it was a bit drizzly the whole time!  Claire did the zipline several times (hopped right off, unlike last year!), rode a horse, spent time in the petting zoo, swam in the pool, went down an inflatable water slide OVER and OVER, and much more.  Jenna did most of those things (not swimming or horse) but also did the boat slide that goes down the hill into Antietam Creek. 

National Pike Wagon Train Festival

Every year, there's a wagon train festival-- starts in Clear Spring and goes to Boonsboro over a 3-day weekend.  We jumped in on it for a bit when it was by Wilson's store on Rt. 40 east of Clear Spring.  They had stopped all the wagons and horses for a while.  Some people let the kids get on the horses.  Pretty neat to see the covered wagons, etc.  They also had the Wilson's school open so we checked out what a one-room schoolhouse looked like. 

Also on this weekend, there are many, many yard sales along Rt. 40.  We checked out a few of those and came away with a new bike for Jenna!  Was fun trying out a playground which had real teeter-totters, a merry-go-round, and a huge straight slide-- all the old style equipment. Added treat-- Claire's friend Audrey enjoyed it with us!

PA Adventure

For Mother's Day, we went to Chad's parents.  Trying to fit in some time with them between their jaunts out West.

Katie has really been getting good at guitar this year!  She and Gpa had a jam session. :)  He shows her some things, and she shows him some things, since she is learning classical guitar.  Fun that they can play together now. 

I think this was Micah's last bday celebration of the year.  His bday started in Florida in mid-March.  Not bad to have 2 months for bday presents and cakes!

Amazingly-- the day before our trip there, Micah was collecting leaves in our yard, saying they were for the turtle he was going to find this year.  Of course, I'm always skeptical.  We found a couple turtles last year, but how many turtles have we seen in our yard since moving here??  Maybe 4?  THEN, THE NEXT DAY, when we were at Gpa and Gma's, he and Jenna discovered a turtle in their yard!  They put it in a nearby box (can you tell what it was used for previously?), and promptly named him "Dime".  Micah had fun watching it for a day, and then it escaped into the yard.  I'm sure he's happier out in the wild anyway.

Golf Pros

Claire and Daddy went on a date-- indoor mini-golfing because it was during a large thunderstorm (we've had a lot of rainy days recently!).  They ate at the food court in the mall and went golfing.  Think she had fun? :)

Claire and Jenna's Musical

We had our big children's choir musical (1st thru 5th grade) on the same night as Micah's musical.  Jenna and Claire were both in it.  Jenna had a main speaking part and Claire, besides being in the choir, was half of a wave.  Wish I had a pic of that-- they held up large pieces of blue material and shook it to make it look like wavy water, only for one song.  

The whole thing was wonderful-- kids did a fantastic job.  And, boy, was I glad when it was finished.  A lot of work, but maybe the worst of it is those songs get so stuck in my head that I think them at night.  After 6 months of those songs, I'm ready for other music!

Micah's Musical

Micah's King's Kids choir had a short 15-min musical in church a few weeks ago.  He really did a good job. Probably his only issue was being so interested in picking at his fingernails instead of paying attention. :) 

Their musical was about living LOVE, so they spelled LOVE with their bodies.  In the bottom pic, Micah is making a backwards E.  

Jenna's Story

Below I'm going to paste a recent sample of Jenna's fantabulous writing.  If you read all the way thru, you will also see her teacher's comments!

Jenna Wingert    

                                                                                                     

Honk! The sudden noise startled me, and I jumped up from the leather car seat- only my seatbelt keeping me from slamming into the window. Groggily, I scanned the traffic jam. I must have been sleeping; the last time I looked out my window, we were still in Miami.      

                                           

Studying each car carefully as Dad inched through the traffic, I noticed that most of them weren’t from Florida. That’s understandable, I thought. Somewhere I read that millions visit this place every year!                                 

Our silver minivan jerked to a halt. Dad had pulled off the crowded highway and parked at a bus stop. As I climbed out of the minivan, I gazed at the line of countless tourists. They must have been waiting here a while. Probably for a bus. My family and I joined the impatient crowd. While we waited, I quickly ate a pop-tart; I hadn’t had time for breakfast in the morning’s rush. Finally, our bus came rumbling into the parking lot. When it turned a corner, deep gold lettering on one side became visible: “Walt Disney World Transportation.”                                                                                                      

Not long after our bus dropped us off near the Magic Kingdom entrance, I found myself stepping into a boat for our first ride, It’s a Small World. This ride is more for kids. Even so, I enjoyed the children’s excitement as we gently floated “through the world.” Stepping out of my boat at the end, I hoped that the catchy Small World song wouldn’t bother me too much throughout the day.                                                                                                                    

Several hours later, I realized that I was very hungry. Exhausted from the morning’s fun, I ordered a small meal. Most of my morning had been spent on kids rides. Now it was time for some real fun! Scanning the list of rides on my map, one caught my eye. Space Mountain. I heard that was a good one. Ahead a little ways, a large sign read, “Fast Pass Station.”

          

“That might be helpful! Let’s get some,” Dad suggested, so we hurried to the Fast Pass stand and bought five passes.                                                           

This is nice! We can just walk right past the line, I thought as I strolled through the hallway. And I’ve never been on an indoor roller coaster. Interesting. Since I had no line to wait in, I could already see the coaster’s tracks. Excitedly, I entered the roped in area for people with Fast Passes. Immediately a tired-looking woman escorted me to a shiny black car.                                                   

Thump! Thump! I could hear my heart beating from fear and excitement. Uh-oh, I thought as my seat belt clicked into place. A low, rattling hum filled the air as the train of cars slowly began to inch forward. My car entered a tunnel. All at once, everything went black, and the track sloped straight down. Yes! The ride had begun!                                                                                                        

As the track twisted and turned, a wave of piercing shrieks rose from the riders. After several rapid climbs, slopes, and twists, the cars slowed. Bright lights stung my eyes when my car rolled back into the building’s center where eager people waited their turn on Space Mountain.                                                              

Shakily, I stepped out of my car. Sitting in that small space for so long had cramped my legs. Disappointedly, I realized I would not be able to ride Space Mountain again- my family had planned to take the Monorail to Animal Kingdom for the rest of the day.

          

One hour later, I sat at a café in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Pitter, patter, pitter, patter. Rain had stopped us from exploring the zoo portion of Animal Kingdom. Instead, I munched on some extra-salty popcorn. Mom and Dad were discussing what to do the rest of the day. Hopefully, I mentioned a sign that I had seen for Expedition Everest. To my relief, Dad gave his permission for Kate and I to ride Expedition Everest while everyone else attended a musical version of  Finding Nemo. Eagerly, Kate and I set off toward Expedition Everest.       

Boy was it hot! Of all the days I had spent in the Sunshine State, this was definitely the hottest. Drops of sweat rolled down my face as Kate and I raced toward the roller coaster. From where I was, I could already see the artificial mountain around which Expedition Everest’s tracks were wrapped. In only a minute, I reached a maze of low fencing. Must be where people get in line to ride. Right now, hardly anybody is in line. Both Kate and I were clueless as to how to get into line. No entrance was visible. Seeing our confusion, a nearby worker directed us to the end of the line.                                                                         

Thirty minutes later, I stepped into a shabby-looking wooden car. For this ride, I had no idea what to expect. Because of this, I was terrified in a way- but at the same time, ready for anything. A strange feeling.                                             

Screeeech!  Someone needs to oil these bars!  I said to myself as the hinges screeched when I pulled the safety bar over my head. Briskly, a worker checked to make sure every rider’s bar was secured tightly. She nodded to a worker sitting by a control panel. Smoothly, the train of cars rolled around a corner and up an enormous hill.                                                                                            

What seemed like ten minutes later, we finally reached the peak of the mountain. This coaster didn’t seem so bad, then- whoa! Everything was dark. My car had entered the mountain! Twists, down hills, up hills, fasts, slows- I hoped I wouldn’t get sick. A slow climb uphill brought me into the sunlight. Then I gasped. Up ahead, the tracks were broken off! As if this were, unexpected, the cars jerked to a stop. Now what?  Since we were high up, above everything else, a refreshing breeze blew and helped me to relax. Ahh!  Just as I was complaining to Kate about why it couldn’t be this nice down on the ground, we zoomed backwards- right into the mountain again. Terrified screams and shrieks of excitement echoed throughout the hollow mountain. Somewhere, the cars must have reversed; we were now climbing -forward- uphill. This time the tracks came out of the mountain and dropped straight down. After circling the base of the mountain, my car lurched to a stop where the lines of tourists waited there turn. Alas! I had survived Expedition Everest.                                            

Twenty minutes later, I was waiting in line again. This time, for ice cream. Hungrily I skimmed the list of frozen desserts. When the lady asked me what I wanted, I ordered one small cup of Nestle ice cream bites. Yum! Hastily, I wolfed down the chocolate-covered ice cream drops. Dad had taken my younger sister Clara on a Dumbo ride. Mom and Kate were shopping. With the time I had alone, I mentally looked back on the day’s events. Monorail, Small World, Space Mountain, popcorn, Expedition Everest, ice cream. Over all, it had been one of the best days in my life. Even the rain had only lasted several minutes. It had been the adventure of a lifetime visiting Disney World, “where dreams come true!”

Mrs. Brown's comments:

Jenna, this piece is exceptional!  Truly well done.  I'd like to see you enter this in a contest.  (Get a Washington County Library Card sometime and enter this next year in their Picture Book contest.  You could easily draw pictures to go along with this!)

May I make a copy to use for modeling?

                                                                                      

Recital videos

I know this is past due.  Recital video clips from 2 months ago--

Recital songs by Claire...

http://youtu.be/jidFXkqkE0o

Recital song by Jenna...

 http://youtu.be/_8wUuL36emY

Recital duet with Katie & Shell...

http://youtu.be/ipc5us2b7Us