Bragging Rights

A few weeks ago, we received a letter in the mail about Riley. It seems based on her MAP test and OLSAT test scores, she scored in the 99th% for the entire country. Not just the school. Not just the state. But the country! And this was for math AND reading! So she qualifies for the Gifted and Talented program for 3rd grade. This is a HUGE deal, and we couldn't be prouder of her.

I went to the meeting about it, and it sounds like it will definitely be a lot of work, but Riley should definitely thrive. Two of her friends from preschool (Lauren and Silvie) qualified as well, so it was nice to have some familiar parents to talk with. The math program sounds fantastic--kids will start with 4th grade math and just skip over 3rd grade! And the reading should be interested because the school was selected to be a pilot program and have all students use computer tablets to complete reading assignments. Wow!

As a result of all these new developments, we opted to not have Riley try out for travel soccer. The new school has an earlier start time, and we don't know how well or quickly she will adapt to these advanced classes. She can always try out next year. So that will save us some money! Ha! But she is going to play with her former coach in Crystal Lake, so at least she'll need to still balance school and sports.

Phil and I are just so happy and proud of her. I told him "you're welcome" after finding out about Riley's results. Only kidding. She's definitely our smart little cookie. And we love her.

Our girl before her school concert.

Wolves Game in Feb.

I found these pictures the other day after I uploaded some others off the camera. The kids participated in the winter reading program at the library and earned two free Chicago Wolves tickets. Add to that a free ticket from Jeremy's hockey class, and all we had to pay for was one ticket and parking!

We took the kids on Feb. 25 when the Wolves were playing the Blackhawks affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs. The kids were super excited because they recognized some of the players on the Ice Hogs as players who had brief stints with the Blackhawks.

There were definitely two highlights of the hockey game: the first being that Riley lost a tooth at the game! Luckily I had the envelope that the tickets came in, so I kept the tooth in there for safe keeping.

The game was very entertaining. These two teams do not like each other. At the end of the first period, the two teams and their coaches were arguing while getting off the ice! In between periods there were entertaining aspects, such as Skates the mascot throwing T-shirts into the stands. They also threw stuff in the crowd during television timeouts. One of them was to catch a soft red ball and bring it to the information desk, and it was sponsored on behalf of the Illinois Lottery. I lifted Jeremy up to get a better chance of grabbing it, and he snagged it in between his back and my front! I was all excited thinking we won something fantastic. We left the game at the end of the second intermission, since it was already 9:30 and we had a 45-minute drive ahead of us. And we won....$1 scratch-off lottery ticket. Really? Only $1? They only threw out 5 balls, too. Oh well. And no, we didn't win.

Jeremy posing for the camera.

Hamming it up.

Dad and his girl.

Showing off her lost top tooth.

The Ice Hogs.

More Ice Hogs.

Ice Hogs, including our favorite Andrew Shaw.

Jeremy showing off the Lottery ball.

All in all, we had a great time. I would like to check out a Rockford Ice Hogs game next year and see what their rink is like. It actually might be a bit closer for us. But looks like we have a few months to wait until hockey returns.