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| Anna starting off the presentation with the boys ready to make their crosses |
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| the girls with Mrs. Reasons....blurry looking for some reason. |
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Anna's class chapel program
Anna's class presented chapel on Friday. The girls were the narrators of the story while the boys in the class started out with a piece of paper and made it into all kinds of things from a paper airplane to a sailboat to finally when they unfolded it, a cross. The theme of the story was not filling your life with "things" but rather Christ. Excellent presentation. Can't wait for next year when Caroline's class gets to do this as well!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Grandparents Day
Thursday was the annual Grandparents Day for the Harding Kingergarten program. Caroline had been learning songs and was excited to have her local grandparents in attendance. One day we will get Gammy in from South Dakota! Caroline welcomed her grandparents to her room and showed them around and then they had a nice program. The kids had definitely worked hard. The grandparents were able to take home a masterpiece work of art made by Caroline as their souvenir.
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| singing hard during the program |
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| caroline with mimi and papa |
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| caroline with gramma and grampa |
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Charlotte's Web auditions
Anna came home on Friday and said she wanted to try out for Charlotte's Web, the upper school drama production for the spring. I could not believe she would be that brave, but encouraged her to go for it. Tryouts were on Wednesday and she was SO nervous. Mom picked her up from school and drove her over for the tryouts. The day she went was only lower school kids. There were about 25 of them. I joined about 4:30 and watched her read a few times from the stage. She was really doing a good job. She was very nervous still even at the end. The teacher seems to be a little hard on the kids and most of the lower school kids do not know her. Anna had several friends from her class there and several from the other elementary location there. She kept to herself though which is not like her.
Wednesday night the drama teacher called and said she would like for Anna to come to callbacks on Thursday afternoon. The teacher had told the students that if you are called back that it means she needs to hear you again. It should be considered neutral. Anna took it as she was in. None of her friends from her class were called back but two from her basketball team that attend the other location were.
I arrived around 4:30 again and Mom told me it had not gone well so far. She was getting discouraged because she was asked to read fewer times and especially vs. the girls her age. She was pretty down about it by the end. The teacher was pretty tough on all the kids as the callbacks were upper school and lower school students. The cast would be posted by the end of the day on Friday and that meant midnight.
We were all nervous. Anna asked nonstop if it had been posted. It was posted about 6:30 on Friday night as we were walking into the Grizzlies game and the mothers of her two buddies that were called back flagged us down to tell us that the three girls were cast as Charlotte's babies. We were proud. We had spider babies! So cute. Anna was also cast in the ensemble and had several scenes at the fair and in other areas of the play. At first she was sad she was not cast as Fern. I really wanted to laugh because we all knew that was a major part and was not going to be given to a rookie in the 4th grade! She got over it when she saw how few lower school kids were cast and she was thrilled. The show is in April over 3 days and she cannot wait to peform. Maybe all her drama at home is going to pay off on the big stage!
Wednesday night the drama teacher called and said she would like for Anna to come to callbacks on Thursday afternoon. The teacher had told the students that if you are called back that it means she needs to hear you again. It should be considered neutral. Anna took it as she was in. None of her friends from her class were called back but two from her basketball team that attend the other location were.
I arrived around 4:30 again and Mom told me it had not gone well so far. She was getting discouraged because she was asked to read fewer times and especially vs. the girls her age. She was pretty down about it by the end. The teacher was pretty tough on all the kids as the callbacks were upper school and lower school students. The cast would be posted by the end of the day on Friday and that meant midnight.
We were all nervous. Anna asked nonstop if it had been posted. It was posted about 6:30 on Friday night as we were walking into the Grizzlies game and the mothers of her two buddies that were called back flagged us down to tell us that the three girls were cast as Charlotte's babies. We were proud. We had spider babies! So cute. Anna was also cast in the ensemble and had several scenes at the fair and in other areas of the play. At first she was sad she was not cast as Fern. I really wanted to laugh because we all knew that was a major part and was not going to be given to a rookie in the 4th grade! She got over it when she saw how few lower school kids were cast and she was thrilled. The show is in April over 3 days and she cannot wait to peform. Maybe all her drama at home is going to pay off on the big stage!
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| anna with her three friends at the first day of tryouts |
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Fun after the race
Once the race was over we decided to go back to the hotel and let me shower and let everyone else freshen up. They were still serving breakfast at the hotel so we took full advantage of that because it was FREE. After breakfast we took the girls to a place called First Avenue Rocks which was for indoor rock climbing. Our girls were the youngest there by far but there were plenty of challenges for them and there were some easier things for them to do as well. Caroline is much more brave than Anna but they both conquered several of the rock walls. Afterwards we went to the Summitt which is an upscale open shopping center in Birmingham. There were a few shops there that we wanted to check out and of course by now we needed lunch. Yummy burger place hit the spot and milkshakes for the girls for dessert definitely got two thumbs up.
After shopping we decided to take in a showing of Wreck-it Ralph. The girls saw this movie when it first came out but Gary and I were in Charlotte for the weekend. Gary had always wanted to see it and the girls were up for it. We found a second-run movie theater showing it. The prices were hilarious. $1.50 or $3.50 for all ages. Loved it!!
Lazy dinner in the hotel room while we watched the season premiere of Amazing Race. Great day but I was exhausted!!
On Monday we spent about half a day in Birmingham. We went to the McWane Science Center which reminds me of the Pink Palace and the science parts of our Children's Museum all spun into one place. The girls enjoyed exploring, we took in an Imax movie and ate lunch there as well. Afterwards we hit the road to get home and hopefully miss some of the storms that were headed our way.
After shopping we decided to take in a showing of Wreck-it Ralph. The girls saw this movie when it first came out but Gary and I were in Charlotte for the weekend. Gary had always wanted to see it and the girls were up for it. We found a second-run movie theater showing it. The prices were hilarious. $1.50 or $3.50 for all ages. Loved it!!
Lazy dinner in the hotel room while we watched the season premiere of Amazing Race. Great day but I was exhausted!!
On Monday we spent about half a day in Birmingham. We went to the McWane Science Center which reminds me of the Pink Palace and the science parts of our Children's Museum all spun into one place. The girls enjoyed exploring, we took in an Imax movie and ate lunch there as well. Afterwards we hit the road to get home and hopefully miss some of the storms that were headed our way.
Great weekend in Birmingham. Funny thing Caroline noted while we were there.....I see so many Auburn fans here. We finally had to explain to her that since we were in the State of Alabama that most people there were going to be either Auburn or Alabama fans. Hated to burst her bubble but she kept pointing out every single time we saw Auburn folks! | ||||
excited to do some rock climbing!
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| caroline on a bed of nails at the science center |
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| gary enjoying some optical illusions |
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| anna and gary on the giant pulleys |
Monday, February 18, 2013
Birmingham Half Marathon
Just six short weeks ago I registered and began training for the Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham. I really was not happy with my time at the St. Jude half marathon. I blamed it on the high temperatures but I think my body was tired. That was my 4th half marathon of the year and I had been training very much non-stop the entire year. I had made progress and had a good time at my half in November for the road race series, but really had hoped to have a PR.
My running coach really encouraged me to find a cold weather half marathon. I knew that I would run faster in the cooler temperatures and I really wanted to proove to myself that all my training from 2012 had paid off. So, after searching the area I landed on Birmingham. I asked several friends to tell me honestly about the course and what they thought. They said it was a fun and good course. There were some hills but it was concentrated in the area for miles 7-9. They encouraged me to sign up and that while I might not get a PR it would be a good one.
I started my training back up after taking a few slower weeks after St. Jude and the holidays. I never stopped running but had not done a long run in about a month. The first week I geared back up I ran 8 and did fine. My times kept coming in lower and lower as I neared the race. Gary could not believe how fast I was going and that my 10, 12 and 14 mile runs were so great. I felt wiped out after the 14 miler but otherwise I was feeling very confident.
Race weekend approached. All the Zyrieks were going to the race with me. The girls were out of school on Monday for President's Day, so we decided to make it a fun family weekend. We had Anna's basketball game at noon on Saturday and then we skirted out of town. The Expo closed at 6pm so we knew we had to get there quickly. It is a 3 1/2 or 4 hour drive and we made it in plenty of time. I picked up my packet and race number and we decided to drive the course so I could prepare myself for the next morning. It looked ok with a lot of turns. We actually took a wrong turn at one point and the road went straight up for 2 miles and I wanted to throw up. We figured out we were wrong and headed back the right way. The hills looked manageable and I was excited.
Yummy dinner and an early bedtime prepared us for the 5:30 wakeup call. The race started at 7am and it was COLD. It was 27 degrees at the start. I was thrilled and Gary and the girls were bundled up. Luckily they could duck in the Expo during part of the race to warm up. I started with a good fast pace. Gary could not believe how fast I was going for the first few miles. He signed up for text updates. After they saw me early, they got warm and met me back at mile 12. They got updates at the 10k, 15k and finish. As I raced I really felt good and was making good time. I never stopped for water as I was carrying my own water bottle. I covered the 10k distance faster than ever, I hit the 10 mile mark over 10 minutes faster than my road race series time. I was beginning to believe I could PR (2:05) or even better beat my secret goal of coming in under 2:00. I never mentioned that goal to anyone but it was in the back of my head.
With my constant calculations I knew I had room to spare for the PR but not much for the 2:00 mark. I saw Gary and the girls between mile 12 and 13 and they were awesome cheerleaders. They were screaming that I was going to beat 2:00 and to run as fast as I could. They were right. I finished in 1:59:17!!! That is my fastest time ever and I felt so awesome. I was proud of what I had accomplished. I met the family at the finish line and we all hugged. The girls were jumping up and down and telling strangers that I had beat 2:00. Gary was overwhelmed and I was so happy.
Great race.....worth the six weeks of hard training....now to figure out what is next!! Not another half marathon for a while but I do want to keep going and work on getting a little faster.
My running coach really encouraged me to find a cold weather half marathon. I knew that I would run faster in the cooler temperatures and I really wanted to proove to myself that all my training from 2012 had paid off. So, after searching the area I landed on Birmingham. I asked several friends to tell me honestly about the course and what they thought. They said it was a fun and good course. There were some hills but it was concentrated in the area for miles 7-9. They encouraged me to sign up and that while I might not get a PR it would be a good one.
I started my training back up after taking a few slower weeks after St. Jude and the holidays. I never stopped running but had not done a long run in about a month. The first week I geared back up I ran 8 and did fine. My times kept coming in lower and lower as I neared the race. Gary could not believe how fast I was going and that my 10, 12 and 14 mile runs were so great. I felt wiped out after the 14 miler but otherwise I was feeling very confident.
Race weekend approached. All the Zyrieks were going to the race with me. The girls were out of school on Monday for President's Day, so we decided to make it a fun family weekend. We had Anna's basketball game at noon on Saturday and then we skirted out of town. The Expo closed at 6pm so we knew we had to get there quickly. It is a 3 1/2 or 4 hour drive and we made it in plenty of time. I picked up my packet and race number and we decided to drive the course so I could prepare myself for the next morning. It looked ok with a lot of turns. We actually took a wrong turn at one point and the road went straight up for 2 miles and I wanted to throw up. We figured out we were wrong and headed back the right way. The hills looked manageable and I was excited.
Yummy dinner and an early bedtime prepared us for the 5:30 wakeup call. The race started at 7am and it was COLD. It was 27 degrees at the start. I was thrilled and Gary and the girls were bundled up. Luckily they could duck in the Expo during part of the race to warm up. I started with a good fast pace. Gary could not believe how fast I was going for the first few miles. He signed up for text updates. After they saw me early, they got warm and met me back at mile 12. They got updates at the 10k, 15k and finish. As I raced I really felt good and was making good time. I never stopped for water as I was carrying my own water bottle. I covered the 10k distance faster than ever, I hit the 10 mile mark over 10 minutes faster than my road race series time. I was beginning to believe I could PR (2:05) or even better beat my secret goal of coming in under 2:00. I never mentioned that goal to anyone but it was in the back of my head.
With my constant calculations I knew I had room to spare for the PR but not much for the 2:00 mark. I saw Gary and the girls between mile 12 and 13 and they were awesome cheerleaders. They were screaming that I was going to beat 2:00 and to run as fast as I could. They were right. I finished in 1:59:17!!! That is my fastest time ever and I felt so awesome. I was proud of what I had accomplished. I met the family at the finish line and we all hugged. The girls were jumping up and down and telling strangers that I had beat 2:00. Gary was overwhelmed and I was so happy.
Great race.....worth the six weeks of hard training....now to figure out what is next!! Not another half marathon for a while but I do want to keep going and work on getting a little faster.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Mary Poppins!
We bought tickets months ago anxiously anticipating Mary Poppins coming to the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis. We did not tell the girls until the day before that we were going and they were super excited. We had tickets for the Sunday 6:30 pm show. All the other evening shows were 7:30 or 8:00 and we really wanted it to be enjoyable and no exhausting. Matinees were out because of our basketball games as well. We joined several other families for an early dinner (4:30 to be exact) at the Majestic before the show. Anna said that we were joining the "old folks" crowd having dinner so early. Turns out that timing was perfect because we had very little time to spare once we made it to our seats. We had great seats, saw lots of other folks we knew and really enjoyed the show. The girls loved it when Mary flew with her umbrella and when Burt danced upside down across the stage. Great effects and music and a nice show!
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| caroline with nina, ava and brooke at dinner and of course i have to mention "lovey bear" from school that went home with ava for the weekend. he made lots of the photos from the night! |
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| our group of kids....not the best quality but anna, jackson, justin, ethan, nina, brooke, ava, caroline and bailey |
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| lighting was terrible, but the girls before the show |
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| at intermission and having a great time. |
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Winning Weekend
This season has not been full of W's but nonetheless, the girls have enjoyed playing. Anna is playing for Harding in the MCRA (Memphis Christian Recreation Association) league. She is on the "B" team as we like to reference it which allowed us not to play in the CrossCheck league we were in last year. We felt we would be a better fit for a less competitive league. Well, some of the other teams have been practicing for 8-9 months for this league so we quickly found out we were outmatched most of the time. The girls improved vastly from the first game and ended up with their first win this weekend against Christ Methodist. The final score....6-5! We were on the edge of our seats as our girls had tremendous defense and Anna even got 3 fouls and had two conferences with the ref about settling down a bit. Go Anna!! Gary had other Dad's helping him coach and it was a crazy game. Glad they finally got the win after having a horrible game the week before against Grace St. Luke's who shut us out 29-0 with poor sportsmanship to boot!! Anna has really improved, is a great defensive player and takes plenty of shots. She will hopefully continue the desire to want to play and get better.
This was Caroline's first year playing basketball. We signed her up for the church kindergarten team. Non-competitive, focusing on the fundamentals and having the courage to shoot the ball. Caroline usually scored 5-9 points a game and loved the free throws every was able to try at half time. No defense, fouls or other game stoppages so it makes for a fun time. Caroline's team was the only all-girl team and they also finally scored a victory this weekend. She was so proud! Hopefuly Caroline will want to continue to play and will choose the school team next year!
This was Caroline's first year playing basketball. We signed her up for the church kindergarten team. Non-competitive, focusing on the fundamentals and having the courage to shoot the ball. Caroline usually scored 5-9 points a game and loved the free throws every was able to try at half time. No defense, fouls or other game stoppages so it makes for a fun time. Caroline's team was the only all-girl team and they also finally scored a victory this weekend. She was so proud! Hopefuly Caroline will want to continue to play and will choose the school team next year!
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| anna was so excited about her win and so was her coach! |
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| caroline was proud of the winning score! |
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| caroline with her biggest fan |
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| lauren came to enjoy the show of caroline's game |
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