spelling bee

Ethan was one of the top 13 spellers in the 5th grade, and got to go on to the school's big spelling bee.

He didn't win, but he worked really hard memorizing crazy words like baccalaureate, which I can't even spell without looking up. I think it stunned him when he got out, because he is a really good speller.

The word that "done him in" is weakness. An easy one. He just left the second s off, being overly cautious.

He joked that weakness was his weakness.

 As you can see in this picture, it's hard to not win the thing you've been pining for over several months. He was smiling, but those tears were threatening to fall at any second.

But we were so proud of him. He's become quite a go-getter this year. He joined the school choir. He had two parts in the school winter play. He was chosen as a school reporter for the morning news program starting this week, and going for six weeks. And he was a top speller in his school. So Yay, Ethan!
It's okay to lose, it just shows that you're living.

(and if you're curious, the girl pulling on her ear was the winner. The boy next to her was the runner up. They went on for litterally fifteen or more minutes, just the two of them spelling all kinds of crazy words. They totally deserved to win. They even got a standing ovation, which the principal said she's never seen at a spelling bee.)