A Day in Dunk City

Mason and I started our Saturday afternoon at the Arcade Theatre in historic Fort Myers. Sitting in the very auditorium that was used by Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone encouraged us to pursue our next destination a few blocks away...



... the original Ford's Garage. The restaurant gives you the vibe of being in the 1920's with some really unique features.







We ended our day in the Eagle's "nest" at Florida Gulf Coast University.



I had a feeling there would be a lot of fans due to the Eagles success during last year's March Madness. The arena set an all time attendance record at last night's game.  There were over 4,600 fans in the arena that seats only 4,500.



Even though the crowd of fans caused me to feel a little stressed, I have a feeling we will be visiting the "nest' again. Mason said he had as much fun, if not more, than attending  an Everblades hockey game.

Gaga ball

Gaga ball, ever heard of it? A friend invited Mason to participate in a tournament hosted by her church. The youth group had recently purchased a kit and built their own pit.



Gaga is similar to dodge ball. The game combines dodging, striking, running and jumping with the object of hitting opponents with a ball below the knee while avoiding being hit. A total of 21 kids participated in the tournament. Mason won two rounds which placed him in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, as you will see in the video below, he was eliminated.

Sorry, Once again, not all handheld devices will display the video.

Halloween Dance-Off

On Halloween afternoon I was invited to watch Mason perform in a middle school ballroom dance celebration. It was the culminating event after two weeks of ballroom dance instruction during his PE class.



Sorry, the following video may not play on all devices.




Not only did I get to watch but I was also given the opportunity to dance with Mason during a parent/child dance-off. Unfortunately, we were eliminated in the first round.
Fortunately, we made it home in plenty of time for Mason to prepare for trick-or-treating.

Hanging with the Grandparents

Hello everyone, it's Mackenzie. Two weeks ago my grandparents came down from Georgia to see me and my marching band play at halftime during a football game and in the Showcase of Bands. What is the Showcase of Bands, you might ask? Well, it is a big performance where each marching band in the county does their halftime show on the field for a big audience. I was so thrilled that they got to see me play my bass drum, twice!



Mason also got a chance to share his activities with Nana and Grandpa. They got to see him play in his first play-off football game, and his team won!



Below is the link to Gulf Coast High School's 2013-2014 Shark Marching Band halftime show at the Showcase of Bands. Check it out, the theme is movies! (:

Model UN

Last week Mackenzie had the opportunity to attend her first Model UN conference which was held Georgia Tech.

What is Model United Nations? It is an extra-curricular activity in which students typically role play delegates to the United Nations and simulate UN committees. This activity takes place at MUN conferences, which are usually organized by a college MUN club. The Shark MUN delegation consisted of 45 students representing three countries in their debates. At Georgia Tech, the students debated nearly 40 topics while representing the United Kingdom, India, and Denmark. Some of the topics of debate included Combatting Bioterrorism, Protecting Civilians in High Conflict Areas, Reducing CO2 Emissions in Aviation, Human Rights Violations Against Indigenous People, and Predictive Technologies for Natural Disasters.



This was Mackenzie's first conference but probably not her last. She plans to attend the University of Miami MUN conference in the spring. While in Atlanta Mackenzie did have some time for sightseeing including a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. Mackenzie's cousin Kayla (who lives in downtown Atlanta) was even able to join her for dinner one night.



Next post: a visit from Nana and Grandpa

Homecoming 2013

Unlike last year we were prepared for this year's homecoming. Mackenzie shopped weeks in advance for her dress. I got my camera out and started snapping pictures early so I wouldn't repeat last year's blurry photography mishap.









A friend of Mackenzie's hosted a pre-dance dinner and then her group of friends headed to the dance together.



We might have been ready for Saturday night's homecoming dance but we are totally unprepared for Mackenzie's upcoming trip to Georgia Tech for a United Nations Model Competition, more details to come.

Twelve

We celebrated Mason's 12th birthday last week. In a blink of an eye, he has grown into a young man. He is officially as tall as his big sister after a quick growth spurt where he grew a 1/2 inch in just three short weeks. He is spending this birthday in braces from head to toe. After a few complaints, we took Mason back to the orthopedic specialist only to find out that his foot is still fractured. Instead of another cast, Mason has been placed in a brace for the next five weeks.