LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN: Rachel

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

JANUARY 22, 2015 -- HOUSE COMPETITION

"FAIRY TALE THEATER" HOUSE COMPETITION
January 22, 2015

The kids this week were busy with their regular school stuff but they also had extra practices for their “Drama House Competition” that was on Friday. Dad and I went to the school and really enjoyed the competition. Each house was assigned a Fairy Tale and then the students in the house had to write a script and retell the story. There were some interesting interpretations AND some really great creativity in script changes, costumes and scenery. Each of our kids did a great job with their parts. Richard says he doesn’t like drama, but he did a great job as the laoshi (teacher) in the script that he and Benjamin helped to write. Rebecca was the mother in Jack and the Beanstalk and memorized a lot of lines. Bethany was the old woman that tied the story together and did a lot to help lead their play. Rachel was a fairy in Sleeping Beauty and also had memorized lines. Daniel was an old man in the same play and helped to defeat the dragon. Benjamin, Richard and David were all in “Cinderella.” Benjamin wore his scout shirt and beret and was the “duke” who delivered the message about the ball and then searches for the foot to fit the glass slipper. David was the prince! I will try to send pictures this week. The school has provided a lot of great experiences for our kids.

JANUARY 7, 2015 -- ABBY DLD FIRST "FOOTBALL" GAME

ABBY DLD FIRST FOOTBALL GAME
January 7, 2015

Thursday morning was filled with excitement and energy! Today was the first football game for the new Abby DLD school!!! Just to clarify – “football” here at a British school is actually “soccer” as we know it in the USA – from here forward, football translates into “soccer” for you. Our very own Rachel and Richard made the final cut for the football team. They have jerseys/uniforms and the works! Another super cool thing is that Rachel is the ONLY girl as well as the only foreigner on the team! She stands at about shoulder height to all those boys! Rachel has had some struggles being in this position of the only and the smallest on the team, but she has been strong, persistent and has been determined in her participation on the team. I believe she has earned the respect of the other players – or at least they don’t underestimate her anymore. J In the game, Rachel was one of the players who played almost the entire game. She played hard and was amazing! The game ended with a score of 1-0 with Abby DLD the winners! The only score made in the entire game was scored by our very own Rachel!!! Woot, Woot!!!! She was the super star!!! The score in itself was awesome as someone else had kicked the ball and it hit the upper crossbar of the goal and bounced back, tipped the goalie and then came down and Rachel caught it IN THE AIR and kicked it right into the goal! She has learned from one of the coaches to watch and predict where the ball is going to go and she was positioned right, had a little luck on her side, BUT had the skills to get her foot in the right place at the right time and at the right angle to get that ball in the goal while in the middle of chaos of many players there in the goalie’s box!! I was so excited and so proud of her!!! That’s my girl!

We can’t forget Richard!!! Richard played a fantastic game as well! Richard has great foot work and he had lots and lots of kicks on that ball! He played hard and was amazing!!! Richard is a very talented athlete. I heard one of the coaches tell him how great he was playing and that he was doing an amazing job out on the field. One thing I noticed about Richard is that he was obviously in the best physical shape of anyone out on the field. He played the entire game and was hardly winded. Impressive! Richard earned the award for the "most valuable player" in the game. Richard is going to LOVE intramural sports at BYU!!