Cowboy boots and square roots

Yee Haw...Ride 'em cowboy!

Can you tell I just spent two days in Ellensburg?

We just got back from a rip roarin' good time on the CWU campus. Nicholas was participating in the MATH OLYMPIAD 2008.

What is that you ask?

It's a math competition between several Washington State elementary schools. Only 5th and 6th graders are allowed to participate. Nick joined his school's math club back in September and has been honing his math skills ever since.

They work hard all year just to get ready for this big event.

Now, getting up early every Tuesday morning to do math is not what most kids prefer to do. Some of them truly enjoy working out equations and the like, but for most attendees.... I think it's the promise of the BEST field trip known to kid-dom... A trip to Ellensburg to have a giant pizza party at Grant's pizzeria and a swimming pool party at the local pool.

Then reality sets in on day two when they remember that they have a job to do. They have to put their craniums to the test! They work in groups of four trying to solve some pretty difficult math problems. Seven pages of story problems that deal with algebra, geometry, probability, number sense, etc etc etc. I saw the test, it was NOT easy. I was feeling a little uneasy about my skills when I saw what they expected 5th and 6th graders to do.

Here's our school's crew!

I even felt a little guilty when all of us moms decided to see the sights and get a coffee at the Dakota Cafe while our kiddos were slaving away. Especially when I saw the GIGANTO cinnamon twist doughnut I was about to sink my teeth into! YUM.

Here we are just shootin' the breeze and having fun.

(Jodie, Mona, Sarah, Beth, Lori, and Moi)

At the awards ceremony after the competition, they honor the groups that had the best score out of each category. And the one lucky group who had the best overall score gets to go home with a fancy gold medal.

Hmmm... What is that around Nick's neck? That is THE fancy gold medal I was just talking about. YUP-- My awesome kid was one of the four recipients. Isn't that the coolest?

WAY TO GO NICHOLAS! All of your hard work and early Tuesday morning club meetings really paid off.

Nick, my Nick, Josiah, and Preston

Nick was so proud of himself he could have lit a room with all his beaming! It was a lot of fun and you can bet your boots we'll be back next year!