How Do You Spell Awesome? T-A-N-N-E-R

This year marks the first year that my kids have had the opportunity to participate in a Spelling Bee.  A list was sent home weeks ago and we practiced and drilled on the words for about 30 minutes... and that was the level of our dedication. Each class in the 5th grade held their own in-class Spelling Bee and sent their top five spellers to the school wide Bee.  Tanner and Ashlyn both came home and said that they had unfortunately been knocked out in their class competitions and wouldn't be competing, not too big of a surprise, we really didn't practice much.  So I threw away the list.  Then a couple days ago, Tanner was informed that one of his classmates wouldn't be competing and since he was next in line, he advanced to the school competition.  Fortunately, I was able to pull the list out the garbage and dust it off.

The competition was scheduled for the morning of St. Patrick's day.  

Those darn pesky leprechauns got a hold of Tanner's spelling list and wrote on there that they wished him "Bad Luck" and also added a few spelling words of their own... all rude ones of course.

Not thinking Tanner had practiced beyond the one day we practiced for 30 minutes, I really didn't think he would go far... 

But then he lasted through round 1, and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7!!!!

And then there were three kids left... 

And Tanner was one of them!!!  I mean we started off with 30 or more kids and this kid was one of the last three!!!  He was given his round 8 word and......... he missed :(  But then the next girl also missed her word.  He was knocked out for first.  But he had to go into a final round spell off with the girl to see who would place second.  And he NAILED it.

He received a $15 gift card to Barnes and Noble

He couldn't smile.  His nerves were shot.  He was shaking when I finally got to hug him.

I couldn't let him stand up there posing for pictures without at least one smile, so I am pretty sure I ruined his life when I stood at the back of the gym yelling for him to smile.

So take that leprechauns...  Some of the words he had to spell were gentlemen and generous, far from the words the leprechauns wrote on his list, but much more fitting for my amazing boy!