She's been waiting....

and waiting and waiting and waiting....

for the
Third Grade Spelling Bee!

Seriously, Kelly has known for several weeks that she would be one of seven to represent her class in the third grade spelling bee. She called the grandparents to make sure they knew that she would be in the spelling bee. She chose her clothes a week ago. All week Kelly has been telling me that she would be going to bed by 8:30 on Thursday night so she could be well rested for the spelling bee (and she did!). She was up at 6 a.m. this morning, ready to go. She did not dillydally this morning like she is wont to do. Christopher, Leslie and I were there to cheer her on and take pictures..... (be warned, there are lots of pictures in this post)

Kelly, waiting for instructions with the other 27 spellers. She drew seat number 3.

First word - BELL. Cinchy.

Second word - BUNT. Easy.

Third word - PRETTY. Piece of cake.

Fourth word - EMPTY. Got it.

Fifth word - MELLOW. Check.

Whew. Kelly made it to the last five. They are listening to the final instructions.

Sixth word - DIGIT. Done.Seventh word - ORGANIC. No problem.

Eighth word - BACKGROUND. Dang. She went too fast and forgot the G. Jerrett (the tall boy) missed his word, but Grant got his. Grant had to spell one more word to win, but he missed. Kelly, Jerrett and Grant started another round.

Ninth word - VOLLEY. Score. Jarrett misspelled his word then Grant misspelled his word. Kelly had to go again - one more word and she wins.
Tenth word - DILLYDALLY. Cue laughter from the crowd - parents, teachers and students. You can see Jarrett laughing. And..... Kelly spelled DILLYDALLY without missing a beat.

SHE WON!!!

Kelly with her certificates. She also won a year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica for kids - online. She was very excited!

With Mrs. Piester the Gate Teacher and the top five spellers - Noah, Jarrett, Kelly, Grant and Brett. (Grant, Jerrett and Kelly are usually the top three in everything. They will be competing against each other in a lot of things, I'm sure.)

(P.S. My mom won her school spelling bee in sixth grade. Kelly's got it in her genes!)