One of my favorite online pastors posted a great piece of parenting advice a little while ago. He shared that our kids spend so much time in our worlds where we are the "experts". We don't need to try and be the expert in their world. We should seek opportunities to let our kids be the expert of their own passions and gifts and teach us. Their extra curricular activities are the perfect place for them to do this! So today, with all of Ella's new free time, she and I spent a few hours together catching up at the coffee shop. I listened and learned about 3D printing, omni-wheel driving systems, and her dreams for growing our Robotics program. Getting this taste of her thrilling Robotics world, which I am admittedly addicted to right now, was also what prompted me and my friend Donna to hop in the car after school last weekend and make a totally spontaneous, and a little crazy, 6 hour drive to the desert to watch our kids compete one last time this season.
This RoboMom Road Trip was SO FUN! I'm a planner and a nervous driver, so to just up and drive 12+ hours in one weekend is quite out of character for me, but so worth it! These are the special moments in our kids' lives that I don't want to miss! This second competition was the Aerospace Valley Regional, honoring all the big name airline engineers that headquarter in the high desert of LA and sponsor it. It had a different feel than Sacramento. Being in the middle of nowhere had the whole team staying in a hotel. Late nights in the pool and sitting around the tables in the lobby, playing games and laughing till we cried will be some of my favorite memories.
But, riding the rollercoaster of emotion that is watching our kids compete with their robot are also sweet memories I take from this weekend. Here's the honest truth: our kids had no idea how good they actually were until they shocked themselves in Sacramento. They went into this second competition with much higher expectations. Because this Regional doesn't typically attract the big Silicon Valley schools, we were even more competitive too. Finishing in a good spot (#12), but still battling a bit of driver error or robot malfunction had the team a tad disappointed after the first day. Ella told me competing with expectation and even pressure made this Regional much more stressful. While they did not finish in the very top like they were hoping, the team still made it to the finals and was still able to captain their own alliance, but once again got knocked out in the quarterfinals. The picture above is their 3 team Finals Alliance. They really liked working in this strategically picked alliance.
Carrying Katana, their 125 lb robot, into her final match for the last time.
One last hang.
Time to breathe and relax! Between the final matches and the awards ceremony is a super fun dance party. A few brave members of Team 3669 even jumped in the conga line.
One of our alliance buddies came and delivered a personalized award! So classy! Our robots are Instagram friends now. :) This relationship building and networking is one of my favorite parts of Robotics.
And this terrific team even won another award!! This time the judges awarded them the Creativity Award for the unique way they designed their robot to hit the climb every time-- even though its chains and "many flailing arms" originally baffled the judges! No Robotics team from our school in the 12 years it's been in existence has ever ended a season with 2 top finishes and 2 awards!
I'm so thankful Ella has found this world. Having spent 2 competitions in it with these kids, I love them all too. They are brilliant, creative minds who don't take themselves too seriously and love to have a silly, hilarious time together! Their coach says they are a pretty special bunch, which might be a major contributor to their success. With no seniors leaving, the junior leadership having actual competition experience now, and, hopefully, some more new members again next year, they'll be that much stronger in the 2023 season! Watch out World Championship, the RoboKnights might just be shattering history and coming for you next year!
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