"Magnificent 7" Kill It at First Competition!

On March 12, 2020, Ella's Robotics team was sent home from competition without ever having had the opportunity to fire up Rookie, the ball-launching robot they created her freshman year.  Then her sophomore year, they continued building a remarkable robot, Shorty, but alas competitions did not yet resume, so Shorty stared in a short documentary and impressed middle schoolers at an assembly, but never competed.  You can probably imagine the excitement and nerves as this year the team FINALLY took a robot they made, Katana, to a real competition in Sacramento last Wednesday!

Competitions are 3 days events.  The first night they set up their pit.  The first full day is inspection, prep and practice.  Imagine a college sports arena divided in two-- one half is 43 teams' pit crews full of every tool and spare part to fix any possible problem that may pop up as the robots compete.  The other half is the playing field.  Walking around is a whole vibe!  The place is buzzing with nervous energy. Robots on carts are being raced through the aisles to queue up in time for the next match.  When you hear a team shouting "ROBOT!" it means move out of the way, or get run over.  Donna said she felt like it was the ER with gurneys racing around and a "HURRY!  Code Blue!  We're gonna lose them!" sense of urgency. :) Some teams are super slick, hailing from Silicon Valley and sponsored by tech giants. Some teams are small and modest, like ours.  Everyone is excited to trade buttons and scout each other out-- asking questions about their robots.  Ella made lots of new friends and hopes to keep in touch via social media.

As I've written before, Robotics teams are composed of Engineers, who build the robot, and Programmers, who write the code that runs the robot.  Ella is on the coding end.  She is the Lead Programmer and wrote a pretty cool autonomous code that made our robot unique in its climbing task.

Dave and I loved going to competition as chaperones/mentors!  We rented a big VRBO and had the whole team stay together in one lovely house.  I planned fun meals and cooked them.  Dave was an unexpectedly essential pair of hands for the small team, doing everything from training our scouts to running to Office Max and Home Depot for tools and parts we forgot.  The first day of prep was stressful.  The robot weighted in at 126.5 pounds.  It has a 125 pound limit, so that had to quick be remedied to pass inspection.  Then the robot was not functional until late afternoon.  They even missed one of their practice slots.  Though most of the kids on the team are juniors, this was their first competition and it took almost a whole day to get their groove.

Every one of the thousands of Robotics teams that are a part of FIRST around the globe are given the exact same task and the exact same amount of time to figure it out (approximately 2.5 months).  How many people you have on your team, how much sponsor money you secure and spend, and how you do it are ALL different, producing no two robots that look alike.  This year the task was to taxi autonomously for 15 seconds, scoop up balls that match your team's color, shoot the balls in low or high baskets, and then climb a 3 step ladder in the last seconds of the match.  We simply don't have the manpower or resources to accomplish all of these tasks, so our team decided its strategy would be to nail that ladder climb-- it was worth the most points, and building a ball-shooting robot was something they had already done and felt a little unexcited about.  

Before each match, Ella served as the Technician, getting us plugged in and the code up and running, then she handed it over to the Drive Team.  The Drive Team can't step over the line and take over until the Autonomous time is done.  Then, once the drivers get the controls, they can move the robot around the course, picking up and shooting balls and playing defense-- something we were just okay at.

BUT, once we hit the climbing portion of the competition, we did it perfectly and consistently.  Our robot's carbon fiber body, "mouse trap" extending and gripping arms, and autonomous code that allowed it to climb without human control, were things that impressed the judges.  And once we made it to that top monkey bar, we scored a ranking point each match!  At the end of the first day of competition, we were ranked in the top half.  At the end of the second day, we were ranked IN 11TH PLACE!!!

To level the playing field and allow small teams like ours to have a shot against the 125 member NASA team that ended up winning the whole thing, the competition is run by alliances.  It's never one team against another.  It's always 3 on 3 and these are constantly changing.  So, sometimes you play a match with awesome teams that boost you up and sometimes you are with struggling teams that drag you down.  FIRST actually has a name for this brilliant taste of real life-- "Cooperatition".  A combination of cooperation and competition.  I LOVED watching this play out!  When we were struggling, bigger, better schools came to our pit to help us with repairs.  When we had a good match, teams came to scout us out and learn more about our impressive climb to maybe align with us.  The picture above is Ella fist-bumping fellow alliance members.   Lots of camaraderie!  In the end, our 11th place rank got us all the way into the Top 8, as a 7th seed team, able to captain and choose our own alliance to compete in the Finals with.  We did not make it out of the quarterfinals, but that was expected.  The team shattered expectations finishing as high as they did!

Competing and scouting for potential alliances are just some of the many components, though.  Over the 3 days, judges are stopping by regularly to ask questions about your robot.  They want to know everything!  How well you can articulate the build process and team strategy makes a big difference in how you impress them for the awards they hand out at the end.  Ella did much of our talking to the judges (she just had the best gift for that of everyone on the team), and we ended up winning the big Judges Award!! This meant so much to our little team-- that the judges saw something special and impressive in them!  Our RoboKnights got to run in front of everyone to wave and accept the award.

The team made their way home later on Saturday night, exhausted, but with adrenaline coursing through them from this "infinitely stressful, but infinitely fun" (to use Ben's words) weekend.  The whole car ride home was a conversation about how to take the robot apart and make everything better for their next competition in a week!

Dave's and my first robotics competition blew all our expectations away!  We could have never imagined the highs, the lows, the thrill, the stress, the heart palpitations, the tears, the hoarse voice from screaming, the prayers, the emotion, or the PRIDE a carefully assembled hunk of carbon fiber, chains and motors; some lines of code; and 7 pretty awesome kids would give us!

The Imaginary Invalid

We trust our director, Mrs. M, but when she announced the Spring Drama was "The Imaginary Invalid", a French play written in the 1600's by Moliere, there were more than a few who were like, "What the heck is this random, crazy play?"  However obscure it may seem, though, it was HILARIOUS!  Pure comedy that had the audience laughing for two hours!  Several people afterwards told me it was the best thing our Drama Department has ever done!

Now, here's something I find funny.  Ella got the part of Toinette, the maid/nurse.  She told me, "I'm not the lead, but I'm on stage the whole time."  I never saw her work on lines.  I figured she was a minor background character.  ELLA DROVE THE WHOLE PLAY!! She was the glue that held all the ridiculous storylines and characters together.  More often than not, if we were laughing, Ella was the reason.  She had a million lines and cues and knew her part implicitly, but everyone else's as well.  She waaaaay undersold herself and may have given the performance of a lifetime!  Again, soooo many compliments afterwards about how funny and what a a phenomenal character actor she is!

So what is this play about?  It's the story of an old man who is a hypochondriac, taking tons of medications and seeing several doctors.  To save himself some money and try to secure free (or at least discounted) medical care, he attempts to marry his beautiful eldest daughter off to a horrible young doctor.  Hijinks ensue!  There are cringy marriage proposals, fake deaths, an evil stepmother, bearded disguises, an improv duet about shepherds, and even a man hiding in a piano!  There is so much action and comedy, I'd need to put 30 pictures on the blog to show all the expressive faces.  So, here are some collages I've made of the girls.  No face is the same!

Delia won our hearts with a small, but memorable part as the younger sister Louise.  She bounced into the third act, endearing and a dramatic mirror of her unhinged father.  She too told us her part was small, but this girl has The It Factor.  Even when her scene is small, she steals it.  Lots of compliments afterwards for her magnetic stage presence too!

The play has a happy ending when our "sick" old man realizes he doesn't have to ruin his daughter's life for free doctor care-- he can just become a doctor himself!   The final act is a silly graduation ceremony, where everyone attempts to speak Latin.

The cast.  SO much talent here!  Our director said, "Playing ridiculous is so much harder than playing straight."  Who knew our kids could do big, physical, expressive comedy so well?

Our director, Mrs. M, who loved everything about this show, and its small, dedicated cast, was a great encouragement every day.

The juniors, still representing the majority of the cast.  Word is that next year their big final musical will be The Sound of Music!  Mrs. M. needed something with lots of parts to accommodate all the interest and talent.  Ella already has her eyes on the Baroness role! ;)

Lovely, supportive church family!  So many bless us by coming to these things to cheer for our girls.  We always love that they report afterwards that they were seriously impressed and entertained.

Super proud parents and co-presidents of our girls' Fan Club!

I didn't take too many friend pictures, but both girls had all their friends come see them.  On Friday we laughed that Delia had the loudest cheer at curtain call because she had a whole row of freshmen screaming for her.  And one of Ella's favorite parts of the play was growing closer to fellow cast mates-- like Ava and Isaac (the title character and lone, super talented, senior).

There is NO down time to recover!  In two days Delia auditions for the next one-- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for grades 6-10 (our director is using the Middle School play to make up for the two classes that had their plays cancelled by Covid).  Ella heads to Robotics competition in two weeks, so her long hours at school just change location, from the stage to the lab!  

Hitting the Slopes

Ella recently got to try something totally new when her boyfriend's family invited her to go skiing for the day!  Skiing on real mountains in California was something I only needed to try once, but Ella ended up loving it.  I'm so thankful that:

1.  She actually picked it up really easily and had the best day with her favorite people

2.  She did not die or break any bones by crashing into a tree or falling off a ski lift...

3.  Which I had peace and comfort about because Ben's mom sent me regular pictures and videos all day long! ;)

A Special Winter

A funny thing has happened with the blog.  My #1 fan has become...DELIA!  She loves to read all the old stories of her growing up and reminds me regularly to update the blog with recent events and happenings.  I love this!  It's like a scrapbook she'll have forever.  So, hi Delia!  Here's your post about Galentines Day (and other stuff ;).

Our family got to join our friend Joy's family for a night of birthday fun in the Rage Room!  None of us really knew what to expect and found that beating furniture to smithereens with sledgehammers and smashing crates of glass dishes was far more satisfying than we could have imagined!  Delia cracked us up by connecting her phone to the Rage Room's Bluetooth and playing DJ for us with a combination of terrible, cheesy Christian songs and epic, villain theme songs!

We left no plate unshattered and no wooden furniture unsplintered!

Enjoy this short video of our rage!

The dad of one of Ella's best friends, who works at Google, had this mini drone that he was not using.  He's pretty techy and this cute little guy is pretty basic, so he gifted it to Ella to practice her programming!  It's been great fun.  Add it to the collection of robots that inhabit my home that Ivy is not fond of!

Delia was delighted to plan a lovely Valentines Day picnic in the park with the group of friends she eats lunch with.  These girls were darling with their planning-- a shared google.doc recorded all the food and games for entertainment.   Delia signed up to bring homemade pink sprinkle donuts.  I am sure you are not surprised.

Such a sweet group!  They had a great day together.

Dave and I went on a rare date one day for lunch.  He took me to a yummy sandwich place he's taken everyone else, but humorously, never me!  Our little lunch date actually occurred on the anniversary of our first date 27 years ago!

This time of year is just the best.  February is Almond Blossom season and even after all these years, it never stops being a wonder! (Video by Delia, graphics by Instagram.)

Ella really loved getting to be a high school counselor for our middle school's annual trip to Science Camp at Mount Hermon.  Both girls created such neat, special memories when they were students at Science Camp, Ella loved returning as a leader.  

I enjoyed tracking her around the familiar sights of Mount Hermon Family Camp for a week!  Hey, if someone is gonna give you a free week to our favorite place on the planet...we're gonna take it!  Though she came home absolutely exhausted and a tad traumatized from naughty middle school boys, Ella does hope to go back next year as a leader again!

Her cabin of girls was amazing!  And tromping around the familiar grounds, sharing her passion for science with kids was a treat for Ella too.

Another special part of this season has been rooting for 2 of Ella's best friends as they journeyed through the Almond Blossom Princess process!  Ruth was crowned runner up this week-- which was a huge honor and the exact place she wanted to finish (placing, but not having all the PR responsibilities of the official Almond Blossom Princess)!  Ella and her friend group had fun at the Coronation.

And more fun when they took friend pictures in the blossoms!  (Minus about 3 girls who were busy this Presidents Day.)

The Almond Blossom Parade remains a beloved tradition, but everyone goes their own way to be with friends now!

And one last picture, with a longer post coming in a few weeks after they perform.  The girls are both involved in this spring's drama, "The Imaginary Invalid".  It's an unknown play to us, pretty obscure, but the kids assure us it's hilarious with physical comedy "I Love Lucy" vibes.  We won't see them much these next 2 weeks as they squeeze in all the last practices before the show opens.  Another busy, but special, season!

Five Courses in the Orchard

Have I told you how much fun it is to be in the high school stage of life?!  Here is just another delightful example of why this age has been my favorite!  Two of Ella's sweet best friends, Ruth and Ansley, loooove to cook and wanted to give Ella and Ben a very special first Valentines Day together.  They asked if they could make them a gourmet meal and serve it outside in the orchard for a romantic, memorable date night.  As the girls planned, though, the idea and menu got bigger and bigger and they realized it was too much for two people, so they had the idea to include other couples too-- and we lucky parents got the invite!  I mean, come on!  How creative and generous is this?!

We were each sent a formal invitation and menu.

Our awesome kids were totally cool with going on a triple date with their parents.

The setting was idyllic!  Ruth's family farms almonds, so their home is in the middle of their blossoming orchard.  The night we did this was even the day the farmers call "Full Bloom"-- no pedals on the ground yet, ALL flowers open and still on the trees.  The pretty almond blossoms plus the gorgeous poolside and candlelit table our chefs set was all just spectacular!

Another fun detail of the night was that all the little sisters were the servers!  They were told to wear black and come early for training.  They added levity and charm to the formality of the evening!  Delia came out with this mountain of amazing herbed focaccia bread and said, "It's SO good, but don't fill up on bread!  I've seen the food and you'll want to save room!"  They checked on us over and over and made sure we were lacking for nothing! 

It was seriously one of the best meals I've ever had.  I heard the grilled salmon was to die for, but not being a big fish fan, our chefs thoughtfully served me chicken, which was also divine.  My favorite course may have been the soup course, though.  Spicy and sweet butternut squash with microgreens picked right from their garden (when they ran out, Delia had to quick go pick more!), crispy croutons, hazelnuts, and an artistically drizzled tart crème fraiche.  Yum!

Delia ate in the kitchen and, I think, had mostly dessert for dinner!  Warm Ghirardelli brownies with homemade caramel gelato and a whiskey salted caramel sauce that I could have eaten with a spoon!

Chefs and sister servers and their kitchen shenanigans!  I love how much fun guests and workers alike had all night!

There was no detail that was not thought of-- from the calligraphy place cards to the suggested wine pairings to the warm blankets, fun drinks, and homemade snacks around the fire our hosts ended the night with!  When I hugged Ella goodnight I thanked her for having such cool friends.