Happy Birthday Grandpa Bernie!

A birthday video for Grandpa upon his 88th birthday...

Springtime for Children in Door County!

It's springtime for children in Door County! Okay, maybe that's not quite a Mel Brooks song, but it does mean it's time for spring concerts!

There are few communities in the country that celebrate the arts more than Door County, so it's not surprising that we have very elaborate music and art programs. Here are the highlights of the concerts from three of our kids.

The first is Malia's performance. Here are the 1st graders doing a tribute to Appalachian folk songs...



Our elementary schools in Sturgeon Bay are separated by grade. 1st & 2nd grade go to Sawyer Elementary, 3rd, 4th & 5th go to Sunrise Elementary.

This means that Nalani goes to a different elementary school than Malia - but they sang the same songs.

Here is the third grade also singing a collection of Appalachian folk songs...



And finally, we have Kekoa and the 5th graders. They decided to be hippies for a day - complete with tie dyed shirts of their own design...



Springtime in Door County!

Plays & Performances Abound

Bret Jr.'s basketball tournaments have been eating up a lot of our time - but there's also all the stuff that our other kids do on the side.  For instance, David served as the co-host of the Sturgeon Bay Middle School Arts Night.

Here's a compilation of videos of my son introducing the acts along with his friend Charles...



Of course, everyone thought we were nuts. I was the only guy in the room who'd pick up the video camera to film the guys who introduce the acts - only to put the camera down once the acts began.

Last week we also attended the Destination Imagination performances of a couple of our kids. For the uninitiated, Destination Imagination (or "DI" as it's known) is a program in which kids have to perform a challenge in the context of a skit they write for themselves. They practice this for several weeks before performing it before an audience and a panel of judges the day of the DI Tournament.

Bret Jr., Kekoa and Nalani all participated in the program.

Unfortunately, Nalani and Bret Jr.'s performances were scheduled for the same time in different rooms. Cari was one of the coaches of Nalani's team, so I went to see Bret Jr.'s peformance on the day of the tournament while Cari stayed with Nalani.

But I wanted to see Nalani's skit, so I attended her final practice which her team put on before her classmates.

Here's a video of the final practice of Nalani's 3rd grade team. Early on, Nalani plays the role of the Fruit Queen - sending her troops to battle the evil Candy Soldiers. Later, all the girls are Cheesehead Aliens and they walk with a strange walk.

Hey, it's an original skit written by 3rd graders...



Kekoa's 5th grade team did a nice job as well. The story revolves around a dream of a "dumb nerd," played by my son Kekoa...



Bret Jr. also participated on a 6th grade team, but he asked his mother not to post the video online. Oh well.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I came home today and discovered stacks and stacks of Girl Scout cookies.  The garage smells wonderful!



I was going to dig in, but Cari (the troop leader) wouldn't let me.  Something about other people already paying for them.

Evil temptress.

A School Board Adventure

Last week we received a letter from the Sturgeon Bay School District, requesting that we bring our middle son, Bret Jr., to a School Board meeting this evening.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it.

Actually, it wasn't bad news, it was good news. Here is Bret being recognized by the the Superintendent and the School Board...




They presented him with this certificate "in recognition of your oustanding effort to help our district and students."





Here is the text of the citation:  "Bret Bicoy is a dependable student and is dedicated to exemplifying responsibility, positive attitude, and open-mindedness.  He has proven to be a thoughtful member of our school, and motivates his fellow classmates to try new things by simply being himself.  It has been a pleasure working with Bret so far this year and we look forward to watching his success."

Feel free to send accolades to Cari and me as his parents!

Wife, Mother of 6, and Straight A Student

We received this letter earlier this week...

Yes, my wife, mother to 6 children, just received "highest honors" for her perfect 4.0 grade point average in her first semester back in college.

My kids are mad because if their mommy gets straight A's and can still be a mom to six children, those six children have no excuse for not doing the same!

David Discovers You Tube

My teenage son David has learned to use You Tube.  Here are a few of his recently posted videos.

First, his Star Trek transporter...



Then there's his attempt at magic using his little sisters...



And finally, his first longer video...



He may seem quiet, but clearly he is my son - and a true Bicoy!

Two GREAT Basketball Seasons!

This week marked the final games for our sons' Sturgeon Bay Clippers 5th and 6th grade basketball teams.

Yes, it's a bit sad to see the season end, but I will admit that my rear end won't miss sitting on a bleacher for 3 hours at a stretch a couple of nights a week.  Put two basketball games back to back, and it's 3 hours, folks.

Here's our middle son Bret Jr. - the 6th grader - finishing up what he does best...

 

He just grabbed another rebound and is making the outlet pass.  His coach says that Bret Jr. is the best rebounder on the team.  He's not the tallest kid in class, although he certainly is among them.  What makes Bret Jr. a great rebounder is how he uses his defensive tackle of a body to get position - and he knows how to time his jumps well.

Of course, he is a Bicoy, so when he takes a shot, you know it has to be done with an over-exaggerated sense of style.  Look at how he finishes his free throws...



But for me, probably the coolest thing about his team is that in Door County, Wisconsin, there are three Filipinos on it - including the guy who is clearly the best player on the team (#51 above and below)!  Okay, maybe Bret's Filipino blood has been diluted a bit, but it's still in there somewhere. 

And of the Filipinos on the team, two of them are the starters - #51 below and Bret Jr. (in the glasses) walking next to him...



This is Wisconsin, the land of milk and meat and tall Scandinavian giants - and two Filipino boys are starters on the basketball team!

There are no playoffs at this level of basketball, but Bret's 6th grade team finished with a terrific 12-3 record for the season.  Congratulations boys!

Our 5th grade son Kekoa isn't a starter on his team, and his skills are still developing, but he is probably the most tenacious defender they have.  This boy doesn't know how to stop running and he never, ever quits.  Here he is getting ready to take a shot...



The 5th Grade Sturgeon Bay Clippers played a few more games than their 6th grade counterparts - and they were perfect.

Yes, Kekoa's team finished with a absolutely perfect 17-0 record.  These boys were amazing - and I must say that their coach is the best coach of kids this age I've ever seen.  Our boys had some talent, but there was no truly exceptional player on the team like there was with Bret Jr.'s.  Kekoa's team was just taught the fundamentals of basketball really well and every boy was coached to make good decisions on the floor.

Bravo coaches!

 

Kekoa's was a disciplined team, but since they finished the season with a perfect record, the coaches let them get a little goofy for their final picture...



Congratulations to both our sons on two great basketball seasons.