Caleb performed "
Strega Nona" in the Lone Star Storytelling Festival in October. The festival included about a dozen youth tellers who trained for five months to be the opening act for the professional tellers. Caleb was the youngest teller, but it didn't seem to make him nervous training with middle and high
school students. Since he thrives on having an audience, I was pretty confident he would do a fantastic job performing, but I must admit I got pretty nervous when he accidentally belched in two of his rehearsals. (Guess he got carried away in the story and forgot his manners.) Thanks to Gas-X on the day of the festival, he hit his performance out of the ballpark when it really mattered. The day before the festival, Caleb gave two performances for a few hundred Frisco fourth graders who came out to see the story tellers on a special field trip. The day of the festival was rainy with a smaller crowd, but it was still great to see him perform. He even got in a few extra performances at his elementary school since the 3rd grade teachers happened to be studying "
Strega Nona" and several asked him to come perform for their classes. Caleb had such a great time he's already searching for
material for his audition for next year.
Our whole family has "
Strega Nona" memorized
Working the audience
Big Anthony after eating too much pasta
Caleb on stage with his coach, fellow student teller, and professional teller
Uncle Danny got to perform with an Emmy Award winning musician
This man made Caleb's day by asking for his autograph
Our whole family has "Strega Nona" memorized
Working the audience
Big Anthony after eating too much pasta
Caleb on stage with his coach, fellow student teller, and professional teller
Uncle Danny got to perform with an Emmy Award winning musician
This man made Caleb's day by asking for his autograph 
It was wonderful getting to see our Pennsylvania friends the Pruitts. Sarah cooked a pizza lunch for us and John showed us the amazing patio he built in their backyard.
We visited the Coca Cola Museum. At the end, they had a room with free samples of every kind of soda imaginable from all over the world. The kids had a blast trying as many as they could. We don't normally drink soda, so it was a surreal experience. The look on Sierra's face says it all.
The light and water show at Olympic Park 
President Sierra at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum
This is where Martin Luther King was pastor during the Civil Rights Movement.
Madeline making a pterodactyl puppet after seeing a funny and educational puppet show about dinosaurs.
The Georgia Aquarium--here's a sample of why it's the biggest in the world.
On the deck at the timeshare
Caleb on his 9th birthday
Madeline's little pioneer cabin--she kept running back when we tried to leave
Leaf collecting
Mountain vista
We saw quite a few black bears on the hiking trails and even in the trees. This one crossed right in front of our path.
Sunset at the timeshare
Caleb's birthday celebration
Morning sunshine
Cherokee Museum
Clingman's Dome--the highest point in the Smoky Mountains
Sierra loved pulling moss off the rocks
Madeline and her "magic wand"
Tossing stones in the river
Wonderworks Museum
The mountains had perfect climbing rocks
Sculpture Museum
