WOW

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7279582211546311635

Today has been an exciting day at the Nielson household. Many emotions have made the rounds these last few week leading up to today. When Analisa announced to us that she was going to run for a student body office Brett and I were a little apprehensive knowing from experience what this entailed. Having a high GPA and CPA were prerequisite. There were 3 other people running for the same office of dance which made the creative process of how to promote yourself a little tricky. We pulled out the stops by enlisting the help of our amazing friend and photographer, Michelle to take some pictures of Analisa dancing. We spent several hours at the craft store and came up with a cool poster that had pictures lined up of Lisey dancing and the logo, "Dance like you just don't care" (pictures coming soon). Next came the interview with the current SBO's, faculty and PTA representatives. Since she was running for dance she had to also present a plan of how she would organize a school dance given an allotted budget. The outcome of this interview counted for 55% of the vote, 45% from the student body vote which then narrowed it down to two candidates. Making the cut at this stage meant scrambling to find 4 people to be in a skit of her choosing which would then be presented to the student body the following week. Analisa choreographed a dance to 4minutes by Justin Timberlake and Madonna. She spent that week teaching her cool moves to four very cute friends who did a really nice job boogieing in front of the entire school. After the skit assembly the student body voted again and then came a very long week of waiting.

Since Sarah is a current SBO she has spent the last 3 weeks preparing for the big reveal which is know here as The WOW (which stands for Wasatch Office Winners). Sarah has had a blast being an SBO. She has become very close to the other 8 officers and considers them all her family at school. Having a daughter run and win and then having her 1 year apart little sister run is very hard on a mother. You worry so much about the 2nd child feeling inadequate as it is. Watching her set herself up for possible failure is heart wrenching. Sarah has been more nervous for her than Analisa has been for herself. When talking to AL about the possibility of losing she said, "You know Mom, of course I'd be disappointed if I lost but I'd also be very happy for the other girl because I know how much she wants it too." Once I heard that I knew either way it would all be just fine.

Sarah and her crew did an awesome job performing skits and dances and presenting her slide show (THANK YOU AMY!). When the time came for the presenting of the new dance officer I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. Poor little Katherine was shaking up a storm. I'm hoping that the little video clip above captured the excitement of the moment. Hearing her name read up on stage was so exciting. At the same time my heart just broke for the sweet kids who didn't make it. There were happy tears and oh so many sad tears. The kids all hugged each other and were really supportive of one another. Analisa has planned to use her piano teaching money to buy her opponent a Build a Bear. It will be a fun and exciting year for Lisey but also one filled with hard work.

Congratulations sweet-heart! We're excited for your new adventure. You'll be a great SBO!

AL with one of her biggest fans -Kate


The girls with thier beloved student gov. and drama teacher, Ms Dodge