so, the spring edition of the quarterly newspaper ROSEMARY THYMES just hit the news stands (you can pick up your free copy at gigi's and other businesses in rosemary beach). i write a recurring column called KIDBITS and here it is! (now keep in mind, that because this is a quarterly newspaper, some of this may seem like ancient news. a lot of you have given me news SINCE i wrote this one, and it will be featured in the SUMMER edition!)
Kidbits…The lost tooth news
News the way kids like to tell it…all good, mostly true, and, of course, totally earth shattering.
Every year, one lucky kid is chosen to be Santa’s helper for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. This year 6½ year old Ezra Owens, grandson of Rosemary Beach staff member Miss Jo McKinney, was chosen to do the honors. He was so excited and even wore a tie for the occasion!
Also over the holidays, sisters Gemma and Aimee Garlisch were both among the cast of the Northwest Florida Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Aimee performed cartwheels flawlessly across the stage in her role of baby mouse, while Gemma danced the lead role of Clara! This truly was a dream come true for Gemma.
Nine-year-old Sydney Russell cheers with the Lynn Haven Raiders Pee Wees. Their squad is not only the Bay County champ, but also they won first place at nationals in Pensacola!
Lauren Alexander, 3 ½, is serious about being a princess. She wears a princess dress every day, everywhere, except for school and church. She has favorites that she wears until ragged and then she moves on to a new one. I was so honored when she found a new one at Gigi’s that she loved so much that she retired her old one before it even had a single hole, and wore the new one out!
Super fast Alex Weiner beat her personal record at the state cross-country meet, as well as, set a new school record for the 5k at 20:09. Way to go!
Ethan Terrell, 8, is very busy these days with being on a wrestling team, basketball team, AND baseball team. Accordingly, his mom Kelly (of Solace Day Spa) is very busy with being on the carpooling team!
Lucas Najera, 9, and his dad partnered up for the Rosemary Beach Thanksgiving bocce tournament and made it all the way to the quarterfinals. They were nicknamed the “Cinderella Team” because they got so far even though they were new to the game!
Three-year-old Lennon Wakefordnot only learned how to ride a bike with training wheels, but even rode all the way to Gigi’s from his grandma Tiki’s house!
After hurting his leg in soccer, A.J. Cloutier had to wear a very tall cast over the winter, but finally got it off! It was dark in color so he had people sign it in silver pen. How fashionable!
Carlton Yarbrough, 10, wants to be a fashion designer, so she joined a kids sewing class in her hometown of Albany, GA. It dawned on her that she and her classmates could use their sewing talents for a good cause. So with the help of their teacher, they now sew specially made pillows and ship them to soldiers. They even thoughtfully attach a personal handwritten note to each pillow.
The students of Seaside Neighborhood School did indeed win FIRST PLACE among all middle schools, and 6th place overall out of 55 schools at the B.E.S.T. Robotics Competition held at Auburn. There was huge controversy as the judges mistakenly listed SNS as a high school. So at first the kids were lead to believe that they had not even placed. It wasn’t until several days after the competition was over that the judges realized their blunder and contacted the middle school to let them know. Several of the kids I talked to about this took it as a compliment that they were mistaken for a high school (apparently their work was that advanced!) Others felt bad for the original first place middle school winner because THEY had to be notified that they were now reduced to second place! The SNS students worked really hard though and deserve to just enjoy their win!
Jack Miller had the 10th birthday of his dreams. He has always had a special fascination for the beach warning flags that the fire department puts up to inform people about water conditions. So on his birthday, Super Mom arranged to have the South Walton Fire/Rescue Team come out to show him how it is done. They even allowed Jack to change the flag himself! Afterward, the firemen invited Jack, his sister Emma Jane, and brother Henry to board their fire truck and take a ride around Rosemary!
Siblings Zuma and Emerson spent some time at Gigi’s during the weekend of the First Annual 30-A Songwriters Festival of which their songwriter dad Jeff Black was a brilliant guest performer.
Also during the fun filled weekend, sisters Alex and Sydney Weiner, as well as Hunter and Hannah Burgtorf got the chance to meet songwriter Jessi Alexander who is best known for writing the huge hit “The Climb” performed by Miley Cyrus. (see photo by kim jameson below...jessi is on the far right.)
Speaking of Miley Cyrus, the staff of Amavida Coffee knows for a fact that she likes white mocha lattes because that is exactly what she ordered when she visited Rosemary Beach recently!
Now to toot my own horn a little: I am so thankful for all those who voted for us in the recent 30A.com “hot spot awards”. I am thrilled to announce that Gigi’s won “hottest spot for kids clothing and/or toys”! We also got runner up to Camp Watercolor in a different category, “hottest spot for kid friendly fun”! THANK YOU!
Now for the information you really care about: the lost teeth! Oliver Burrus, 6½, lost a tooth while on vacation. Gabe Smartt lost two teeth over the winter. Mason LaPlante got four teeth pulled in one day! He got to have all the smoothies he could eat. Christopher LaPlante lost a tooth on Christmas Eve, so Santa brought an extra gift! Luc Gaupin, 11, lost three molars in one month. Two of them were lost on the same day, surprising the school nurse AND mom! Mitchell Abes, 10, lost a whopping five teeth in January. He also got blue braces, but will change colors with the seasons. One-year-old Isaac Bailey now has eight teeth! And grown-up-kid Rozz Friedman broke a tooth on a peach pit. She says there wasn’t much to put under her pillow, but she wrote a sad note to try to convince the tooth fairy to leave a few bucks. Hope she was successful!
Kids if you would like your news included in the next “Kidbits” column, please bring it to Gigi’s, or email me at [email protected]and write “kidbits” in the subject line, or write it on the wall of the Gigi’s Fabulous Kids Facebook page.