ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Shhh! LifeSmarts staff is sleeping!

What a fun LifeSmarts National Championship event! Minneapolis was a fantastic host city, and we were thrilled to have 29 state champion teams travel to the Twin Cities, braving the threat of winter weather, to compete for the national title. We are so proud of all you guys and grateful to the coaches, coordinators, volunteer officials, awesome guest speakers, and our generous sponsors for making this program a success!

In the next day or two, we'll post a link to the 2008 National Champion slide show, which has some beautiful -- and sometimes hilarious -- images capturing the four days of fun at the Millennium Hotel. In the meantime, post or send us your stories and photos from nationals. We want to hear from you!

Update: State Champs Eliminated

This just in: these teams have been eliminated. Sorry, guys!

• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Texas
• Washington
• Indiana
• Alabama
• New Mexico
• California
• Ohio
• Delaware
• Oklahoma
• Wisconsin
• Pennsylvania
• New York
• North Dakota
  

Check Us Out! WCCO LifeSmarts Piece Aired Sunday Night

We are stars!

LifeSmarts made the Twin Cities CBS news broadcast, WCCO, last night in consumer reporter/weekend anchor Terri Gruca's feature about LifeSmarts! You can view the story online here.

Team Photos!

Gorgeous and goofy images of your favorite state champs here!




These guys are New Jersey!

LifeSmarts in the Strib!

This just in: Dollars & Sense John Ewoldt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a great column today about our LifeSmarts program. You can read it here.

They're Heeeeeeere

It's Saturday!

There's a steady stream of Super Shuttles bringing in State Champs by the van-load.

Teams have come a long way -- beat more than 20,000 students through online competitions, won at states, bonded through hours of studying and fundraising, and endured dicey weather to -- to get to Minneapolis.

The 2008 National LifeSmarts Championship is finally here!

We’ve started to see a handful of teams checking out downtown Minneapolis, exploring the hotel and registering for the competition. Here’s a sample of the prizes that are at stake for the players this long weekend:

Third place:

• $300 Savings Bond (Thank you to Toyota Financial Services)
• $25 Best Buy Gift Card (Thank you to the Consumer Electronics Association)

Second place:

• $600 Savings Bond
• $50 Best Buy Gift cards

And check out what the first place team is in for:

• $1,200 Savings Bond
• $100 Best Buy Gift card
• $100 Staples Gift Cards (Thank you to Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers)
• iPhones (Thank you to AT&T)

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting LifeSmarts and providing these sweet prizes!

OK, OK. We May Have Overreacted

Well, it's turning out that the weather really isn't THAT bad. It's just raining right now, and it's above the freezing mark. (Hmm, the freezing mark. That sounds like a good LifeSmarts question...) Don't get us wrong - it definitely looks more like winter than spring, and there are some areas in the state that are truly getting dumped on - but downtown Minneapolis is mostly just looking a little slushy.

People are no longer using scary words like "blizzard," and we NCL staff are settling in at the hotel where all the action will take place (which is really nice and has a restaurant with a yummy breakfast buffet).

The Star Tribune is reporting that the storm's been downgraded to a "Winter Weather Advisory," and 2-4 inches today. Tomorrow, the day when most LifeSmarts state champs will arrive, looks like even less of a weather threat. So happy and safe travels to all you state champs! We look forward to seeing you!

We Got Good News, and We Got Bad News

Always go with the bad first, right?

We're watching the weather for Minneapolis, and it's definitely going to be *interesting* over the next day or two. Weather.gov is calling for rain and snow tonight, then rain, snow, and sleet overnight. Tomorrow, we'll get 2 to 4 new inches of snow. Can someone please tell the Twin Cities it's spring?!?

Message to Kea'au High School: please don't let this weather scare you. It will be an adventure, we promise. We need your Aloha Spirit!

But, the good news is that most LifeSmarts state champion teams won't be traveling until Saturday. Right, guys? Less snow is predicted for Saturday, and by Sunday we'll be experiencing a balmy 47 degrees.

A Nordstrom, Macy's AND a Bloomingdales?

This must be heaven! Actually, it's the Mall of America!

What better place could there be -- for a bunch of teens who've become experts on being savvy consumers -- to practice?!?

The Mall of America, which is so big it boasts a handful of duplicate stores and an indoor amusement park, is just one of the can't-be-missed sights for the state champs traveling to the 2008 National LifeSmarts Championship event this weekend. Also in that category: the Guthrie Theater, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Walker Art Center.

Twin Cities, here we come!