Grand Rapids resident Nick Schlee, 9, sits on the lap of his sister, prenursing freshman Kali Schlee, while waiting in line for a balloon animal during the MSU Lil Sibs Weekend registration events on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in the Union. The sibling pair participated in the karaoke, line dancing and life-sized candy land events hosted by the University Activities Board.
—Fighting the nerves of being on stage was something 9-year-old Nick Schlee of Grand Rapids, Mich., overcame while singing karaoke Friday night at the Union, but his sister, prenursing freshman Kali Schlee thought he “nailed it.”
“At first I felt kind of nervous, but I just looked down at the words and felt like no one was there and I felt good,” Nick Schlee said, beaming after he stepped off the stage.
Singing LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” during a karaoke activity at the Union was one of the many activities of the annual Lil Sibs Weekend, put on by the University Activities Board, or UAB.
UAB Spirit and Traditions Director Kaitlyn West estimated at least 1,800 people participated in the event.
Lil Sibs Weekend kicked off at 7 p.m. on Friday with games and services, including line dancing, a life-sized Candy Land, bowling and airbrush tattoos. Events ran through Saturday as well, with a scavenger hunt at the MSU Museum, open gym and swim at IM Sports-Circle, a show at Abrams Planetarium and bounce houses.
The event was free to students and their siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, with an exception for discounted meal tickets at the cafeterias and event T-shirts.
Campus Center Cinemas played child-friendly movies, including “Toy Story,” “Wreck-It Ralph,”“Despicable Me and “Frankenweenie.”
Since there was a snow day back home, Nick Schlee arrived at MSU around 1 p.m. Friday. The two siblings began the weekend in Holmes Hall watching TV.
Later that night, the duo shared laughs and playful trash when they played life-sized Candy Land.
“We’re always competitive — it’s always who can win and who loses,” Kali Schlee said.
When the duo wasn’t competing in games, they did the “Wobble” dance and kicked up their feet to the “Cotton Eye Joe.”
“Line dancing was fun because he was actually doing it with me,” Kali Schlee said. “At first I thought he wouldn’t do it, but he did.”
On Saturday, the two went to IM Sports-Circle for open gym and swim, later going on a tour of campus. Nick Schlee taking special notice of the famous Sparty Statue.
“I think they should do it more often and even advertise it more,” Kali Schlee said. “I felt like a lot of people didn’t know about it, it’s a fun experience to hangout with your sibling and show them around campus.”
Both of the siblings said they already are looking forward to next year’s event.
“I think it’d be a little bit different since I’ll be living off campus, so we might have more options for what to do,” Kali Schlee said.
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