Field Day

Yesterday was Field Day! And while it was a little hot, you could not have asked for better weather (in past years, its had to be reschedule several times OR last year, it was so hot, everybody was dropping like flies!).

Korri with Mrs. Erger

Finn with Mrs. Halverson

Jim was able to block off the afternoon and come along so we divided and conquered. The nice thing about this year was the Mac was old enough to go along and participate, which was a lot of fun to see (thanks to Mrs. Erger and Mrs. Halverson for letting him!). Have I mentioned lately how we hit the jackpot for teachers this year?!?!

I started out with Korri's group. Here are some of her activities: water balloon toss (everybody's favorite!), Comet rocket, shoe kick, sprints, limbo and tug-o-war (and one tuckered out kiddo!).

Then we happened to find Finn's class, so we switched groups (and Mac went with me for a while). Here are some of Finn (and Mac's) activities: three-legged race (with daddy!), sprints, shoe kick, Comet rockets, egg race and bocce ball (and one tired boy!).

I didn't get pictures of the three-legged race, potato sack race, or the chicken race (because I missed those for both kiddos!). I had a blast, even if it was hot. I made sure the kiddos had sunscreen on, but not me. Oops! Looking forward to next year already! And then the following year we'll have two in elementary and one in middle school (and they do them the same day). Maybe Ramma will need to come!

And look who we found...REAGAN!!! She and Mac did the egg race together.

Broken Board

We had Finn's green belt meeting tonight and set some goals for him to work on personally, academically and with karate. At the end of the meeting, Finn asked Master Chris when he could break a board (this is something he's wanted to do since Day 1). And Master Chris got up and said, "tonight!"

He went to get a board, gave Finn some instructions and...Finn did this:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/N7a14qRivvhkybcs1

I was so proud of him, but more importantly, as you can tell from the video...he was proud of himself! And it was a "medium" weight board not just the beginner board!

Now we need to decide if he's going to join the Master's Club, which is for lifetime and enables him to go to as many class he wants and to go to the specialty classes, like weapons, sparring and kickboxing.

And he starts his goals next week...we'll see how that goes! If he succeeds for two weeks, he'll get his discipline patch.

Mother's Day Spa

Today, Korri's class hosted a spa day in honor of Mother's Day! It was so adorable and so much fun! There were four stations: hair, makeup, nail polish and relaxation. I loved the one-on-one time with her and she loved being able to do all the activities TO me!

And the best part of the day for me was reading with Korri on the rug! This event made me realize I need to do a better job of putting things aside and truly being present and doing things with my kiddos.

And Korri gave me two gifts: A poem with a painted flower and picture and a My Mother "fill-in" sheet (which I just LOVE!):

My favorite part of the fill-in was when I walked into the room, Korri asked me how much I weighed. I was like, "um, why?" She said she had to write it down. I asked how much she THOUGHT I weighed and she hesitated (clearly very worried about saying that I weigh too much!!!) and said, "30 pounds?" I was like, nope but that's great! Later I told her I weigh about twice as much as she does, to which she responded, "So you weight 2,000 pounds!!" Um, let's go with 30 pounds, girl!! LOL

I had a Spa Day with Finn when he was in First Grade, too:

Graduation!

Well, karate graduation, anyway! All five of us graduated tonight! Finn received his green belt. Jim, Korri and I received our gold belts and Mac received his double stripe gold belt. It was a long night but so rewarding. The kiddos were super excited for their new belts, especially Mac. He's been talking about it for over a week and telling everybody he's getting a double gold belt!

Mac was first.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gbZQJh3vU2dF0FD32

Then it was Korri.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/0cVBBa5udB3MXHQr1

Finn's turn.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/0aAWusTGhXKHDprd2

Then after a quick dinner break, it was Jim and my turn. Video taken by Korri! She's the only one of our children who actually wanted to watch our graduation.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5YXbN7bt8betu2eE2

No individual pictures of Jim and me, but here are all of our graduation group pictures! (Where's Waldo!! LOL)

Notice how happy Mac is? Mr. Newman (the one in red with his arm around him) might be his favorite person on earth!

So now Finn will be working toward his purple belt; Jim, Korri and I will be working toward our green belt and Mac will be working toward his double green stripe belt! Each belt gets progressively more difficult, so we'll see how things go!

Our First Piano Recital

Finn and Korri (and me as a parent!) had their first piano recital today! To be fair, I feel like I forced their piano teacher to have one...but...I mean...isn't that kind of the point of lessons? To be able to show all your hard work and how far you've come? Honestly, it didn't take much coercion on my part and once I planted the idea, I think she really took to it (this was her first time giving a recital!).

So today was the day. There were nine students, which is a great number for a recital. Each student had two songs and they all used their sheet music, even though I think most had their pieces memorized. It was FAR more casual than any of my piano recitals were, which I loved. We were out of there is about 45 minutes and that is with Belinda saying really nice words and acknowledgements for each student and handing them a certificate and personalized piano bag! So thoughtful.

Korri's first song, Busy Bee by Michele Aylen:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sEMRWJTEoBhTjq8c2

Finn's first song, Forest Drums by Nancy and Randall Faber:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fDR6THZtR4N4y2tr6

Korri's second song was Bear Dance by Jon George and Finn's second song was SpyBot by Susan Paradis. Korri just finished her first year and Finn finished his second (Korri didn't want to wait until Second Grade to start...and she's done really well!).

They both did so well. Neither seemed to have stage freight at all (which is shocking for Finn!). It might help that their piano teacher is the nicest, kindest person! She is so encouraging. She is such a blessing. Here's to a summer of no lessons! They'll both be back at it next fall!

Everybody has a belt!

And today, Jim received his white belt! He went to class last night so that today would be his third class (instead of waiting until Thurs).

And here is a short video (Master Chris didn't give me any warning!)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kqKj6QR3UUsTuP3m1

So official now:

Today, I also received my first stripe (red for character) and Finn received his third black stripe (which means he is one black stripe away from testing for his green belt!). So much going on but it is so much fun doing it together.

We officially joined today as a family. There was a bit of sticker shock but there are five of us and it is such a great experience to be doing as a family.

Momma's turn!

And today, I received MY white belt! Of course there wasn't anybody there to take a picture or video (so is the story of my life) BUT I took a selfie with my belt on after class:

It feels good to have a belt. It feels more official (starting out as an adult is very humbling). I REALLY like class. It is for sure a workout (and I'm so glad I'm already in shape...at least cardio shape...flexibility and strength will come!). Since Jim won't be traveling next week, maybe each of us can take an evening class instead of just the Tues/Thurs daytime class so we can go to three classes instead of two. We'll see.

AND...Jim should receive HIS white belt next week! How do you keep all these belts and uniforms separate?!?!

White belt

Korri received her white belt tonight! She was SO excited.

First she had to demonstrate the skill she has learned already:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BfHxqZwLyX8yqbys2

Then she received her belt:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kPvMbQEQ3sXgP3Kf1

She looks so official now! Of course, we had to rush off to grab dinner on our way to gymnastics, so I forgot to take a picture of her with her new belt on. Oops. I'll get one tomorrow.

Side note: keeping things organized, clean and AT karate (Finn forgot his belt tonight!), for three kiddos is tough! They really need to take it on themselves (and I do encourage it), but then I remember they are just kids. Jesus, help me remember all of it! On a positive note, Finn lost his hand pads but we found them tonight at karate! Yeah! It's the little things.

First demo

Finn did his first karate demonstration yesterday! Mr. Newman called and asked if Finn could do a demo at the Delano High School (it is my understanding they only certain students for each demo). Jim thought it was a great idea and said yes right away. Me, in my usual social anxiety way, didn't think it was necessary, but Jim was going to handle it. Okay, it worked with our schedule, so fine.

Well, Jim ended up being sick Saturday morning so I had to take Finn (sound familiar...reminiscent of Finn's karate tournament?!?!). But honestly, this was much easier than the tournament and Finn did great! There were different belt levels there and they had each level show different skills. It was pretty fun to watch and it made me realize how far Finn has come. I mean, he was front and center doing his moves and he didn't even flinch. This is the boy who won't do anything if people can see him or if he's even close to the center of attention.

I told Jim that I think God is using these activities to get me out of my shell. I had no interest in doing either of these events with Finn but in the end, I LOVED seeing him perform and do so well. On our way out afterward, he said, "I love doing things with just you, mommy!" Okay, buddy, I need to slow down and take that in! What an amazing moment. Especially for a nine year old boy!

Party of five!

So, now all five of us are active members of the Dojo Karate in Buffalo! Yes, Jim and I had our first class on Thursday. I was very nervous to do it. I really don't like new things and not knowing what to expect. And it is humbling to join a class with other adults when you are literally like a baby and don't know ANYTHING! But Mr. Newman was VERY patient with us and it was an amazing class. But holy workout! I was not expecting a full workout nor to sweat through my shirt! Sheesh! (I was pretty sore the next day, but in addition to the 45 min karate class, I ran a 5K in 28:09 that morning and shoveled snow that afternoon, so I guess its expected!) Jim and I are hoping to go to their Tues and Thurs daytime class and then maybe switch off one evening class per week (they are late, so we'd have to take turns vs. bringing the kiddos with us).

Also, one benefit of the daytime class is that Mac can take the class right after us, so it is like hitting two birds with one stone. Oh, and he literally sat "like a black belt" which means cross-cross apple sauce with your hands on your knees for our entire 45 minute class! Mr. Newman was very impressed but then thanked us for sending Mac to class with all that pent up energy! Oops, but I'll take a well behaved kid during our class over being super active in his karate class any time!

And I spoke too soon. You know how as soon as you say something, your kids make a liar out of you? Well, if you refer to my previous post, I said we weren't allowing Korri to start karate until gymnastics was over in May. BUT...okay. She REALLY wanted to start AND at least for right now, she will always be in either Mac's or Finn's class...sooooo...it isn't any extra driving and if her other activities over lap on a karate day, she will have to miss that karate class. So, we agreed to let her start on Friday! And she ROCKED it. I mean, her years of gymnastics and dance have primed her for karate. She's flexible, strong, knows how to manipulate her body and take direction very well!! She is so amazing and she LOVED it. So it feels like the right choice.

Now, yesterday, I pulled together a family meeting to stress the point that the belt level you are at and how hard you work for the next one is PERSONAL and not competitive between family members. I could see Jim and I getting competitive and certainly Finn and Korri (Mac is on a different belt color system for now). And right now, I have a feeling Korri and I might advance a little quicker just because we are both in shape (and Jim will be traveling for work, so he physically can't go to class). But at the end of the day, I wanted to stress that it is a competition inside yourself, not external. Hopefully that sank in for everybody (even myself, because I've realized lately that I can have a pretty fierce competitive drive at time!).

Mighty Dragon

As you know, Finn started Karate in January and has been doing really well. Mac has wanted to started since the first time we watched Finn at class, but he was doing a dance class and ice skating lessons, so Jim and I agreed, he had to wait until they were over. Well, once they were, Mac said he didn't want to any more! Fine by me!

But he changed his mind on Friday! Master Chris got him a uniform and Mac immediately went into Finn's class (I thought to watch but nope, they had him fully participate!).

OMG, so stinkin' cute! And he did a GREAT job during the class. Well, Mac went to his second class on Saturday and since Finn is a more advanced belt, he got to be a helper in Mac's class (which I think is great for Finn!). Plus, there were three kiddos in Mac's class, so with Finn's help, they had a one to one ratio with kids to teachers. And Mac earned his white belt!!

Video of his white belt:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/w1YBdw6sAlsa4gZF3

Because of Mac's age, he is in the Mighty Dragons class, which is actually white belts with colored stripes until they are old enough to earn the "regular" belts. So for right now, we have a white belt (Mac's next will be white with gold stripe) and a gold belt (Finn's next will be green belt). And we got a uniform for Korri but we aren't letting her start until after gymnastics is over...so the middle of May. Fun, fun!!