Belt Promotions

Both of our boys have been working very hard in karate. Joel and I are impressed with the school they attend and love the program. The belts at Kanthak Karate are hard to earn, it's not just about learning the moves. You have to put in time, learn the moves, conduct yourself properly at the school, at home and in school. Karate instructors, parents, teachers and anyone else that we feel necessary must sign off on their belt advancement forms. The belts are earned and the belts can be and have been taken away. They work very hard and are very proud when they earn those belt advancements. Both boys earned one this time around and got to show them off at the Kanthak Karate Winter All School Demonstration.

After 4 years of hard work, Noah has earned his Junior Blue Belt. It is so much fun to watch him now and see how far he has come. He is also starting to show interest in and get the opportunity to teach parts of the class.

Proud students!

Noah and his friend, Zach.

Oliver, started in February and has earned himself a White w/Orange Stripe belt.

Another proud class! My goodness they are cute!

The boys with Mr. B following the demonstration.

The boys with Mr. K.

I Tried to Ignore Eleven

I was a bit in denial about Noah turning eleven, maybe even more than I suspected. Here is what Noah wanted for his birthday, no party a trip to the beach with a friend or two, no gifts just his PSP repaired, no cake just his Mom's spice cookies. Here is what happened no party and we tried to plan a trip to the beach but the van broke down, karate demonstrations, holidays, etc. meant that the trip kept getting pushed down the priority list and it still hasn't happened. We didn't buy him any gifts but we did send his PSP to a guy that did a great job repairing his gaming system. I thought it was going to be more than it was and had planned on putting the money that Aunt Nana had given me to buy a gift for him towards the repairs. I completely forgot about the money from my sister and didn't get him another gift (don't worry I will eventually) AND a check from grandparents got lost in the mail. The kiddo didn't want a cake because he really likes my spice cookies and that, thank goodness worked out just fine. I'm beginning to wonder if I was somehow sabotaging the poor kids birthday because I really don't want him getting older. Luckily, my boy is a good kid and has taken it all in stride, he knows it will all work out. Happy Birthday my sweet Noah, I love you.

Playing his newly repaired gaming system.

Look at that! Working like a champ and he can play his new favorite game!

His favorite cookies...mmmm.

Oliver's Party

Noah has had a couple of birthday parties at Kanthak Karate so when Oliver realized that he was finally able to have a party there now it was game on! Mr. K keeps the kiddos busy throughout the entire party and they get to do fun things like tag, ropes, avoid the sword, etc. and they also get to learn, in a fun way, all about stranger danger. Ollie had a pretty good turnout for his party and had a ton of fun with his friends.

Keeping with the theme I made Ninjabread Men Rice Krispie Treats.

Getting to know the kids and running them through the warm-up.

Not happy at all is he?

That's one way to avoid the sword!

A little bit of rope play.

Nice form!

TAG! You're it.

Kenny got into the action too when they brought out the pads for jumping.

Oliver and Mr. K leading the class in the singing of Happy Birthday.

Six is AWESOME!

Don't know if you heard but being 6 is AWESOME! Just ask Oliver, he'll tell you. Not even a gusher of a bloody nose can bring this boy down. Say, "Happy Birthday!" a thousand times and he'll flash you that smile and thank you every single time - he can't get enough! It's been a pretty quiet and low key day but we made it special for him by doing little (and not so healthy) things for him. He woke up to a balloon and a box of his favorite cereal, Lucky Charms. Dad brought him and his class some donuts, glazed raised from Dots, for snack time and he got to pick where he wanted to have dinner. A little bit of ice cream after some playing with the new toys and games and we'll call it a night. He invited a ton of his friends to his party on Friday night so I'm pretty sure I will have a few more pictures to post then.

Oh Yeah! A new Wii game from Cousin Trevor!

Hexbug: Larvae - cool and creepy!

Headphones because his were recently broken.

R2D2 Operation?!?!

New Lego Ninjago alarm clock...as if he didn't already wake up happy enough, he now gets to wallop a ninja on the head to get him to stop making noises before he even gets out of bed! Thanks Grandma Ricki!

Leaves...

You can rake them...

You can blow them around...

You can jump into them like this...

Or this...

Or even this...

Anyway you look at it, they make you smile...

And smile some more...

It's all fun and games...

Until someone gets hurt, turns into a zombie and lives out the rest of his walking-dead existence in the huge pile of leaves!

Punkin' Patch Pics 2011

There is a small local Pumpkin Patch (and farm/farm stand) here in Vancouver called, "Joe's Place Farm" that we visited today. We've gone there before so some of these pictures might look similar to those of the past but the boys, as you can see, are just a little bit taller. I've been noticing lately that it's getting harder and harder for me to keep up with the boys. They are getting bigger, faster and more independent so by the time I have my camera pointed at them and focused they are off and running.

Annual picture with the big witch.

This may be hard for those of you that know Oliver to believe this but he was goofing off and playing with the wheelbarrow. I know, I know, not like him at all!

Noah is getting older and more irritated with my need to photograph him all the time.

So I sneak pictures when he isn't looking...come on boy, that pumpkin isn't that big!

Oliver directing pumpkin laden wheelbarrow traffic.

Noah practicing his brooding in the corner of the hay tent.

Pretty little sunflowers all over around the grounds of the farm.

Dad took off to go pay for and load up the pumpkins so we were just hanging out chatting and waiting for him to return so we could head into the maze.

Boys joined in on the pow-wow in the maze!

They found their way to the fort lookout!

This fascinated me for some reason, it's like the leaves framed themselves.

My Noah

My Oliver

Awww!

That's My Boy...

Noah has been given a "Black & White Photography Project" in his EXCEL class. The idea being that, "photography captures moments in time, and the photographer "frames" these moments. Photography is the creation of a visual language. It is the telling of a story without words." Needless to say, I was very excited about this project and excited that my boy gets to tell a story via photos. We went over my camera, a few of the settings, etc. and then I pretty much set him free. I would offer tips and maybe suggest a different approach every once in a while and when I was taking pictures I would talk to him about what I was doing and what I was trying to capture. It's been tough to just stand back and watch at times but I've really just kind of given up my camera for the time being. Well, Pop & H came into town this weekend for a quick visit and we took them down to a local wildlife refuge for a quick easy walk. We got about ten feet onto the trail and Noah took my camera, not sure what to do with my empty hands, I yelled to Joel that this is why we need to get me the next step up in cameras. Then I watched Noah find, frame and capture those "moments" as we walked. I have to say that when we got home and had a chance to look at the pictures I was proud. Maybe, just maybe, some of me is rubbing off on that kid. I sat here, viewing his work and kept thinking to myself, "That's my boy..."