Ian has been taking karate at Bobby Lawrence Karate since last fall. This year he decided he wanted to enter the Bobby Lawrence Karate tournament. I thought it sounded like fun and I was excited that he wanted to do it. I took him to a few extra karate classes so he could prepare. He entered in two divisions–forms and self defense. For forms he had to perform Taikyoku Shodan, and for self defense he had to do Halting Ram. He has practiced both of these over and over again in class. But getting up and doing it on his own in front of the judges is a whole different ballgame.

When we got to the tournament we watched the team competitions. Ian was totally entertained by them. He loved all the jumping and especially the weapons! As soon as he saw them he talked non-stop about how he wanted to do that. When the competitions were over, though, I could see another side of Ian. I saw him get very calm and start to get worried. He was thinking about what he had to perform and he couldn’t remember a few parts. Luckily my friend Vicky was there. Since Vicky takes karate herself, she was able to help Ian, and I think it helped to calm him down.

Right after that they called him to the ring and I went to watch from the stands. I was excited for him. I was happy that he was so enthusiastic about the team competitions and I was excited to see him perform. When they called his name for forms he was great. He went running to the front like he was supposed to, and did great with his speech.

“Hello Judges. My name is Ian. My style is Kwon Shu. Today I will be performing Taikyoku Shodan. May I begin judges?”

He started out strong, but then he got to one spot and he got confused. He started asking the judges to help him. When they couldn’t, he just turned his back to them, put his head down and started crying. I could see him from the stands and I just wanted to run out there and hug him. It was so sad. Luckily, one of his regular teachers just happened to be one of his judges. Mr. Markus went out there and put his arm around Ian and started talking to him. He helped him remember what to do and Ian decided to give it another go. I was so proud of him for starting over and trying again.

When he went up the second time it went much better. Except for the part where his partner didn’t know what to do. He had to stop in the middle and teach her what to do so that he didn’t hurt her. It was cute! Here he is getting his self defense scores.

After everyone in his ring finished, the kids waited while they gave out the medals. I loved watching Ian’s anticipation and then seeing him so excited when they called his name and said he had tied for second place in self defense!

He came running up to the stands to show me his medals. I gave him a hug and told him how proud I was of him for starting over, even when he was scared and it was hard. He just hugged me and gave me the cutest little smile. Then Mr. Markus came up with a second medal. Apparently they had made a mistake and Ian also got second in forms. She he ended up getting second place in both of the events he entered.

I think Ian’s first karate tournament was a success!

Scott and I have had season tickets to our local minor league hockey team, The Grizzlies, for about 10 years now. Before that we used to go to as many games as we could fit in. I used to be a HUGE Grizzlies fan. I read all the stats, kept up on the players, and went to all the team events. Then we had kids, and I just didn’t have time to be such a dedicated fan. But we did take Emma to see Canada vs. Finland in the 2002 Olympics when she was only 5 days old!

I have always wanted to go on a road trip to see the Grizzlies play. We just never seemed to be able to work it out when they were playing one of the two closest teams: Las Vegas Thunder or the Idaho Steelheads. This year for the first round of the playoffs we played Las Vegas. We tried to see if we could go see on of the away games, but it just didn’t work out. When Utah beat Las Vegas in the first round we were scheduled to play the Idaho Steelheads. The first two games just happened to be in Boise, Idaho on Friday and Saturday night. We decided to pack up the kids and make the trek up there for the weekend.

The kids were thrilled to be staying in a hotel with a free breakfast buffet and a pool. They were not so thrilled about going to the hockey games. But once we got there they had a lot of fun. Our seats were right by the Steelheads booster club. They had face painting and sign making booths set up. The kids were thrilled with that part!

All of the Boise fans went out of their way to make us feel at home. I was a little worried about it, since I have never been to an arena where I was cheering for the other team. But they were all great. Especially the booster club members. Of course, the Grizzlies didn’t give the Idaho fans much to be mad about. They slaughtered us the first night 7 to 2. The second night it was a better game, but the Steelheads managed to score a goal in the last 2 minutes to win the game.

I am really glad that we decided to go. It was fun to see the Grizzlies on the road and fun to spend time together as a family. Maybe we will get to do it again next season. Now the Grizzlies have a tough road ahead of them in this best of 7 series!

A few weeks ago Scott’s sister Stephanie posted on her Facebook account about her 4 year old cutting her own hair. I immediately thought to myself how glad I was that my kids had all outgrown that stage. I kind of smirked and felt like that was one parenting experience that I was glad that I missed.

So, I kind of feel like I deserve what I got

I was upstairs working on my computer when I heard Ian say “Um, Mom, Nora is cutting her hair.” in a completely calm and collected voice. I immediately panicked and ran down the stairs, all the while hoping she hadn’t cut much. After all, Ian didn’t seem fazed by it.

But, I wasn’t so lucky. I started yelling as I ran to Nora. She knew immediately that I was going to be mad. I have talked to her so many times about not cutting hair. Every time I cut someone’s hair I always tell her that only mommy can cut hair. We never cut our own hair. Each time she shakes her head and says she will never cut her hair. I guess she forgot, because this is what I found when I got downstairs.

I know it looks like I set this up, but I really didn’t. This is exactly how she was sitting with the blanket and everything.

I didn’t handle it very well. I just looked at her and yelled “NO, NO, NO!” and then saw all of her curls in a pile in front of her. I was so bummed! I just walked away because I was so upset I felt like I needed to be alone.

After a bit I went back and hugged her. I told her I loved her and I would always love her–even if she had no hair.

I took her outside and took a few photos of her new do.

I still wish she hadn’t cut it, but it could have been a whole lot worse. I know it is just hair and it will grow back, but I loved her messy curls. I promise never to judge the actions of other kids again

I is for invisible:

K is for kiss:

My favorite photography forum, ClickinMoms, is having a photography challenge. They are hosting a contest where you take a photo for every letter of the alphabet. You can conceivably enter 26 times–one time for each letter of the alphabet. The one catch is that the photos have to have been taken since March 12, 2010. I participate in the I ♥ Faces challenges often, but I usually don’t shoot a specific photo for the challenge. I usually just find a photo that I have taken in the past that fits the theme. I thought it sounded like a fun challenge, so I decided to participate. I am so glad I did because I have been having so much fun with this challenge. It has really helped me to think outside the box and to be more creative with my photography.

We have been in North Carolina for spring break and we have been having awesome weather. I have been totally taking advantage of it and I have been shooting photos every day. I still have a bunch more ideas swimming around in my head, but I thought I’d share a few of my current favorites.

B is for bubble:

G is for grasshopper:

J is for jump:

T is for toes:

I have a few more, but I’m having trouble getting them to upload to Flickr. I’ll try to add them later

Happy Easter from North Carolina! This was the best shot I could get today of the kids together

Ian recently learned how to blow bubbles with his gum. We were loving the weather outside today in North Carolina, so I decided to have some fun with the kids and the camera. Here are some photos of our fun afternoon.

Nora is obsessed with Max and Ruby. It is by far her favorite TV show, and the only thing she ever asks to watch.

It is a funny cartoon about a 3-year-old bunny and his 7-year-old sister. I never see any parents, nor is there any mention of the parents. There is a grandmother bunny sometimes. I’m not really sure who the kids live with. But none of that seems to matter to Nora. It is a cute show that shows two siblings and how they work out their problems in a positive way. Nora needs some work in that department, so I am happy that she likes this show

I remember Emma and how she loved to watch The Wiggles. She wouldn’t be caught dead watching it now. I’m sure that will happen with Nora before I know it! I just wanted to remember this sweet time when she loved Max and Ruby.

Ever since Emma started school at Jeremy Ranch, she has been eating school lunch. I was excited for her to start school lunch. I was really looking forward to not having to pack her a lunch everyday. And I couldn’t believe that it was only $2.25 per day.

But lately I have been feeling guilty about it.

The food they serve is so unhealthy. She comes home and talks about corn dogs and chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. I know that she loves those things, and I am OK with my kids eating them once in a while. But I am really not happy that Emma is eating those things every day.

I have been thinking about starting to pack her lunch. I am already packing a lunch everyday for Ian, so it really wouldn’t be hard to just pack two. Then I saw this post with a great giveaway and I think I am convinced.

I HAVE to have these Goodbyn lunch boxes!

They are adorable and would make lunch preparation so easy! They even have a 3 week menu plan complete with shopping list that you can download.

I’m hoping that I will win one in the giveaway, but even if I don’t I think I will order them.

Healthier lunches for my kids can only be a good thing!

Ian lost his first tooth today at 6 years and 2 months old!

One of his front bottom teeth has been loose for quite a while. A few weeks ago I asked him if I could check to see if he had any loose teeth. Emma lost her first tooth right around this same time, so I thought I’d see if he was close. Sure enough, one of his bottom front teeth was a little bit loose.

We ordered him a pirate tooth pillow so that we would be prepared.

Today was the day. When he came home from school it was literally hanging by a thread. He couldn’t keep his hands–or his tongue–off of it. During karate he came running out and he had it in his hand.

He is really excited for his first visit from the tooth fairy!