High Yellow

Saturday was a busy day for us.  We had a soccer game at 9:30am that didn't get done until 10:45 then a karate test at 11am 20-minutes away.  Thanks to Andy's lead foot and extreme luck we made it there by 11:01 only to find everyone else standing outside the studio waiting for the doors to be unlocked.  :)

Wesley was the only yellow belt testing today so he had to do everything himself which really was a good thing since during his last test he'd doubt himself and look at the other white belts who were not always doing the task correctly.

Here he is properly introducing himself.

 Balance test

 Attention test.

 There were other tests, too, but I filmed most of the test.  He had to do 6 push-ups, sit-ups, and frog jumps, kick 3 moving targets, demonstrate various moves and sequences.

He did a great job.  I wasn't so emotional this time (probably so exhausted after a busy morning and staying up late working hard on the basement).

Now, what we didn't get on camera, probably just as well, too, was the ending when everyone lined up to bow to the audience.  Master Yusef told everyone to stand at attention for 10 seconds.  Wesley was struggling and I couldn't figure out why he wasn't holding still.  Then I saw it...we all saw it....as it trickled down through his pant leg and onto the mat.

Poor kid.


Luckily, he wasn't embarrassed.  We all had a good laugh and explained that next time going to the bathroom trumps standing at attention.

Soccer Games 2 & 1

Andy is coaching Wesley's soccer team.  He hasn't played since his early teens, but he is doing a great job building team comradery and spirit.  What he needs to work on is getting the ball into the goal.

 There is no score kept and no goalie assigned,

 and the kids run around in a pack,

 sometimes even taking the ball away from their own teammates.

 

Here, Wesley takes the ball away from Natalie (the daughter of a friend from church who I visit teach who is a great playmate for Wesley) while Saben looks on and Brody (a future Olympian) cheers.

 

(The picture above are from Wes' 2nd game today, and the following are from his first game last Saturday.)

Who are we?

GOOSEBALLS!

What are we here to do?

HAVE FUN!!

1...2....3....

HONK!! HONK!!!!!!!

Andy was able to convince his team to be named the GooseBalls.  He said they were all a bunch of goof-balls and teams need animals in their names, so he suggested the GooseBalls.  It actually is what Wesley use to call goofball (he hand a hard time saying the "s" when he was younger and the alteration has stuck around outhouse since).

 Ready for play.

 Getting in with the mod, Wesley does a pretty good job keeping his eye on the ball.

except when he doesn't.

 Kicking it in.

The other team, the Royals, were much bigger than our team and consequently they won (although, as mentioned above, no score was kept).

 Good offensive stance, ready to receive the ball - too bad the kid don't quite understand the technique of passing.

 Good Game, Good Game, Good Game (brings back memories).

Sleep Over

Good Fight

Madsen has been really Mommy clingy lately, even at bedtime.  I don't like him to cry himself to sleep, but I need to let him learn to self sooth.  I come in and calm him down, put him back in his crib, leave the room, and in 2-minutes he's up and crying again.  Eventually, I just have to let him go at it for a while.  It's not an every night occurrence, but tonight, I just had to take a picture of what the end result was.

Did Someone Say "BATH?"

Determined

To say that Madsen loves his bath is an understatement.

 It's not even bath time and this kid wants in.

 He gets his feet on the tub and climbs up the side, but he's never gotten over the edge - yet.

Hapy Birthday, Andy

Andy's birthday was celebrated at Quaker Steak and Lube with Alex's family and the Knox's.  They were kind enough to get Andy some more silly shirts (pictured is my favorite).

 

I surprised him with this long gift - a bendy drill thing-a-ma-jig (he's explained to me the need for one, I went to Lowes not knowing what it was exactly, made a phone call to Mike Knox, and we found it).

 Wesley picked out Andy's birthday card.  It was this crazy cat in a crazy animal print hat and sunglasses that said Fo Shizzle, it's your birthday.

 37 years on this earth and I'm sure anyone who has ever met Andy remembers him.  He has a way of making an impression that lasts.  He is a thinker, a worker, a jester, a story teller, a father, and a husband-er.  :)  Happy Birthday, Andy.

Not One More Bite

 

 

Comfy Traveler

This is how Madsen prefers to travel through IKEA.

Comparison

Wesley pulled and pulled and even got both feet up on the door trying to pull the push door.