Burger Meister, Meister Burger

Thanks to my good friend, Princess, I am now extremely lucky to be sporting a minature of Burger Meister on one of my many trees. Can't you see how happy she, I mean he, is to finally be a part of the group she, I mean he, has aspired to belong to since day one? She, again, I mean he, is front and center on my MAIN Christmas tree in the family room for all to enjoy all day, every day. I just know that the first thing CTP is going to do upon entering our home, after being in Texas all week, is rush to the tree to gaze lovingly upon this festive new addition to our Christmas bling. So, thanks again, Princess, you have made my holiday season sooooooooooo much better!

Christmas List

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Cut and paste the questions into your blog, then answer them (you, too CTP!)......Tis the Season to be NICE!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial- all 8 of them (yes I have a problem)
3. When do you put up the tree? before Thanksgiving

4. When do you take them down? January 1 (sometimes before because I'm sick of them by then - I'm all about the anticipation!)
5. When do you start listening to Christmas carols? November 1 - CTP won't let me before then
6. Favorite gift received as a child? nothing stands out
7. Hardest person to buy for? My mom
8. Easiest person to buy for? kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Not sure
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Septemberish
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes (but only to the kid's teachers)
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mini cheesecakes and fudge
16. Lights on the tree? a few (thousand)
17. Favorite Christmas song? Barbara Streisand's Jingle Bells (see Tami's blog) and Twisted Christmas' 12 Days of Christmas
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? Home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes, I can even sing them..."You know Dasher and Dancer, ..."
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? 2 Stars and a bow on the three big trees
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Traffic at all the stores and malls
23. What theme or color are you using? Do Santas and Snowmen count as a theme?
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham and my grandma's peas and rice
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Massage
26. Favorite Christmas special? Santa Claus is Coming to Town (the Meiser brothers of course)

27. Favorite holiday tradition? Starting a month of watching Christmas movies and specials with Christmas vacation on Thanksgiving night
28. Does Christmas mean Santa or Christ's birth to you? Christ's birth on Christmas Eve, Santa Christmas morning.
29. Do you go to Church on Christmas? Christmas Eve

30. Midnight Mass or Day? usually 5 or 7 pm
31. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Merry Christmas
32. Do you wear Christmas sweat shirts or sweaters? I probably could wear a different one each day of December - CTP loves my holiday garb

33. Do you put up outside lights? yes

Summer Vacation

Okay, so here's the deal - CTP and I have been looking at houses for a possible beach vacation to the Outer Banks. There seem to be quite a few options in the southern section (Rodanthe, Avon, etc.). Before we go any further though, we need to have some general guidelines so we know exactly what we are looking for. It looks like the week of June 6 or June 13 are our best bets (price wise). We have been searching for 8+ bedrooms (so each family can have two bedrooms). What else would everyone be interested in? I think a pool at the house would be great because of all of the kids. We also need to know about how much everyone wants to pay. I don't know if we can find anything for less than $1,000 a week. We could obviously go higher. Please give us some info and we'll try to narrow everything down and get some choices together for the next time we get together. I have to tell you, the prospect of this trip is very exciting to me! Just let us know your preferences.

Mixwit

This was great fun! Thanks for suggesting it NGM. Although I could hardly hear myself think because of certain little hoodlums that I live with that are trying, very successfully, to drive me insane. This enabled me to escape, I'll be it, briefly.

The first song is one that CTP and I deemed as "our song" about 100 years ago. The rest are just favorites of mine. Most of them are oldies but goodies (at least in my small mind.) Hope you enjoy my first post in a long time.

Board break results

Some of you may know these results already, but for those that don't ...
Gabborin - 3rd attempt
Caruso - 3rd
Earnest - 3rd
Lasick - 2nd
Baley - 1st

Game night

I didn't fall off the face of the earth, just been extremely busy. Not to mention that CTP was awol in Tampa this week, but due back around midnight tonight. Anyway, Lady Leslie and I were talking tonight and we decide it was time to begin the winter time, game night festivities. CTP and I will host the first such event. I'm throwing the following dates out to everyone for consideration. How does Saturday, November 1 or Saturday, November 8 sound to everyone? I was thinking we could start around 6pm, order pizza, set the kids up with a game or movie, then take a stab at Trivial Pursuit 80s edition. Any takers? Let me know the weekend of preference. Hopefully we can all agree on one!

Questions answered

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:16
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Mama Mia
4. What is your favorite TV show? Prison Break
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? dry cereal in a bag on the way to work
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. What food do you dislike? tomatoes
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride
9. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Suburban
10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled chicken
11. What characteristics do you despise? lying
12. Favorite item of clothing? sweatpants and long sleeve t-shirts
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Bora Bora
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Don't have one
15. Where would you retire? Montana
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? My 16th - my parents and CTP had a surprise party for me
17. Favorite sport to watch? Hockey and football
18. Furthest place you are sending this? not sending it anywhere
19. Person you expect to send it back first? Nobody
20. When is your birthday? October 3
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning
22. What is your shoe size? 8 1/2
23. Pets? 2 dogs
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Speaking of CTP's dream...just kidding - there's nothing
25. What did you want to be when you were little? a vet
26. How are you today? exhausted after a late night scrapping and an extremely hectic morning
27. What is your favorite candy? M & M
28. What is your favorite flower? Mums
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Christmas - always looking forward to the time from Nov.1 to Christmas
30. What is your full name? Kimberlee Anne Gorr
31. What are you listening to right now? House Hunters International (New Zealand)
32. What was the last thing you ate? Chex mix
33. Do you wish on stars? no
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? red
35. How is the weather right now? Horribly humid
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? My dad - making arrangements for a soccer game that never happened
37. Favorite soft drink? diet Pepsi
38. Favorite restaurant? Ruth's Chris
39. Real hair color? brown with some weird blond streaks - used to be just blond til I had kids - ugh
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? softball glove
41. Summer or winter? Winter. You can always put more clothes on to get warmer, but you can only take so much off to get cooler...(CTP stole my line - I always say this!)
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? milk chocolate
44. Coffee or tea? Tea
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? no, just post if they haven't
46. When was the last time you cried? Probably during some movie or tv show, just don't remember now
47. What is under your bed? I'm not going to look cause it could be Carter or Lucy from ER...
48. What did you do last night? went scrapbooking with Alex to try to get his Alaska book done before his reunion picnic tomorrow (still not done after 8 more hours tonight :(
49. What are you afraid of? spiders
50. Salty or sweet? sweet
51. How many keys on your key ring? 1 - my last key ring had about 6 but I lost it a year or so ago, not good
52. How many years at your current job? 1 month
53. Favorite day of the week? Friday
54. How many towns have you lived in? 5
55. Do you make friends easily? sometimes
56. How many people will you send this to? nobody
57. How many will respond? dunno

Four things...

Big thanks to Southern Belle for throwing out a line! I'm deficient in the creativity department and can apparently only blog when thrown a prompt.

Had a great time at Idlewild hanging with you all today. Princess, wish you hadn't blown us off all day...kidding. Hope you had fun with your neice and nephew, I'm sure SB and LL filled you in on some of the interesting tidbits we heard and saw throughout the day. A good time was had by all.

Four jobs I've had:

• Hostess - Denny's
• Salesperson - Horne's
• Daycare worker - We Care 4 U Daycare Center
• Teacher - several places

Four places I've been on vacation:

• San Francisco, California
• West - 13 states, 3 1/2 weeks, 7500 miles on the car
• Jamaica
• Barbados

Four of my favorite foods:

• pizza
• chocolate anything
• cookie dough ice cream
• chicken

Four movies I can watch over and over:

• Pretty Woman
• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
• Speed
• St. Elmo's Fire

Four places I've lived:

• N. Huntingdon, PA
• Wilmington, DE
• Lincoln University, PA
• Greensburg, Pa.

Four TV shows I love to watch fairly regularly:

• Prison Break
• Survivor
• American Idol
• Grey's Anatomy

Four websites I visit daily:

• Special Forces blogs
• MSN homepage (this is where I get my news)
• Fox sports
• The Weather Channel

Four places I'd rather be right now:

• San Francisco, CA
• anywhere in the Caribbean
• Colorado
• Montana

A-Z

Appreciate having a list of which to lead me. I'm awfully boring these days and can come up with nothing on my own. So, thanks Princess, though my answers are not nearly as verbose as yours :)

(A) - Attached or Single - Similar answer to Princess' - Attatched since the young age of 15 to CTP
(B) Best friend... CTP and Debbie (best friend since high school)
(C) Cake or pie... Definitely cake - preferable chocolate or DQ ice cream cake
(D) Day of choice... Friday because the work week is over and the weekend is just beginning
(F) Favorite color... Red
(G) Gum or mints... Gum.... you can't crack mints in quite the same way!
(H) Hometown... I always say Pittsburgh, but the closest to Pittsburgh I've ever lived is North Huntingdon
(I) Favorite Indulgence... chocolate covered Oreos
(J) January or July... Beginning of July cause it's summer. After July 4 it feels like summer is all down hill.
(K) Kids... 4 boys
(L) Life isn't complete without... chocolate
(M) Marriage date... November 25, 1995
(N) Number of brothers and sisters... 1 sister (5 1/2 years younger than me.)
(O) Oranges or apples... I'd have to say oranges even though I have the tendency to get ulcers if I eat too many
(P) Phobias... spiders
(Q) Quotes... "Rules are important. I like rules." (Santa Clause II), "I don't know Margo." (Christmas Vacation)
(R) Reasons to smile... watching the boys play together nicely (doesn't happen often), watching the Penguins win!
(S) Season of choice... Fall. Leaves changing color. The smells. CTP always says I like the season of death and decay - that's what makes the smell I love. Warm days and cool nights. Pumpkins.(T) Tag... You're it!
(U) Unknown fact about me... Got nothing. My life's an open book
(V) Valentine's Day or not... Since CTP thinks it's a NOT, that's what I get
(W) Worst habit... Not being able to sit still long enough to watch a show or falling asleep during a movie
(X) X-ray vision or invisibility... Invisibility.
(Y) Your favorite food... Gonna go with pizza and chocolate (but not at the same time.)
(Z) Favorite zoo animal... Elephants and tigers - not really sure why the elephants, just like them and tigers are my favorite animal

Seriously...

For those of you that had something better to do tonight than come to low rank testing, you missed quite an entertaining evening (especially if you're a knocker). 40+ SC was the floor conductor and I wish I had a quarter for every time she said, "All right." (It's not possible to relate the voice inflection of these two words in print. I'll demonstrate for anyone who's interested tomorrow.) I even had Alex giggling because it was really, really, really noticable.

Also, when Mr. D and Robbie were calculating scores Cha Cha boy had the kids warm down by turning them toward the audience, using his scary, demo team voice, and having them do ATA punches toward the audience. Luckily SB and ES were in the back of the room so I could escape to the back so I wasn't being totally rude by laughing directly at him. (Can't you just imagine that flower in his hand as a jahng bong instead!)

Why do people feel the need to insert themselves into situations that are not particularly suited to them? How many of us complain and whine and cry when we are not asked to do something for testing? I find it so pathetic that we have several of those types of people at our academy. How desperate for attention must you be to demand to be involved in a key role at testing? Seriously, if Mr. & Mrs. D want you to do something, they'll ask. Can you tell that this truly annoys me? Perhaps because it happens with demo team also. Isn't being asked to do something more flattering than demanding to be a part of something? I would think so.

Okay, done venting for now. But don't get me started on the kids that passed testing that didn't know their form...

Do you all like my new nicknames (highlighted in green)? At least I amuse myself!

Fixed (I think)

Okay, I tried to fix it so everyone's picture is the same size and now they are also in order of preference.

My 5 (and the alternate)

My alternate: Vanessa Marcil

Home!

Well, Alex made it home safe and sound. His flight was slightly delayed leaving New Jersey, so he arrived about 30 minutes late, at 10:30. It was so good to see him! He seemed to have a fabulous time and he took some great pictures. He bought himself some really cool souveniers, plus some nice ones for his brothers, CTP and me.

Both boys really liked their rooms. Their reactions were exactly what I had been hoping for. When Andy saw his room yesterday, he just kept walking around, saying, "Wow." He got his camera and was taking pictures of the different decorations in his room. He was really cute.

When Alex saw his room today, he had much of the same reaction. Except he actually said "thank you" multiple times (Andy may have said it once or twice :) They both had the reaction that made all of the hard work over the last several days worth it!

Way to go ... me!

I was soooooooooooooooooo excited to get my new uniform last night that I changed before demo team practice started. It fits great and need no alterations! Yeah!

Tiny

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I am so proud of myself! I did it! After looking at Wendi's post from yesterday, I had to give it a try. Since I was stuck on what to do for "tiny," I thought I would create a "scrapbook" of my boys when they were tiny. I don't have any pictures of Alex scanned from his infancy, that's why he's in there as a big kid. This was so much fun. I may be addicted now!

Splish Splash I was takin' a bath...

You didn't really think it would be me in the tub, now, did you? Anyway, here are my two baby chicks taking their bath together. Now that Alex and Andy are independent shower takers (after I hound them repeatedly), I generally stick these two together to make my job of bathing them easier. Plus, they seem to enjoy tub time with a friend. Who wouldn't?

I had an experience today that lent itself perfectly to the "splish splash" theme of the day, by I missed the opportunity to photograph it. The boys and I were swimming this afternoon (which also would have lent itself to splish splash had I taken my camera outside) and I was washing clothes at the same time. (I am very good at multi-tasking). Anyway, we came inside for a brief moment when I heard a lovely waterfall sound. However, when that sound is coming from your laundry room, it can't be good. A wash cloth had fallen into the laundry tub and clogged it up. Needless to say, the laundry tub runneth over. Not good. It took every beach towel I have in the house, plus moving a large wardrobe full of clothes and cleaning supplies, moving the washer and dryer, to get the mess cleaned up. Later in the evening, I banished the boys to the basement and they came running up to tell me there were puddles on the floor. So, my hulk-like efforts of moving everything and cleaning up quickly did not happen fast enough. I think at this point, every thing is dry. I'll probably find something tomorrow that I missed.

Yet another fun "splish splash" photo opportunity missed, when, on my way to karate this evening I saw there was a watermain break right down the road. The road was flooded and as of 10 PM we still have no water.

Alaska Update:

Alex left for Alaska at 8:30 AM Sunday. He had a four hour scheduled layover in Newark, NJ which turned into 6 1/2 hours because of a weather delay, then off to Seattle, Washington. They had a short layover then a 4 hour flight to Anchorage. They got into Anchorage at 2 AM our time. Needless to say, Alex was more than a little tired when he called to tell us good night.

Yesterday they went to a Native American Village where they learned native dances, made a craft and shopped for souvenirs. Today they were scheduled to go to a sled dog kennel to see puppies that will become future sled dogs. CTP and I are more than a little bit jealous, but we'll live vicariously through our child.

My mixed up priorities...

When I woke up this morning (other than being extremely jubilant that it was my last morning of watching the kids from you know where), these piles of laundry were my top priority. There were a few items that Alex needed washed prior to his departure on Sunday (you can see his suitcase sitting off to the side). Upon further reflection upon this topic I realized how stupid a priority that was. Did it need done? Yes. Did I need to get those clothes cleaned before Sunday? Yes. Did it need done immediately and at the cost of doing something engaging with my children? Absolutely not. Now, it's not that I ignored my children. They had a ton of friends to play with today and they spent the entire day outside running around and having a great time. However, it did cause me to think that sometimes (probably more often than I would care to admit) I let the mundane, essentially unimportant things take up more of my time than I should. During the course of a day I get so caught up in what "needs" done that I don't take time to "smell the roses" or enjoy the kids. I know how quickly they grow up. When I look at Alex and realize that he's 11, and leaving for a two week trip, alone, I'm stunned by how time flies. It's when I'm laying in bed at night or early in the morning that I lament the lost time that I could have spent doing something with the boys. But then when daylight comes I get sidetracked again. Okay, enough self recrimination for this evening. Tomorrow I'll try harder...

Movement

Look real hard and you'll see my cutie pie Aidan playing soccer (orange shirt).

What better picture to showcase movement than a bunch of three and four year olds running around learning to play soccer? He had a rough first day and participated very little, but yesterday was great. He had a fun time and participated almost the whole time. Today was a little rough because he missed his nap due to a doctor's appointment where he received three shots. Tomorrow will be better...

It's only a one week soccer camp but they have done a really nice job with the kids. The guy working with Aidan's age group has some kind of accent (I can't quite decipher what country) and he sounds cool giving directions to the kids. Maybe the next time he goes to karate he won't be so scared now that he has done this activity. Probably not.

Moody

I was going to take a picture of myself for this post, but CTP beat me to it. I fully recognize that I have the tendency to be moody, but in my defense, let anyone spend all day, every day with seven boys between the ages of 10 months and 11 years, and moodiness becomes a way of life. I don't think that sentence makes complete sense, but I'm too tired to fix it. Speaking of moody, one of the weird little sh*ts, I mean brats, oops, kids, that I babysit was sitting in my family room watching TV today. Out of the blue, he says, "I smell dust." Really? REALLY! #@&*! So I calmly said, "Would you like to help me clean?" This is after yesterday when he said, "I have the best parents in the world. They never yell." Seriously? SERIOUSLY! Are you all surprise I wasn't arrested for hurling a child out the window? I am.

Okay, so I'm off task but sometimes one just needs to vent. For today, I chose a picture of my most moody child, Andy. He can be a sweetie when he wants to, but most days he's downright mean. But his moods switch off and on like a switch (not sure if it's an up switch or down switch Princess :) - kidding). He could be so mad at me that he runs away (walks around the yard then back inside) and in two minutes he's asking me to play a game. His behavior confuses and confounds me.

I'm going to have a glass of wine. NOW!

Wendi's questions

1. Do you like blue cheese? no.
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No.
3. Do you own a gun? Do plastic water guns count?
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? never been to a sonic
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? nope.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I try not to think about what they are made of.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Santa Clause
8. What do you prefer to ????? I think this question is missing......
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My engagement ring
11. Favorite hobby? taekwondo and softball
12. Do you have A.D.D.? CTP says I do
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I can never seem to sit and relax...
14. Middle name? Anne
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: can I go to bed yet? What's the girl on House Hunters wearing? (doesn't she know she's on TV?), Will Aidan participate in soccer tomorrow?
16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday...a picture, chairs, m&m's
17. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? iced tea, vitamin water, water
18. Current worry? Will Andy ever be nice?
19. Current hate right now? ironing
20. Favorite place to be? karate
21. How did you bring in the New Year? I hate New Year's Eve with a passion!
22. Where would you like to go? on a cruise
23. Name three people who will complete this? Princess, LL, maybe CTP
24. Do you own slippers? yes, multiple pairs
26. What year would you go back in time to? I'd love to be pioneer during Westward Expansion (I actually tell CTP this all the time - he laughs at me)
27. Can you whistle? yes
28. Favorite color? red
29. Would you be a pirate? Absolutely!
30. What songs do you sing in the shower? ???
31. Favorite girl's name? I had a bunch picked out - never needed them :(
32. Favorite boy's name? Alexander
33. What's in your pocket right now? I'm in my jammies - no pockets.
34. Last thing that made you laugh? reading the answers to some of SB questions
36. Worst injury you've ever had? Broke my thumb playing softball my junior year of highschool
37. Do you love where you live? No-Western PA sucks
38. How many TVs do you have in your house? 4
39. Who is your loudest friend? I plead the 5th
40. How many dogs do you have? Two - a Beagle, Molly, and a Samoyed, Tundra
41. Does someone have a crush on you? Too many to list them all here.
42. What is your favorite book(s) Anything by Patricia Cornwell, JD Robb (Nora Roberts)
43. What is your favorite candy? M&Ms
44. Favorite Sports Team? The Steelers and Penguins.
45. Your favorite meal? Snow Crab legs
46. What were you doing 12 AM last night? sleeping
47. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? How many kids will be in the 5:30 TKD class tonight (there were A LOT!)
48. Do you have any odd habits? CTP assures me I have none.

Metalic

This is a picture of my two metalic jahng bongs. The one on the right is my original competition weapon and the blue one on the left is my new one that CTP bought for me at Worlds - isn't it pretty? My plan was to have someone take a picture of me showcasing my wicked skills with each of these jahng bongs, however the weather did not cooperate with my plans. What makes these competition jahng bongs as opposed to the regular ones we use in class, you ask? (Even if you didn't, I'm going to tell you anyway!) The one on the right is actually the same length as the one I use in class (about 5'6") but is a fraction of the weight. I believe it weighs about 5 ounces, compared to 14 oz. My new one is only 5' and weighs about 3 oz. In a tournament, you are allowed to use a jahng bong that is between 6" shorter or taller than you. The shorter ones just make some of the "tricks" easier.

Juicy

Here is a picture of me receiving a piece of juicy information on my cell phone. It's actually a reinactment because CTP was still sleeping during the actual phone call so he missed the call in real time. Anyway, good news - Mr. D (unofficially) passed his testing and is soon to be a 4th degree black belt. Gigi called at 8:30 this morning to share the news. She said she tried to call all of us at some point last evening, but none of us had our phones on or with us so we missed all of her calls. She even tried the Bartholomew's home phone but we must not have heard it ring. Who would be calling any of us, because we were all there... I think the Chief shared the news with them last night at dinner which is why it's still unofficial. But Gigi asked if she could tell us and was told yes. So I told her I would share the exciting news with everyone and it just worked out that I could work it into the word of the day!

Historic

I was really too tired to post this tonight but the thought of doing two tomorrow was just so overwhelming I decided to go ahead and get it done tonight (that could be taken out of context - but don't!) Above is an historic event in this house. Alex and Andy brushing their teeth without having been told three trillion times to do it. I'm sure it was only to delay the inevitable event of going to bed, but I really don't care what the reason was. I don't know about you guys but I'm sooooooooooooooooo tired of telling my boys to brush their teeth that I'm ready to cry. I actually do cry most nights which eventually lead them to trudge up the steps and pretend to brush their teeth.

This was another choice for the word of the day - CTP in partial uniform with shield and shades. Of course he seems to be missing the cape, sword and most importantly the tight pants, but I guess he's saving those for the first ATA fit class.

We had a great time tonight. Once ES gets back from his wanderings we'll take a turn hosting an event. We'll try to pick a day as nice as today so the kiddos can swim.

Half and Half

Today was Aidan's first day of Taekwondo. He is the little one in the middle of the picture Half in and Half out of class. I take absolutely no credit for this clever play on words however. Lady Leslie was manning her station at the front desk during the debacle that was Aidan's first class. We were giggling together as he started crying at the beginning for no apparent reason. She said, "Look, he's half in and half out or class. There's your picture for the day!" So, needless to say, I ran in and snapped the picture. Alex was assisting with class and tried really hard to get Aidan to join in, but to no avail. In the picture you can also see Andy trying to encourage him to participate. Mr. D was extremely patient and allowed him to observe and participate somewhat sparadically.



Prior to taking Aidan to class I expressed my dismay at "Half and Half" to Alex. He obviously gets his creativity gene from someone other than me (and I'm not quite ready to give full credit to CTP) and said why don't you use the half black and half white karate symbol - otherwise known as yin and yang. So, we found the symbol on the internet, pasted it into word, printed it out and took a picture of it. I was going to give you all a brief history of the symbol, but I was feeling much more inspired earlier in the day and now I'm too tired. I'm sure you're upset.



I've included this picture just because Aidan is so darn cute putting his black belt on the shelf to join mine, CTPs and Andy's (obviously Alex's isn't there any more.) I don't know if he'll last now because he is so young. But, if not, he'll eventually get it!

Too amusing to ingnore...

Even though I lost the sparring match against CTP last night, I can at least say that he didn't go away unscathed. The marks on his chin are thanks to a nice round kick that got me two points. I didn't know that he was "injured" until this morning when he was moaning about his boo-boo. But atleast he was a good sport and let me take a picture knowing full well that I would have to make fun of him (just a little). When he showed Alex his chin this morning, Alex said, "Boy that sparring club is dangerous." I don't know about CTP but I wear my bruises with pride!

Game On

Tonight's posting will probably look awfully familiar to Princess' because great minds think alike and we both brought our cameras to sparring club tonight. The above picture shows me getting my behind kicked by Painter Jeff (as always). What's missing is me getting beat by CTP in my second match. Luckily, there are no pictures of that! Although in my defense Burgermeister was center judge and more than a little clueless. But in the art of good sportsmanship, I'll concede defeat gracefully (NEVER!!!) The sad thing is that I have yet to beat Jeff, and he has yet to spar full force (of this I am sure.) Oh well, one of these days. I will have a bruise on my left shoulder tomorrow that I will be able to name "Jeff."

This picture shows me in the process of falling flat on my back. CTP wanted to penalize me for overdramatization but it was pure and simple clumsiness. ES tried to teach us how to avoid this earlier in the class, but alas I am a slow learner. Princess did not capture me sprawled on the mat, for this I am thankful. No sparring club next week because of Mr. Ds vacation, so I should be bruise free by the end of July.

Fun in the Sun

Today's word was easier than most. Of course it didn't hurt that it is an absolutely beautiful day with lots of brilliant sunshine. I'm fairly certain it would have been a challenge if it was a rainy day. These pictures show my (and several neighbor) children having a blast playing outside. The top picture Princess will appreciate because it resembles her boys from a few days ago. Andy spent time gathering a 'squadron' of soldiers together and placing them in strategic locations so that Alex could attack them. Yes, that's Alex in the Darth Vader helmet. Cool helmet even makes Vader noises. So then they chased each other around the yard (or battlefield). The little ones enjoyed swimming in Aidan's Dino pool. This is the second such pool in as few as three days. The first one got blown up Monday morning and by the afternoon it had a hole. We returned it yesterday and as of 2 pm this one is still inflated. Aaron is being driven around the driveway by the token female of the group. We had 10 boys and 1 girl in the group today.

Being that the day is not yet over, perhaps I'll have more pictures to add this evening.