Green Belt

Last week, Nate had his green belt testing and a did great job!

 

Then this Friday was the belt ceremony. He has been looking forward to earning his green belt since he started taekwondo in June. Because of two simple words: SPARRING GEAR!! (More on that later...)

 

This was the first time we attended a belt ceremony with students from both of the other 2 academies. Needless to say, it was a large group!!

 We waited patiently as the white belts became yellow belts, and then finally it was time for the yellow belts to turn into greens!

 Click here to watch Nate run through the "Victory Tunnel" and get his new belt. He is the very first kid in line (behind the kid in the red uniform). Thanks to Greg for the amazing videographer skills :)

Loved this - the kids threw their old belts up in the air in celebration!

Could NOT be prouder of my boy!!

...well actually, I think she is his biggest fan :)

Starting to look a little bit intimidating...

 We went out for dinner after the ceremony to celebrate our favorite ninja with pizza and root beers :)

 

Then, yesterday, was the day to end all days. Nate went to a Sparring Seminar at the academy and got his sparring gear!!! I could not stop laughing - he looked like a little cute robot! Hardly any of them could walk at first.

He got a huge bag to hold all of his gear, and his instructor told everyone to practice over the weekend getting the pads on in under 2 minutes. So, guess what Nate had in his hands when he came down the stairs at 7:30 am this morning?! You guessed it! His sparring gear :) You'll be happy to know, he has practiced all day and is now down to 56 seconds. I swear, this boy does not know the meaning of giving up!!

 

I heart him.

Girls' Weekend Getaway!

My mom's birthday is in April, and the only thing she's asked for for about the last 10 years is to have a weekend away with her girls. Fortunately, we've been able to make this happen 7 out of the last 10 years! (Babies kinda got in the way there for a little bit :)

 

So, as a belated birthday present for Mom, we rented a cottage on Lake Norman (which is outside Charlotte, NC). I flew into Charlotte last Friday and was greeted by Bec's new car and bunch of smiling faces!! Then we were off to do what we do best.... eat lunch and do some shopping at the outlets!! Sadly, the kids were the only ones that really got anything. A tad disappointing.

 

Oh well, our moods sure improved when we pulled up to our cottage and saw this view out back:

I have been w.a.i.t.i.n.g to wear some "fall" clothes and I finally got the chance because it was breezy and in the low 70's. We headed out to the dock for happy hour & catch-up time.

 We fixed a Mexican feast for dinner, and had s'mores by the bonfire that night. Have I mentioned yet how much I love Fall?! Comfy clothes and roasted marshmallows are two of my favorite things :)

 Bec & Lora drew the short straw and had to sleep in the room with bunk beds, while Mom & I each got our own rooms. Heaven! I think everyone slept well our first night except for Bec....she was convinced she heard noises & saw flashlights outside, so she was "on guard" half the night and texting Mike our address in case a serial killer came. Yes, I am serious.

 

Despite that, everyone woke up in a good mood and headed out to the back porch to enjoy this view and grub on some breakfast burritos.

Lora outdid herself with our burrito bar! :)

Then it was off to the Whitewater Center for some hiking and zip-lining!!

We all survived the Mega Zip!! The only downside was that we had to wait a super long time in line with all our gear on - over an hour - and poor Bec had to pee the whole time!! :(

 We got back to the cottage and munched on appetizers & sangria for a very late lunch, and then spread out for a few hours....

 ...I headed to the dock for some sunshine & reading. So peaceful.

 Lora & Bec laid out on the "beach" for a bit, Mom read her kindle and took a dip in the lake, and I think Bec even managed to squeeze a catnap in. It was wonderful just to relax, not talk, and enjoy our surroundings for a few hours :)

 

Then it was time to shower & get ready for dinner. And wine time of course!

Loved this glass - it said "Forget the cracker, Polly wants wine!" LOL

In the car on the way to dinner

 Bec picked a great spot for dinner, Port City Club, and we all enjoyed our seafood meals. I even got a little crazy and tried the appetizer - crab toast. Not bad!

 Sunday morning, we took a few more glances at this beautiful getaway and headed off to breakfast....

 Again, Bec took us to a cute little spot right in the heart of downtown Davidson, near the college. It was called Toast and we all had delicious omelets & quiches. Then it was time to head to Bec's house, to pick up Lora's car. (Lora & Mom drove in together from Clemmons). Sad to see them go, but at least we got to see this little munchkin for a few minutes!!

Then, Bec & Anderson dropped me off at the airport for my flight home. Such a great trip and so sad to see the weekend end. I'm already looking forward to next year....Bec, did you say you wanted to try Nola!? ;)

Daddy Camp

I went away this past weekend on a girls' trip with my sisters & mom (more on that later)! And Greg really stepped up to the plate & entertained the kids for 3 days!!

 

I left early Friday morning, and the kids were off school for a teacher in-service day. Greg had the bright idea to take the kids out to Lake Lurleen State Park for some playground, picnic and hiking fun!

 

But first, they had to stop by Krispy Kreme because it was "National Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day!" If you talked like a pirate, you got a free glazed donut! :) Here is Abby's mean/pirate face.

 Then it was off to the park! First up, picnic lunch and playground fun. There was an "old-fashioned" see-saw and merry-go-round and Greg said the kids loved it (and had never seen them before, sad)!

Hopefully they ate more than just Cheetos :)

 Then they hiked around the lake, about 1 mile. Greg said both kids did pretty well but towards the end, Miss Hollywood was complaining that her legs hurt.

 

Nothing a little Sunkist can't fix! :)

 Then, they happened upon some peddle boats - another first for the kids! I think Greg really got a good workout b/c he was the only one peddling!!

 The kids had a ball and Abby fell asleep in the car on the way home. She NEVER sleeps in the car, so she really must have been exhausted!!

 

That night, they went to a neighbor's house for a new tradition that started earlier this month - Friday Night Driveway Happy Hours! (So fun!) There was even a viewing of "Frozen" for the little ones.

Saturday was filled with lots of yard work (for Greg), grocery shopping, and playing with the neighbors. We are finally getting some beautiful weather, so it's nice that the kids can play outside for longer than 30 minutes without complaining of being too hot :)

 

Sunday, Greg shocked me and managed to get the kids dressed & their hair fixed for church without any problems. Way to go, Daddy! The kids were good in mass, so they went to KK for their usual donut afterwards.

More playing with neighbors in the afternoon and then I got home around 3:30 pm. I had a great time on my girls' trip, but missed my little family :)

 

Thank you, Greg, for being a great Daddy and not blinking an eye when I asked if it was alright if I went on this trip. You're the best!

 

And since you did SO well, maybe I could take another trip next month.....?! ;)

Game Day Fun!

This week has gotten away from me....I realized I needed to blog about last Saturday because it's almost time for another football game!!

 

Greg & I took the kids - and our neighbor, Jack - to the quad last weekend for some Game Day fun! The UA vs. Southern Miss game was slated to start at 5 pm, so we got to the quad around 2:30. As expected, it was packed with crimson shirts and lots of partying :)

We bought each kid 5 tickets (for 5 rides), and let them loose on the inflatables. It was perfect weather - under 90 degrees for the first time in FOREVER - and we had so much fun!

 

I wanted both Jack & Nate to try the joust, but Nate politely declined :) However, Jack did it and had a ball. He said the jousting sticks were really heavy!

Abby didn't want to use her last ticket, so she gave it to Jack and we convinced him to ride the (new!) mechanical bull!!! It was absolutely hilarious. It went suuuuuper slow and Jack got 3 rides. I think his longest stretch on it was 12 seconds :) He was a good sport though!

All the jumping/running/playing made the kids hot so we cooled off with some Steel City Pops! Not sure if these are a new addition to the quad this year, but we have never noticed them there. So they were new to us and oh so delicious!

We stopped to listen the Million Dollar Band on our way back to the car. Abby loved them!

Water break :)

I love this time of year in T-Town and look forward to many more fun game days!