Promotion Day

So, today the boys were promoted to a white/yellow belt in their karate class with Crouching Tigers.  Marcus and I went to see it over lunch, and I'm SO glad we did!  The class did a demonstration for us and before the students got their new belt, they each got to do a board break.  Since this was Zach and Evan's first promotion, they were expected to do the least difficult break - a kick.

After the board break, Sensei Jessica would give them their new belt and tell them why they deserved it.  What a confidence booster for the little ones!  It was fantastic! 

Now, a "funny" thing happened on Evan's turn at the break.  He did what he was told, and when the board broke, it broke into three pieces... the middle of which flew smack into the face of Sensei Shawn!!  The edge of the board actually drew blood!!  What a little Juggernaught we're raising!

Shot #1: Evan makes his kick

Shot #2: The piece of wood flying toward
the teacher's face!

Shot #3: And the board made contact!
(Check out the face on Sensei Jessica!)

No permanent damage for Mr. Shawn, thank goodness... and he was a good sport about the whole thing.

I am so sad that we have to pull the boys from the program when they return to their regular school this fall - so Marcus and I have decided we definitely want to look into taekwando or karate classes in the evenings for the boys.  Evan especially... I very rarely see that kid with so much attention... he sat there quietly the whole time waiting for his turn, and he was the VERY LAST ONE!  Great job to the wild monkey!! Anywho, here are the videos from today, including all the great things that were said about my boys!!

Bouncin' Baby Birthday Boy

...Well, maybe not so much a baby any more!  We celebrated Evan's birthday a little early this year because Marcus was going to be traveling on his actual birthday.  We gave him a choice for the day; JumpIt, bowling or a movie.  He obviously chose JumpIt, so off we went!

"Uh... a little help please?!!?"

Zach was having trouble, so we asked Evan to help him.
...This is how he "helped"...
BAH-hahahahaha!

Synchronized diving

 After they ran themselves ragged, it was time to head home and pump them full of sugar again in the form of a birthday cake!  I made Evan an Angry Birds cake this year.  If you don't know what that is, it's a character from a popular game that the boys love.  It was really fun to make and pretty darn easy, even for me.  The best part is that it delighted the birthday boy.

Evan and his Angry Bird

Star Wars toys!

Hulk hands... This is what MARCUS picked out...

Great idea, Dad...
I told Evan that he was only allowed to hit Dad with the hands.

A Lego game of his very own!

At this point, Zach told me that it was a VERY Angry Bird, because we ate him.

The Knotts Family - One year older!

Happy 4th Birthday, Evan Kristopher!

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2012

Landscaping Overhaul - Part One

The alternate title for this blog entry could be, "How We Spent the Hottest Day of the Summer" or "How to Cover Your Body in Poison Ivy Without Really Trying"... because both would be true of this first day of landscaping adventure.

I had been nagging Marcus to take down the evergreen trees that surrounded our front porch.  At one time, I'm sure they were very nice.  Now, however?  They are dying, ugly, full of poison ivy and hid the front yard from every window on the first floor.  That last part wouldn't necessarily be such a bad thing, except we have neighborhood kids who treat our yard as their own and have left it a mess on more than one occasion!

So here are the before/after shots (if you are on Facebook, you've probably already seen these!):

Ew.

Yuck.

Supervising Mom & Dad from a safe distance...

The trees are coming down and the poison ivy is spraying everywhere.

AFTER!!!!

So much better!

The front of the house looks so much better!  Now, the view of the back of the bushes from the house leaves a LOT to be desired, but it's a work in progress that will continue once this draught lets up!

Road Warrior

Zach rode his bike for the first time without training wheels... at the end of APRIL.  I'm way, way behind on my blog.  You can tell it's April by the jacket Z is wearing and the pre-draught green grass!  Our yard is now brown... very brown.

Below is a video of his first ride just after Marcus removed his training wheels.  I couldn't believe that he just took off!  He hasn't stopped since.  The boy LOVES riding his bike!

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandpa!

Grandpa Hall & me!

This is a LOOONG overdue post.  I have several, actually.  All sitting unfinished in my Blogger queue.  Time is just flying by, and I'm not keeping up!! 

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to go up to South Bend to celebrate my Grandpa Hall's 90th birthday (My mom's dad).  It was a surprise party, actually... Not a jump-out-from-behind-the-couch-and-yell-"SURPRISE"-type of party (Grandpa IS 90, after all), but instead of spending a quiet afternoon with two of their daughters, the Halls found a parade of family streaming in, all at the same time.  Pretty darn cool!

Evan just doing what he does...

(l to r) Uncle Rick, Grandpa, Uncle Tom, Aunt Shelley, Uncle Curt, Aunt Pat, Grandma & my Dad

And again, with personality... ladies!

The newest "sprout" on the Hall family tree... Silas

Heya, handsome!



Ready, set, ROLL!!