Yellow Belts

First off, a disclaimer as to why there have been no blog posts from me in a month: I repainted the entryway, family room, kitchen, and dining area over the last several weeks. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time now, but just never took the time or jumped in. Well, as part of my New Year's resolutions, I jumped in! It looks awesome and I'll post about it soon, but for now, I need to play catch up on what we've been up to over the last few months.

Ryan and Sydney had their first karate belt advancement tests in December. Pretty much nothing cuter than those 2 in their uniforms...especially Sydney with the bow in her hair... They are both doing an awesome job in their after-school class and love it. In fact last week, I asked Sydney if she still thought karate was better than dance, and she just rolled her eyes like she does and said, "DUH, of course!!!" (No offense, Ashley, if you're reading this...that's just Syd!) So I guess the lessons will continue. This is the 2 of them when we first got to the gym. Here is Ryan doing a kick. So focused.

Sydney preparing to knock this guy's socks off.

I love this shot of her side kick!

Another kick from Ryan.

We found out once we were there that each child was going to be able to try and break boards that night. That made Syd pretty nervous since they had never tried that before. It just made Ryan super-anxious! Here he is getting instructions on just how to do it. I remember something about it being very important to have your thumb on the outside of your fist...

Here's his practice, just to make sure he has the form down.

He did it!

Now my girlie gets a little instruction...

And of course, has to bow.

I love her expression in this one!

I didn't get a good shot of the break, but she did it! None of the other kids as little as her were able to break their boards with their fists. I wish I could say I was surprised, but she is just one tough cookie! She's so satisfied with herself in this photo!

Now to try and break one with a kick...she was successful in that too, as was Ryan. They both pretty much rocked!

Not the best angle, but this is Sydney being presented with her new yellow belt. Gotta love the guys covered in tats. And here's Ryan getting his new belt. He can't wait to advance again and break more boards!