Nicholas' first karate tournament

We drove over to Ft. Pierce Friday night for the 8am check in on Saturday. It was utter chaos in the arena. Next time I'm leaving everyone at the hotel, go to check the boy in & get paperwork and come back around 10am. 

The schools lined up for opening ceremony (song, bows, announcements, etc). 

 They were lined up by height, the boy in front of nick is 1 month younger than him. and the boy behind the him (after the girl) is 2 years older than him. These kids make my boys looked like giants.

 Somewhat the end of the line, adults & teens out of shot.

Team cheer.

 Nico went off to practice his kata and hang out with the other competitors.

Nicholas hamming it for the camera.

Sensei Shelby kicking butt across the arena. She had her opponent on the floor. Go Shelby!

Nicholas' age group called to the staging area. He is the little guy with the orange bag walking away from the camera. He had to carry his stuff & prepare himself without my assistance.

I hit a button on the camera and it turned on b/w..arghh i had to fight the camera to get it back to 'normal'. I missed some of nico's stuff.

 Nicholas waiting on the sidelines.

 The boy doing some stretches & warm-ups.

 Showing yourself to the judges.

 Getting some pointers from his sparring coach.

 Hajime

 Getting a medal.

 A judge telling him to step to the middle of the matt, between the boys.

Dentist time

Henry finally lost the tooth that had been hanging for weeks.

Nicholas had a freak-out when the hygienist brought out the polisher/buffer thingy. He does not like the vibration it makes on his teeth. After a few extra coins & 15 mins, he climbed back into the chair. This picture was after the cleaning & you would never know of the meltdown. 

 

He did it

Nicholas learned to tie his shoes. He spent a school day working on it, came home and showed me all by himself. 

Valentine's Day

Nicholas and his bag of loot. 

Digging through his stuff looking for the best candies. 

Henry was not feeling well, you can see it on his face. He did a wonderful job on decorating his candy bag, he was proud.  

Abe Lincoln

Who is the Real Abraham Lincoln?

Nicholas was selected to participate in a historical person program. He had to memorize about 4 pages of lines about Abe Lincoln. 

What a cutie.

The three of them were taken all over school to do a short reciting of their lines. Here they are in front of the Principal & VP.

Then a few days later they were invited to be on the morning show that is broadcasted throughout the school. 

Nico & the team

Nico was excited to get his tournament team jacket at the Blackbelt extravaganza. 

The team up on stage.

Team cheer, nico is somewhere in the crowd. 

Animal Kingdom

The boys had a friday off so we headed over to Animal Kingdom for the day. It was a beautiful day - sunny & cool. 

Watching the monkeys

Begging ducks? Yah, its not working.

Nico loves brushing the goats & sheep.

The boys earned all 6 stamps and received a special conservation book. 

Nico fell asleep on the drive home & couldn't find his shoes, Henry played the big brother and gave him a piggy-back ride into the house.

 

100+ Books Richer

Nicholas received a certificate & a "dollar" for reading over a 100 RP books (books that he has been tested on & passed).

Science experiment This is an emergency

I helped Henry's class make borax crystal ornaments for science. Henry was the man in charge. He set up the cups, the borax & water. 

As we were mixing the borax, the school decided to hold a Tornado drill. Everyone under the table...its the only thing between you & death. 

Henry stating "DO NOT EAT THE BORAX"

Rough Day Ahead

I walked into the living room to find this ready for school and the zombie apocalypse. He's wearing his sparring helmet & mask.

80's man

Poor Henry, he was so tired after school that he put on his glasses and took a quick snooze on the way to karate.