ORANGE BELT

We have had computer problems for a little bit and it's prevented me from blogging, so please scroll down to see all five of my posts today. Ok, now on to Asher! We are so proud of this kid! He works really hard and LOVES Tae Kwon Do and it shows!!! He tested last Friday for his Orange Belt and easily passed! Check out his breaking technique on the video. He has also made a choice to continue on in the Black Belt club - which is a 3 year commitment. Yesterday he had his first class toward this goal. I'm excited to see him continue in a sport he loves. I'm appreciative of Grand Master Hong and all the other Grand Masters, Masters and Instructors (especially Instructor CJ who works with him regularly) and all the training they give him. Asher, enjoy your orange belt!

19 YEARS ON THE 19TH

That's right, August 19th marked our 19th wedding anniversary (and I was 19 when we got married)! I know what you're all thinking (all 4 of you that read this!) - This anniversary is even more monumental than Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals in the 8-8-08 olympics! And really......WE WOULD HAVE TO AGREE! We started out in 1989 with nothing to our name. We enjoyed a beautiful honeymoon at Disneyland and our song was Debbie Gibson's "Lost in Your Eyes". 19 years later - We have 3 kids at 3 different schools, a Mita, Tae Kwon Do lessons, Dr. appts, volunteering, jobs, orchestra rehearsals, church jobs and never enough sleep. We celebrated last night (after Tae Kwon Do) by having a great dinner at FATBURGER (hamburgers and onion rings to die for!) and coming back home (school night) to watch The Simpsons Movie. Just in case you were curious about our song, that's changed in the past 19 years too! Tony could never (DIDN'T WANT TO) remember our song. In 2004, I helped Tony correct the only regret he had in his life - TO SEE VAN HALEN WITH SAMMY HAGAR. (that is a long story in and of itself....maybe one day I'll share.....maybe this is enough embarrassment for now, we'll see) When they sang "When It's Love" I sarcastically suggested that we choose that for our "new" song. Tony was so excited it was (and is) embarrassing - but hey, he now ALWAYS remembers our song. I'll leave you now with some of the timeless lyrics to our "new" song WHEN IT'S LOVE:

HEY (kind of screamed out by Sammy)

How do I know when it's love?
I can't tell you but it lasts forever
Ooh, how does it feel when it' love?
It's just something you feel together, hey!

(Guitar Solo)

(Oh oh oh oh) Yeah, you can feel it
(Oh oh oh oh) Oh, when it's love
(Oh oh oh oh) When nothin's missing, ow!

Ooh, when it's love
Hey! It'll last forever

Well, I agree with the last lyric IT'LL LAST FOREVER.....HEY! (screamed out in Sammy Hagar fashion)

1st DANCE

August 13th was a Tri-Ward Back to School Dance for 12 and up. Of course, Colton was NOT excited and wanted to know if he really had to go. I said he did, but I told him I WOULD NOT attend - hoping that would make him feel a little bit better about his 1st dance. I coached him on how to ask a girl to dance and answered any questions he had - then I took him to the church. I EVEN TOOK MY CAMERA!!!!! You could not believe how wrong that was! Ok, maybe you could, but I couldn't resist. I took his picture before we went in. Notice how I also (very incorrectly I might add) made him tuck his shirt in. Am I the worst mom or what!? Well, 90 minutes later I showed up and found him dancing with Veronica (shirt had been correctly UNTUCKED by then). He was quiet until we were driving off and then I heard ALL about the dance. He loved it! He danced with different girls. He danced a lot with Veronica (trust me, I heard it from the girls how he danced with Veronica too much!). Now, he's counting down the days until his 1st school dance (in October) and wishing there could be a church dance every Wednesday for mutual! It's amazing how quickly things change in life. Before the dance, I just wanted Colton to not feel too awkward and maybe dance a little bit. Now, I'm more concerned with his new "dance fever" and anything that could accompany this!

"REGULAR-WARDS"

Kyler's new thing is to put his shirts on backwards. Why? I have no idea!!! But that's his new thing. I was making sure that he was ready for the bus and asked him to fix his shirt. He needed to know why and I said because it's backwards. He looked at his shirt and realized that I was telling him the truth and then said "I like it that way! I don't like it 'regular-wards'!" 4 year-old logic - can you argue with that?

2014!?!

I was so excited when Colton was given this shirt at Bookstore Day, but now....IT JUST SCARES ME!!!!! 2014......that's not far off. How can I pretend that I will have this boy with us forever if I keep seeing the reminder that one day he will graduate and move on in his life. One day we won't have daily contact with him...and then.........he'll go on a mission!!! As much as I want that for him, I can't even begin to think about how much I'm going to miss him. For now though, he's still mine. I can enjoy him every day. I can talk to him and guide him and see for myself all the ways that he's growing and developing. Truthfully, it makes me more PROUD than scared. He's a great young man and the next six years will continue to help him (and me) prepare for that day in May 2014! GO HUSKIES!

KYLER'S SWIM REPORT CARD

Kyler just had a month of swim lessons with Gilbert Parks and Rec. I was very happy we were able to get into something since he has never had lessons and should learn. So my friend emailed me the class she was putting her son in and I enrolled Kyler as well. I didn't think about skill level and found out that Kyler should start out in "shrimps" and then move up to the "otter" class that his friend was in. This was fine with me, but made Kyler sooooooo angry! He wanted to be with Kevin! It was a very sore subject around our home and I talked with Kyler many times about it. Kyler took matters into his own hands and charmed his way into the "otter" class without actually improving any swim skills. So his swim report card should not have surprised us. The first comment was "Great Kid" then "Great Improvement" and then the recommendation for the next class to enroll him in was "Shrimps". This makes me curious, how do you show "great improvement" and move BACK a class. The next thing I think of are my cousins blogs. The ones with great current photos (this photo of Kyler is not from this summer, it's from last summer - at SeaWorld in San Antonio to be exact) of their kids swimming - actual, real swim strokes. How can I let them know that my kid also takes lessons - and has been held back despite his "great improvement". I then open the report card to find 15 skills that can be checked off. My child has ONE checked off. Safety skills is apparently all my child has accomplished. That's right - (drumroll) - HE CAN GRAB THE SIDE OF THE POOL!!! Well, maybe I'm a little prejudiced, but I think my child should have more than ONE checkmark. So I've made a list of skills that Kyler would have earned a checkmark for.
Showed up every day - CHECK
Eyes are as blue as the water - CHECK
Swim shirt always coordinated with swim trunks - CHECK
Had at least one day where he did not scream and cry at swim lesson - CHECK
Is blond and looks like he could be a swimmer - CHECK
Consistantly plugs his nose two minutes before he goes under the water - CHECK
Can go a whole lesson without getting his hair wet - CHECK
After being placed in the pool screaming, managed to grab mother's ankle almost tripping her face first on the cooldeck - CHECK
Able to escape swim instructor and grab dad as he was walking back to his seat - CHECK
Required his own lifeguard to place him in the middle of the pool so he could not reach any other child, instructor, parent, rope or side of pool - CHECK
Look at that - 10 checkmarks!!! Kyler sure did great this summer!
(oh, I am so embarrassed)