More Turkey Please!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with nearly the whole family and a few spares just for good measure. Kris and Jim played host and the balance of the meal was nicely divided out so no one person was too overwhelmed, except by their own doing. 

Shawn's dad has moved back to Utah and so he was able to join us as was Jacquie's sister. As usual there was more food than any one group really needed but that didn't stop the feast - it just slowed

Cole enjoyed some mashed potatoes and gravy and when I say enjoyed - he lapped it up (as much as Cole laps up anything these days). He had some sweet potatoes and gummed a piece of turkey for a bit. And then like most of us he was ready for a nap but not before a little Rock Band where nearly everyone can play an instrument or sing at extreme levels. 

Everything was yummy. We were just disappointed Aunt Jeni and her family couldn't make it. Although we when saw them later that night it looks like they had a nice quiet evening and even more leftovers. 

Why Yes They'd Love to Break Another Board - Just Ask Them

Jordan and Matthew were nice enough to invite us to the tae kawn do final test, graduation, and belt ceremony (2 separate weekends, but through the magic of the blog - brought to you in one post). 

Unfortunately the senior instructor and owners wanted the students to face them to ensure they understood the principles and could apply the teachings. So that meant we have very few close up of the two of them. But suffice it to say they did GREAT!

They had to demonstrate moves involving kicks, arms, jumps - and some combinations of all three. They had to do all of this while being respectful of their instructors and the Master of the Academy. Each of the boys really has taken to Tae Kwan Do and found something special they can excel at. Jordan is very attentive and executes his moves with precision. Matthew is quick to jump to his feet and follow instruction and has learned on his own how to count to ten in Korean. And their instructor was great to recognize both kids in front of the packed room. 

Besides successfully completing all of their moves the big event was rounded off by breaking a few boards ... well about 40-50 boards in total. I thought it was great the two of them got to keep their boards as evidence of all of their hard work, not to mention hard hands!

We had a pot luck after the belt ceremony which was fun for everyone - even Jordan. Although it may appear somewhat questionable based on Jordan's expression. 

 

Thanks for inviting us - we had a great time and look forward to attending the next belt ceremony

Tongue Inspection Night (aka Autumn's Birthday)

We all were lucky enough to spend dinner with Jeni, Brendon, Jordan, Autumn, and Matthew for Autumn's birthday. 

We went to a BBQ place up north (Goodwood) which was pretty good, or we were hungry... no I think it was still pretty good.  

Cole was getting over hit first cold. I would love it if it were his last. There is nothing so sad as listening to this little guy all congested or cough. So he was more cuddly than normal.

The kids were really pretty good. Autumn was in good spirits having had her (first) manicure (what a good mom to take her) as you can see from the spread out fingers gingerly touching everything. HUGE hit. Matthew was enjoying seeing how he could compress his little bag of cotton candy (yes, we had a few small bags left over, after using up all of our supply) without directly touching it. 

Then of course, you can count on Uncle Shawn to start the faces and foolery! And once started there was no going back. I've never seen so many tongues in one night. It's like they were drawn out by the flash on the camera. Luckily, Jordan was able to avert his eyes by ignoring all of us and listening to his MP3 player. 

Cole was just content in Aunt Jeni's arms. 

Happy Birthday Autumn!!