12 Days - Day 7: Black Belts!

I started to post about a Taekwondo tournament from this month when I realized I still have not posted about the black belt testing and tournament from October! Here is October. Bet you can guess what tomorrow's post is! 

Josh and Carley started Taekwondo in 2011. Three years, many tests, hardwork and much determination later, they tested for and earned their 1st-degree black belts!

Black belt testing was held on Friday night, the tournament was Saturday during the day and Saturday night was the belt ceremony. We spent the weekend in Reno. 

The black belt testing was fairly quick moving once it got started. The students had to perform their forms, free-sparring and break boards to pass, although in August was a pre-test which really determined if the students would pass or not in October. 

Carley set the goal to reach black belt and then she wanted to move on to something else in order to learn something new. Since this was her last tournament, she decided to only compete in forms. Unfortunately she did not place but she had a great attitude about it. She was there for her black belt and that she did earn!

Josh competed in both forms and sparring. He was bumped up an age division to 15-17 year olds even though he is only 14. Here's the short version: 

1.  Josh is continuing in Taekwondo
2. UWTA (United World Taekwondo Association) year runs October to September 
3. Black belts can earn points toward a top-four competition the following October

I may repeat some of this stuff in tomorrow's post. 

In order for Josh to shoot for top-four, he had to compete as a black belt and in the age division in which he'll compete in October 2015, which is 15-17 year olds.

Josh was close to placing in forms. He was in a 3-way tie for 4th place, there was a rematch and he took 6th. Sparring is what he loves to compete in though. He was up against some big guys and had not practiced sparring in 4-6 months! Walt and I even talked about how that might be the first time Josh "got schooled" in sparring.

What little faith we have in him. Josh went out there, competed against 1st, 2nd and 3rd-degree black belts and HE TOOK THIRD PLACE! I was floored. I seriously was and still am completely floored. He has so much natural ability. If he really honed that and practiced, he could probably go somewhere! 

Right now he's going for top-four. I think that's pretty great. 

 When a competitor is hurt, the one who caused the injury is supposed to kneel facing away until the match is ready to begin again. 

After a long day of tournament competition, we grabbed some dinner, got dressed up and headed back to the venue for the black belt ceremony.

It was so impressive to see my kids sitting there in their black belt, tea ceremony with their black belts and certificates in front of them. I start to whell up with tears just thinking about it.

The students are sat in rank, age order so neither Josh or Carley got to sit by friends.

The tea ceremony went on and on and on. I felt back for the kids having to sit for so long on the floor in tight, cross-legged position. They were definitely happy when the ceremony was over.

This is not a good picture but it's the group of kids from Josh and Carley's Taekwondo school who tested and recived their black belts. So stinkin' cool. 

Okay, I loaded these videos of Josh's sparring matches to YouTube back in October. If you are interested in watching them, I think they're pretty great. Watch below or check them out on my YouTube channel. 

Here's a few notes:

The 2nd match was against Michael, who goes to the same Taekwondo school as Josh. In fact, they went to the same elementary school for a year or two, as well. Josh and Michael often have to compete against each other in sparring since they're the same age. Josh always wins but Michael is such a great sport and just laughs about it. It's become somewhat of a running joke.

The 3rd match is the only match Josh lost. The opposing guy is a 3rd-degree black belt and took 1st place in this competition.

Josh may have kicked the guy from the 1st match and the guy from the 4th match in the nuts.

JV Water Polo

Josh is playing water polo this year for the first time and is goalie on the JV boys team. He does really well, especially for being pretty new to the sport. His only experience before going out for the team was 4-hour per week clinic over summer. 

He was super nervous starting out at high school but has enjoyed playing on his team and getting to know the girls and guys of water polo. Boys JV team is so small that there is only one substitute on the bench. Josh plays the full game but doesn't get as exhausted as the other boys who are swimming back and forth the length of the pool. In the shallow end, goalies are allowed to stand and the rest of the players are not. 

We, as a family, knew nothing about water polo at the beginning of the season. Walt and I are starting to pick up on the plays and calls after watching so many games. Josh is planning on playing again next year and will hopefully be in more clinics during off season. 

Before and After

This year, because of a trend I saw on Facebook, I took a "last day of school" picture of the kids. I'm glad I did this; it's great to see how the kids have changed over the course of the school year. Seeing the side-by-side of Josh was shocking. He's grown and matured so much this year. This is a new tradition I hope to carry on, at least for as long as the kids will let me take "first day of school" photos. 

First day and last day of 5th grade.

First day and last day of 8th grade. 

School's Out For Summer!

Well. It's official. We no longer have an elementary student in our family. Both Josh and Carley attended all six years of elementary school (K-5th) at one single school. In other words, for the past nine years I have been taking a child or two to and from Coyle Avenue Elementary every single school day. Elementary school never felt quick when we were in the middle of it but now that it's over, those years feel like they went by in a flash.

Carley had her promotion ceremony a couple days before school ended. The principal put together a really great slideshow of photos, which culminated with a kindergarten photo of each child immediately followed by a current photo of the same child. She even added some of teachers' elementary school photos. The 5th graders were each called up to receive a certificate and the ceremony was followed by a buffet of breakfast pastries and fruit. 

Carley is front row, 4th from the right

Mrs. De La Torre was Carley's 4th and 5th grade teacher. She also taught Josh in 4th grade.

As Carley heads to middle school, Josh is moving up to high school. I'm still having a hard time grasping that concept. 

Josh's 8th grade recognition ceremony was on the last day of school. They also were called up for awards and provided a continental breakfast buffet. 

Josh is 14, which means sometimes he does not like me to take photos or "embarrass" him when others are around. He also didn't want to stay at school any longer than necessary. Because school was out at 11:00 am, 8th graders were allowed to leave with parents as soon as the ceremony was concluded and he didn't waste much time saying good-bye to anyone, including teachers, before we headed to the car. Just like that, he's a high schooler.

There you have it; school is out for summer. In two months, I'll be taking one to his first day of high school and the other to her first day of middle school. I tear up if I think too much about it. 

What Happened in May? A Lot of Things!

Carley took five days of spring swim lessons. She ended up taking eight more days in June, as well, to strengthen her strokes. She wants to try out for swim team next year.

Carley played in her very last elementary band concert. She starts middle school in August and did not choose band as her elective. She'll be taking art and performance in school, which is still falls in "visual and performing arts" so not too bad. She is looking forward to expanding her experiences.

Mother's Day was in May. Carley made me breakfast in bed.

Josh went to his 8th grade dance. I cannot believe he's finished with middle school! He's in the back row.

My Girls on the Run team ran their 5k! I started co-coaching a Girls on the Run team at Carley's school back in February.  It's a really great program for 3rd-5th grade girls that not only incorporates exercise and goal setting but the lessons also cover important topics such as self-esteem and celebrating individual
qualities. The team met after school twice a week. All teams in the area ran the Girls on the Run 5k in May. I was so incredibly proud of Carley and all the other girls on our team for accomplishing their goal.

The girls needed an adult "running buddy" to run the 5K with them. Since I was a coach and needed to be at the finish line, my friend, Christy, ran with Carley. Thanks Christy!

 Carley received an award from her teacher for improving her reading over the course of the year. Carley really did work hard and through individual tutoring and help at school, she brought up her reading a couple of grade levels.

What Happened in May? Crazy Ice Cream Day!

You may remember we have an annual Thiel holiday, created by Carley: Crazy Ice Cream Day. Usually we celebrate during the last weekend in April but this year it was postponed a weekend. 

We held our 3rd annual Crazy Ice Cream Day the first Sunday of May. 

This year the kids invited a couple more friends to join us. I put together a couple games to make the event more fun than just eating ice cream. 

I think the mini-party was quite a hit and the ice cream was delicious, of course. Just looking at these photos makes me smile, especially the ones where you can tell the kids are really having a good time. 

Pin the cherry on the ice cream.

Our sundae bar.

First person to get the cherry out of the whip cream and stand up wins!

Rounding Out April

Obviously I'm still having the love-hate relationship with this blog. I am still slowly posting but it is so sporadic and for that I apologize. 

I already posted about two events that happened in April: a Taekwondo tournament and our trip to Carpinteria. Believe it or not, other things happened too! 


First of all, I cannot believe I have not yet posted the April Fool's Day food that I made for the kids. Originally I didn't think I would continue the tradition, mainly because I was so busy with work and life, but I could not quit this fun holiday just yet. 

The kids knew it was coming this year. I offered them juice when they got home from school and  right then they figured I was up to something. 

"Juice" was actually Jell-o that was cooled with a straw inside.

"Fried Egg" Sundae is pudding, marshmallow cream and ice cream.

I also checked another item off my Life List: #89 Bet on a Live Horse Race. My youngest sister, Ashley, was in the Bay Area for work. My schedule was crazy busy that week so we decided to meet up Sunday afternoon at Golden Gate Fields to watch some horse races. I had so much fun! 

It was Dollar Day that day so parking, admission, beer, hot dogs, etc. were all just $1. I decided I was willing to lose $20 on bets but ultimately ended up winning most of the bets I placed. I think I walked away $4 ahead. 

My first bet!

It's a winner!

Me and Ashley

The last post-worthy event was a 5K race that the kids and I ran to support the local school district: Race for the Stars. It was a cold, cloudy, drizzly morning and we were feeling lazy but we braved the run anyway. 

Josh ran the full 3.1 miles without stopping to walk and finished at about 29 minutes. Carley's leg was bothering her and it was painful to run so she and I walked the majority of the race and finshed at 50 minutes. 

As usual, we hung out at the post-race expo for a little while before heading home. There was a bike raffle, which we knew nothing of, and in the background I hear Carley's name being called. Apparently all of the children racers were entered into the raffle. Sure enough, Carley won a bike! It is a little big for her but she is outgrowing her small one so the timing couldn't have been better. 

Pre-race

Josh at the finish line.

Sweaty hugs

Feeling proud

Carley's new bike

Wait. There is one more thing to post about, Easter! Our Easter was pretty simple. We dyed a dozen eggs, the kids got simple and small baskets, and the family went to Sarah's house for an Easter potluck meal. 

And that wraps up April.