Tae Kwon Do - Belt Test and Break-a-thon

We just had what I'll call a "Very Tae Kwon Do Week-end."  Friday night Daniel, Lucas and Caden had their first belt test and Joshua and Chase came along to support.  They each did great, demonstrating proper form, technique and skill all culminating in breaking a board.  Lucas and Caden broke theirs using a hammer fist and Daniel broke his with an axe kick (!)  Each boy wrote a bad habit on the back of their board symbolizing their intent to break that bad habit the way they broke the board (I hope it works ;)  Each boy successfully advanced to the next belt level and enjoyed the ceremony celebrating their achievements.

Saturday morning was the Break-a-thon and it was a great event.  We got to see several demo teams perform, the highlight being the Master's Demo at the end.  It was truly amazing, so fun to watch.  Boards, bricks, apples on knives all broken in spectacular ways.  Then the boys had the opportunity to break boards of their own, raising funds for Randall Children's Hospital.  Eight schools were involved and collectively we were able to raise very close to $20,000!

Here's footage of Daniel's board breaking at the belt test.  It's really good!  If you feel so inclined, please leave a comment as to whether the footage played for you or not. I'd be much obliged :)

Caden in the foreground, spot Lucas down the line!

Break-a-thon!  Lucas used punching techniques:

Daniel's turn!  He used a combination of kicks and punches:

Thanksgiving 2016

We had a really nice Thanksgiving this year.  Alec, Meg and family joined us and we loved having them.  It was great seeing their kids and especially for our babies to meet each other and play together.  Our boys were quite taken with theirs and are pretty sad they won't get to see them for a long time to come.  We're very thankful for this special time we got to spend together before they head to Japan.

Wow, these  photos sure highlight Chase's milky complexion contrasted with Gabriel's olive tone.  He's practically glowing!  It was so much fun seeing these two together:

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A rousing game of Magic the Gathering, perfect for these guys.  It was a close match but I think Joshua ended up victorious.

Eli loved this Spider man costume, it was just his size!  Once he put it on he didn't take it off til it was time to leave.

Party in Chase's room!  Baby parties are the best.