Green Belts!

February 15, 2014 – My brothers and I were tested for our green belts this morning and we all passed!  We’ve learned so much since we started training roughly two and a half years ago.  Even though there’s still a lot more to learn, we’re finally starting to anticipate our black belt test.
This test was also special because two additional instructors tested us and signed our certificates.  It’s just a foretaste of our black belt test – when we’ll be tested by a whole panel of black belts.

Our school’s belts are White, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Blue, Green, Brown, Red, and Black Belts.

Benjamin’s Birthday! Go Karts @ Pole Position

February 6, 2014 - Today was Benjamin’s birthday and to celebrate we headed to Pole Position Raceway to race some go-karts.  Personally, I love racing and speed (see the upcoming post about MY last birthday), so I definitely enjoyed had a great time.

Watching the instructional video on rules and safety

The go-karts that Pole Position uses were very impressive.  They are electric and have excellent acceleration and handling. In fact, their acceleration was so good that it could really throw you back in your seat.  Their max speed is 45 mph.

The track had a couple of straight stretches but also had some challenging turns and a hairpin.

After the “race” you get a print-out of your lap times and personalized suggestions to improve your lap times. The driving suggestions were affected by your driving style and were pretty detailed.  A couple of examples would be to brake and drift less around turns or to follow an experienced driver around the track to learn their paths and braking points.

[Video]

As the name implies, “Pole Position” isn’t really about racing – as much as it’s about getting the fastest lap time.  So, your driving paths and braking patterns are more important than fellow racers.

Ice Skating

January 17, 2014 – We went ice skating with our cousins at an indoor rink with their homeschooling group.

Kyden (our cousin in the yellow/black sock hat) is up

And he’s down…

…and he’s up…

This lady happens to be an old schoolmate of my Mom.

It was good to see you again!

Wow, you really CAN’T tell when I’m having a good time – can you?

At least you can tell that Jamin was having a great time!

Benjamin doing some forward crossovers

Learning how to skate backwards

He’s up…

…and he’s down.

Yeah, well, despite the lack of any outward expression…

I love to ice skate, and had a great time.

It was also great to go back to our cousins home and play a very competitive game of Monopoly!

John Williams Christmas Concert

December 27th, 2013 – As part of a Christmas surprise, we went to a St. Louis Symphony concert at Powell Hall where David Roberston conducted the music of John Williams.  It was absolutely fantastic!
They played some film scores of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, War Horse, The Terminal, 1941, E.T. J.F.K., Jurassic Park and the Olympic Fanfare.  You’ll find a playlist below with some scores that I remember them playing.
Many of the film scores were very familiar, so it was great to watch the musicians make it come alive and to anticipate a cymbal crash or a blast from the trumpet.  Something that stood out particularly, was hearing the very difficult clarinet solo being played live from “The Tale of Victor Navorski” (The Terminal.)

Powell Hall was built in 1925 and was used as a movie theater and for vaudeville.  The last film shown at Powell before it was renovated for the symphony, was “The Sound of Music” in 1966.

Christmas Morning

December 25, 2013 - You've got to get up! You've got to get up! It's Christmas Morning!

We have a tradition of getting a photo every Christmas morning, before we go into the living room and see the tree and the gifts. 

Our Christmas mornings have certainly changed over years – one of which being that this morning we were already showered and dressed.

Someone’s still trying to wake up

Pillaging the stockings

(This was our first year with a real mantle over the fireplace, so we were able to hang our stockings the legitimate way)

Lydia was disappointed she didn’t have a stockings.

She just doesn’t own any socks.

Checking out the big throw Noah was giving Ben

What a great gift for this ENFP!

Lydia was obviously very excited about her new bath towels

Note her Christmas sweater.

We always make a mess

I have no idea what he’s spinning in his hand

Benjamin’s off to test out his new wet suit in the creek.

Yes, it’s late-December, but that would never stop him!