Black Belt Test

Following are pictures from my Black Belt Test this past Saturday, January 23.

stretching and warming up

Bobbie took all these pictures of the test, and got this adorable one of his wife and son while he was at it!

doing forms (2 random ones, chosen by our master instructor)

sparring (just a short round, basically a demo)

board breaks (triple whip kick followed by a tornado roundhouse)

receiving my black belt!!! (being tied on by a master instructor from Denver who comes to help with testing, but is not our regular instructor)

Once it was on, I could not stop grinning.

Chris, Master Song, and I

As a part of my testing application, I had to write an essay about my journey in the martial arts. Here is a link to my Black Belt Essay.

Christmas 2009

Christmas at our house was completely perfect this year. We had family members and some close family friends over for tamales on Christmas Eve. This is the only picture I have from that evening, but I love it. On the left is my second cousin, Graham. He is a talented musician (studied at Berklee College of Music and has played with Robert Francis and other big names). Campbell recently started piano lessons, and the two of them were at the piano discussing major and minor scales and other aspects of music theory.

This is from Christmas morning. The main gift for the kids from Santa was a trunk full of classic games (Sorry, Monopoly, Jenga, Trouble, Yahtzee, etc.). It has been a great gift. We have had many family game nights since then. And the kids have enjoyed playing board games with each other, as well.

One of Helene's favorite gifts was her American Girl Just Like Me doll, whom she named Samantha Annika Bradley. Samantha has hair and eyes that match Helene's, and the two of them received matching outfits, as well. Helene has never been much of a doll person, but she loves Samantha. She puts Sam to bed with her at night and sends her to "school" (a corner of her room) each morning.

Everyone's favorite Christmas gift was Bell, Chad & Courtney's new daughter, born on December 18. They were able to join us for a couple of nights beginning on Christmas Eve, and it was so peaceful to have a newborn in the house.

Later in the holiday, we all went up to Northfork. We had a fun time sledding up on the Meadow.

The holiday was full of family, friends, and fun. All in all, just perfect.

Dogs, Dogs, and More Dogs

While my brother and sister-in-law were out of state waiting for their baby to be born, we became the proud temporary owners of 2 extra dogs.  It was quite a houseful with 2 adults, 2 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 snakes!

Bleu is a super cuddly dachshund.  I think he thinks he's a cat (except for the fact that he barked at my cats).  He was constantly in my lap or on the couch.  

I took this picture through a very dirty door, but it illustrates their personalities so well:

Ellie (Eleanor Rigby) is a border collie, who loves to play fetch.  She has a great talent for catching a frisbee.


It was fun, but I would not ever want to own that many dogs.  They are a lot more work than cats.

Christmas preparations

Christmas is almost here.  My German-themed village always gets me in the spirit:

Baking sugar cookies has always been an important part of Christmas for me.  When I was teaching, I used to make dozens of them and hand them out to my students while they were taking their final exams.  With children of my own, it's a lot harder to make mass quantities like that, but at the same time, more fun and meaningful.  Kathy and kids came over a couple of days ago, and we all made cookies together.

Becca and Helene at the KitchenAid mixer:
Helene did not want her picture taken; she whipped her head back around when she saw me with the camera.  And if you were wondering, yes, her shirt is on backwards.  She wanted a solid green shirt to go with her red skirt.  (I guess if she can't see anything but green from the front, it must be solid green.)
Campbell and Aaron cracking eggs and following the recipe to tell us what step is next:

On Christmas Eve-Eve, it snowed and snowed and snowed.  Helene went out to play in it early in the morning (while I was still straightening up the house and could not join her).  I love that she can get all of her snow gear on by herself!  She took some toys out with her and played a game where she threw them into the snow and then tried to recover them.
Here are her toys (lined up from smallest to largest) after their adventure in the snow.  They also accompanied us on our sledding trip later in the day.  Helene said they had a great time, and "they did not get cold because they do not have a nervous system."  Must be nice.
I think Helene's hair looks beautiful all wavy like this (which is how it is naturally, especially after being out in the moist, snowy air), but she prefers it straightened.  The grass is always greener. . . 
Now it's the morning of Christmas Eve.  We are having friends over this evening and family coming in later.  It's gonna be a great day!

Fox Creek Fitness

I've been going to kickboxing class at my friend Chris's place (Fox Creek Fitness) for a few months now.  Last weekend, he had his first kids' class and asked me to take pictures.  It was fun, and the kids were adorable!

Gorgeous Fall Day

This week has been beautiful, with temperatures getting up into the 70s.  It feels more like fall in Texas than Colorado.

I took the kids and friends to the playground today.

There were two bald eagles perched in a tree on the way to the park.


And a red-tailed hawk in the tree just south of the eagles.
After the playground, we went on to the treehouse, and the owl we saw last time was there again.  And this time I had my zoom lens!!
Isn't her camouflage just perfect?!
Love those furry ears!