Keee-Yaaa!

Well, I'm not sure how you spell it, but the title is the approximately the yell the kids do when doing their karate. LOL We've been hearing that a lot around here, since they've been practicing at home in addition to all their classes. And today (Tuesday) Matthew got his orange belt!

They had the official testing a couple of weeks ago, and Matthew had been introduced to the last parts of the white belt material, but hadn't had a chance to practice it. The next formal testing isn't until mid-August, so they had a make-up test today for the kids at Matthew's level who were ready. He and two other students tested. There were about three others I think who could have tested today, but didn't for whatever reason. So here are some pics. My little Canon, at least with what I know of the settings, could not handle the light in there along with the mirrored wall and all the movement, so, quite frankly, the pics were downright awful, and I really had to work with the best shots to get them even this far, but at least you get a taste...

The first 4 shots are them demonstrating their "form", a memorized 18-move sequence.





And below is Matthew with the instructor, demonstrating one of the self-defense moves.


And here he is getting his belt.

They stick the belt inspection stickers on their noses while putting the belts on. Our gullible Matthew believed it when the instructor told him that he had to keep it there until the next class -- which is not until Monday because of the holiday. LOL (Yes, he did tell him he was kidding.)

It would have been nice if Matthew could have gone through the formal testing, which is a lot more ritualized, with everyone in full uniforms, and without the distractions of a full class going on right behind you. LOL But he would have been bored to tears working on the white belt material for another 6 weeks, so we'll just have to get all our pomp and circumstance (and hopefully better pictures) next time around. ;)

Since I had the camera there anyway, I also took a few pics of Kaylee's class.

This is her waiting in line for her turn to practice a block/punch combination. She supposed to be "standing like a black belt", but is instead bouncing up and down. LOL


And then a couple of her working on the first parts of the same form Matthew learned.



And one working on another combination of some sort.


We bit the bullet and signed Matthew up for the full slew of classes. It ended up costing quite a bit more than we originally thought, but I think it will be worth it for him. And he's excited that he gets to start taking an extra weapons class once a week. :-b Kaylee has actually shown a decent amount of improvement recently, and she's still having fun, but we weren't ready to fork over the major bucks to commit for her, so they cut us a deal on another four weeks of classes for her.

So in non-karate news, the kit I've been working on still isn't done, but it's getting closer. I haven't gotten to design at all the past two days, which doesn't help matters. LOL

We were able to order a part directly from Moen for our old faucet, and it's now fixed. It cost a heck of a lot more than a hunk of molded plastic should, but it was still less money and waaay less hassle than replacing the whole faucet.

The dishwasher line knob still has a very slow leak, and I still have not put all the stuff back in the cabinet. I'm getting used to walking around the pile. :-b

We made a couple of interesting discoveries regarding the noise the pipe is making when the dishwasher fills. 1- The noise stops if I turn on the faucet while it's filling, then starts back up when I turn the water off. 2 - The washing machine, which is two rooms away, vibrates while the dishwasher is filling. Totally bizarre. We have no clue what either of those mean. If any plumbing experts have any idea, please speak up. LOL

Changing the subject again... to whoever posted to let me know my designs were being improperly distributed, thanks... I think. LOL It was indeed my stuff, along with a lot of other designers'. It was my first time dealing with anything like that, and it was absolutely awful and infuriating, but I guess it's an unfortunate reality these days. Onward and upward.

Hmmm... it's quite late now. I guess it's officially July 4th! Happy Independence Day!! We're probably not really doing anything special to celebrate. The weather here has been miserable. It's rained something like 7 out of 10 days for the last two months, and I think it's been every single day for the last couple of weeks. The current forecast shows it letting up on Monday, but I'm not holding my breath. There's so much flooding around here. Fortunately, our particular area hasn't had a problem yet.

Anyway, Mark also has a convention to go to, so it'll just be me and the kids hanging out. Mark picked up some new games to help keep us entertained while he's gone. LOL

Ok, I'm starting to get that "way overtired" headache (um, duh, it's almost 2a.m.), so I guess I should go to bed! G'night! :)

Comments

karin said…
awesome on the Orange belt! I love that you got some action shots of the kids! Karate is one thing that I've loved to watch, but never been involved. I have some friends that are and the discipline is incredible. Congrats to both kids! (oh, and the title of the post was the phonetic spelling of an old dog of mine - Kia was her name ... I thought that was funny!)

Glad the faucet is fixed, but the new noises are odd - no advice. Not a plumber here. LOL.

the poster that mentioned your things being distributed was very strange and I was wondering about that whole thing ... sorry it was true. Hopefully you took good care of that other person. ;)

Happy 4th to you my friend, and stay dry .. been thinking about the rains in Texas and hoping you've escaped anything awful.
Unknown said…
Love the action shots Kim! I'm tempted to put my girls in martial arts, to teach them a little discipline and respect! LOL jc
Francine said…
TOTALLY cool karate pics! They both look adorable - and dangerous! Heehee!