Big Kid is a Karate Kid

So anyone that asks Jackson what he wants to be when he grows up already knows this... he wants to be a ninja. And, he's totally serious. So, we decided it would be best to improve his future butt-kicking career and get him into martial arts now. He's been there for almost a year and is now an orange striped belt. Within the next few months I look for him to move from kinder karate to youth karate. (In youth karate they get solid colored belts - and eventually will become a black belt if he sticks with it.)











































Every three months, Jackson is eligible to "belt test" where he goes in front of his sensei and another judge. He has to demonstrate skills, or "do moves" as Jackson says. He has to know the Japanese words for things - colors, numbers, body parts, moves. The picture right above this paragraph is Jackson doing his kata. I'm really proud of how far he's come in a short time.



(That's Jackson on the right and Darby on the left. They belt tested together, but she decided to focus on other things for the summer, so she isn't doing karate anymore.)

On May 22, we had a karate competition - there were schools from other states there even, for real like Karate Kid style. I honestly did not realize it would be that big a deal, but it was, and I was shocked. Every kid got a trophy, but y'all know how competitive I am... of course I need to say Jackson had the best score of the orange striped belts. He did his basic skills and got scores of 7.4, 7.4, and 7.5. During the sparring portion, he won against his opponent. He was really just excited to get another trophy that weekend.

Yeah, I know. I suck at blogging. Quick Recap

Sorry. I realize it's May and my last post was December... I suck at this. You know me, you love me, you know this is how I am!

Let's get a real quick catch up... Parker turned 2. He had a Mickey mouse Clubhouse party. We had hot dogs for dinner (hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog...) It was so much fun!!






Parker also gave up the paci... "Pacis are for babies." Sometimes, he still claims to be a baby... but this baby does not have pacis. When we first took it away, we told him we were all out. In the middle of the night, he woke up and cried for me. I went into his room and he said, "Momma, we need a go a Tah-get white now! We need a dit more pacis." I told him Target was all out of pacis and he said, "Ok," and went back to sleep!



Jackson lost two teeth, the bottom front ones. He is very proud of this fact and likes to tell people all about it, including the blood part.







Jackson just turned 6, we will be having a party at lazer Kraze next week. He also won his soccer tournament (on his birthday nonetheless) and his karate competition went really well (the day after his birthday) - he got trophies, so he is golden!

Happy 6th Birthday, Jackson!

Turning six is a big deal. Well, all birthdays are a big deal at our house. We love birthdays.

Jackson's birthday weekend was filled with a soccer tournament, then a karate tournament. So, we had to plan his birthday party for a few weeks after his actual birthday. His actual birthday was on Saturday, which was his first ever soccer tournament. He wanted Granny and Papa and Dianna and Darby to come, so, of course they did. He also thought it would be a good idea to bring cupcakes for his friends after the game...









Everyone who participated at the karate tournament got a trophy, but Jackson scored the highest on his routine and won against his opponent in sparring. Yay!









For months, Jackson has wanted to have his birthday party at Lazer Kraze (which is a laser tag place.) We have never had a party anywhere but home, so I wasn't sure. I'm a little bit Type A about my party planning, so giving up all the responsibility and power to someone else, and paying them to do it, was a big deal. I agreed because he wanted to do it so badly...



(Yes, this cake is ugly, but he loved it - it's exactly what he wanted. The red and blue lines are lasers.)



We ended up having about 25 kids there - it was great! Everyone had fun, played some tag and some games, ate pizza and cake and went home. Our first outside of home party went pretty darn well!

Kindergarten Program

They don't have "graduations" from kindergarten any more, now they have programs. They kids learn songs and get all dressed up and everyone comes to watch them sing for 30 minutes.



I was asking Jackson all about it before the big night - what songs are you singing, what will happen, etc. He said, "You're just going to have to come to my program and find out!" (Like I would miss his kindergarten program! No way.)

Jackson did not tell us he had a "part" where he held up a U and said "U is for umbrella and up." Normally, this would have freaked him out - he does not like being in the spot light. He did a great job though!

A Yellow Belt!

A few months ago, Jackson began taking karate lessons once a week at Ritter Family Martial Arts Studio in Mason. We really just wanted a "thing" for him to do between sports, and he wanted to try this. He had his first belt test at the end of September and got promoted to a Yellow Strip Belt! (In his studio, they are in kinder karate til they turn 6. Basically these belts mean nothing - no one says, "Back up, I'm a yellow stripe belt!" - he will get solid color belts when he starts youth karate in a year or 2. Those are the real deal.)

The Parents of a Kindergartener

I cannot believe how fast the past 5 years have flown by. Jackson is officially a kindergartener! He is so excited - the most awesome part of going to school? Riding the bus, of course!!

So far, this year has been great - his teacher reports he is a great listener and a good helper. He does what he is asked and loves to learn.

He has learned to read, he can tie his shoes... where did my baby go?!!

The Most Magical Place on Earth

This summer, our family was fortunate enough to take a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. We rented a house about 30 minutes from the Magic Kingdom gates and spent a week with our closest friends - our family! Dianna, Darby, Shanda, Brian, Hunter, Ben, Jackson, Parker and I has the most amazing time ever!





The drive down was not so much fun, of course, but we had too much crap to fly. Traveling with kiddos is a lot of work. Traveling with a baby is like a monumentous task - stroller, pack-n-play, car seats... Driving was the best choice. We left after I closed the restaurant around 4 AM on Sunday, got to the house around 6:30 PM. (Not bad time.) We tried to find the stupid Hard Rock Cafe, but after an hour of driving in circles, we gave up and decided to go to Olive Garden, but they had a 2 hour wait, so Wendy's it was!


Monday morning we went to Magic Kingdom. I have dreamt about this for literally my entire life. I spent months researching it and trying to find deals and the best plan to do the most in the smallest amount of time. I worried if Jackson could handle the stimulation, I wondered if Parker would be bored since he couldn't ride everything... As it turned out, our first moments were not so magical. All I wanted was a family picture in front of Cinderella's Castle. Well, I'll post what I got in a second. It wasn't magical.







Then, we went off to Tomorrowland and got right on the Buzz Lightyear ride, then Space Mountain and the Astro Orbiter. It was awesome! The coolest part for Jackson was "Rider Swap" - since Parker is too small to ride the rides, we tell the Cast Member at the beginning of the line we need to kid swap - then we wait thru the line. Jackson and Ben would ride and I'd stay with Parker, then I would go thru the exit with Jackson and get right back on the ride. He got to ride everything twice with only one wait!





That night, we went on an awesome pirates and pals cruise with Peter Pan and Captain Hook. It was so awesome! There really aren't that many cool things for boys - girls have character breakfasts, Cinderella's castle, Bippity Boppity Boutique... The "boy" character stuff was not the stuff my boys know. Chip and Dale? They have no clue who that is. Next time, though, we will definitely do Chef Mickeys because Parker has become obsessed with Mickey. Anyway, on this cruise, you got to have snacks and drinks and the boys played limbo with Hook and Smee, then we boarded the boat to watch fireworks. They also had a little trivia thing where they gave kids prizes. The very last question for the very last prize, Jackson was brave enough to raise his hand and answer - and it was about Darth Vader! He won the exact thing he wanted, which was a sword. THEN, to top all that amazement off, we got off the boat and Peter Pan himself was there!! (Yes, I have pics!)






The next day, we went to Hollywood Studios - the highlight of Jackson's trip, I think! It had Star Wars guys, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror... it was awesome! (By the way, his favorite ride is now Tower of Terror. Yep, he's mine!)






We also went to the beach - in Clearwater. We took a real pirate cruise - it was such fun! The boys loved the sand. Parker didn't really care for the water so much until about 5 minutes before we headed home.



On the last full day we were there, we planned to go to Universal Studios - Spiderman, Hulk, and the new Harry Potter area. Well, Jackson decided he'd rather stay home and hang with his cousins and swim! Alright with us! Ben, Shanda and I decided since we saved so much by not going to Universal, we would get some extra souvenirs that we weren't going to get. We spent a few hours shopping and lunching. It was a fun way to end the day.

That night, we went to dinner at a local steakhouse right by our rental house and it was great! We should have eaten there more! But, poor Hunter was so tired, he fell asleep at the table!

The ride home was good, the boys were pretty well behaved.

I have tons of pics and lots more to say, but PhotoBucket is taking too long, so I'll be back to this later!