Pilot Mountain

 The "New" Pilot Mountain after the fire last year.  It looks so plush and beautiful except for the knob area.  This is not my picture.  A friend of mine posted it on social media and I wanted to share it with you on here.  Can't believe how gorgeous it looks now but that's what happens after a fire or so I'm told.  Everything that was burnt will be so plush and vibrant.  

 

Then and Now Pics of 2 Cellos T-shirt/Concert

Great memories with great friends. We still miss and think about Adam Perry all the time.  The boys shirts fit like tents back then and now it fits T perfectly. Adam would be proud of all that T has accomplished in TaeKwonD0.  #alwaysremembering

Getting Ready for Texas Open

In the weeks ahead leading to us traveling to Texas for the Texas Open competition T will be training like crazy on top of getting his school work finished for the year.  He has a lot on his plate right now and we are working double time to make sure everything is done before our travel date on May 26th or 27th.  T weighs in on the 28th and fights the 29th.  There won't be much free time during that time so please keep him in your prayers as he is going to be busier than he's ever been.  He's fighting up a weight division to get him prepared for fighting as a Junior next year.  He is a last year Cadet this year.  Because of all his injuries last year he has no points with USA TaeKwonDo so for him this year is more training and getting to know competitors in his new weight division.  This is the first year since he's been competing that he's not been ranked.  Injuries happen though and it takes time to bounce back and get ranked again.  Even so with being a last year Cadet fighter points this year really don't matter because they don't go with him when he becomes a Junior fighter next year.  He's happy to be fighting up a weight class because now he doesn't have to cut weight to be in a weight class where he's more competitive.  Experience in the new weight class is the main focus for T right now.  He wants to do his best and see where he lands and then he'll know what he has to fix to be more competitive in the new age and weight bracket moving forward.  I was concerned, with what the endocrinologist said, that T would want to find another sport to do but he took encouragement that Melvy, a USA TaeKwonDo Olympic team member, is only 5'6" and is #6 in the world right now.  In other words, you can't count shorter fighters out.  They can still be very competitive and can be ranked high like Melvy is.  So T is taking a page from Melvy and going to train hard, try to improve more every day,  fix what needs fixing after he competes, and keep moving forward.  So this year may not be a year of medals for T at the big events such as Texas Open, Grand Prix, Presidents Cup, and Nationals but he will be learning a ton to help him move forward in this sport and that's so important.  

Cross Training at Core TaeKwonDo Day 2 continued…

T got to coach some today and did a fantastic job. We here over an over again how great he coaches and how articulate he is. Overall is was a great cross training. Here are a few pics from him coaching. 

Cross Training at Core TaeKwonDo Day 2

Here’s the video of today’s training session. T is doing so good. So proud of all his progress. 

Cross Training at Core TaeKwonDo Video

Here’s the video we got. Sometimes it was hard to see T in the crowd. Great training today. 

Cross Training at Core TaeKwonDo

A great day of training today. T made another new friend today. This kid makes friends everywhere he goes😊.  Plus his new gear came in and it’s a size larger than the old gear and it doesn’t look like it will be long before he’ll need the next size up🤦🏻‍♀️.

Mom’s Hip Doctor and Pt Appointments Today

Mom’s rocking her PT. Getting better each visit. Here’s some pics I got today. 

The hip doctor told us she could bend more than 90 degrees now. She’s so excited about being able to do that. She moves to one day a week PT starting next week. He says she needs to wait close to the four month time frame from surgery before going back to work though to give herself some extra time for healing and getting even more stable. 

Working with Scot Today

Today T and I went to help Scot on a project.  T got to learn about tile and grout cleaning.  Plus he got to learn about sealing grout once it's been cleaned.  He are a couple of pics that I got and I will add more pics later of the sealing of the grout if they were able to get some pictures for me to share because I didn't stay for that portion of the job.  

Then and Now

I wanted to share this comparison pic I did with you of T the first time he did any sparring at our home dojang, Black Belt World, and one that was taken this year at the AAU Virginia State Championships.  T loves this sport so much and desires to continue doing it and see where it takes him.  He loves his coaches and his teammates too.  I'm seeing such maturity in him from last year to this year.  I'm seeing more leadership qualities coming to the surface and shining.  He is going to be a great Master someday.  I can't wait for the day when he has his own dojang teaching his own classes.