Cut in For Trailer…

Scot cut in the primer and put primer on the foundation side of the trailer. These are the steps towards getting it ready to put the equipment into the trailer. This all happened yesterday. 

Primer Cut In Above ⬆️ 

First layer of Primer above ⬆️

Second layer of primer above ⬆️ 

He's Catching His Dad...

I got this photo yesterday.  He's catching his dad.  Hoping he does before the year is out so that we can move him up next year to a new weight division.  I don't see him being able to stay in the weight division he is in now with all the muscle he is gaining.  

Our Good Luck Charm...

T put one of these in the van and now we have one in the Subaru.  We jokingly refer to it as our good luck charm.  We couldn't find the one that we had in the van so at the last tournament we picked up a new one.  T is doing so great with his driving.  We have already had the conversation with him that he wasn't getting his Level ll license until we felt he was absolutely ready for it even though the law tells him he can get it at 16.  

There are 3 stages to getting your drivers license now.  Stage 1 is a Level 1 which is a driving a permit.  You hold that one for a year.  Level 11 allows you to drive by yourself during certain hours and you can only have one other person under the age of 21 in the vehicle with you while you are driving.  You hold it for 6 months.  I personally think that should be longer.  Level lll is a step away from their permanent license which they hold until they are 18.  With it they can drive anytime.  At 18 they receive their permanent license.  So I'm guessing the inexperience charges to insurance happens when they get their Level ll and Level lll licenses.  We are bracing ourselves for what those charges are going to be.  I told Scot that we should talk to our insurance guy and find out so that we can start putting money back for it...LOL! Everyone has warned me that the charges are much worse for guys than girls.  

I've had two people I know that were in horrific accidents this week and lives were lost.  In the one accident a 16 year old boy was racing with his headlights off at night.  My friend was making a left hand turn with her son and his girlfriend in the car with her.  Her son is in ICU fighting for his life and his girlfriend died.  The other accident was the daughter of a mom I know from our homeschool group.  Her daughter was 20 years old.  She made a bad judgement call taking a left hand turn and got plowed into by a dump truck and died instantly.  Suffice it to say that we are being very careful with T and talking to him a lot about being a safe driver because it's better to arrive late and safe than not arrive at all.  Sad part is that he has to watch out for all the other Jo Knuckle Heads on the road.  So we are teaching him how to be a good defensive driver and I may sign him up to take some defensive driving classes too.  There's so much more that he has to deal with driving than we ever had to deal with when we learned to drive and we want him as safe as he possibly can be on the road.  

Talk with The Coach...

We had one of the best talks last night with T's Coach/Master.  We are all on the same page moving forward.  T walked away feeling so great about the talk and is looking forward to getting to work and doing his absolute best for Master Doug at Nationals.  Looking forward to watching them work and train together in the weeks ahead leading up to Nationals.  Here's a pic of T and Master Doug from Tuesday night talking things out as he was training.  

 

We Had To Do This…

So long story short we had to give the 2014 red Subaru Outback back just before the 30 day buyback guarantee was up because it had an engine issue😱. Now we have a 2018 blue Subaru Outback and it is way nicer than the red one was.  Praying it doesn’t give us any issues at all. 

We Have a Beaver...

We saw a beaver in our yard yesterday but he ran away before I could get any pictures but today I was able to get some before he ran away.

Got These Yesterday...

We took T and Ari to the park after belt testing yesterday and got these pictures.  

More Pics From Before The Dance on Friday...

Here are some pics that I missed sharing from the dance on Friday.  T is so incredibly handsome.  I'd say that even if he wasn't my kid😊.  

Belt Testing Yesterday at CORE...

T and Ari helped out with belt testing yesterday and got to be there to support one of their teammates, Isaac, who earned his high blue belt.  So proud of these kids and the leaders that they are becoming.  These kids look up to them so much and it's great that they are stepping up to help.  

Dance Time…

T and Ari are off to their first dance together. It’s the end of the year 8th grade dance. We got some really great shots. Check them out. 

Our New Trailer for the Business...

We bought this today and can't wait to get it ready for the road and working for our business😊.  

 

Next Stop Nationals…

The next stop for T$ is Nationals. Should he earn a medal at Nationals he will earn a spot for going to Grand Prix finals and a spot for Team Trials. He is going to be working extra hard between now and time for Nationals so that he can earn those spots. We know he can do it!  

We will be talking to the coach soon to form a plan moving forward for coaching T at Nationals and other events. Pray the talk goes well. 

Pics From USA Taekwondo East Grand Prix...

Here are some pics that I got from the event.  T had fun and learned a lot and is going to continue to learn even more to grow and be an even better fighter.  So proud of this kid.  He didn't walk away with a win but he learned a lot.

He walk out to the ring with confidence (see pic 1) and with his fight face on.  He was ready to meet the challenge of this competitor.  He fought hard and barely lost to him.  

He, however, needs to work on his communication with his coach though and make it even better than it already is.  T knew this competitor well from watching him over and over again through the years.  His coach didn't though.  His coach was asking him to do moves that if T did them would've been countered in a really bad way before he could even do the move.  He wanted to listen and do what his coach was asking but he also knew his opponent well from all the fights he's watched him fight over the years.  These are things that T needs to communicate to his coach about.  Good communication is important and he's told us he's gonna work on being better about it.  Coaches can't coach well if they don't have knowledge of what you have knowledge of.  That knowledge has to be shared.  T could've won that fight and if they meet again, which I'm sure they will, he will be more ready than he was this last time.    

Results….

T lost his first match. He fought good and the score was kept very low. His opponent didn’t beat him by much so next time he’ll get him for sure. Studying the rest of the fighters in his division now. We knew he’d have a lot of learning to do this year though being in a new division. 

At Venue…

T is ready to fight today. He’s in a great mood. Win or learn he’s gonna have fun today. 

Shots of Tonight’s Workout…

T worked out with the team tonight and got to discuss the game plan for T for fighting tomorrow. His first fight tomorrow is a kid that has been in his division since youth but they have always fought on opposite sides of the bracket and never fought one another. Tomorrow T gets that chance. He is so excited. 

T had Beignets Today…

T had Beignets for the first time in his life today. They are called Italian donuts at Olive Garden where he had them. He got them for free for his birthday 🥳🎂🎉😊. He shared them with Ari, Belle, his dad and myself. 

Made Weight!

T had to be 51kg = 112.4lbs. He weighed in at 50.1kg = 110.4. Weigh in has been so easy since we don’t drastically have him cutting anymore. Happy kid right now. Eating a snack but fixing to go get Olive Garden. Fight day is tomorrow. 

First day of Driving…

On T’s first day of driving he has driven in 5 states:

1. NC
2. VA
3. MD
4. DE
5. PA

He has done amazing 🤩 today!  He’s driven a total of 2 1/2 - 3 hours of the drive to PA for the tournament😊. Just another accomplishment to add to his accomplishments😊🥰. 

Got His Permit…

T got his permit and is starting the drive to PA😊. Dad’s in the front seat and I’m not n the back…LOL!