Tag Archives: Lex

Belt Tests!

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Lex and I had belt tests last night. Lex tested for (and got!) his solid blue belt and I did my first belt test and got an orange belt. Lex hasn’t tested since last October (an admitted oversight on their part) and he was very happy to be testing again!

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I love his concentration face!

Lex did several katas on his own. He is soooo brave!

The weapons katas no longer “count’ towards their belt progression, but they are encouraged to show them if they know them. Lex brought it!

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New belt, blue belt!

Eve is taking a break from karate this month while she’s doing Girls On The Run (they are on the same days and she was exhausted after doing both for awhile!) so she didn’t test today. She was mentally ok with it ahead of time, but kind of fell apart during and after the test. Turns out seeing Lex progress without her was harder than she expected. We talked about ways for her to catch up and I *really* hope she gets back to karate next month!

The kids’ belt test ran long, of course, so we ate a super rushed slice of pizza for dinner then hurried back to the dojo for my belt test! Fortunately there were only seven adults testing, not nearly 50 like the kids, and we were all very low belts, so the whole thing was over and done with in 20 minutes, not the two full hours that the kids’ test ran!

Eve and Lex, once settled after our rushed dinner, were happy to watch me and cheer me on. Lex wanted to make an iMove of it, but the iPad is old an out of space (sooo sad!), so he just made some videos on my phone. He is a funny photographer!

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Me in my white belt. I can’t deny Lex when he asks for a picture, since I take so many pictures of him! :)

That’s me on the far left, and my buddy Mike right next to me.

This is my first kata that I had to do all by myself!

I earned my first new belt! :)

I was so spaced and rushed (and hot!) after Lex’s test that I forgot to get a picture of him in his new belt. He took a picture of me in my new belt, but he didn’t get the belt in it and I look terrible, so you all don’t get to see it! :) But we got them and we are both very happy and ready to get started learning new katas!!

Bio Fair

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In 5th grade the kids do a big biography project that culminates in Bio Fair, where all the kids dress and act as their person and show off their display boards. Lex chose Dean Kamen, a local(ish) inventor who invented the home dialysis machine, a wheelchair that raises to standing position and can climb stairs, the Segway, and a robotic arm that can move with electrical impulses from the brain. He’s a pretty cool guy.

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Hello Dean Kamen.

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Shoulders like his daddy.

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He looks good in a button down shirt. I doubt we’ll see it again though! :)

The Bio Fair runs for an hour and fifteen minutes and during that time each class comes through, as well as parents and families, even some from the general community. Most teachers give their students something to do at Bio Fair, such as write down three facts, or interview three people, or decide who is your favorite and why.

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Lex describing “Luke,” Kamen’s prosthetic arm invention.

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Eve interviewing Mr. Kamen. :)

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Haha… I don’t know what’s going on here, but it looks like he’s in the middle of telling the principal a great story! :)

They had a list of items that were to be included on their display boards, including photos, facts, and an “I Am” poem. Yesterday they recorded themselves reading their “I Am” poems and added them as QR codes to the display boards. They also had to make a Google presentation about their person and add that as a QR code to he board. Here are Lex’s:

Google Presentation

I Am Poem (I love his voice here!)

His teacher just shared a bunch of pictures from the morning as well: Bio Fair 2016

Last night

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I went up to check on the kids before I went to bed last night and found sweet surprises in both room.

Eve had a really hard time falling asleep and was up very late last night. This might have been partly why. I think she’s getting excited for her birthday. :)

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I’ll help translate a few:

1. Little Live Pets (official website, Amazon)
2. Mechanical dog. I think she saw one at KMart one time.
6. Non-permenant hair dye. She wants to dye her hair bright purple.
10. Surprises

I think the rest make sense without translation. :)

Lex, on the other hand, had no trouble falling asleep!

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When I showed him these pictures this morning he was surprised he’d fallen asleep that way. He said he only meant to cuddle her for a few minutes then planned to put his head back on the pillow. I guess he was pretty comfy.  ?

Life, according to Lex

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While I was lying with Lex tonight I told him about a meeting at school tomorrow that he’ll be attending.  Turns out it’s happening when he has band and he was very upset about that.  He was also upset about the fact that he didn’t know the meeting what happening, and had only the vaguest idea about the plan.  He said it was frustrating being a kid because people don’t tell you what’s happening or the whole story about things going on.  He made a great comparison, saying life is like one of those haunted house rides where you get in the car on the track and things pop up at you along the way.  Sometimes the things are bad or scary, and sometimes they are good, but you never know when something is going to pop up.  I love that comparison.  I reminded him that the same is true for adults and that even when the things were scary or bad, your car keeps going.  You may be scared and your heart may beat fast for a few minutes, but life keeps moving along.  We agreed to sit next to each other in the car and hold hands when the bad things pop up.  I love my boy.

Tooth

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I was clearing off the table yesterday, trying to make room for us to eat, and I saw this on the table.

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Probably could have cropped this picture a bit. :)

“Did someone lose a tooth?” I asked. “Oh, yeah, I did,” said Lex. I had to laugh. Losing teeth is such a non-issue these days. He lost it at lunch and went to the nurse, as is the protocol when you lose a tooth in school. He showed me the space where it was, and the space was filled with a tooth half way grown in already! Bottom, right… first molar maybe? I forgot already.

A trip to the State House

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Alan and I had the good fortune to accompany Lex and his classmates on a trip to the Vermont State House today. Everyone was so excited for this day, especially Lex! Our local Rep helped organize the event, along with Lex’s teachers, of course. We were welcomed in an active session of the House and got to watch the proceedings for awhile.

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We had great seats to watch the House of Representatives at work!

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Looking down at the floor.

Then we got a tour of the State House, including the Senate Chambers and various interesting room.

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The Senate was empty, so we sat in there and learned about the three branches of government. Review, really, for these kiddos!

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A very cool, and huge, painting of the Civil War.

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Amazing stained glass ceiling windows that were in small pieces when they were discovered during the restoration of the building. It took a preservation company almost four years, but they restored them to beautiful condition.

After our tour the kids went to work! Their job was to interview as many people as possible (politicians, lobbyists, general population, etc.), ask them a few scripted questions, and record their answers on an iPad.

Since Alan and I were both chaperoning, he went with Lex’s group and I went with another group of kids.  It was neat to see their confidence improve as they approached person after person and did their interviews.

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We met Governor Shumlin’s Chief of Staff, Darren Springer.

When the House session took a break we were invited onto the floor to speak directly with the Representatives.

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I love how the desks open up in front of each chair. Each Rep has their own place for stuff. I was totally checking out this dude’s desk. :)

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Since Lex wasn’t in my group I had to take paparazzi shots of him from afar. :)

When the gavel came down we had to clear out asap!!  Back in the lobby we saw the teacher being interviewed by a news crew!  My group was super excited by this and wanted to hang around and interview the reporters!

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No pressure, Mr. Burns! We’re just going to stare at you and take your picture while you’re being interviewed on TV. :)

My group interviewed both reporters, but then the reporter turned the camera around and asked if he could follow our group.  Talk about three very excited girls!

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Interviewing Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott with the TV camera rolling!

What a busy and exciting day!  I bet it was a tired bus ride home.  Lex was pretty excited that we let him take the iPad on the bus.  :)

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Good bye state house! The kids posed for a final group shot before heading for the bus.

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I’m so proud of how well this guy did! He was eager to learn, and eager to participate. He was front and center during the tour, actively listening, and frequently raising his hand to answer questions. Alan said he was even eager to approach strangers and ask them questions! He’s really growing up!

One quick stop at Starbucks and then we head home, with minutes to spare before the kids came home on the bus.  :)  Busy, but excellent, day!

Hey, check it out! They ran a story about this field trip on the local news tonight!  If you watch carefully you can see me at the beginning and Alan at the end.  I kinda feel like we crashed Lex’s field trip. I don’t think he minds though.  He said it was great having Alan with his group and didn’t seem to concerned about not being on TV.

And another one, from a different station!  We’re not in this one though, so it’s not quite as cool.  :)