Isabelle's Jr. Blue Belt Test

Isabelle had her Jr. Blue belt test yesterday.

Each test I get more nervous for her but she does better every time!

Every testing her technique becomes more difficult and starting with this test she had new requirements.

Here's a breakdown of everything she had to pass off:

Kicking combinations  - there are 2,

Form - for this test she had 18 steps in her form,

One step sparring - there are 2,

Sparring - while she is getting better, she has along way to go in terms of power,

Nunchukas - she did great this time,

Mental training - she had 4 questions,

and last but most fun - breaking technique!

 This is Isabelle doing her Sr. Green belt form.

 

She always gets so excited for her trophy!

Jee Hoon was tesing for his Red/Black belt.

Up next for him is black belt!

 If Isabelle keeps trying as hard as she has been

 she will get her black belt when she is 7.

If she sticks with Taekwondo,

(both myself and her dad are somewhat pushy in this matter),

she could be a full fledged master by the time she is 16.

I am so proud of you Isabelle.

Not because you are reaching higher "ranks" but because

you work hard and remain determined you are becoming 

a person with a strong character.

Keep up the good work in ALL that you do!

St. George 2011

This week the kids and I made the trek down to St.George. Mom and Dad were already down there so we went to hang out for a few days.  The main reason for our trip was we wanted to see the Little Mermaid at Tuacahn. I am planning on making this an annual Mommy/Daughter date.  It was so much fun!

The show was great. Our seats were on the front row so the actors were literally 5 feet away from us.  They had the water come down a river in the mountain and flood the stage to make the ocean.  Isabelle was in awe the entire show.  A couple of actors even came off stage during one of the songs and got Isabelle and took her to dance with her.  At that moment she got pretty shy - but she LOVED it!  Sadly I have no pictures at Tuacahn.  We can't wait to go back again next year!

On Tuesday we went to a couple of parks and had a blast.
These chairs are so fun.  

I think I want some on my front porch for when you have
neighbors come over to sit!

 St. George has funner parks than up here, and that's a fact.

 Every time I do trips down here I want to move down.  It may happen one day.  

I love the perfect mix of small town with all the stores I love.

 

 Dad had to get in on the fun too!  

He's carrying on the Grandpa Cain legacy wonderfully!

After the park we went to a water park downtown.  

 This splash park was so well thought out.  It even had lovely shady places for 

parents and grandparents to sit, we really appreciated that.

After the water park we went on this beautiful carousel.

 

We stumbled upon the Frog Prince.

I guess he's looking for a different princess.

 It was worth a try...

Isabelle just kept saying "St. George has the coolest things!  I love it here!"

I do to.  We loved our trip but we loved coming back home to daddy too.

Hopefully next year we can do it all again!

1st Day of "Away" School

Isabelle had her first day of "school" today.

We have home schooled her for two years, but this was the first time I dropped her off almost anywhere.
Needless to say it was a little nerve racking for me!

Here we are dropping off in the morning.  The sun was in her eyes - can you tell?

 Unlike most elementary schools she switches teachers and rooms a few times.

Today she only went to one wrong class, so that's good news!

When I picked her up she couldn't stop talking about how much she loved everything.

She will be attending Harmony every Thursday and then we will continue homeschooling her the rest of the week. 

One of her classes is violin. 
She has been begging almost since she could talk to learn violin.

I hope the desire doesn't wear off for a long time to come.

 

This was Isabelle saying "I LOVE school!"

And I didn't even have to tell her to say it, so you know it's heartfelt.

This violin is so tiny.  It looks like a doll toy.  

Isabelle loves to learn...

regardless of location!

Of course William has his hobbies too.

Mostly it consists of helping out and causing trouble all at the same time.

I didn't realize until I had William the the actual purpose of  handles on the drawers is for climbing.

We should have named him tough monkey.

Today was a very exciting day.

I love "first" days!

BOOK REVIEW: THE HELP

Title: The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett

Number of Pages: 444

Number of Stars I'm Giving: 5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  In fact I loved it!  Some people might classify this as a "girlie" book, but men are missing out if they don't read it.  I loved the plot, the writing, the humor, and especially the characters.

I can't even pick a favorite character.  I liked them all, because the way in which she writes about them, you really understand their personalities and you can envision each person in your head very clearly.  I even liked Hilly, who I also hated.  This book makes you stop and think about the daily conveniences that you have and most importantly it reminds you of the freedoms you enjoy.  It teaches us the value of people and you can see how some of the characters grasp the importance of love for your fellow bothers and sisters here on Earth. Since I can't think of a favorite character I will just list my favorite thing about each of them.

Aibileen - She has such a tender heart.  I also enjoy the way that she looks at the day to day mundane choirs and finds humor and satisfaction in them.  

Minny - I see myself the most in Minny.  She is always putting her foot in her mouth, and she holds more thoughts in her head than she lets out.  My head is full of unspoken jokes or criticisms. But the truth is we need people like that in this world to speak the truth when no one else will.  It was interesting to me how brave she was in front of everyone in the world with the exception of Leroy.

Miss Skeeter - I really felt her loyalty towards those she loved.  She was willing to look at the world and see her own mistakes and learn and grow from them. 

Miss Celia - She really isn't one of the "main" characters, but I just adored her.  She is like that crazy neighbor or aunt that all of us has.  She never judges others and she is always positive.  You just have to love her despite her bright pink skin tight pants and Marilyn Monroe hair.

And last but not least...

Miss Hilly - I think Miss Hilly is the living version of Minny's chocolate cake.  She's all sorts of nasty on the inside wrapped up in the most scrumptious and adorable chocolate cake you've ever seen.  You can't help but love her enough to gobble up two slices, even if you might regret it later.  This comparison may only make sense in the chaos in my mind!

I do have one negative comment.

Again as with so many books I read lately, most of the men in this book were portrayed as no good drunks who either abandoned their wife and children or stuck around to bet them.  This book was better than most.  At least there was Mr. Skeeter and Mister Johny to redeem mankind a little.

All in all an entertaining and gripping read.

You won't be bored once from cover to cover!

Staycation 2011 - Days 6 & 7

Day 6 - Oh the PAIN! 

I woke up this morning and I couldn't even roll over in bed without wanting to cry.  Sitting up was next to impossible. I somehow hurt my neck and let me tell you it was HORRIBLE!  

The first thought that went through my mind was
"Am I now old enough to have this kind of thing happen?!?"

I still have no idea how I got hurt, but I hope that whatever I did,
I never do it again!

I bet it was that meeting I went to yesterday...I should probably cut those out of my schedule from now on.

My loving and compassionate husband happens to also be a masseuse.  He learned this as part of his degree in college.  You would think this would be a luxury in a marriage.  This is true only if you consider torture to be a luxury.  He can un-knot most kinks you might get  in your back, but despite my screaming into my pillow nothing seemed to be helping.  Most days I think I would just call it a "lay on the couch in pajamas" day, but I had already pre-purchased tickets to Lagoon and we had friends we were meeting there.  I decided to take double the amount of Tylenol recommended by the bottle.  The only time I ever take medication is during and right after pregnancy, so doubling the dosage might not have been the best idea.  I was in excruciating pain though, so best ideas were not really coming to me. After the torture, medication, and a very hot bath I was able to walk, as long as I didn't try to turn my head.
Okay roller coaster...I am ready to take you on!

Before we could do that Soungsik had to do a demonstration at the
International Peace Garden Festival.

Sounds impressive right?

I thought so too, until I got there and it was only about 30 Grandpa's and Grandma's there.

I guess that most of the garden wars have already been handled.

As always my husband amazed everyone.

I was somewhat concerned about him doing his demonstrations on concrete!

My husband is so cool.  The audience thought so too.

Then again I think with this audience I could have wowed them off their seats with one of my line dances from my hostessing days at the steakhouse.

Finally we made it up to the amusement park!

Since I haven't been to Lagoon in over 10 years, I had a few first impression thoughts. Such as:  

 $8.00 for parking?  They must make $8,000 a day just for parking. I am seriously in the wrong business!

and...

What the heck??? I can wear sandles now?  The whole reason I dressed myself and Isabelle in jeans was because last time I came I couldn't wear sandles.  So we were the only ones in there in long pants and tie up shoes.  People must have thought I was a freak, a hot freak - and not in a good way!
That's okay though, because my next first impression thought was, There sure are a lot of freaks here!

Soungsik just keep saying "I think I understand what "white trash" means now."

I wanted to argue back with him about this, but couldn't find any convincing argument against his claims.

 Here are Isabelle and Trent.  

They were so adorable and unafraid.

When I was her age I would have been scared to death to go on some of those rides.

The only ride they were afraid of was the haunted house.

Isabelle rode with my friend Cindy who, thankfully, covered up Isabelle's eyes the entire time.

 The kids went on many more adventurous rides, but we didn't get the chance to take many pictures.

Even after lunch while us adults were basking in the shade the kids had energy to burn by running around.

My poor overly dressed daughter had to keep cooling off in the splash pad area.

Thank heavens for that!

 Here we are on the Tidal Wave.

Isabelle LOVED it!  

She really got into putting her arms up in the air and screaming on all of the rides...

just like a teenager.

I took Isabelle on all of the spinning rides.  It's a good thing I love them too.
Soungsik doesn't really do spinning rides.
I find this strange since he can spin and kick a hundred times over.

Is it wrong to feel like a total dork on the carousel? 

Many of the parents just stood there.  I figure if I am going to be on it I might
as well get to ride a sparkly dragon.  Isabelle made me buckle up for safety.
Then I felt extra dorky, because my dragon didn't even go up and down!

We stayed until they kicked us out.  Most sensible parents take their young children home to bed, but we know that there are no lines in Kiddie Land at 10 p.m. Isabelle had this ride ALL to herself!

 We discovered this ride just before closing.

It was so fun that we rode it 3 times.  

I probably should have acted like an adult and let other children ride, 

but I wanted to be moral support for Isabelle.

That and it was really very fun!

I am thinking Isabelle and I may have to do a mommy daughter date back there in a couple of weeks!

Day 7 - Sunday

Our final day of rest. 

This makes me sad.  I have loved our staycation.

I am not looking forward to normal life starting back up again.

Monday is already jammed packed.

I suppose you must play hard and work hard.

Today I came home early from church because William was in desperate need of a nap and so was my neck.  It turns out that roller coasters are not the best fix for a very hurt neck. Who knew?

We went to Daniel and Erica's for dessert tonight and we all had a really nice time.

It is so great that the cousins get along so well together.

On the way home Isabelle started doing knock knock jokes.

You know the silly kind that 5 year olds do like 

"Knock knock.  Who's there?  Baggy.  Baggy who? Baggy pants...Ha ha ha"

The funny thing today was William started doing them too.

He motioned with his fist a knock and said 

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?" I asked.

Wait for it....it was the same every time...

"GRANDPA"!

Shocker.

Staycation 2011 - Days 4 & 5

Day 4 - Thursday

Today turned out to be catch up on laundry and lay around like a lazy person day.

The only thing of note on this day was Soungsik took the kids to Cabela's and Sportman's Warehouse for over 3 hours by himself.  He usaully never takes both kids by himself, so I was rather proud.  I don't like to spend more than 15 minutes in either of these stores with children.  They start asking for everything and it drives my batty.  So once again we see here how my children have a cooler father than a mother!

While Soungsik had the kids I went to lunch with my friend Staci.

We have been friends since middle school and with all of the moving I have done I consider this quite a feat!

We ate at Olive Garden, because both of our husbands don't especially love Italian food.  They will put up with it, but would prefer a steakhouse every time.  Staci and I talked for quite a while and I think the waitress got a little annoyed. Oh well, we mom's have to make the most of our catch up time!

Day 5 

Friday already?  Where on Earth has this week gone?

Today Soungsik and I had a meeting - even on vacation I suppose some work must get done.

While we were at a meeting Isabelle was frolicking around at the neighbors house in the pool and the sprinklers.  It days like this that I miss being a kid!  

After the meeting we took the kids to the zoo.

It was our first time going this year. It was the first time that William really got into it.

Both of the kids did not want their pictures taken today.

Usually they ask for their pictures to be taken, I don't know what got into them this time.

 

The reptile house always ends up being one of the favorites of the kids.

Even though I HATE, HATE, HATE reptiles, once I get past the smell, I too enjoy the reptile house.

I also respect that they eat so many disgusting insects and vermin.

 

Mr. Independent didn't want to ride in the wagon.

He had to try to pull it...uphill of course.

The funny thing is that with his freakish strength he can actually do it.

Isabelle and I wrapped up the night with a mommy daughter date to a movie in the park.

We went and saw "Tangled" with some friends.

It was really fun and I am looking forward to doing it again soon!

Staycation 2011 - Day 3

Isabelle and I started out today by doing the glamorous business of
cleaning the bathrooms.

I bribed Isabelle with a toy if she would help me clean them.  

She scrubbed all three toilets like her life, or the life of her new doll,
depended on it!

After much scrubbing and much laying around and relaxing we went on a

picnic up American Fork Canyon.

It is always so beautiful there.

The kids loved just walking around in the dirt and water.

 

Soungsik needed help getting his fishing pole ready.

William is always ready and willing to give a helping hand!

 

Soungsik ended up catching 3 fish in the river!

This picture was taken about 5 seconds before
William chucked that rock at my head.

He hit the camera right in the lens, luckily nothing broke.

I guess that's how you know someone is done wanting their picture taken!

We had delicious hamburgers and grilled corn on the cob.

Hamburgers taste so much better in the mountains!

The three stooges.  Larry, Curly, and Mo.  I don't know who is who.

I just know that there is much silliness when these girls get together!

William helping out again!

He is always so concerned for baby Wesley and Grandma 

clearly didn't know how to feed him properly!

Another fun day and another exhausted lady trying to type
and think at the same time!

What fun we are having, I will be sad to see a return to "real" life next week!

Staycation 2011 - Day 2

Today we took the kids to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.

I had never been before because honestly I think they charge WAY too much money.

Today was $2.00 Tuesday, so I thought that was reasonable enough!

4,000 other people had the same thought, but it was still very fun!

William was walking around "roaring" at everything.

I had so many cute pictures but there was something wrong with my camera and they ended up blurry!

That's quite the size difference.  I am  very happy dinosaurs are extinct!

Isabelle would have played here ALL day.   William the clean freak wanted to wash his hands after about 2 minutes!

She also could have played here all day.

Look out behind you!  Soungsik - WAKE UP!

We had a lot of fun today, but being a girl from Vernal

AKA "dinosaur town", I still feel like the Vernal dinosaur museum is the best.

This could just be my childhood memory, but I will always be partial!

After the museum Soungsik and I dropped the kids off at home with Grandma and we went on a date.

I had to take him to the delicious ice cream store I discovered yesterday,

which has apparently been in that location for 6 years, but who's counting?

Then we went to the movie theater and saw Captain America.

It started out good, but then turned into weirdness about half way through.

It's a good one to rent I guess.

Then we made a trip to Walmart because no date would be complete without one of those.

To top the night off we went to Goodwoods.

I am stuffed.  I probably gained 5 pounds, but it was worth it!

I am loving staycation!  May it never end!

Staycation 2011 - Day 1

We had a wonderful day today.
For the first half of the day we split up into the boy party and the girl party.

This was unintentional, but it worked out so well that we are
thinking of making it more of a tradition.

The boys went to Vietnamese noodles for lunch followed by a trip to Cabelas.  The girls party went to chick-fil-let and then the movie theater to see Winnie the Pooh.  Isabelle loved it.  While I felt it was cute, I must admit that I almost fell asleep about 4 times!  Pooh bear isn't the most exciting character, and when you combine that with very little sleep the night before, a cool air conditioner, and a dark room, it was torturous trying to stay awake!  I persevered to the end and then the girl party adjourned to the ice cream store.

 

After the delicious ice cream we went clothes shopping.

Having a girl is so great!  I think I am going to LOVE her teenage years!

(Keep your fingers crossed for me!)

We met the boys at home and Soungsik decided it would be fun for us to go boating.

So off to Silver Lake we went.  

First we had to make it thru rush hour traffic, construction, and a bike race.

As a side note, bike riders have incredibly nice legs!

My husband got a little mad that I was oogling other mens legs!

By about 6:30 we finally got to the lake!

 

Isabelle had a little cat nap on the way up.

Doesn't she look so peaceful?

William's favorite thing was throwing rocks, and other items, into any water source he could find.

 

The kids really enjoyed being on the boat.

 

 

And I really enjoyed the scenery.

Today Isabelle got to drive the boat.

If you have seen her drive her black Cadillac,

the boat driving wasn't any better!

She loved spinning the boat around in circles!

This is her and Soungsik having a discussion on which way to steer the boat next.

 

 My husband would like me to point out what nice legs he also has!

So our "boat" might only be an inflatable fishing boat,

but we still had tons of fun!

"Man is that he might have joy"...

followed by a little fatigue.

I'm off to bed to prepare for another adventurous day tomorrow!