Sit sit sit...

Incoming more karate graduation pictures. The big kids are in the middle of a double cycle of their green belts, but Damon graduated from orange with honors to purple belt. And that means all three kids will be in the same class for the next three months!! WAHOOOOOOO!!

And that, my friends, is the sound of one thrilled Mama who will not have to drive to the next town away every single day of the week. Until February, anyway. YAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

I'm a little excited, can you tell? We might even end up going only twice a week when the weather is bad. Can I just mention how over the moon I am about that!?

Anyway, back to show off their hard work instead of me.

I know what you're thinking. That brown girl, otherwise known as the lovely Nina, isn't ours, as much as I'd like to claim her. However, you gotta see her kick like a girl:

Check her OUT! 

I'm so proud.

And here is Liam, getting some great air himself:

Above, our friend Mr. Foulke, who is one of the instructors and who just received his 2nd degree black belt. Talk about fun to watch!

And here are Nina and Jonathan showing off capturing and escaping skills. Waaaaaay a lot of glee on that girl's face.

I really get a kick out of watching the instructors enjoy themselves. I know that feeling of gratification when the students "get it" and can show off. It was great watching these guys just beaming at the results of their students' hard work and dedication. It's one of my favorite things to see at the graduation ceremonies.

This is a shot of a higher belt class doing a long combination. I liked the high kicks and high hair, hehe!

There was a rather dramatic moment of despair when one made a mistake. Some of us are still learning that everyone makes mistakes. Some of us absolutely hate making mistakes and are harder on ourselves when we make one. 

But, someone was really proud to receive his honors medal for turning in more than three of the types of homework and his certificate and new belt. 

And then someone borrowed Mr. Foulke's brand new practice sword.

Yegods. 

Can you just see him at 15?

And a photo op with the instructor is an absolute must. 

It's been a long year. This summer, we'd do karate in the mornings and then hit the pool with Nina and Jonathan afterwards. Early fall, Liam would get his reading-aloud minutes in the car on the way to karate. Now it's dark all the time and it's making it harder to get work done en route, because flashlights are super distracting to the driver (in OUR car, anyways. Dunno how y'all handle it.) We're trucking along, but as I've already stated, I am thrilled that we won't be making a million trips a week in icky weather regardless of the good things we're reaping from the lessons. 

I think we definitely have honed more of a focus awareness, which is great, and we're starting to see how long it takes to really become good at something, which we hadn't experienced very much of until now. 

Karate has been teaching us good things, the self-defense part of it being the smallest aspect, in my book. I love that they encourage reading and being read to, helping others, taking care of what you're supposed to be doing anyway, and more. It's been a very well-rounding tool for our kids and I'd definitely recommend it to others.