Karate update

A few months ago I started taking Karate class.  I really enjoy going and learning Karate!  This past weekend I passed my Gold Belt test and am very proud of how much I learned and grown since I started!

karate & baseball

 I am really enjoying Martial Arts classes.  This week I earned my first stripe on my white belt.

 I am improving my flexibility with Karate as well!

Baseball is now over.  I hadn't played since I was 4 and by the end of the season I was usually getting a hit (7 pitches to try and hit) and still have a ways to go on throwing and catching.  But I enjoyed it a little bit - I might be willing to try again next year.

Ragnar!

This is mommy's 3rd Ragnar relay race  --- but Daddy and my first!  
Last weekend we all flew out to Colorado to go camping and running around Snowmass, CO (outside Aspen) with our good friends the McCalls.
It was so much fun to go camping and watch the runners.
Each team member ran 3.7 miles, 4 miles and 6.7 miles - at 8000 feet elevation and wicked climbs up the mountains for each leg of the race.  It took 25.5 hours to complete to the 115 mile race

October update

The past two days have been busy and super fun.  At school it was my turn to have the mystery box and my letter was H.  I brought in some pictures and items that started with H like hotdog, hamburger, house, hat and horse.

Then Saturday morning we did volunteering.  We worked for an organization called "Campaign to End Hunger" and at our table we bagged up a mixture of soy, rice, dried vegetables and protein powder.  Other tables did beans and other foods.  Dexter helped holding the bag under the funnel for each person to dump in the ingredients and also with putting the bags into larger boxes.   All the food would be given to the poor and hungry in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. 

Finally Saturday afternoon I went to my swim class and today I graduated level 4!  That means I can float on my back and front, I can fall in and kick back to the wall and I can swim 10 yards out and back without touching the ground.   I will now be a swimtot level 5 and my class moves to Saturday mornings.  As a reward for graduating I got a new Lego set with Captain America and Red Skull!  It is awesome!

Happy Father's Day - Play Ball!

Today we went to a Potomac Nationals game, our local AAA baseball team.  The Nationals' won the game and after the game all the kids and dads got to run the bases.  After that they set up two T-ball fields in the outfield for local t-ball teams to play on.  We played one inning and I had a great hit!  It was a fun day with my family and now my T-ball season is officially over.  I think I will try T-ball again in the fall.

Tball update

The Thresher Shark season is past the half way point of the season now.  The team is getting better and even making some outs on defense several times a game.  Dexter is becoming a consistent hitter, but fielding and throwing needs more practice.  Today the team had a double header!  All the kids played hard and had more energy than the parents by the end of it :)

Tball ends mid-June and then I will just focus on swimming for the rest of the summer.  Perhaps in the fall I will play a new sport or Tball again. 

Play Ball!

Today kicked off my T-ball season.  We have been practicing for three weeks but now we are starting to have games as well.  My team is the Thresher Sharks.  My coaches are Jon, Mike and Jeremy.  Today the baseball league had an opening ceremony party with the high school marching band, "Uncle Slam" the Potomac Nationals AAA team mascot and a parade of players (over 800 of us!).  They also collected food for the local food pantry and old baseball equipment for a mission trip to South America.  The parade was fun and then we played our game against the Hot Rods.  We won the game because we actually made 2 outs on defense.    T-ball is going pretty well, much better than the dreaded soccer.  Today I played second base twice and outfield once.  At second I actually got the ball a couple times and threw it to first.

Shamrock!

This weekend we had a great family get-away to Virginia Beach.  We arrived Friday and to to relax and look at the ocean. Saturday Dexter had his Leprechaun dash - a 26.2 yard dash for kids aged 1-5.  That night we met some friends for dinner and spent time in the hotel hot tub.  Dexter made a new friend in Amelia, the granddaughter of some of my co-workers. Sunday I had my half marathon race (13.1 miles) and I had a great time of 2 hours 8 minutes 50 seconds - almost 11 minutes faster than my old personal best.  I ran the entire time thanks to racing along side two of my friends from my 200 mile Ragnar relay race - Edgar and Ginger.    It was a great weekend, we even snuck in some time to look at fishing boats and dream of our future retirement on the ocean :)

Swimmer - Level 3

 

I have done 4 classes now at SwimKids and I still love it!  After my third class with Jacqueline I graduated from the Level 1/2 class to the Level 3/4 class.  This means I was able to: Open my eyes underwater, Blow bubbles in the water and put my whole head underwater. 

Today I had my first level 3/4 class.  I have new coach named Christian and I was surprised because I knew the other kid in my class!  It is a friend from preK named Jayden.  That was great, we laughed and played together the whole time. 

The goals for level 3 are - front kick to the wall, push off the wall to the coach, sit and fall off the wall to the coach, and float for 5 seconds on my back and front.    Today I mastered the "sit and fall off the wall" and started working on back floats. 

Sports!

Mom has me very busy on Saturdays.  I have a few more weeks of soccer and today I start swim lessons at an indoor swimming pool.  I am wearing my official swim uniform.  It is supposed to help the kids feel like it is more of a sport and have fun since they have a uniform to put on.   Swim lessons this summer was rough, it was chilly in the mornings and I only participated in a couple of the classes - mom and dad are hoping with warm water and small class sizes (3 kids only) I will actually swim!

Weekend Fun!

Darth Dexter!

Riding the train

This weekend while Mommy was running a race Daddy and I went to Maryland to visit family.  Gram made me some new clothes!  A Jedi robe and some fun cameo shorts.  On Saturday Gram's town was having a fall festival where you get to ride a train - so we checked that out and all that Hurlock, MD has to offer :)

Meanwhile Mommy was doing a race with her co-workers.  It was a 200 mile running race with 12 runners.  Each runner took turns running anywhere from 3-9 miles at a time.  Mommy did leg 5 (4.1 miles), leg 17 (7.3 miles) and leg 29 (3.7 miles).  They raced non-stop from 7am Friday in Cumberland, MD until they finished at the National Harbor in D.C. around 1:30pm Saturday.  It was tons of fun and Mommy wants to do it again next year.  There is one from Miami to Key West her friends are talking about doing in February 2015!

Mom looks good after her final run.  15.1 miles in a 24 hour period and little sleep :)

The 12 runners and our 2 van drivers at the finish line!  Our team name was Capt. Crunch and the cereal killers so we made fun hats to wear between runs.  People's crazy costumes and van decorations were half of the fun!

Soccer practice

I am halfway through the soccer season now and I am starting to get the hang of it all.  I enjoyed practice today, especially since Daddy was an assistant coach! 

Saturday I have another game and then we are driving over to Gram's house for the Hurlock, MD fall festival.  Mommy leaves tomorrow for her crazy 200 mile relay race with her coworkers so she is going to miss my game and the trip to Grams.