Jared now has a job. He is working on the Leadership Team at TKD. This wasn't something he was looking for but rather a position he was commanded into by Master Kim. After seeing Jared at the Open-House, Master Kim told Chris and I at Titus' next Sparing Class that Jared must come teach...and so Jared did. He is absolutely loving the job and the Masters couldn't be more pleased. In addition, Jared has been animating like crazy too. He took a short break from 11:30 (getting a little burnt out after working on it for a year) and created this awesome Pirate Raid stop motion.....
Jared's work goes just one class after Titus' Bodan class on Thursday, so Titus and I were going to just hang around. Master Kim had a better idea for Titus, he waved his hand at Titus and Titus came running. Master Kim decided it would be good for Titus to help out with the White Belt Class, rather than just sit and wait (Jared is in the other room working with the Family Class). Titus has such a soft spot for small kids, especially if they are scared or he thinks have been bullied. That day there was a little boy who was transitioning from Little Dragons to the White Belt Class. Master Kim decided that maybe the best approach was for Titus to ask him to join the class (He told Titus to say he was "five too" wink, wink) and it worked, the little boy at first stuck to Titus' side but by the end of class was engaged like all the other kids.
Titus has been busy around the house as well. He was determined to paint the hallway (a project about 8 years past due), we had the paint, I was just leery of starting another project. So to test his paint skills I asked him to repaint both back stairs (a project also in great need). He did it beautifully, I let him go in the hallway, which also turned out great. So thankful he pestered me to get it done. Now we just need to get trim paint to re-do all the doors and casings.
Jared and Titus are continuing to participate in Archery. Jared moved back to Indoor only (so they can go on the same day), the heat was getting to him but ironically he found out he didn't do too bad at outdoor this summer.... He actually placed 2nd in a virtual tournament. Titus is doing well too and won a bunch of class contests the other week and as a result, received a shot counter in lime green to match his set-up.
We started a new tradition this month of fellowshipping with friends the first weekend of the month.
Our first outing was with the M-Family, the C-Family, Mac and Moses. The purpose was just to enjoy each others company and that's we did, along with some bowling too. In fact, everyone was having such a great time, no one took pictures.
Lance started Wake Tech classes and baseball on August 15th. It's been a big, big transition, he's hardly ever home. He's either working, in class or at a baseball event; and baseball practices haven't even started yet. The coach has been having them do hitting, lifting and team building events (ie. attending sporting events to support the other school sports, volunteering at other events). Lance is having a blast with his new team and fitting in well with his teammates. There are currently 55 guys trying out and 20 will be cut by December 1st (no pressure). In school, he was granted an automotive apprenticeship, which means that next year's school will be free as well. He really likes his automotive teachers and Alexander is in his Thursday morning class, so they drive up together which is nice (Automotive/ North campus is unfortunately about 40 min away, thankfully baseball is at South Campus which is only 15 min away).
Since Lance was starting school, I decided it was a good idea to start our school as well. This is Jared's Senior Year. He's finishing off geometry, Math-4-Life, Fitting Words Course and some various books. Titus will be 7th Grade, so he's starting Pre-Algebra (Video Text), taking Miss Penny's Garage Door Writing Class (Starts in Sept), Aviation and Korean on his own. He is joining Amber and I with our new Good & Beautiful History and Science (courses designed to teach the whole family at once with worksheets for different grades to take the subjects to the appropriate level). In addition to the Good and Beautiful History and Science, Amber is doing their English/Art/Geography and CLE Math. All this in addition to lots of reading for Titus and Amber both. [Current reads: Black Stallion Series by Walter Farley, Grace Lin books, Henty Books and Horatio Alger Books].
Part of getting back to school is getting back to field trips. Rather than waiting around for someone else to plan things for us, Vanessa and I decided to just start going places. Our first outing was the JC Raulston Arboretum. We hadn't been their in a long time and the weather was perfect for a visit. There was a self-guided "Story Walk" we were going to see, that was lame, but it didn't stop us from having a great time. Our kids enjoyed looking at and filming all the the beautiful flowers that were in bloom and took some notes of ideas for our backyard. All the walking was good exercise for everyone.
Then later in the month an opportunity arose to try out a new Field Trip group themed after the beloved FIAR books. The first meeting was at Pullen Park and was a huge success. The kids in this group actually know how to be kids and were running around playing tag and generally having fun. Everyone (adult and child) was friendly and welcoming. We rode the carousel, did the paddle boats around the "lake" and the boys played the water balloon game. Before joining back up for lunch and more games of chase. They plan two field trips a month. The key phrase is "they plan", I don't have to do anything but show up and that's about all I can handle right now, so it's perfect. Amber even ran into an old friend from SEEK, which she was thrilled to be reacquainted.
Amber continues to progress at riding (I seem to say that a lot but horses are her passion). However, her streak of keeping her seat ran out this month. Her horse Leroy tripped in a hole going down and taking her with him. Her trainer said there was no way anyone could have stayed on. Ironically, I was filming at the time. It was a nasty fall for both and the film was useful for the doctors later. At the time, however, she was really tough, got back on and they took it slow walk. This fall got her a visit to Mrs. Dr. G. It happened on a Friday so we couldn't bring her in till Monday, but other than being a little sore she said she was fine. The exam told a different story, he top two vertebrae were shifted and her pelvis twisted. Thankfully, she's young and very flexible so Dr. G was able to get everything back in place. Since that time, she had another rough ride, this time on Chester, but she stayed tall and stayed on. She's a remarkable little rider.
Before Master Chin returned to Korea he held a Poomsae Seminar for the students. Master Chin is a Poomase intstructor/specialist. Both Titus and Jared attended, found his two hour work-out very useful and informative. They understood the nuances of their poomsaes much better at the end.
Throughout the month we continued to make progress on the yard. We found the fruit trees up front, repurposed plants for back yard, and bought a few new ones. Along the way Chris hurt his back enough to make an appointment with Dr. G himself. So glad he did, its going to take some time to straighten things out, looking at the x-rays I don't know how he's been getting around at all. My husband is a serious tough cookie. In addition to making the backyard look pretty, we've been harvesting a lot from our yard as well: blueberries, pears, figs, peppers (green and Thai hot), and tomatoes to share and make yummy dishes....
The crowning jewel of August is always VIR for the boys. As always, they had a blast watching the races, getting close to the cars in pit row and gathering up chachkies. Something new this year was the Mazda Miata Race. The boys said it was hysterical, it was like watching live Mario Kart, they absolutely loved it.
While the boys were at the race Amber and I had a "Girl Day". Holly joined us for a bit as we explored the NC Museum of Natural Science and had lunch. We hadn't been there in a long time, so it was a lot fun exploring the exhibits again. We picked up a cool book detailing all the different hiking trails in the area as well. When we got home Amber made a list of her top choices to try first. Then Amber and I sat down to watch the Mickey Rooney/Liz Taylor version of "National Velvet". Amber has the book but neither of us have been able to get into the authors writing style, however we really enjoyed the movie. Maybe now we can get into reading the book. When it was over it was time to start getting dinner ready for the boys return. A truly fun day was had by all.
