Buddy's 5th Birthday

Thursday, November 29, marked the 5th birthday of one Dallas Kapono Yuen. Sweet boy of mine. All boy. Rough and tumble. A lover and a fighter. That kid has a LOVE of life! Everything he does, he does with gusto. And he is so sure of himself. So much confidence exudes from him. He has more confidence in his pinky than most grown people have. He is amazing. I love him.

We took him to take pictures with Santa and play games/make crafts at Santa'a village. Then to a birthday dinner of his choosing: the mall food court :) He wanted Sonic. He opened presents and ate birthday cake.

"This is the best birthday EVER!" he exclaimed.

Then on Saturday, Daddy took Dallas to Lowe's to the "Build and Grow" program where they built a wooden plane from "Rise of the Guardian." Later in the day, we took the little kids to Medieval Times for a birthday dinner. While we missed big brother, Wyatt, since he was on a mission trip, we still had fun.

So blessed to celebrate God's amazing gift to us in our children :)

Fall Semester Over

Time passes so quickly. I am living life and look up--- it's already time for Thanksgiving.

We spent the semester at Dominion Equippers and that was a good choice. Wyatt was able to take Advanced Math, Physics, and World History. Tatum was able to take American Girl, Geography and Global Art. Dallas did preschool with me in the fellowship hall while Sissy and Bubba were in class.

Classes there were good and positive. Both kids got high marks and had sweet experiences. Tatum did a country report on Swaziland. Wyatt did a group presentation on Leonardo da Vinci.

With the kids' ages being so far apart, our schedule can get quite challenging. Being at DE two days a week was a little tough. I am looking to do something one day per week.

We may try a Co-op called Sonlight. Lots of folks there we know already. They meet once a week. Seems like a perfect fit. For now, we will just enjoy our Thanksgiving !

My Kids' Hard Work Pays Off!

Amidst the hustle and bustle of homeschooling my kids, we have many extra-curricular activities. My 15 year old son is involved in a Speech & Debate club. And my 8 year old daughter is a competitive gymnast.

In between coordinating field trips, planning holiday parties, escorting my kids to Chemistry or literature classes, I also make sure they get to their designated extra-curricular destination.

Wyatt spends countless hours preparing for his comedic speech duo and his team policy debate. The rewards are already turning out positively. This past weekend was his second tournament of the current competition season. Wyatt spent 5 days in Arkansas where 6 states were represented and there were 176 students competing. He ended up getting a second checkmark (it takes 2 to qualify for Nationals) in his Speech category and 4th place overall. He and his debate partner were able to secure a first checkmark and won 4 out of 6 rounds. I couldn't be prouder of him.
At his first tournament, Wyatt and his Speech partner won 1st place and proudly went home with some nice trophies.

This kid is amazing because in addition to his normal high school workload, Debate demands extra research for the ever-dry topic of "reforming revenue generating policies." He has weekly club meetings that last 5 1/2 hours and are spent practicing and being critiqued. There are also whole Saturdays spent at workshops trying to improve. In addition, he schedules time during the school week with each of his partners to iron out details and work on improvements.

Any victory he achieves, small or large, is well deserved!

As for my little Taty-bug, she just turned 8 and is a member of a gymnastics team at a local gym. She has been involved in gymnastics since she was two years old. She was asked to compete when she was four, almost five years old.

At her current gym, it is not "a given" to attend competition. The coaches ask gymnasts to compete per meet based on how they are doing at practice. Thankfully, Tatum was asked to compete at the first meet of the season in December. She was one of 5 girls on her team of 11 asked to compete at that State Invitational. She did a super job getting three silver and 1 gold, helping her team achieve "overall gold."

We had spent many Saturdays at various clinics for her to work on her back handspring and other tumbling techniques. She also spends more than 8 hours a week at her normal practices, conditioning and working on routines for bars, beam, floor and vault. Many nights Tatum comes home exhausted physically and mentally. But she loves it and can't wait to get back whenever there is a break.

I am so proud of my little Tatybug because she has been asked to compete this weekend as well as next month. Her hard work is paying off!!

As for Tatum's and Wyatt's little brother, Dallas, his only job right now is to be 4 years old and enjoy it. Though he is already planning his future by asking us all if we can make it to Ranger Stadium when he is playing his ball game. :) I'm so proud of them all!!!