Ian's RobinWood Adventure Comic

This past weekend, while we were all stuck indoors because of a family-wide cold epidemic, Ian created a comic book of his 3-day adventure at RobinWood. Then he and Daddy created a slideshow montage to share with you all. Enjoy!

We all gotz snotz!!!

Yep. Every last one of us is down with a cold this weekend. Blah, blah, blah...

Ian off to RobinWood

Ian's school (St. Joseph's Primary), is participating in a 3-day camp at the RobinWood activity center from today through Friday. So he's away adventuring for the next few days, while Annie & Adam enjoy a bit of extra peace and quite during the evening (we do miss him, though).

Isabella starting school...

 Isabella started pre-school last week, where she gets to wreak her special brand of havoc upon the unsuspecting teachers. The interaction with other kids her age has been good for her, and it also helps Annie get a couple of hours to herself during the week. We'll see how much of an accent Isabella picks up over the course of the year!

An autumn Saturday with the family

Actually had lovely weather today (for this time of the year in England). Cool, crisp and autumn-like. Perfect for a family hike around the grounds of Ripley Castle (just up the road from our house). And, for a late birthday present for Ian, driving up to watch Liverpool play Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Green Belt for Ian!

 After the recent Tang Soo Do testing session in Redcar, Ian was advanced to the Green Belt level. In addition to passing that next step, he was also singled out by the Grand Masters, who were grading the test, as the 'Most Improved' within his group of about 20 students.

Ian has been taking Tang Su Do (Korean karate) lessons for about a year and a half. He's gone from barely being able to walk in a straight line (quite literally) to executing entire series of forms from memory. It's been fantastic to watch him grow.

In this picture, he's receiving his promotion to orange belt with one white stripe, having tested successfully in Redcar in the first week of December. He's already terribly excited about practicing his forms for green belt and the next round of testing. Mum and Dad are very proud!