We signed the boys up for another round of tennis lessons which started last Saturday.  Stuart and I definitely don’t mind having two hours exercise once a week either.  Connor’s class was quite large; there were 9 kids.  The coach had no problem keeping the kids entertained, but with the large class, Connor got to hit less often.  When the lesson was over, Connor wanted to tell me all the parts of the racket and some other basic tennis terminology.  Logan’s intermittent class, on the other hand, was luckily small, just 2 kids.  The coach had them work on serving and some easy forehand / backhand strokes.  I was sitting down the last few minutes of the lesson to watch Logan.  Stuart and I had noticed that Logan’s swings are becoming more controlled the past few weeks.  During the lesson, I was quite impressed to watch how consistent he was and with good follow through with every swing while playing against the coach.  The coach gave him some compliments as well and I could tell Logan was enjoying the lesson.

    On my birthday when I took the boys to martial arts, it turned out to be a graduation class.  Most of the kids with white and yellow belts were being tested for the higher levels.  The studio had just added a new Yellow 1 belt, so the boys were being evaluated for it and have to wait until next time for orange belt.  The testing was done as a group; each row of kids performed the moves and being evaluated.  Afterward, the instructors shared with each kid what they were good at and what they could improve on.  Connor was told that he knows the routine well and he can work on stronger chamber.  The Master told Logan that he has good kicks and suggests focusing on “re-chamber” to; have better balance.  He also encourages Logan to speak up louder.  Now both boys are Yellow 1 belt.

   At the end of the class, the master played “Simon Says” with the group; Connor was the last one standing and he was quite pleased.

   I was so happy that I had a four day weekend to enjoy my birthday.  I had taken the Martin Luther’s King birthday Monday to be with the kids.  We had a relaxing day.

   On my birthday, Tuesday, Stuart and I walked the boys to school then we got ready for our golf day.  We decided to try a close-by golf course and we made a tee time at 10am.  We loaded up a golf cart, warmed up a bit at the putting surface, and we were ready to start.  We were paired up with a retired guy; he was quite familiar with the course and gave us tips for each hole.  This was a very interesting course with many different terrains and beautiful scenery.  Each hole was so long that many times I could not even see the flags.  Fortunately the course was more generous to the women with their woman’s tee much closer and less difficult.  Over the entire course, we lost many balls between the two of us, but we really had fun and enjoyed the challenge.  Driving through the course with the cart equipped with GPS was entertaining too.  I was surprised that I made it through all 18 holes and I was happy that I had some good hits as well.  I really need to work on my putting game though.  We were finished 4.5 hours later despite no waiting at any hole, and it was close to the time to pick up the boys.  We were starving and exhausted by then.  I took a powernap before taking the boys to their martial art class (more on this class later).  Afterward, we headed out for dinner.  My first choice of restaurant was closed on Tuesday, so we went to our 2nd choice and enjoyed a good meal.  We topped it off with a birthday cake for me at home.  I was so tired at the end but it was definitely a fun day.

    Stuart and I wanted to take the boys out to the golf course today so they could use the tips they learned from the lesson.  We paid for the short 9-hole course, and we headed straight to the first hole.  The boys were able to use the few tips they learned, and Stuart also reminded them to take their time to set up their stand.  They did well; both of them had some nice swings.  Putting was a bit more difficult as the boys were not as patient with that, but they managed not to get frustrated.  Stuart had to help the boys carry their bags and give hints, so he did not really pay too much attention to his own game.  I on the other hand enjoyed my time out there; I had some hits that I was very proud of including one with my 3 wood and one out of the bunker.  All in all, we had fun!

      I finally had a chance to take Logan to one of his orthodontic follow up visits on 1/4.  When we arrived, Logan knows the routine well and he just walked right into the procedure room.  Connor and I waited for him in the waiting room playing with a puzzle book and later watched TV.  When the work was done, they called me in to see Logan and the orthodontist so I could ask the few questions I had.  I was also surprised with a great news.  The orthodontist shared that Logan’s cross-bite was corrected and he is now just working on making a small gap between two of his teeth, then Logan can be off of braces.  He would then be transitioned to the longest phase which is the retainer.  I am truly blown away with the progress and happy that Logan will be off braces within the next 3 months. 

BEFORE (with cross-bite):

AFTER (cross-bite corrected):

    After the New Year, the boys had another week off.  I had to work on 1/2 and 1/3, so Stuart was in charge.  However after being off the Christmas week, Stuart had some work to take care of and he had to juggle that in with the boys in the house.  The boys also spent some time with Cole so that gave Stuart a break.

   On Thu and Fri, it was my turn to spend some time with the boys.  I took them to watch Ferdinand and it was such a great movie that we kept talking about it afterward.  I wanted to get us some exercise, and so on Friday before it rained, I took the boys out for a walk.  I was prepared with raincoats for us just in case.  Our initial goal was to walk 3000 steps one way to see where it would take us, but later the boys got into it and we did not turn around until Connor hit 4000 steps on his watch.  At the end, we had a nice walk before the rain arrived.  Cole coming to play with the boys has become a daily thing; we did have to call it off early on Friday as they all had martial art lesson to attend.

    All of us have been sleeping in later every morning.  The record time for Connor was past 9am.  Even Logan has been sleeping past 730am most mornings.  Stuart and I woke up at 8:30am today too.  It might be a bit tough for us next week when school will restart.