Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-YA!

Ok - I have no idea how to spell that or the rest of the stuff I heard thrown about last night at belt testing. In a standing room only studio we watched a lot of drills, and J earned her second belt. This one is gold - though to me it is pretty imperceptibly different from the yellow of last year's yellow with white stripe. Here she is with her sensei giving her the gold belt.

Karate is definitely her thing. She stands at attention riveted to the sensei and the process - while other kids her age showed a less focused approach. I understand little of the significance of things around this. Like the black and white uniform vs the all white one - except for two things B&W costs about $95 and can have patches. The white one still does not quite fit my 7 year old so we will not yet be springing for that more attractive two color number. And then there is the whole shoe thing. At first I was told no shoes were worn for karate, now I am hearing that there are karate shoes and she REALLY wants them. So thanks to a couple of birthday checks, J will be buying a pair of martial arts shoes that I hope last longer than one season.

The other big news in J's life Thursday was placing 2nd in her first grade spelling bee. She can remember only the one word that she missed - again - but out of over 200 first graders, 2nd is none too shabby!

And the topping for J's big day? Krispy Kreme donuts hot off the conveyor belt...finest kind!

Newest on S, you ask? Hmmm...she used Halloween money to purchase Hannah Montana make-up and is sparkly blue from her eye to her brow.