Senior Orange Belts

This picture should be much better but oh well. The kids tested early for their senior orange belts and they missed the award ceremony because it was Dayton's birthday. So when they got their belts they weren't dressed in their full karate outfits but that doesn't change the fact that they moved on. Mackenzie is ready to quit but due to a lack of interest in other physical activities that most likely won't happen. I think she secretly likes it but according to her "all I do is go to school, do homework, go to karate, eat and go to bed." Not exactly true, she does spend a fair amount of time reading but she'd like a lot more time to read hence the desire to eliminate the extracurricular activity. Alexa and Dayton are having a great time and want to keep going. All three of the kids have great form and I think it is teaching them a lot of valuable skills. So for now, we keep moving forward.

Dayton "9"

Patrick and Dayton

Dayton and Kyler

Dayton and Avery

Adam and Dayton

Capture the flag planning. What's the strategy?

Hide the flag in the bushes.

Dayton is just a titch taller than the rest of his school buddies.

Playing Mario Kart.

Dayton had a party with his friends and planned everything he wanted to do. First on the list was Mario Kart. They did a great job taking turns and having a good time. Next up, capture the flag. Dayton and his friends against Nathan and the girls. It was quite an intense game and both sides ended up calling it a draw and moved on to some cake and ice cream. Dayton had a blast!We celebrated his actual birthday with the family and he got his bear book (for cub scouts), a pocket knife and a new bike.

The pocket knife. Checking out all of the awesome features.

New type of cake this year. I made cake balls. Yummy! Make a cake let it cool. Crumble it up and mix in 3/4 of a can of frosting. Form into balls and freeze for a little bit then dip in melted chocolate, white or dark. Be careful, these are super yummy and easy to pop in your mouth.

Dayton outgrew his bike due to his rapid increase in size.

I know I say this every year but time is really going too fast. It just doesn't seem possible that my baby is 9. Before I know it he will be taller than me and it will be more difficult to cuddle with him. But I love this age. Dayton is the sweetest boy on the planet. He plays with everyone and everyone is his friend. He loves both of his sisters. He is tenderhearted, a great helper, and has a smile that lights up his eyes. He loves karate and wants to become a black belt. He has started to "like" reading (or at least not complain as much). He gets excited about the little things and the big. We love you Dayton, Happy Birthday!

The first day of school

I hate this day every year. It comes way too early. Whatever happened to starting school after Labor Day? Homeschooling looks better every year! Alexa and Mackenzie catch the bus at 7:15 so our day starts early. Dayton wanted to get up with the girls. We'll see how long that lasts. His bus doesn't come until 8:30. All three kids are in different schools this year. Luckily they are pretty close to our house.

Dayton starts 3rd grade this year. We went to the school to meet his teacher. Mackenzie had her 2 years ago and when we walked in Mrs. Coldren thought we were just there to say hello. I finally had to tell her that Dayton was in her class. She was shocked. He's too tall to be a 3rd grader. Seeing the other classmates of Dayton's walk in, I have to agree.

Alexa is in the 7th grade on the Hero team. From what we've heard she has a great group of teachers. We spent some time over at the Junior High getting her schedule and figuring out how she gets from one class to another. The 8th grade girls who helped us were pretty excited about her team and teachers so hopefully it's a good year. Some of her friends and their parents were shocked by how much Lex had grown over the summer. Mackenzie wants to know why she didn't get the growing gene.

Mackenzie starts 5th grade this year at the Intermediate School and is on team 5-1. We don't know her teachers but she does have one friend in her homeroom and team. I'm excited about the experiences she'll have at this school.

Gma and Gpa Toone

Grandma and Grandpa Toone decided to take a trip across the United States this summer and we were lucky enough to be a stop on their trip. We filled up our day with a trip to downtown Indy and rode the surrey around the canal.

We were a little leery of letting Alexa "drive" so close to the water. She did a great job and nobody ended up in the water. Thank goodness. These things are a bit tricky to navigate and all of the kids took a turn driving around. Everybody did a great job.

Dayton wore his Grandpa hat all day.

To get to the surrey ride we parked underneath the Indiana State Museum. After our ride we walked back through the museum. A volunteer and patron were putting together a large floor puzzle. The girls had a great vantage point from the second story and offered advice on what pieces went where.

After helping they decided to give it a go from the floor. A little team work and success!

We drove by and through the parking lot of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now Grandma can say she's been there. Gma was pretty surprised by how big it is. When we left we drove by the grandstand seating that stretched for blocks.

We left the speedway and headed over to the Indianapolis Museum of Art to see their new outdoor art exhibit. The kids could climb on this skeleton and jump from bone to bone.

After a day full of adventure we were all just plain tuckered out. Grandpa found the hammock and spent some time resting his eyes.