Livvi had her first Tae Kwon Do tournament back on 1/27/2007 where she placed first in one event and third in two other events. Her second tournament was later that same year on 11/10/2007. That time, she placed first in two events and third in one event. Today was her third tournament, with her stiffest competition, yet. She was up against two boys, one of which was also a red belt, like her.
The competition began with the blocking pattern. Livvi has gotten first place each time she has done this in her two previous meets. Today was no different!
Her next event was the board break. We all thought it was going to be a front kick, but they instructed her to do it with a palm heal strike. She did her best and got second place in this event...an improvement over the last tournament!
The last event was the heavy bag freestyle. She got first place last time and it was really close this time. I wasn't sure what the outcome would be, but she did it! She got first place!
You can see the video of today's events here.
Livvi has really grown into this sport and loves it! You can see the growth from one video to the next. Her instructor is encouraging her to start sparring and she seems really excited to try it. Stay tuned for updates on that.
Congratulations, Livvi!! xxx/ooo
We just got a report on "our" progress with the homeschooling of Olivia with OHVA. I'll let the report speak for itself:
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Goal progress:
Mrs. Shaut made the goal for Olivia to be challenged in her school work and be on 3rd grade material come next year. Mrs. Shaut is enjoying the curriculum for Olivia and she is on a great track!
Curriculum and academics progress:
Olivia is working out of some 3rd grade material. She is very much able to handle the work. She is a very bright little girl.
Success Plan (attendance/progress):
The Shaut's started mid-year, but are working great with the curriculum. Olivia keeps up on her hours and is making great progress.
Scantron results:
Olivia scored a 2664 in reading and a 2352 in math.
Teacher comments:
This family is wonderful to work with! I would not know that this family is new to OHVA. They are doing a wonderful job and working very hard. Olivia is a joy to talk and work with! What a model family for other OHVA families!
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I can't tell you how proud I am of Heather and Olivia! This is the very reason we wanted to do this, because we knew Livvi needed to be challenged. Great job, Livvi! Also, I hope this is an encouragement to you as well, Heather. Your dedication to your children is really making a difference and making them better kids! I love you both!!
No, it is not what you may be thinking. We are NOT (thank you, Jesus) expecting another child. However, today is my "baby" brother's 40th birthday! How old does that make me?! It is really hard to think of your younger brother as being 40 years old. Well, at least he has more gray hair than I do. :-)
Love you, Brett! Happy Birthday!!
Tonight, I had the honor of escorting Olivia to her American Heritage Girl Father/Daughter Square Dance. While I absolutely hate dancing, square dancing is bearable and kinda fun. It was a blast being there with my Livvi! We had a really good time. It was a little hard hearing the caller and knowing what to do. Too many people talking when Liv and I were really trying to learn. We had fun anyway and she requested to go home after about an hour and a half as her feet were sore (I didn't mind as mine were getting a little tired as well). I love hanging out with Livvi! Yee Haw!
This past Tuesday brought more threats of snow all day. However, it never really started collecting on the ground or cars (other than a heavy dusting at best) after hours of snowing/flurrying. It wasn't until after 3:00 p.m. that it just started dumping from the sky...about 2 inches per hour. I realize that would qualify as a dusting in most areas, but it apparently is a big deal here in Cincinnati. What would normally take me about a minute or two to get to the highway from my office took me 30 minutes and what would normally take be about 30 minutes total from work to home took me TWO HOURS! Come on, people! It is just snow. No ice, this time, just snow! How does a major highway, like I-275, become a parking lot when there isn't an accident blocking the way? Observation told me it was the merging of cars from the exit ramp onto 275 where the backups occurred. How does this happen? I saw zero accidents on my way home (probably because you never got over 10-20 mph), so tell me, how does traffic come to a complete stop?! Incredible!As if that wasn't enough, I made it to within 3/4 of a mile from my exit (about 75 minutes later) and people were leaving the right-hand lane to merge into the center lane. When it came my turn, I realized why. There was a red car PARKED in the lane (not the shoulder, but the lane) and the lady was outside her car, scraping snow off her wipers and windshield! Why she couldn't have 1. pulled over or 2. taken the exit to take care of this problem is unknown to me. Granted, this wasn't the reason everything was backed up, but it is people like her that don't know how to handle the snow!There, I'm done, and I feel a little better now. Man, I sure hope I never have an accident in the snow, now!
