Taekwondo & T-Ball

Taelyn just wrapped up her first sessions of both Taekwondo and t-ball.  To conclude this term in Taekwondo, she completed some testing and was awarded her first belt!  Taelyn is now an orange belt and is eager to keep working her way up.  I obviously didn't get some great shots of her moves, but here is a general idea of a couple of them.

Then today was her final t-ball game.  When the players were up to bat, the coaches attempted to throw a pitch a few times first, and then if the child needed it, they brought in the tee.  Taelyn was able to hit on her own one of the three times that she was on bat.  She tried her very best batting and did a great job running the bases.

Daisies' Camping Trip

Kaelia is a part of the Girl Scout's Daisies group in New Delhi this year, and we just got back from her first camp outing which was shared with several Delhi Cub Scout troops.  Here we rented a tent and enjoyed various activities at a camp, including a ropes obstacle course, rock climbing, and a hike.  Taelyn also got to come along, and both girls loved the ropes course the best.

Kaelia practices the Heimlich.

During the day, Kaelia earned a camping badge for setting up our beds and helping cook dinner overthe fire in the evening.  She also earned a health and safety badge for learning the Heimlich Maneuver; stop, drop, and roll; and my phone number as well as tips to follow if she ever gets lost.

At night, we were responsible for cooking our own food over the campfire.  Unfortunately, some stray dogs got into our tent while we were at the ropes course and ate our food!  All the other scouts graciously gave us some of their food, however, so we were still able to cook and eat.  Then we all roasted marshmallows and had smores and ended the campfire with skits, songs, and jokes.  Each troop presented their own performance;  Kaelia's troop sang "The Ants Go Marching" while Taelyn was able to join in one some of the Cub Scout's skits.

A Day at the Animal Shelter

Our Elf on the Shelf, Rosie Bell, challenged the girls with their first good deed yesterday: a trip to the animal shelter to bring love and joy to all of the animals there.  Our school actually organized this trip for anyone interested in going, so Justin went with the girls and a few other families.  The girls were so excited to go!

At the shelter, the girls had lots of time to play with the cats and dogs. They really loved one particular dog there with a funny tail and spent quite a bit of time with him.  They also fed and pet a donkey and ponies while they were there.  The Christmas spirit is now certainly in bloom!

Digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

Getting Ready for Christmas

We officially started getting ready for Christmas this week, beginning with the tree.  As I put up the lights, the girls were patiently waiting so they could put up the ornaments.  To pass the time, they ended up putting together a cute little Christmas skit and used tissue papers from the Christmas box to complete Santa's beard.  After the performance, the decorating began.  Taelyn was excited because it was her turn this year to put up the star, and she didn't need any of us to help her the entire time.


On December 1st, the girls woke up and found their own advent calendar waiting for them on the couch, filled with chocolates for each day until Christmas.  Along with the calendars, they also received their very own Elf on the Shelf!  We read the story together to learn more about this elf, and gave her the name Rosie Bell before heading off to school.  By the time the girls came home, Rosie Bell had left them a note, thanking them for the name and telling them a little bit about herself.  She is visiting until Christmas to spread the love and joy of Christmas and to help our family do good deeds for others.  We are excited to see what Rosie Bell has planned over the next few weeks!