Just had to share.

Tonight Matthew and I were talking about school and his friends. I asked if any of his classmates were boyfriend/girlfriend (I hear about it a lot). He said none of them were but that the girls "accuse" him of liking one particular girl in his class. He was giggling and denying it but I asked him if she was at least cute. He paused and said "nah...she's just standard."

We've had such a busy few weeks and it's been so fun!

First, Matthew entered a TKD tourney in Greenville, SC. This was his first tourney and he did GREAT! He entered Forms and Sparring. I am not sure who was more nervous, him or me! It was a full gymnasium with teams from all over the state.

First he did Forms. Everyone in his group (his age and yellow up to green belts) competed in pairs in front of a panel of judges. They present the scores and then figure out the top three when all  have finished.

Here's the video link (was too large to load here).  He took 2nd!!!! So proud of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTwjrt849vo

After Forms, he sparred. I had that little nervous adrenaline rush beforehand. It's so hard to watch your baby do this!

They squared off and then Matt was injured about 30 sec into the match. They stopped the sparring and made sure he was okay. The other kid knee-ed him on the inside of his thigh. It's about the only part of the leg that doesn't have a pad over it! He got Matthew good and I knew he was hurt. Then I was REALLY nervous! But Matt pulled it together, they restarted the match and after about 20 seconds, Matthew got mad.  He started kicking his opponent..HARD and cornered the kid and almost ran him off the mat! Unfortunatley Matthew just ran out of time. We didn't see the scores (only the tourney officials see them) but we understand the scores were very close. Matthew just needed to get mad a bit earlier I guess. :)

Andy and I were just so pleased that he didn't give up, he didn't let the tears get him down..he stuck with it and really did well. He ended up 3rd in sparring and as you'll see in the pictures, he was less than happy. lol And about 30 min later he was asking when the next tourney is. I figure that's a good sign.

After the tournament was over we were fortunate enough to hook up with some old friends of ours. We met them when we lived in Ohio, before either of us had any children. Now we have 5 between us! And considering that both couples had to seek fertility treatment, that's saying something!

Jen and Alex are so fun. We got to catch up, take pictures, play games, and make plans for another visit. We are thinking New Years! They are such nice, nice people and I miss them so much. I was so thankful that they live nearby (he got out of the Air Force so it's just luck that we live so close now) and I look forward to more visits while we live here. I have a couple pictures of the kids all together and I just  love seeing them!

Sooo, here are some pictures. I'm still learning this new camera. The video of his sparring match isn't worth posting since it shows the floor and the sidelines most of the time. Someone (ahem..me) was so carried away cheering that the video isn't exactly of Matthew. lol

Apparently the night before the match you wear the sparring helmet while you watch tv. lol

Most of the kids from Sumter TKD

Nathan..my baby!

Matthew doing his Forms

The medal presentation

Matthew on the medal stand after the sparring match..notice he was so disgusted he forgot to take off the helmet and he's not exactly smiling like he is in the above picture..lol.

At our friend's house...Matthew was reading and the Maddy and Ashton decided to check out some chapter books too. lol I love the Superman costume..and Maddy wears that tiara alllll the time, even in bed. I love it!

And I'd say they had a good time...lol.

Every September the Air Force celebrates its birthday with an Air Force Ball. This year marks our 62nd year of existence and last Saturday was our Ball. We've really been surrounded here by some great friends and I am so thankful. Sometimes these events can be what we call "mandatory fun," but we really had a nice time. Love the pics we got too!

Andy and myself

Lindsay and Jamie..my sanity. Ha!

Kyle and his Cougar

Our newest friends Deborah and Mark...so glad they're here!

Some shots of the girls.

Our realtor who soon became our friend, Debbie also attended. Just love her!

And the obligatory shot of Jamie (this occurs at any get together where cameras are around).