What a weekend!

Wow!  That is the best word I can come up with the summarize this weekend.  I don't think we could have crammed too much more in, and yet while I sit here absolutely exhausted I have to say this is ironically the most relaxed I've been in a long time.  I have to start by saying I have 2 of the best kids in the world.  While they have their moments of being a little crazy they are two of the hardest working kids I know and it showed this weekend! 

We started with the Excel Open tournament in town.  Noah participated in the Team Demo event at the start of the morning and out of the 4 teams competing Team Excel (our team) took 1st place!!  They were phenomenal!!

Team Excel

 
After that he geared up for team fighting in case his team decided to put him in.  We had a bye the first round.  The second round our team did great which moved us to the final round.  Noah went in to fight for his team in position 1 and did great - he got 6 pts to his opponents 4.  Overall his team won the round and took 1st place again! 

Presenting opposing team with their trophies

1st Place Team Fighting

 
Then we moved onto the rest of the days festivities which included Kylie competing for the first time.  She was sooooo nervous going into it.  It was her turn and she got in there to do her form against 4 other competitors.  Her form was pretty strong and her yells were really loud for her which got her 3rd place!!  She was so happy and proud of herself. 

3rd Place Forms

 
Next it was Noah's turn to do his form.  There were 9 kids in his division this time.  He did his newest form for the first time and killed it...taking 1st place! 

Judges my name is....

1st Place Forms!

After a little lunch it was Kylie's turn again..this time to spar.  She seemed less nervous this time.  There were 5 total in her division again.  First round & second round she won her match which put her into the finals for either first or second against a girl from our school that is 3 belts higher than her.  She gave it an awesome shot and came up a little short (2 to 3) which landed her 2nd place.  Second place in her first tournament!!! 

Final Round

2nd Place Sparring!

Now it was Noah's turn again.  He got a bye the first round and followed that up with 3 winning rounds to get yet another 1st place.  We stuck around for a little bit so that he could compete for the first time in under black belt Grands (grand championship).  There were 21 kids which ranged from Noah to teenagers.  He did his form strong, loud and with such attitude...we couldn't have asked for more.  He didn't win, but he did score really well!

Mr Denski congratulating/presenting Noah with 1st place

1st place sparring!

Here is the summary of the tournament at home:

Proud siblings

Mean team!!

So it was a quick run home to eat and get ready for recital.  Kylie looked beautiful as usual.  She was on and off stage all night long with her 7 dances.  My favorite by far was her solo.  She did an amazing job really hitting all the moves she's been working so hard on lately.  How she had the energy after all the days activities is beyond me.

Today we hung around the house most of the morning and then it was off to soccer.  Noah did a great job in his game and his team won 1-0.  Later we headed back to the field for Kylie's double header.  It was delayed due to rain, but once the shower let up the kids were out on the field.  Noah actually played as well because we  didn't have any subs.  Kylie's foot was bothering her which seemed to hinder her game a little, but she had a number of good blocks on defense.  Noah was a little maniac.  He was all over the field and assisted in a few of the goals our team scored.  First game they won 3-2 and the second game was 3-1. 

Noah's team

While all the winning is nice, I'm honestly more happy with the effort the kids put in.  Whether they got first or last - when they go out and you can tell they are giving it 100% it's such an awesome thing to witness.

To all the friends and family that were there to share in part or all of this weekends activities.....our heart felt thanks.  You all made the kids feel so special.  When I asked what Noah's favorite part of this weekend was...it wasn't the trophies or the winning games....it was everyone coming out to be with him.  I guess we must be doing something right...hahaha!  Good night all!