Seriously Kickin'!!

Yesterday was a GOOD day.

Josie was invited to go swimming at a local pool with a friend, and it stretched out into an all-day thing. One child gone = no fighting!!!

Patrick behaved himself all day, walked the dogs with me, and had his first karate class last night. It was the cutest thing EVER! There were about seven boys ages 5-6, and all had their little uniforms on (except Patrick, who was taking a free trial class, and hadn't gotten one yet). They looked adorable, and listening to them yell 'ACE!' in their little voices as they did side kicks against tiny punching bags was just hysterical. Patrick was SO in his element, which was nice to see since he's a little harder for me to figure out sometimes. He's shy about displaying emotion, so if you ask him about something to closely, he stops talking, whether he liked something or not, and you can never be sure if the answers he's giving you are true or if he just wants you to shut up already. Actually seeing him so obviously enjoying himself was so cool. The place has an observation deck above the training area, so you can watch without being intrusive, and the teachers were wonderful with the kids. The main guy, whose name I've already forgotten, was firm but fun, and was visibly interested in making sure the kids had a good time. You could tell that he actually likes children, which I think is so important, and at the end of the class, he gave what you could tell was a weekly short speech on not to use karate anywhere other than the gym because that would be what? (the kids shouted, 'bullying') and bullying is not what a karate master wants to do. So, that was nice. After the class was over, the sensei talked to us, and said that he thinks Patrick would be fine in the older class (ages 7+) because this one was too slow for him, and I agreed, but it was nice to hear another adult say it. Also, it was nice to see that he *is* really ready for that. I think I forget sometimes that a) he's not his sister, who has always been very concerned and in tune with people's feelings and fairly mature for her age, and b) just because he's advanced in other areas, it's easy to forget that he's actually still little, and his behavior while seemingly freakish is normal for a boy his age. Phew. So, we signed him up for the 7+ class, which is a little longer as well, and meets twice a week.

THEN, get this, Josie's friend Kira called and invited her to go camping with their family at an awesome local camping resort (it's called Jellystone) next week! They leave Sunday around noon and will be back Friday afternoon.

Know why this is especially cool?

PATRICK HAS CAMP NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All day long!!!! So, I will be free from 8:30 - 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy kick ass, Batman!!!!

Then this morning the kids and I took the dogs to the C&O Canal for a walk, and found a small boat-launching site where we could stand shin-deep in the water while the dogs swam in the deeper sections on their extendable leashes. Next time, we'll definitely bring floating toys for them to fetch. Last year, Baci was totally confused when he tried to swim, and kept holding his head above the water like a ninny. This year, he took right too it, and Delilah did pretty well, too, especially for her first time. I love being with them when they swim, they look so happy and cute! Next time I might let Dilly be off her leash, since she's not interested in running off and the area's pretty secluded, but Baci seemed like he was ready to swim off to the Potomac, so he may have to stay on his leash for awhile. :)