miami vices

Richard and I took a long weekend trip to Miami for our friends' Oreste and Kevin's wedding in November.  We only had 3 days, but we filled them up.

We spent the first day enjoying the drive down to Miami on the coast, then spent the afternoon sunning on Miami Beach.  We were the least tan folks around- not many Oregonians on the beach.  On Saturday, we enjoyed a beautiful wedding ceremony and a very fun reception, met Kevin and Oreste's friends and family and ate wonderful food.

After the reception we decided that we could make it for a late dinner in the Florida keys, so we got changed and drove south for a waterside dinner and key lime pie.

On Sunday morning we met up with the wedding party for a Cuban buffet breakfast, then drove west and quickly explored the Everglades.  We took an air boat ride into the swamp, and found a few alligators and lots of amazing birds.  Unfortunately we ran out of time for Richard to do any gator wrestling.  Then had to get back up to the airport in order to make our flight and get home to the boys.  We need to get the boys back to Florida for more fun next year.

yellow belt

Benjamin joined the Juniors for Karate this summer.  He had worked hard at learning all the moves for his white belt rank.  In October, his teacher asked if he was ready to test for his yellow belt and he (to our surprise) said that he was ready.

The first attempt to get his red tip was not successful- Ben was sent back home to practice.  He and Richard worked really hard through all the moves and sequences and went back to try again.  This time he passed through and got his red tip, which enabled him to go in the next day to test for his yellow belt.

For over an hour, the kids showed their various routines and moves.  Ben was successful in getting his yellow belt and we are so proud of his hard work and practice to earn it.

Now Ben is in 2 classes a week, once a week includes scrimmages wearing protective gear.  He loves all the classes and we enjoy watching him progress.

halloweenies

 Ben decided early on that he wanted to be the Riddler for Halloween.  That costume was a click away online.  Owen was not sure what he wanted to be, so a trip to the costume store with Richard resulted in this creative ensemble.

Owen and Richard did a challenging corn maze with the Cub Scouts- they needed a map and it took them a couple of hours.  They did come out eventually!

We had a fun time finding pumpkins at a local patch- no hay ride this year as a family, but the boys got to go at school.  The boys enjoyed trick or treating downtown, then Owen hit a few more houses in our neighborhood that night while Ben helped me hand out candy.