Orange Belt

Mikey and Roger have been taking Karate lessons from the local Rec center since January. They go twice a week in the evenings. Originally I signed them up thinking that I could have Todd take them to class while I prepared dinner, let me tell you how often that has actually happened. I did not realize how often Todd has to work in the evenings and that left me loading up four boys (sometimes in the snow) and trekking them off to lessons---not my idea of fun. But as the boys continued taking lessons, the more they loved it and the more I saw that it was teaching them respect, discipline, and listening skills.
Up to this point the boys have gone from a white belt, to a yellow belt, to an orange belt that they have just recently tested for. It's been fun to see them progress. I have never seen Mikey concentrate so hard on something. He is focused the entire class. Roger doesn't focus as well, but does pretty good.
During class William and Grant sit on the sides of the room with me, playing with whatever toy or activity that I brought them. I've actually been quite impressed with how well they have done during the class time. William will usually stand by me, performing the work out the class does for the first 15 minutes of class.
The instructor is a man named Randy, he does really well with the kids and even though he expects the children to show respect, he is more nice than anything. His assistant, a greasy-haired college aged kid, is a lot more strict. There have been many times that I wished the assistant was a little bit more gentle, seeing that he was on a power trip with a bunch of 7 year-olds. The assistant is also someone that I hope my kids don't necessarily follow his example, he's got shoulder length black hair and when he takes off his Karate uniform he wears emo clothes. I was quite happy last month when a new assistant came to class. I did note that the new assistant did seem very similar to the old assistant, but I did appreciate that this new assistant had shorter hair and a more pleasant disposition.
Last week I was talking with my friend Missy and she had pointed out that the assistant was acting a lot nicer. I made the comment that I liked the new assistant more than the previous assistant.
Missy looked at me, confused, and said, "Loni, it's the same guy, he just got a hair-cut!" No! I didn't believe her, I looked at the kid and after several minutes I surrendered to the fact that I was wrong and she was right, it was the same person. Can we say blond moment?
This last week the boys tested and broke boards to go up to Orange belts. Unfortunately Todd was working and unable to see it, but I was pretty proud and happy for what a good job they did.
Here's a video of them breaking their boards. Enjoy: