Nick 'Lee', er Lewis

Yesterday was such a good day. I drove to Loomis to watch Nick take his test for his Advanced Green Belt in his self defense class. I had a chance to meet his instructor, Conrad Woodall. He and I clicked because he is a retired Police Officer. He is the owner of Woodall's Self Defense and Fitness.

Well, I got there about 5 minutes ahead of time and was told almost immediately that spectators were not allowed in the gym during testing. Boy was I disappointed. But I had the chance to take some photos of Nick before he took his test. I could tell he was nervous, because the test is one full hour long and is supposed to be pretty rigorous. So I left and came back about 5 minutes before his test was done. As I walked up to the door, I could hear Nick inside yelling, "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, ..." I later learned that he was doing punches.

At the conclusion I was invited back in and saw my very red faced, dripping sweat son seated exhastedly on the mat. His instructor was grilling him on some excellent life scenarios and how his training applied to life. Nick was taking it all in, while trying to breathe. Well, he passed his test and I was able to see him recieve his Advanced Green Belt and a trophy for doing so well. What a proud moment for me.

I took Nick to lunch at Applebee's and we talked and talked about his experience and the test. WOW, what an amazing experience. Nick said his arms were shaking he was so tired. Well, he scarfed down the biggest steak, fries, and 3 cokes. What a dude! When you see him you will have to ask him all about it.

Uncle Scott

A Quiet Weekend of Camping

Our little pocket of humanity rarely slips below the 4 or 5 population level. So when it does it is something noteworthy. The constant roar that incessantly fills the background gives way to near silence and for one brief shining moment there is peace and quiet. Then the quiet fatigue sets in and you can’t wait for the sounds of little voices and feet echoing from all over the house. This weekend was such a time.

Samuel was out of town all weekend with his school. They visited several historic sites up and down the eastern seaboard. Mason and Wyatt were off camping with the Royal Rangers. That left only Olivia, Tina, and me. Despite what you might think about Olivia, she can be downright noiseless when her brothers are not around. I rather think she enjoyed it. Soon, Samuel will tell all about his trip, so I won’t steal his thunder here. But the camp out bears mention.

This was Wyatt’s first big camp out with the Royal Rangers so he was very excited. Mason, too, was looking forward to being the big brother, the one who knew everything and could mentor his little brother in the ways of the wild. And from all reports after the fact, things got really wild, but not in a wild, natural, outdoorsy kind of way. Rather, it was because of some of the other campers (from a different group of Royal Rangers). It seems that a couple of the older boys thought it would be cool to flirt with the edge of the rules or just plain ol’ disobey them. So they made every effort to use inappropriate words and do things that are not becoming of young men of God. And unfortunately, they chose to do many of these things in the presence of my boys. Those are the moments you wish your kids were locked in the cellar away from the negative influences of the world. But you can’t do that so you hope and pray that you have done them right up to that point and that they will remember the lessons of their youth.

When I picked them up they were tired and dirty and really looking forward to climbing into their own beds. On they way home they brought me up to speed on the events of the weekend, including the bad kids. Wyatt said from the back seat in his hardest tough guy voice, “Dad, there were some boys there who were cussing at us. (he repeated this phrase several times to ensure I heard him as both boys were yammering simultaneously) and Mason said one of them even moaned him.” Mason corrected him, “He mooned me!” So I said to Wyatt, “You didn’t use those words, did you?” “No.” he replied. “I didn’t even know what those words they meant, except I think I heard one of the before!” He continued, “and I even found a pack of cigarettes with cigarettes still in it.” “What did you do?” “I didn’t pick them up. I told one of my commanders!”

In Hooville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day! I couldn’t be more proud of my little men.