September is always a great time for fresh starts and getting back to routine. As the years go by, the return to school is very welcome, and not as stressful as it used to be. (And then there's the realization that there's one less son this year.) I'm never worried about the need to have new wardrobes for the boys or about how they'll adjust, as they know their school well and the teachers are wonderful. Such was the case for Nora... she was looking forward to returning to the preschool, now in the 4 year-old class. Having met the teachers in June, she was excited already.
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| A last-minute photo of her first day... the boys won't allow that now. |
Meanwhile, a new beginning of a bigger sense was underway. Back in May, Scott had finally negotiated a lease with a storefront in Newton, not too far from his larger school. It was now time to make a move for a variety of reasons, mostly to increase visibility to attract new students and be in a nicer area. Here is the unfinished unit in May, that had been empty for at least 2 years. (I guess the timing just wasn't meant to be back in 2011 when Scott first approached the landlords.) Now parents have options to shop at Safeway, order pizza, DQ or sushi, or even go to the discount cinema next door while their children are in class. :)
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| The boys check it out... facing the strip mall. |
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| The occasional support poles would be a safety issue if left alone! |
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| Happy with new possibilities. |
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| Scott even happier. |
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| Thomas checks out the progress in July. |
While we had a great vacation in San Diego, it was a hard time for Scott to be absent as that was when the bulk of renovating was done, specifically the painting, carpet and linoleum. Nora and I dropped by after her first day of preschool to check it out.
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| Not as big as the other school, but still plenty of room to run! |
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| Mr. Cumberworth led the project, a former student of Scott's. |
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| And the pressure was on, to make the big move over the weekend of the 14th. |
The school move was a quite a huge undertaking, with 18 years worth of file folders, taekwondo fashions, equipment and videos needing to be dealt with. The quick solution? Fill up our garage, much to my chagrin. We can now park the car on one side again, but the mess remains until it warms up around here. :) With help from my Dad to hang up all the posters and photos, as well as many hours put in by instructors, students and their parents, things all came together for the Open House on Sept. 21st. Here is Thomas doing a sword demo.
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| You should see the marks on his bedroom ceiling! |
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| Guess what Nora does at home now? |
Scott also took this occasion to celebrate his recent news that he had passed his seventh degree black belt testing in July, that he completed in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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| Thomas shares in the tea ceremony. |
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| Instructor Timothy Millard assists with tying on the new belt. |
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| Black belts and instructors. |
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We're thankful to have enjoyed
his friendship for many years. |
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Author and speaker Tom Blackaby
shares a special prayer of blessing. |
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| Glad to see the family out in support. |
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Former instructor, my cousin
Luke with son Koen. |
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James making fun of how badly
I take photos~ at least I got a smile! |
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| Group photo... can you say "7"?(Lewis on far left, guess who's in the centre?!) |
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| The cake ~ a tradition already. |
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And somehow Nora found her way in there... I think she'll be
disappointed to learn that she'll have to go through the ranks like
everyone else someday before she can tell people what to do! |
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| Special mementos and telegrams for the occasion. |
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Seventh Degree certificate.
( I have more of these type in the garage right now...) |
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| The family... although Charles is working, and I forgot to tell my parents! |
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| Proud parents... thankful son. |
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| The kids' second-cousin, Koen. |
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| Lewis finally gets a new uniform! |
The previous weekend, the 14th, was actually the first celebration Scott had at the Walnut Grove Black Belt Academy, with a combined open house there. More of his senior instructors were able to attend here to help commemorate his seventh degree achievement.
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Scott did a traditional Korea tea ceremony with his students...
one of the lighter moments here. |
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Senior instructors Ben Raphael, Michael Bennett, Lindsay McCall, Karen Bennett,
Jenny-Marie John, David and Trenton Bennett. They all teach elsewhere.... |
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A special award to the Bennett family, who all teach together
at their school in Cloverdale, whom Scott taught from white belt. |
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| Senior and trainee instructors present. The taekwondo family continues to grow. :) |
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| What a lucky guy, to have two cakes! |
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| The Senior Instructors give a hand in cutting it... |
Scott is a pretty humble guy, and I'm often unaware of all the encouragement and well-meaning instruction he gives to the students and instructors he's involved with on a weekly basis. I just see the tired side at the end of the night, because he does work really hard. I am very proud of him and his accomplishments in all the aspects of his life, and thank you for sharing these few glimpses of his "other"world with me. The next step? Senior Master testing in July 2014. I think another busy season awaits... but can we clean the garage first?!
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| Congratulations Master Karpiuk, from Lady Karpiuk :) |
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