And the Beat Goes On

As much as I love being on Facebook, I have missed blogging! We've been wicked busy! Here are some pics to catch up. Of course, Max is doing very well and the mountains are still beautiful!

Peter competed in the Vermont Jr. Iron Chef competition
We had another fantastic Easter Brunch at the Langham in Boston
The girls grew and stayed cute and the boys (and my friend Ramsey) all earned their 1st Dan Black Belts in March.

Twin Birch continues to grow. I am opening a store/studio next week which will give people a chance to come in and shop, see soapmaking and even take classes to learn how to make fantastic natural skin care products. I can't wait to share pictures & stories from this new adventure!

Black Stripe Boys

Whew! The summer is flying by and I can barely keep up with all of the activity! The latest summer high point came last Friday when the boys tested successfully for their Black Stripe in TKD. Operation Black Stripe was years in the making... 3 1/2 years to be exact! We all traveled over to the Bradford Dojang to participate in their Quarterly Testing. Austen & Peter were great! The Dojang was sooo hot and the testing was vigorous, but they did it!
Here's a shot of the boys 2 years ago with GrandMaster Tae Sung Lee (above) and at their testing. Nice high kicks, boys! I am such a proud mama!!
Gerry also did a mock testing for his Black Belt. He was fierce! His official test will be on July 31st in front of the whole Blue Wave Association! Good Luck, honey!

Hurts So Good

We just got back from Blue Wave TaeKwonDo Association's 2009 TaeKwonDo Winter Camp. It was the first year that all of us participated in all of the workshops. It was extra exciting this year for a lot of different reasons. Firstly, Grand Master Lee came over from Korea. He is a 9th Dan (9th Degree Black Belt) and the head instructor of our organization. We all had the opportunity to join in one of his workouts. Here's a brief list of what we did with Grand Master Lee and the other instructors:

Crunches, push ups, planks, lunges, kicks & strikes by the hundreds, poomse practice, paddle drills & sparring.

I can't tell you how blissfully sore I am! It was the hardest, most satisfying workout I've done in a long time!

We also had the chance to watch our instructor, Master Tom Chase, test for his 6th Dan and Miss Buckholts test for her 2nd Dan. In the wings was Gerry. Having just earned his Black Stripe, he is hoping to test for his Black Belt in August. He got to hold boards for the High Dan Testing, including for Master Chase. He was so excited and honored. Watching Master Chase test was really exciting for all of us. He was great!


The boys are right behind Gerry. They are waiting to be invited to test for their Black Stripe. Hopefully, they'll be testing for their Black Belt at Winter Camp 2010. All Black Belt testings take place in front of the whole Blue Wave group, so it's pretty daunting. It didn't look daunting for Master Anthony, though. Check out the board breaking sequence he rocked while testing for 7th Dan! ~



All of the Black Belt testings were so inspiring. They are the perfect demonstration of what we can achieve if we practice discipline, perseverance, strength, determination & courage.
We feel so lucky to have found this sport as a family. It makes us a better, more solid clan. We share fun, goals and muscle aches. Here are some pics for you to enjoy!

ps. in the category of "no news is good news", I haven't heard on the big order, yet. The anticipation is killing me! :)

Black Stripe Super Star!

Gerry tested for his Black Stripe at Tae Kwon Do last night. He tested with Ramsey, who earned her Red Belt! Both of them were amazing! Both Masters Chase said that their testing was impressive and that they were very proud of them!

They weren't the only ones! I was all choked up watching Gerry. It's really inspiring to see how well we all can do something when we practice really hard and put our minds to it! His testing was a great demonstration of determination & discipline. And Ramsey was right there with him! Watching the two of them test makes me want to challenge myself even harder!

PJ also tested last night and earned his Blue Belt. He did a great job, too. He has the loudest kiyup ever!

Congratulations to all of you! Your testing last night proves it~ Randolph Dojang Rocks!