Tuesday, June 22, 2010

YELLOW BELT!!!




Matthew and Jacob started Taekwondo about 7 weeks ago! Troy has always wanted to put them in - and we have some friends that are really into it. They pointed us to a FANTASTIC place - and we LOVE it! Zachy will start when he turns 5!

Taekwondo is STRICT!! The boys have to pay attention, answer "Sir" to the master and instructor any time they ask them to do anything. They also learn specific kicks, stances and forms. In class, you have to demonstrate that you are paying attention and practicing at home...and if the master feels like you have been doing a good job, he gives you a stripe that corresponds with the next colored belt - yellow for the boys. They need 2 stripes to be able to test for the next belt!

After 7 weeks, the boys were ready to test for their yellow belt! (You start off as white). So we practiced and practiced! They had to know:

1 - How to count from 1 to 10 in Korean
2 - The white belt kick - hammer kick
3 - 14 basic forms of Taekwondo

You test for the Grand Master (like the grandpa) and 3 masters! They did FANTASTIC!!! The other kids testing for yellow were all 8 years old or above - and my boys held their own!

After they tested for everything we practiced...the master announced that they would have to break a board with their white belt kick! WHAT?! We hadn't practiced this at all!!

The boys lined up - Matthew was second in line. He tried his first time and was a little light - but the second time HE NAILED IT!! Broke it right in half. Then Jacob was up - he broke it his FIRST TRY!! They were so proud! (Even some of the older kids had to try a couple times to break it!).

Oh...and now they get their yellow belt and a TROPHY! And they keep the wood they broke! So cool!

Needless to say - we love Taekwondo. It gives the boys confidence - give them the ability to learn something, practice it and then demonstrate their ability in testing situations! Great life experience!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

After a year and a half hiatus....we're back!

That's right! The Sheens are back online!

You might have a bear with us a bit as I go back and update the year and a half that I missed. I'll be as brief as I can!!
First things first! Let's do a "where are we now"!

Matthew!
Age: 5 years old
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Food: Mac N' Cheese
Favorite Wii Game: Mario Cart
Bed Bud: Jacob (and Zachy)
Other Friends: Jane, Daniel, Ainsely, Connor
Matthew just finished his first season of t-ball! By the end of the season, Matthew was able to hit off the coach pitches every time he was at bat! He was 1 of 4 boys voted to the All-Star team by the rest of his teammates! (We think it might have been a bit of a popularity contest as M &J were the 2 smallest on the team! But twins are COOL!)
Matt is finishing up Joy School, his last year of preschool and will start Kindergarten in August! He is excited to be a Bull Dog! He's also ready to go to a "real" school (instead of people's homes!)
Matt just started Taekwondo and is loving it!! Believe it or not, the thing he struggles with the most is being LOUD ENOUGH! If you heard him at home, you'd never believe it!
Matt LOVES music. When nobody is looking, he is constantly dancing. And he never stops singing (right on tune - just like his mom!) : ) He begs for piano lessons and we're about to start being a little more consistent.
Matt is a great big brother and is the peace-maker in our house! We love this guy!
Jacob!
Age: 5 years old
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Black beans
Favorite Wii Game: Lego Batman
Bed Bud: Matthew (and Zachy)
Other friends: Jane, Daniel, Ainsely, Connor

Jacob is SO excited right now for his dad to come home from his Asia trip. He sent dad with a list of things to find for him: 1 - a necklace with a shark tooth, 2 - a necklace with a dragon tooth, 3 - an elephant tooth (apparently still attached to the elephant). As his dad was leaving, he asked to see his dad's reminder list to make sure he wouldn't forget! This kid is thorough!
Jakey just finished his first t-ball season as well. He played a whole game at short-stop and didn't let one ball get by him. He has worked hard and really learned to get his body in front of the ball! He was also 1 of 4 boys voted by his teammates to the All-Star team.
Jakey also just started Taekwondo. You should see this little guys' form already! It's like he was born to hit and kick (that or he's had a lot of practice at home!) He's excited to test for his yellow belt!
Jakey loves to draw and color and he's getting really good at writing as well. He just colored and wrote a Thank You note for his grandma-great for the shirts she sent him and his brothers! He also draws pictures to send to dad on his business trips!
Jakey is also finishing up his last year of preschool and is excited to start kindergarten! They'll be in separate classes this year - but I know they are going to thrive!
Jakey is our little thinker - he figures things out and asks lots of questions! We love him!

Zachary!
Age: 3 years old - almost 4
Favorite Color: Black
Favorite Food: Toast with butter
Favorite Toy: Wolfy Power Ranger
Best Buds: Big Brovers
Other Friends: Derek, Matthew, Noodle (Miro)
Zachary just started preschool! He loves it! The very first day, his friend Matthew came straight up to him and asked him to go see the fish-tank and the kid has loved it ever since. No crying, no wanting to stay home! He's ready! His friend Miro is from Finland and his name is pronounced with an accent that Zachy can't say - so he calls him "Noodle" - that's how he hears it!
As you can see in his picture, Zachy is our comedian. He'll do ANYTHING for a laugh! And he quite often has all of us in tears from laughing so hard!
Zachary has found his independence - especially with clothes! His likes 4 outfits - and if he can't wear one of those, he LOSES IT! His favorite outfits are (1) a black long-sleved Harley Davidson shirt with a bird on it (his "birdy shirt") with black exercise pants that he calls his "noisy pants" cause they make a noise when he walks, (2) a long-sleeved green shirt with matching green sweat pants, (3) his glow (or gray) outfit which consists of a grey BYU shirt and grey sweat pants and (4) his striped red shirt with red shorts. Anything else - HE WON'T WEAR!! Most of this stuff is hand-me-downs and are on their last leg! It's a good thing he has such a cute face! : )
Zachy is so big, people ask us where ever we go if we have triplets! As of right now, he is 1 inch shorter than his brothers and he weighs more than one of them!!
Zachy is our baby - we keep asking him to stop growing, but he just can't help it! We love him too!