Our Trip to L.A.

Katarina and I flew down to LA to visit my grandma and most of my aunts and uncles. It was great to be down there and see everyone and especially get to spend time with "great grandma". I had a hard time narrowing down the pictures to share, so be warned, there are a bunch of them. Thanks to all of those that fed us, gave us soft beds to sleep on, drove us around (or lent us a car), and most of all, shared their love for us. We love you all.

We flew right over Crater Lake on the way down and on the way back. It was a beautiful sight. Katarina did really well on the plane (it was her first time on a plane) and we both loved looking out the window.

We first stayed with my Auntie Bonnie, whom Katarina quickly started calling Grandma Bonnie. Grandma Bonnie played the part very well. Our first day in LA we went to KidsSpace. This is the hallway to get in. Katarina was instantly hooked. We spend most of the morning there and then went back after her nap.
This is the Toddler Room. Everyone had to take off their shoes and most of the room was padded. There were lots of toys and puzzles and some big things to play with too. I think one of Katarina's favorite parts was just being able to watch all the other kids. My favorite part was the AC (it got to 102 that day).
Katarinal loved standing on these padded stools and attempting to jump off of them. She fell almost every time, but tried at least twenty times.

Auntie Bonnie being Grandma Bonnie.

Notice the white linnen pants. Those came in really handy when Aunt Bonnie video recoreded and hour and a half from her pocket. You can actually see quite a bit from the inside of her pocket. I guess the Flip isn't as easy to use as I thought. :)

This is one of the coolest water fountains I have ever seen. It only shot up a large droplet of water at a time and the droplets made patterns up and down the strip of the fountain. Katarina had a great time playing in it and getting soaked. Good thing it was 102.

Katarina got a flower painted on her cheek. I thought that she would freak out over the whole process but she loved it and she still enjoys seeing the pictures of it.

This was great fun for Katarina, though she insisted on dumping most of her water on the ground instead of the different holes and bowls.

This was her favorite part of the whole place. There were a variety of water colors that could be painted onto the large leaf. Every minute or so the leaf would flush with water washing the colors away and allowing you to start all over again. Katarina insisted on using only the yellow and standing on the near side of the leaf, though I tried to show her that she could actually reach from the far side and use other colors. She spend about 45 minutes painting this leaf and waiting for it to "dry, dry, dry", so she could do it again.

This is her signing spider as we looked a big spider. It was only later that I learned that Grandman Bonnie doesn't like spiders at all. Sorry I had you take the pictures here. :)

At the end of our time at KidsSpace Grandma Bonnie treated us all to some ice cream.

Katarina also got a balloon kitty cat from a clown at KidsSpace. We managed to keep it alive the whole trip.

The next part of our trip took us to Aunt Betty and Uncle George and Colleen. During one of our many trips in the car Katarina became very concerned that her feet were dirty. This is a picture of her with a wet wipe cleaning her feet.

We got to watch Colleen during one of her softball tournaments. We just barly missed watching her hit a home run. We also had lunch there and Katarina loved eating the chips.

This is one of the only pictures of the three of us that I got (not sure how that happened). That is the only reason I am using it. Grandma said it was one of her off days. You will see how great she looks in some of the other pictures. This is Virginia Weaver Reed, Virginia Lee Glasmann, and Katarina Virginia Glasmann. We are only missing my mom, Virginia Clareese Carrick.

It wouldn't be a trip to grandma's house without the youngest generation getting treats from grandma's treat drawer. Katarina didn't mind at all.

One day while we were at Betty's, Dolly had a hard time, she ended up in time-out at least three times.

All was forgiven later.

My little girl is a dipper. She likes to eat anything that can be dipped in ranch, ketchup, mustard, jam, salsa, or anything else she can get her hands on. (Though she wasn't sure what to make of the Tabasco sause that Uncle Dave introduced her to, she didn't understand that it was a rite of passage into the Reed family and that her mommy got the same induction at her age.) Well, I introduced her to Great Grandma's favorite dipping, olive oil and vinager, and it was an instant hit. This is a picture of both of them dipping at the same time.

Katarina showing off some of her sign language.

Betty, Colleen, and Katarina taking Coda for a walk. I got a lot of down time at Betty's because Katarina loved hanging out with Colleen. It was a wonderful break for me.

Breakfast full of fresh fruits and avocados on toast. The orange and the greatfruit were picked from the backyard. They tasted sooo yummy. I brought a couple of greatfruits home with me.

We aren't really sure what kind of animal this is, though I am sure that it is not the kitty that Katarina called it. The important thing is that it sang and danced and Katarina loved to dance with it. (Be careful Aunt Jackie, I think she might be stealing some of your moves.) I took about ten clips of her dancing but I will have to post those later.

Alas, even Kitty ended up in time-out once. (And in a suitcase twice, as Katarina tried to pack it to take it with us.)

I am not a girly girl. So where does the need for a necklace, headband and purse come from?(We ended up taking two necklaces home with us, thanks Aunt Betty.)

Katarina enjoyed driving in LA much more than I did. Thanks Uncle Buddy for letting me drive your car. Next time I just need to learn how to use the navigation system :)

Katarina got to eat a lot of strawberries at Uncle Buddy and Aunt Nancy's house. I had to start limiting her fruit intake becuase I was worried about the plane trip home.

Uncle Buddy let her have the controller for the fan and she thought she had control of the world. You can't really tell in the picture, but the fan is blowing her hair like crazy here.

We got to go to a park and watch some ducks, and some miniutre sail boats with Aunt Nancy.

One of the many play structures that Katarina played on. She loves the slides and swings.

Here is the other picture of the three of us. We spent time with Great Grandma four days in a row and managed to get two pictures of the three of us. We will have to do better next time.

This is a pictue of Katarina chasing rainbows that moved across the carpet. Unfortunately, you can't actually see the rainbows in the picture. Let me asure you that Katarina had fun, and it wasn't just in her head.

After I weighed all of our luggage for the return flight, Katarina wanted to weigh hers.

The toy that kept her busy at Buddy and Nancy's, and helped her start singing her ABC's again.

The drive home after a long day of traveling.

Monday Montage

My Brown Belt Test

I started really preparing for my test in January and for the months of March and April I was at the karate school in class or practicing four time a week (an hour and a half on Saturdays). The test was April 16th. We were told that it was supposed to start at 7:30 pm but that it might go late, because the juniors were testing before us, and that it would get over when it was done. (When the panel of black belts were satisfied with what they had seen.) Well, the test didn't start until a bit after 8:00. There were eight of us testing for 3rd brown, the lowest level of brown, three testing for 2nd brown, one testing for 1st brown, one testing for 2nd black, and one testing for 3rd black. We tested in front of a panel of black belts that included two ninth degree black belts (the highest rank there is), our instructor, a 4th degree black belt, and multiple 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree black belts. We started with a bit of a warm-up and some basic combinations with some bags. We then presented our forms, about ten of them, four people at a time, and then moved into self defense. I was prepared with 60 different self defense techniques, but was only tested on about 25 of them. We were separated into four different lines and took turns attacking and defending ourselves with techniques that were called out. We finished our test with sparing and then waited while the panel discussed our performances individually. That took about 30-45 minutes. They then presented us with our belts. Each of those that tested were promoted, which doesn't always happen. In fact, the last adult brown and black belt test, all four of the people failed. The presentation of the belts didn't occur until around midnight. I was really glad that I managed to take a nap that afternoon. I felt really good about my performance overall and I was really grateful for those that were able to come and support me, Jayme, Peggy and Reed, and my dad, who took over 500 pictures of the event (I will post some of them at some point.) And thanks to my mom for not coming (she had strep). I also wanted to thank all those that have babysat Katarina over the past year so that I could continue to go to karate. I couldn't have done it without the help of so many people, especially Jayme, who was patient with my after hard workouts and picked up the slack when it was needed. Karate is one of my passions and I am so glad that I am able to continue learning and developing myself in that area. Just two more belts before I get my black belt!

Cousins

Katarina loves her cousins on both sides of the family. She loves playing with them, looking at their pictures and she loves trying to say their names. We got to go up to Portland yesterday for Kyler's baby blessing. Katarina traveled so well and was so excited to see her cousins. It was fun spending the day with the family.

I have been working hard to get ready for my brown-belt (re)test. I earned my kenpo brown-belt the month before I got married, but then got mono, moved to Utah, and then, five years later, moved back to Corvallis. I started going back almost immediately but my attendance has been sporadic due to pregnancy, child-birth, and now, raising a young child. I have managed to stay in it and slowly progress. My belt test is in April and I will be tested on 60 self-defense moves, 10 forms, 11 sparing combinations, and general stamina, as I have to make it through the test. February is family month too, which means that family members can participate for free. Jayme has been able to take extended lunch breaks and is joining me out on the mat. I love having him there. Now we just need to get baby-sitting stabilized so that we can both be out on the mat at the same time.

Growing Up!

Virginia claims that one of the defining moments in any young girl's life is the first time she gets to have pigtails...

So...my girl has started to grow up I guess. We had a wonderful Christmas. Now we just have to get back to a schedule of naps and sleeping through the night! Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is excited for this new year!