Finally…pictures of the Balloon Classic…
This one was pretty spectacular. This balloon hovered over the water and just spun slowly. No other balloon did that…
This pictures has 25 balloons. Can you see them all?
We really had a lovely day of watching all the balloon lift off, hover over the lake, some touched their baskets down in the lake, and then fly all over Colorado Springs. But this is the one that made me really smile the whole day…
Until next year…
It’s time for the U.S. Taekwondo Center’s annual board break-a-thon. This year the goal for 4 centers is to reach $40,000! The board break-a-thon gives the students a chance to give back to the community by breaking boards for local charities.
This year’s charity is the WooSong Foundation. It is a non-profit organization created to provide scholarships to lower-income families to participate in taekwondo programs. The scholarships are not just for our center (USTC) but for schools across the United States. Students who receive scholarships will be able to learn respect, confidence, integrity, regular exercise, and self-defense.
If you are interested in supporting the girls and I, you can either send us a check (made out to WooSong Foundation…not to me;-)) or go online to the donation page…www.ustcbreakathon.com. Make sure you mention who you are supporting if you are donating online so we get the credit! Also all donations are 100% tax-deductible.
If you are in the local area and want to check out the board break-a-thon, you can join us at Mr. Biggs on September 17 (Saturday) starting at 10am. The event should go until 12:15. There will be demonstrations by our demo teams, leadership class, and Masters. Plus some surprises and special guests are planned. There is also a silent auction that is always fun…there may be a goodie bag from Stahrs Cakes there to bid on!
The girls and I (and the WooSong Foundation and USTC) thank you for your donations!
Saturday night after the AF football game (which AF won by the way) we headed downtown to Memorial Park for the Balloon Classic’s Balloon Glo. We got there just before the sun went down behind Pike’s Peak…
And since it was still light out, we walked around the field where the balloon teams were setting up their baskets and getting things ready to inflate their balloons. The kids were so excited when the lady of this basket asked if they wanted to get in and see what it was like.
To say they were elated is a total understatement. We could have left after they got out of the basket as far as they were concerned. But we didn’t and so we continued to walk and collect little cards on the balloons. The kids liked that they were able to put names with the balloons. The balloonists were busy working on their baskets and getting the burners ready…
A funny story about the burners…Jacob was running a little ahead of us when one of the burners went full flame. He did a quick turn to toward us with a funny scared face. He wasn’t really that close to the basket but it made him listen to stay near after that!
After the pathfinder balloon inflated,
the rest were allowed to follow…
This one is called Goodazne. The kids liked that one…
This balloon is called Baskit of Nuts…
The girls liked this one. It is called Hearts A Fire…
And that’s all I have on the Balloon Glo. I took over 250 pictures at the actual launch. They will come soon!
After Jeremiah’s change of command ceremony, it kind of became a little crazy around here. Jacob’s last day of his gym class at The Little Gym was the following day. Jacob loves Show Day because he gets to show off all his new gymnastics he’s been working on. Miss Alexis introduced each of the kids so they could each make a grand entrance!
Then it was onto the activities. First the group huddle…
then the bar routine. Jacob started out the semester not wanting to be on the uneven bars at all. Now he willingly goes to the bars and goes all the way up. As you can see, he’s quite pleased with himself…
Then it was onto the high beam.
This forward roll on the beam was not a favorite of Jacob’s either. Then he did it only a few times and he wasn’t so scared!
Jacob went onto the tumbling routine. He went through everything Miss Alexis told him to do. Backward rolls, star jumps, back hand springs…
This was the most important part. The medals. The kids all enjoy receiving their medals. Jacob especially…
Then the kids all sat together for a quick group picture…
The theme for this show day was red, white, and blue. So the instructors were playing patriotic songs throughout the class. When the kids were getting together for the group picture “Hail to the Chief” was playing. Jacob marched around and acted like The President himself! It was pretty funny.
Next we move onto what a lovely weekend we had for Memorial Day. It was sunny and warm and perfect. We decided to take Stahr Mam, who was visiting, to a Sky Sox game. 
Really, the kids only like to watch Sox the Fox but Mazie was getting excited when the team finally started racking up points in the 5th inning when they scored 13 runs (4 of them being because of a grand slam)!
The kids had a fun time with Stahr Mam. They took her to some of our parks and played games…
We even roasted our first s’mores of the season! We started the fire pit, toasted some marshmallows, and put the s’mores together. 
This was a first for the kids…
Yes, Jamie’s is without marshmallow.
I love this guy…
Jacob liked the s’mores but really liked toasting the marshmallows! It was a lovely weekend.
This morning, we got up (super, duper) early to head to the Air Force Academy for Jeremiah’s change of command ceremony. The kids were a little less than stellar but it was only an hour and was fascinating to see the whole thing. I never realized how ceremonial it was. This was Jeremiah’s first. So here is Lt. Col Anger relinquishing command…
so Jeremiah can accept command…
The new AOC of squadron 6…
Jeremiah is excited about the new job which officially started as soon as they handed the blackberry over to him. We aren’t looking forward to the middle of the night calls but it should be an interesting job for him to say in the least.
I also have to say that I love seeing him in his dress blues. So handsome! We are so proud of you. You will be great at this job. Love you!
We are back and I have about a million and one pictures to edit. However, I did edit the pictures from our drive to Williams, AZ. We stopped for lunch at Four Corners. This is the place where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet. A nice lady offered to take a family photo…
The kids were thrilled. Probably more thrilled about being out of the car than being able to run through all four states in a matter of a minute :-)!
And, yes, I said kids. Jeremiah was a little too excited to be running in all four states as well! More to come…
Last week was Jacob’s Show Week at The Little Gym. It’s basically the last day of his semester and the kids get to show off all their new skills to their families. It’s a big deal because they’ve worked very hard and are excited to show what they’ve learned.
This was Jacob’s introduction to his show. See his excitement?
Then the kids were divided into three groups. Jacob’s group when to the high vault. This was him jumping off all by himself, which is something I’ve never seen him do without someone’s hand!
Then they lined up and sang on their way to the next station. “Down by the station…”
This station was on the uneven bars. This is typically not one of Jacob’s favorites but he did such a good job. He flipped on the lower bar, kissed the upper bar with his belly, walked back and forth (side-to-side), and hung on the top bar without being held! See his determination with his tongue hanging out…
Then it was onto the last station. It was a floor routine and this was where Jacob really showed his stuff! Backwards roll…
some high kicks…
a monkey kick over the mat…
There was also a donkey kick, pulling his legs up to his toes, and then a big finish…
I love his expression there. It’s like he’s saying, “Yeah, I rocked that!”
Then there was a little free time for the kids to show off some other skills. Jacob chose the low beam…
The kids were instructed to sit along the wall and patiently wait for their medals. The teachers had some music playing. Jacob decided to jam a bit in line…
Then his proud moment of getting his medal…
This was the group of kids trying to get together for a group photo with the teachers. I can’t imagine trying to get all those 3/4 year olds in one group for a picture. I think Jacob was thinking the same thing…
We really love the things Jacob is learning at The Little Gym. The next semester already started. We are looking forward to what he learns this time!
Happy Weekend!
1. Our final outing over Christmas break was to the Denver Aquarium. It was snowing by the time we got to Denver and when we were ready to leave, there was already about 3 inches of snow on the ground. It took 2 1/2 hours to get home when it should have been about an hour!
2. No worries though. Jeremiah handled it well! I never dry in that stuff if I don’t have to.
3. The kids were fond of the fish and things we saw. The tarantula was a favorite…
and these two bearded dragons…I wonder what they were saying to each other…
and this sting ray was smiling at me, I think…
You had to know I was going to include a Stahr Fish…
4. My loves all on the bridge…
5. Check out Jacob’s face. It makes me laugh every time I see this picture. Especially since he is so close to the mermaid’s chest. 
6. Tomorrow Mazie turns 9. NINE YEARS, people! How the heck did that happen?
7. I was just thinking about when I was carrying her in my belly. I had back labor on this night all those years ago. I decided to take a hot shower and go to bed. At 2:30am that labor started up again with a vengeance and later that evening arrived a beautiful, squeaky (yes, she kind of squeaked instead of cried)little girl. *sigh*
8. She wants to wait until tomorrow after supper to open all her presents!
9. Jamie is the official Light Operator tomorrow night. Don’t know what a Light Operator is? Well, I’ll tell you it’s a big job! She is in charge of turning out the lights at just the right moment and starts the singing. Then she has to turn the lights on at the exact right moment so no one drops any cake or gets scared in the dark! She is super excited.
10. Jacob thinks tomorrow is when he turns four and gets to open presents. He will be very happy for Mazie when she is finished with all her things and he gets to play with her…if she lets him!
Happy Tuesday
Today was a snow day. Yep, we got an extended weekend due to snow. These pictures are from a day or two before New Years when we got our first snow. However, you can rest assured that the same playing was going on today! Although Jacob did stay out a little longer than last time.
Jacob is a master when it comes to making snow angels. He should be since he is constantly practicing on the carpet…
He also enjoys knocking the snow off of the tree…
The girls went to work, cleaning off the play set…
which made Jacob want to try. So dad put more snow on the slide so he could try…
I think that smile says it all. There was also a little taste testing. Don’t worry, we made sure it wasn’t yellow!
Back to school tomorrow!
Our second outing was to the Buell Children’s Museum. Mazie had been there on a field trip last year and was so excited about it so we decided to check it out as a family.
When we walked in there was this little corner of dress up stuff and the girls went straight to it. Can you believe she is turning 9?
While the girls were doing, well, girly things, Jacob decided to jump onto the computer center they had set up for kids to color cool pictures of Christmas-y themed pages…
One of the highlights was the Odyssey room. They transformed it from a place where you could pretend you were in space and catching planets to a magical winter wonderland where you could see what you would be like as a snowman! So the fam stood in front of this huge screen and a projector made snowmen based on your height…
Another big highlight was building a playhouse. Jacob and Dad set out to do just that…
Then Mazie came along and talked Jacob into sitting inside the playhouse until Dad was finished…
But Jamie was all about it. She was bossing, I mean, instructing dad to put that board there and this little one here and “don’t forget the window”…
Then when it was all done and Jamie was pleased with the work, they tore it down for other kids to build.
This museum was fun but it took us only two hours to do everything. I think it is set up for classes to visit instead of families. However, it would be the type of thing to do often if you live near it (instead of our hour-long drive, one way). But we did have fun and that’s what matters!
stahrscakes.com
A Group Of Stahrs 