Colonel Nguyen

My long time friend John got promoted to Colonel.

First black belt

Zinc (Jon) is the first jiu jitsu black belt in the family. Super proud of him.

Belt promotion

Elliot received her first belt promotion!

Belt promotion

Tyson received his gray-white belt.

First stripe

Leveled up

Solo trip (Washington, D.C.)

My long time friend (John) who I've known since the second grade (30+ years) was getting promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at The Pentagon so I wanted to be there when that happened. The initial plan was to take everyone and make it into a family vacation. But airfare to DC was pricey... multiply that by six... ouch. Plan B, road trip to DC. But during the planning phase, there were reports of snow storms across that region and I thought, I don't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere, let alone drive through that. Plan C, I'll fly but only take the boys. But ticket prices never decreased and actually went up. Plan D, I'll go solo.

Belt promotion

After more than two years of BJJ, Jacob and Andrew were promoted to gray belt.

Belt promotion!

Belt promotion

Valentine's & Presidents' Day

Another busy, hectic (yet fun) weekend. On Saturday, the big boys got their first stripe/promotion in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu). Sure, every kid gets a promotion once they put in the time (not skill based) but I can really see their progression. In the last class, they did "king of the mat" which is a drill to submit/beat the other kid and the winner stays on for the next person. During the whole time, it was Jacob and Andrew who were the kings of the mat and not once did they have to get off. They dominated. But they were exhausted. I was so proud.