Punta Cana 2023 - Part I

 

This Spring Break, we decided to start our airline travel in Charlotte (as the layover and price was ridiculous from RDU-CLT). It allowed us to stay a night over at Brian and Nancy's to visit with cousins before our Punta Cana vacation. Brock said it perfectly when we arrived in PUJ - "it's like we already had our vacation and we're starting another one!"

After only ONE three and a half hour flight, we arrived in Punta Cana! We retrieved our luggage and found our ground transportation to the all-inclusive hotel. 

We arrived at Dreams Macao Beach! Escorted through the lobby to the Preferred Club Lounge for check-in and to get our drink on! Our room was not quite ready, so we opted for a late lunch at the buffet. 

After a quick dip in the main pool, we all showered to get ready for dinner. We decided on the Italian restaurant - Portofino - however, there was a bit of a wait as we had arrived after the 6PM opening. The crew settled in for some beverages - Blue Hawaii for me, Bacardi & Coke for Brent, virgin Strawberry Daiquiri for Brock and a Shirley Temple for Kade. 

Plenty of places to sit outdoors while we waited for our dinner... unfortunately the younger set of the crew does not like sitting for long. 

We walked up the main stairs for a picture perfect view - Kade wasn't so into the pictures - you can see him jumping down the stairs to the left of me in the picture below. 

Getting later and still waiting for dinner..... 

At least Brock was in good spirits! Unfortunately, we didn't end up sitting until 7:50pm - we didn't make that mistake again! Dinner was okay - good drinks for us and Brock had 3 orders of the kids cheeseburgers. (Kade had 2 orders of the kids chicken nuggets & fries!) They were starving! 

The next day after a nice breakfast buffet, we made our way to the water park (with a stop at the life-size chess board!)

We were at the Waterpark before it opened to secure front-row chairs and apply sunscreen. The boys were excited to get in the water, so when the lazy river opened first, they hopped right in! Camera screen was a little blurry from sunscreen and water. Oops!

Never came across this in my research, but apparently you have to be 120cm to go down ANY of the water slides. Kade came back to the chaises looking dejected when he told me he was not tall enough to go on the water park. He was literally 1cm too short. WHAT??!? I ordered the sad faced boy a virgin strawberry daiquiri while we waited for Brock to go down the slides a few more times. Then we all walked over to the "kids waterpark" (aka splash pad) and the boys played there. They really were having a blast hiding from the big bucket of water - it was hard to get a picture of them! 

After changing into clothes and enjoying a buffet lunch, we dropped the boys off at the Explorers club for some fun with other kids while we relaxed and enjoyed the view from our room. 

We ended up picking them up right before dinner and heading to Seaside Grill for dinner that evening - no pictures. Brent had his ribeye steak, Brock had an "adult" burger and I had Mahi-Mahi. (Kade had chicken nuggets) It was a gorgeous outdoor dining area and we were first in line when they opened at 6pm! 

Moose is a Cane Corso DAD!

 

Moose made puppies! He was collected mid-January and his stuff shipped to a breeder out in California! Bet you didn't think that could get shipped overnight via FedEx! 

The lady dog "Elvira" was scanned in mid-February to confirm she was in fact, very much pregnant! About a week before due date, they take an x-ray to figure out exactly how many she would be carrying. Can you count all the puppy spines/skulls?? That's a lot of puppies!

What’s full of energy, unstoppable and unforgettable? A force of nature! 

Lionheart Cane Corso is proud to announce that we are expecting our very own Forces of Nature litter. They are expected to make landfall on March 15th, 2023. BOSS GCHB CH Lionheart’s Mistress of The Dark DS, DJ “Elvira” and Difesa The Strong Silent One “Moose” have come together to create a true force to be reckoned with. Backed by a powerful pedigree and a spirit that just won’t quit, we know these puppies will be ready take on anything in their path. A colossal “thank you” goes out to Stephanie of Difesa Cane Corso for giving us the opportunity to use Moose and his incredible co-owner Brent for getting him to and from the vet to help make this breeding possible.

*(taken from Lionheart Cane Corso website announcing the upcoming litter)

The breeder did a little maternity shoot for Ms. Elvira - the Momma-to-be! 

And now we just wait...... didn't have to wait too long. Exactly on due date day, she went into labor. TWELVE puppies! Three unfortunately did not make it. 

One day old puppies!! 

And six day old puppies!!

Lastly, two and a half week old puppies! Wish we could go visit them, but California is a long way away!  Enjoying all the videos that come our way! 

Good job Moose - hopefully you'll be able to make some puppies on the East Coast in the future! :)

Blue Belt Graduation & Local Tournament

 

Kade graduated from Purple Decided belt to Blue Recommended. (two stages of each color). Awesome board breaking skills! 

Brent assisted in putting on Kade's new belt. Big honor! This is also his last "group graduation" - from here on out, he will be tested individually and only if he shows mastery will he be able to earn the next belt. He has promoted to Advanced classes!

On March 11, Carolina Pines Community Center hosted the Vision Martial Arts local Taekwondo tournament. Kade was ready!

First up, his forms. They just started a new cycle, so this is the "A side" of his newest form (hence why it's a bit shorter). 

He was thrilled to show off his nunchucks again! He loves these weapons and he's so good at them! Judges gave him an 8-9-9!

Of course that means he pulled in first place for weapons! 

A great competition - Third place in Forms and First place in Weapons! Great job Kade! He did earn himself a medal, but alas, no pictures of him wearing it. 

What did the little champion want for lunch after his tournament - a Costco hot dog! 

And two last pictures of Brent mentoring Kade on the art of seasoning ribeyes before grilling. 

Brock's February Swim Meets - State Championships

Brock's swim team was invited to swim at the 2023 Carolina Aquatic Team's Valentine Splash in Hillsborough!

Brock swam two events on Saturday - 50y Breaststroke and 50y Freestyle and two events on Sunday - 100y Freestyle and 50y Butterfly. He did well on Saturday, lowering his time in 50y Breast - placing 3rd out of 56 with a time of 45.65!! 

He really shined on Sunday!!! After swimming his longest event (cutting 1.36 seconds in his 100y Free - coming in 6th with a time of 1:14.37!), he only had 20 minutes to prepare and rest for his 50y Fly! 

With an entry time of 38.11, he dropped to 36.15, placing FIRST and securing a spot in the state age group championship the following weekend! 

A new personal best, a new team record, and a new entry for Brock on the board!

The state championships were held in Charlotte the following weekend - no time to waste - back to practice all week to prepare!

It was a quick trip to Charlotte on Saturday, February 18th. No spectators allowed at the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center unfortunately - and the boys had planned to visit the Huntersville crew - but a few of them were out sick. Brent and Brock conquered Charlotte in one day. 

Brock was incredible!! He dropped his time even more! Brock was up there with the best and did amazingly well for only swimming in one event! He warmed up and then had to sit for almost two hours waiting for his event. 

Dropped more time with a final 35.80! Great, great job Brock!! (above video from his coach) 39th out of 52 of the BEST swimmers 10 & under in the state. 

Kade - Kick-a-Thon & Chess Tournament

The third annual Vision Taekwondo Kick-a-Thon took place on Saturday, February 4th. We raised some money for cancer all in the memory of his Grandmother (as written in on the sleeve of his shirt). 

This year, the kick-a-thon was held in the gymnasium of Salem Baptist Church. Although a much bigger space, the acoustics weren't the best and we couldn't hear everything Master Beddow was saying. 

Kade was all business though - he wouldn't let me take a video of any of his rounds because I might drop the kicking sheet or lose count - and he HAD to get as many kicks as possible!

Nailed it! After 10 rounds of kicks and a very tired right foot, he more than doubled his kicks from last year with a total of 900 kicks!! One proud boy!

The following weekend, Kade competed in his very first chess tournament. This was a big one! The North Carolina K-12 Chess Tournament was held at the Raleigh Convention Center the weekend of February 11-12 - yes, a TWO day tournament. 

We got there early Saturday morning and it was interesting to see how this was all configured. Rows and rows of chess boards - ordered by grades and boards paired by similar ratings. 

All the parents were welcome to help their child find their board, but then had to leave before games began. No spectators while playing happened - we had to wait patiently outside in the lobby to see how our child did! 

Kade's first game started at 9am - with three games to follow that day and three total games on Sunday. It did not matter if you lost, you continued to play in the tournament. Your ranking just fell, but you were also paired with a lower ranked player. 

The tournament itself was actually organized really well and once I understood how it worked and how he was paired (each game's pairings were only announced about 30 minutes before next game), it went really well - my only complaint was how much time was between games. I understand that they need to allow time for every single player's game to end (and the tournament included high schoolers), but most of Kade's games were done in less than 20 minutes - which meant two hours until the next game!! 

He was happy to have some Washington Elementary buddies joining him - made the time between games pass a little quicker when he found friends to play with. 

But yes, there was a LOT of time spent in the lobby of the Civic Center!

We had to pick up a shirt to commemorate this occasion! (A full roster is printed on the back of the shirt - split into two groups because of how many kids were at this event - we took the first half of the alphabet so his name is printed there!)

Sunday, Day two - we did not arrive as early as the previous day! Glad Kade had made some friends and was talking "best chess moves" to some other second graders. 

And we came prepared this day with our own chess board to practice!

Sunday was special - after an event with Brock, Brent surprised Kade, bringing us lunch and to cheer him on! (Also treated Kade to this bigger chess set with flexible mat so he could practice just like the tournament)

Last game - finish strong!

Kade did really well for his very first time. This was a big event - and the fact that it was such a long day (two days!) really took a toll - on him and me!! He won his very first game, lost the next two (round 4 we asked for a bye since it was my birthday evening and Brent and I had dinner plans!!), lost the first two on Sunday morning and ended with a Draw for his last game. 

Sidenote - Washington Elementary did take home the second place trophy for second graders! His other four friends scored high enough to secure that title!! Yay Wizards!!

Entering the event, Kade started with a 200 rating (because he did not have an actual rating, they assigned a rating 100/grade level) - after tournament, he currently has a formal chess rating of 196. This is a game that requires so much skill and he loves to be challenged. Thankfully, Kade is not deterred by his losses and has continued to watch chess videos, play chess and talk about chess! I am so excited to see where he goes from here!