Karate Time

 The girls went to a birthday party at a local karate studio a few months ago and insisted I sign them up immediately. Nevermind that both my girls have never shown an interest in karate and are actually on the timid, quiet side.  They had a ceremony (or whatever karate people call it) to prove you'd mastered a skill and earned a different colored belt.  Can you tell how much I understand karate??  They were hilarious.

The boards they were required to break were so comically flimsy yet it still took everything for Maggie to work up the courage to strike it hard enough for a break.  She wouldn't shout loud enough for the instructor either.  She did muster a small squeak and enough oomph to break the board.  She was pleased:

Caroline was so intimidated by the yelling and general chaos around her she could not, try as she might, break the board.  Over and over again the instructor had her try.  She is small.  No doubt.  But she definitely has enough strength to break what is essentially a strong piece of paper.  But she was too shy to put any force into her kick.  In the end the teacher "helped" by basically snapping it with his hands as her toes barely made contact.  Can you tell how happy she is?  She knew darn well she didn't break those boards.  Not sure she totally cared other than she felt silly:

Yellow belts were earned and the girls felt the night was a success.