The Final

This was to be a very tight bout and a little bit awkward. With both competitors from the same school, the coaches/trainers opted to not get involved and merely watch from the sidelines. Two friends turned rivals made for some interesting TKD.

And the winner is...

A solid opening round victory for Burger as the judges were unanimous on this one. He now had little time to prepare for the final. Any final adds more pressure and can be more difficult. As it turned out, it was to be against his fellow schoolmate, Ramon Jr.

Take down

This was at the end of a flurry of activity and there was no mistaking this result for the judges. The home town hero would never recover from the champ's onslaught after this.

Finishing blow?

The 2nd round was all Burger as the champ repeatedly landed blows through consistent waves of attack. The hometown boy just had no answer to the savviness of the champ.

Some Coaching

Between rounds, Burger's trainer provided some timely advice and positive motivation to the champ letting him know that the match was his for the taking.

Taking Control

The new challenger took advantage of the home town support to jump out with some fresh energy. The experience of champion Burger enabled him to weather the storm and he slowly and steadily began to take control of the bout with relentless and measured attacks.

Round 1

The competition started out with a bang. The crowd was electric to see this lightest of all weight classes begin the tournament. Defending champion Burger took the floor against a new challenger, a hometown boy.

Challenger

Ramon Jr. is also from my Tae Kwon Do school. It just so happened that given our age, height and weight, we were placed in the same competition. Here we are shortly before the tournament begins. Could this be foreshadowing?

Tournament #2

This is mental focus, right down to the creative breathing techniques. After winning a gold medal in my first tourney, the pressure was on to repeat, with new challengers coming from all sides. With my new found white/yellow belt, there was lots on the line.

And the winner is...

You be the judge. Who has the nicer tree? I think it's simply too close to call. Great work guys!

Dec the Tree with...

... your very own ornaments, fa la la la, la la la la. This was cool, getting our very own miniature Charlie Brown tree with our very own decorations. Just like any brothers would do, we turned into a race.

Tour de Santo Domingo

This could be considered the team trial with Lilly and I working the 2 seater together. Look out Lance Armstrong, even though you just retired.

Rockin' Hippo

Lilly quite liked the wooden, Cuban rocking chair. Then again, hippos aren't known for being too active.

Lilly the Builder

Well, we're not sure if Lilly has the potential of Bob. Maybe the pink hippo simply likes rides in dump trucks. Regardless, I had to take photos and prepare a report of my 3 days with Lilly.

Top Branch

Mommy and Daddy take a turn at placing their ceremonial ornaments onto the tree reaching as high as they can.

1st Decoration

I pick this little Santa ornament. It's little and not too high. Just perfect!

Lillyputtian Christmas

With Lilly in town for the weekend (our school project), it was a great excuse for Mommy to start getting ready for Christmas. But seriously, does she really need an excuse?

Leaning Tower of Darius

It's not clear who is holding what up. Is the tree holding up little Darius or vice versa? Either way, the lights look good. Good job mommy!

Villagers

Two young lads and a hippo outside an alpine village. It's a story for the ages. I hope the hippo likes cold water.

Lilly

We had a weekend filled with Lilly the Hippo. Lilly is a classmate of Soren's and gets to spend a each weekend with a different student from the class. This happened to be our turn with Lilly. She got to help us with many things.

Urban Sprawl

Our famous alpine village suffered some encroachment this year with the addition of new pieces to accompany the previously tiny alpine utopia. With new hotels, restaurants and other services, this resort is quickly attracting newfound interest.

Uniform Presentation

While this may seem a little premature for the little guy who had just turned 3, Soren was encouraging his little brother to join him in some tae kwon do by presenting him with his very own crisp, white uniform.

Frosty time

It was still a little early in the season but with no snow ever forecasted here, how can you really tell when the time is right? So Mommy brought out a few of the Christmas decorations a little early. Here I am cozying up to the guy who really wouldn't survive in the tropics. We must have had that A/C cranked.

Yippee!

It's my party and I'll scream if I want to.

Metahara

A nice father-son shot of our new neighbours. Very nice outfits, although they may not be the best for the planned soccer match.

Round and Round

Come on Bona (the bigger boy on our street now), you're slowing down. You're supposed to run around the pole.

Cool Party

For some things, Darius has a real cool school. While they can be strict about uniforms and doing homework, they sure organize some fun events.

Neighbourly

This is Ayana, the youngest of the 2 boys that moved in next door. He just joined Darius' school in time for family day. Here he is wearing some traditional clothing from Ethiopia.

Balloon off

So many things can be done with balloons. When you've got this many, it's lots of fun to have little battles. Just like this one I'm having with Samuel, a classmate of Darius.

Green is my colour

This was family day in the park, hosted by my school, Los Cacicazgos. Our family dressed in green to mark the occasion, the colour of nature in the park.

What have I done?

Help! Somebody locked me in this cage. It's not only a cage, but I'm trapped with others. I would prefer solitary confinement!

Le Grand Chapeau

If the little tree in the background gets a hat, then I'm certainly going to find something of my own for a hat. I hope this tupperware is clean.

Team Celebration

What do 2 Canucks, 2 Yanks, 2 Dutchmen and a Frenchman have in common? No, this is not some bar joke.

The answer is a great 3 day hike in the wilderness of the Dominican Republic.

Mission Accomplished

We may not have beat the clouds, but it truly was gratifying to be on top of the Caribbean. A true test of perseverance.

Final Push

After hiking for 8 hours uphill on day 1, we took day 2 a little slower. It was the final push to the peak followed by a wine and cheese celebration on the way down. This is the last stop before the final stage to the peak.

Mastermind

Yanik, shown here with Daddy, was the planner behind this whole 3 day trek. He planned the meals, bought the groceries and cooked each meal. He arranged the guides and the donkeys. He ensured people had all the supplies.

And he gave Daddy a run for his money for the fastest to the top.

Part way

I'm not if these stage stops were helpful or not. For one, it gave you a break to rest and reflect on how much distance had been covered. But, on the other hand, it kept showing you many more kilometres up and across you had to go.

Pico Duarte

Here's the map to the top of the Caribbean. In the middle of Hispaniola at around 3,100 metres, located in a national park, you will find Pico Duarte. The route to the top is a gruelling 24 km hike up and the only such mapped out hike in the DR. This hike is not for the unprepared.

Slip slidin' away

Nothing better than some summer fun at the water park. This takes Daddy back to his days at Le Grand Splash in his youth. Except that the Dominican music was much louder, the rum was much cheaper and the rules were less existent.

3-2-1 Go!

Who has the advantage here? Soren with the more slippery and faster middle track or Darius with the Daddy weight advantage.

I think it ended up pretty even.

Three's a Crowd

We needed a little extra oomph to get us down the slide. Thus we contracted the big guy, Daddy to bring some more momentum. And it worked.

Poser

With a nice water fountain as a backdrop, you could send this model shot into the kids photo contest.

Too much diet

It seems I've not been eating enough as I was really struggling to keep my suit up all day. I think it was more a matter of me wanting to wear the big boy bathing suit.

Starting small

A great trip to the water park needs to ease into things by starting in the baby pool.

Water Park

Now that Mommy and Darius were back from Canada, it was time for some family fun at the water park.

Mommy went crazy with photos here.

Bystander

I'm becoming more and more interested in my big brother's tae kwon do. The Maestro tries to incorporate me into the classes, but I'm just not into it yet.

Kick some Xrays

The sheets they use to produce medical xray reports work great for sound effects. The higher the sound, the better you score.

Next Exam

After a successful tournament, bringing home the gold medal, Maestro decided it was time to take it to the next level. It was exam time!

Another notch on the old belt, as I moved up to the yellow belt.

Club Support

The Maestro was the first to congratulate me (after Mommy & Daddy of course). Here you can see other congratulations from my club.