Dance Photos

 

So most competitions have professional photographers on staff that you can purchase pictures from.  I liked the few pictures below, so we bought them.  Then I spliced them together in photoshop to do the picture above, which also has a line of lyrics from their lyrical song. I love it!

 

Elite Dance Team - Competition!

 

 

 

 
 
 

So, Jordyn and Lexi have been working hard on the Elite Dance Team since September.  They dance on average 8 hours per week.  They have amazing instructors and are learning so much.  But the VERY most important thing, in my eyes, is that they love every minute of it.  These girls work their booties off at dance rehearsals and they never, ever complain about it.  Well, except they do occasionally say they don't want to go to ballet.  But that's because they hate that they HAVE to wear buns and all black, including tights (ours always seem to have a hole in them)...and ballet just isn't quite as fun as jazz or lyrical.  But they know its a really important back bone to being a great dancer. 

Their instructors always tell me what great attitudes and focus both girls have.  They really give it their all.  I tell them it's in their blood since their Grandma Judy was a dancer her whole life.  It's also so interesting that they are on the same team, spend so much time dancing together...but it very, very, very rarely causes any issues.  They are not competitive with eachother...and they really aren't very similar in personality or temperament...but they both love dance equally.  They have different strengths and help each other by practicing at home (in our dance room, love it!). 

I feel very proud of the girls and I mostly love when I can tell they are proud of themselves.  March 9 was their first competition of the season and they were able to perform their two group numbers on stage.  One is a jazz routine choreographed by Ms. Roberta called "Shake Your Tailfeather".  And the other is a lyrical dance, choreographed by Ms. Jessie called "Blessings".

 

I get tears in my eyes watching them on stage.  Watching them enjoy the fruits of their labor.  Meanwhile, Peyton is a very supportive little sis just tagging along for the day.  I feel bad, but she'll have her turn.  If she wants to dance more, then this year she can try that.  If she wants to try another avenue, we'll support that too.  I don't want her to feel like she HAS to dance but she sure seems to love it and have a talent for it as well, so we'll see.

 

I do wish it was a cheaper hobby, and that right there is the hardest part of the entire picture.  Makes for some big decisions on Tucker and me.

 

Anyway, on to pics of the fun day....

 

 

For Tailfeather, their team won a Diamond score, which is in the highest category!

 

For Blessings, they got a Ruby which is the second highest.  But Ms. Jessie won OVERALL Choreography for the entire day for this dance!  It's beautiful, heartfelt and definitely brings a tear to the eye.

 

Peach Blossom

 

 

 

So, last year Lexi participated in the poetry contest called Poetry & Prose.  But in third grade the school participates in Peach Blossom.  Her teacher requires everyone to memorize a poem whether they try out or not, so we started looking for a poem.  She decided she wanted to do a duet poem with a friend in her class.  A week went by and we had not practiced once, nor did we even have this girl's phone number.  Lexi and I talked and she decided that, since she was so busy with dance, she wouldn't try out for Peach Blossom this year.  So she just recited a small poem alone, to fulfill the requirement.

Well, Mr Hofer texted me that day and said "I keep teasing Lexi that I'm mad at her for not trying out for Peach Blossom because she is so good".  So that made me think twice about her decision.  I asked him if I should still have her try to memorize one over the weekend and he said absolutely.  Coincidentally, her friend Evelyn had been out sick for an entire week so she could not have participated anyway.  Lexi chose a poem she liked called "Sneaky Sue" by Jack Perlowski...and she memorized it in one evening.  It's a pretty long poem!

She came to school on Monday and performed for him the poem and animations she had learned, and he was quite impressed!  I was impressed too!  She can really get into character. 

So for a few weeks she practiced lots and lots, even at lunch time with her teacher.  Last week, we went to Fresno State with tons of children from around the Valley and she performed her solo poem.  She has a clear voice, great projection, engaging animation...and she earned a SUPERIOR score!  We were very proud of Lexi and her determination.

Disney Trip #2

So, we planned another trip about a month after the first one.  We are really trying to get in the trips before June because we won't go in June/July/August.  Way too hot and way too many people.  This trip was short and sweet...and another fun one!  We can be pretty silly on these trips, which is what makes them so fun.  Such a break from the usual rigor and schedule of life.

 

 

I don't know why I can't get these to turn.  Pey INSISTED on riding Autopia with Amir, and Kayla was very sad about that!  They both wanted to ride with him and drive.  Taking turns!

 

The kids...

 

Parents....

Crazy parents!

 

Churros are always a MUST!

 

 

 

I think Star Tours is my new favorite ride.  The simulation is incredible!!

 

Long days for the 6 year olds!!

 

 

I would say the only negative is that there is no one Lexi's age in their family. Kira is 6 months older than Jordyn, and she is SOOO sweet to both girls...but inevitably there are situations where Lexi feels left out.  I wish I could change that!  But the Navison's are all very aware of her and making sure she is included, which I appreciate.

 

This is the silly stuff that happens after midnight when you have adjoining rooms.  I was teasing Kira for her crazy hair-do bun thing she had worn all day, but mine was like 10x the size.  And then Tucker joined in the fun.  Good times!

Disneyland January 2013

We live 218 miles from Disneyland.  Usually takes close to four hours due to So Cal traffic.  Growing up, I went to Anaheim all the time to visit family...and watched the Disneyland fireworks from my Grandma's front yard.  I don't remember going to the park a TON, but I have fond memories of hanging out there with my cousin Michael - back when we just got dropped off for the day at age 10.

 

Since we've had kids, Tucker and I have probably averaged going to Disneyland once every two years or so.  It's definitely not a cheap trip.  But it does create fun, magical memories.  So, last year we started pondering getting annual passes for one year.  If you take three trips, the passes pay for themselves...plus, if you are a CA resident, you can make monthly payments on them.  Our good friends here in Kingsburg, the Navison's, have passes and encouraged us to get them so we could take some family trips together.

 

So we did it.  We've taken two trips already and have a third one planned for next month.  There is something about the passes that makes you want to plan the next trip as soon as you get home to make sure we get our money's worth.  We use the crowd calendar to plan out the least busy days to go, and look at our busy schedules and then just PLAN it.  It's been really fun to have little family vacations that we would not have otherwise fit into our lives.  And it's been fun to share it with good friends.  I don't know that we'll get annual passes again after this year, but I think this will be a memorable year for the kids!

So these pictures are from our first trip in January.  It was supposed to be extremely low attendance as we went mid-week.  But then it was drizzly/rainy...which made for a VERY vacant park.  It was SO fun to literally walk right on each ride for two days.  The very, very most we waited for anything was 30 minutes.  But most were 5 minutes or less.  It was a total blast! 

 

I am usually the photographer during any occasion, but Amir is just as obsessed with getting pictures as I am, so I sit back and enjoy him having that role.  These are just a few of the great pics from that trip.

 

 

 

 

We also had dinner at Medieval Times in Buena Park.  It was pretty fun.  Had a yummy dinner while cheering for our knight in an entertaining re-creation of an old jousting event.