Hall of Fame '10

We went to Hall of Fame dance competition this past weekend. It was insane! All of Olivia's dances were within 3 1/2 hours of each other! And that wasn't the only drama...

Olivia did her very first solo Jailhouse Rock for the first time. I was so nervous because of her turn (I didn't want her to fall...). Not only was it her first time, but she was the 7th dance of the morning! So that meant we had to be at the Robinson Auditorium at 7:15...which meant we had to get up at 5:30 to get completely ready to leave by 7 (and allow extra time to get those contacts in!). WELL...we were in SUCH a rush, that we ran off and left Olivia's skirt for her solo costume AT THE HOUSE! I realized it in the elevator of the Robinson. I called Brian (who had dropped us off to find a parking spot) and he ran back to the house. He was literally going 90 MPH to make it back to competition in time. I was completely freaked out!! Olivia had already gone backstage with Jamie and Hannah (also doing her solo for the first time) when I met Brian outside to get the skirt! I ran back behind the curtain, pinned the skirt on as Abbey was on stage!! I went out in the audience and FELL APART crying! Talk about stressful! But the solo itself...it went well. She nailed her turn and she looked really good.




Then, it was off to change for large group dances. Falling Slowly was first (no good pictures of Liv so we didn't buy them),then Soul Man,



and Takin' Care of Business.



This was the first time for Takin' Care of Business to perform. It looked great. After that, it was a fast costume change into the red dress for Jump Shout Boogie (my MOST FAVORITE dance!). That was small group tap and Olivia had been picked as the one to get the award for that one this year. I love it because it is so fun, but also, it is a HARD dance! The fact that these little 7-year-olds can do toe-stand turns, etc. blows my mind!




Awards were about 11:00 or so. Her solo got a High Gold award, Falling Slowly a High Gold, Soul Man and Takin' Care of Business both got a Platinum! In the top 4, Soul Man came in first, Taking Care of Business came in second. They won $150 for large group jazz. Then, for small groups, Jump Shout Boogie also got a Platinum award (but I am honestly NOT surprised...it is just that good. LOL), and they also won $150 for small group tap.

We bought the cd of pictures with a few other moms. Aren't they good?

Bye, Bye Glasses!

Olivia went to the eye dr. last Wednesday to get contacts. I had called and asked about the one-day contacts he mentioned at our appointment last November because she had gone through one competition seeing what she called "gingerbread people" on stage. I was told she could not get the one-day contacts after all due to her astigmatism. So...regular aspherical contacts it was!

At first, the nurses put the contacts in her eyes, and Liv loved them. She had to sit in the waiting room for a bit to let her eyes adjust and wait for the dr. After he checked them out, she was taken into a room to learn how to take them out and put them back in. THAT is where the problem started...

We were in the dr.'s office for a total of 2 1/2 hours...and the nurses were wonderful! They were so patient and did not ever seem frustrated with Olivia AT ALL! One nurse (I think she was the dr's wife...) even took a pair of rarely-prescribed contacts and put them on her knuckles to let Olivia practice pulling them off to simulate her movements needed to take them out. This same nurse ended up giving us her home number in case we had problems getting them out that night!

When we left the office, Liv still did not know now to put them in nor take them out. However, by the next night, she was ready to try again and learned how to take them out on her own! Even now, she has problems putting them in, but can take them out without any problem at all! They certainly helped with competition this past weekend! Yea!

Big Surprise! I guess I can share this now...

Last month, I had dinner with my mom and sister at Dixie Cafe. While I was there, I was handed this card by my sister.



At first, I didn't understand the front of the card, but then I opened it up and read it...



I was so excited! I can't wait to have another baby in the family!!!

Out again...

We were surprised to wake up this morning to a few inches of SNOW! Real SNOW! Yea! Schools were out, businesses closed, and the snow continued to fall throughout the day! The girls went outside to play, and Brian used the trash can lid as a make-shift sled for them! They had a blast...but only lasted out there about 10 minutes before wanting to come inside again. Ha!












We tried going to lunch, but Larry's was closing up when we got there. So, we headed to Chili's. We got stuck one time going up a hill, but edged through it... While eating, the snow kept falling, then changed to rain, then back to snow. It is so beautiful! I wish we would have a snow like this once every year!

I hear we are supposed to get more snow this evening, and it isn't supposed to get above freezing tomorrow. I wonder if we will be home from school again....

Showbiz, first competition of the year

Only three of Olivia's dances went to Showbiz this past weekend. It was her duet with Kenny, Love Shack (a few changes from last year and the new costumes received right before regionals), the large group lyrical Falling Slowly, and the large group jazz Soul Man. However, we had gotten to the competition early enough to see our studio's solos. We saw Sydney, Kenny (2), Abbey (2), Mary Ellen (2), and Amber (2). They all received at least one High Point Diamond First! Then, Kenny got Mr. Showbiz (entertainer) for 8 & under, Abbey got first runner up for Ms. Showbiz for 8 & under, and Sydney got Ms. Showbiz for the junior age division. Then, Mary Ellen received a costume award. It was a great afternoon for our studio!

Because Kenny had won Mr. Showbiz, he received a gift card of $50 for the gift shop at the competition. He bought Olivia a stuffed bear with a showbiz shirt that she picked out. It was SO sweet of him! Liv loves her bear!






When Liv and Kenny performed, we were so excited! Their steps were in order, but Liv's personality wasn't as big as she'd done before. I realized later that her cold had affected her energy level, but they still did awesome, receiving a High Point Diamond First and coming in second place in the Petite division! Abbey and Gage performed Lost and they also got a Diamond, and came in first. So, our studio did awesome on the first day of competition...we couldn't WAIT to see how the groups would do on Sunday.




Falling Slowly performed first, and I was literally almost in tears...they were so together and clean with that dance! I was proud of them all! Then, Soul Man went on about an hour later, and it was really cute! The costumes were adorable!! During awards, there were only 3 Diamonds given out for the Petite division, and we received 2 of them! When the top 7 were announced for Petites, we received 3rd for Soul Man, and 1st for Falling Slowly! That dance also received a choreography award! What a great way to start out our competition season!!

(sorry, these were taken with my phone so they are pretty dark...)

Icy snowman?

On Friday, January 29th, we all 4 stayed home from school because of another winter storm. The ground was covered in white, so we figured we would go outside and try to build a snowman. Well...that was not exactly what ended up happening. Yes, the ground was white, BUT, it was all sleet instead of snow (except maybe the top 1/2 inch or so). There was only enough to make a snowball. Ha!






We went to lunch at Old Chicago pizza and then came home. Since I had been sick the day before with a bad cold, I got another day off--which was a nice surprise!



(don't you think these tracks are cool? I wonder WHY the animal walked in circles like that...ha)

The next day, I had to rearrange some photoshoots because of the icy roads, and dance practice was canceled. We went to Panera Bread for lunch and then Brian drove me out to Maumelle for an ordering session. After that, we had planned on going to Emily's for dinner and see Cooper, but he wasn't feeling well so we just stayed home. We got a call that church services had been canceled the next day, so we had a nice relaxing weekend, that ended with a dance practice that evening.

Birthday party day!

On Saturday, Jan 23rd, Liv had dance practice (as usual...), and Bella had a karate birthday party to go to for John, a boy at school. Bella was NOT sure what to think about that, but finally she did participate a little bit.

Then, we went to Liv's dance practice, and on break, went to the mall for lunch and to shop for Tiffany's birthday party that evening. Then it was back to dance, then to Alexander to drop of a picture order, dinner at TaMolly's in Bryant (I love that place!) and to the party at the dance studio until about 9 that evening! Talk about a big party day!

Parent's Night for Bella

Brian got to spend his birthday at parent's night at the studio for Bella's class...ha! We watched their new tap dance for this year, I feel good. It is hilarious (as always with little dancers). I can't wait for this year's recital to see how she does again!

Bella, the princess of it all!

While we were at Julianne's house for New Year's, I'd seen a picture hanging in her room where she was dressed in several princess dresses...and I'd fallen in LOVE with it! Since Bella had gotten an Ariel dress for Christmas, and I knew we had a Tinkerbell and a few others, I thought this would be a perfect idea for her! Laura let us borrow a few of Julianne's dresses to complete the picture. So...here it is! I think it is absolutely ADORABLE!!!



My favorite...Tinkerbell! Bella was truly upset with me for putting her hair up on top of her head (even though that was how Tink's hair was). I love it!

First winter storm of the year!

Monday, Jan. 3rd, we got our first winter storm. Olivia was out of school for staff development anyway, but Bella and Brian were both out due to the weather. I had a work day planned at school, but we had a two hour delay. The roads weren't bad at all, but the tiny bit of snow and ice looked pretty anyway.





And look at the weather forecast on my phone...have you ever seen such cold temperatures for Arkansas? Holy Cow!! SIX??

New Year's Day...

We went back to the Fletcher's for lunch, football, and potluck around 11 or so. We had a blast! The girls played dress up (with fashion shows between commercials) and guys watched ball..., and to be honest, we watched some too. Between games, we even hooked up our Super Mario Bros. to the Wii and had Tony, Tiffany, Brian, and Scott playing against each other. It was crazy! We stayed till early evening and headed home. It was probably the most fun I've ever had on New Year's!