My first photo shoot with Silas

RCDC car wash

(I have no idea why some of these are turned...)










On Saturday, April 16th, RCDC had a car wash to raise money for Nationals. It started out as a cold day, but it soon warmed up. The girls were BUSY! (and they made a lot of money too!)

Sadie...the new addition

We had planned on getting a new dog/puppy later in the summer... However, listening to Star howl every night was more than we could bear. So, we decided that after Olivia finished Benchmark testing on Friday, we would check out what was available at the NLR Animal Shelter. We found a 9 week old black lab... It was a female, which matched the name we had already chosen (Sadie--mix of the words "happy" and "sad" since that is how we felt about losing Riley and gaining a new puppy). The girls fell in love immediately. We let Star check her out as well and she didn't seem to mind so much.


However when we got home, Star didn't want to come out of the car. I am guessing she was scared because the little puppy came home with us...? I know she wonders where Riley is, and it breaks my heart. I hope these two dogs can get along like she did with him.

ETA: the next day (at the car wash), we realized the puppy was very sick. Brian took her to the shelter to have her checked and it was revealed that she had parvo and the shelter was going to put her down as well. We were devestated by this news... We decided to wait on getting another dog right now, and instead, bring Star inside.

Starpower Regionals, Dallas

We had our regional competition (to qualify us for our Nationals) Friday, April 8 - Sunday, April 10 in Arlington, TX. We left at lunchtime and started driving out. We stopped in Texarkana and ate at TLC (the BEST burger and fry place EVER!!!). Then, we continued on to the Dallas area. We checked into our hotel and went on to competition to watch solos. Then it was off to dinner at Chipotle's (YUM!) with the Eagles' and on to bed.

Olivia started dancing the next day (Saturday), and Bella had photogenic. Liv's solo got 3 1/2 stars and came in 3rd (Hallie got 2nd and Mary Margaret got 1st). Bella got 1st runner up in photogenic. After that, small groups performed.

Magic got a special judges award, "Mesmerizing Magicians", and came in FIRST PLACE for petites!!!! We could NOT believe it! When they were called up for their award, the announcer interviewed them all (so sweet!). He asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Bella said, "a mom". :)

Stand By You came in 2nd.

On Sunday, duets/trios and large groups performed. Big Time got 2nd place. For large groups, My Guy came in first place for petite large groups, Second Line got a choreography award and came in 1st. AR Swag came in sixth even with all 5 stars. We had to get those results via text and facebook, because as soon as Second Line got off the stage, we grabbed Liv and put her in the car to start our 6 hour drive home! Pretty exciting weekend...even if it does make for a sleepy Monday.

Riley, Old Faithful

Thursday, April 7th, we noticed something was wrong with Riley. He has been our dog since Olivia was about 18 months old... We knew he was getting "up there" in years, but were not prepared for how fast all of this happened. He would not get up to eat dinner. Brian took him to an after hours clinic and was told his belly was filled with fluid. After some tests, it was revealed that Riley had cancer of the spleen, and the spleen had ruptured. Very quickly, we had to make a decision about what to do. Because of his age and his condition, we decided to put him down. Luckily, my mom was able to come over to stay with the girls so I could be there too. It was very sad, and we miss him so much! But we are glad to know that he is not in pain any longer...

Welcome, Silas!!!

Thursday, April 7, we welcomed a sweet baby boy into our family. Selamu Yoseph (named, Silas) was brought home by Emily and Justin...all the way from Ethiopia. They had been traveling for 26 hours, and still--he was as happy as could be! It was certainly love at first sight for us all!!!