Christmas with Dad and Yvonne

My dad drove in on Wednesday the 14th and met us at the dance studio. That evening, we came home and I got ready for the next day...a field trip for kindergartners to the Christmas Tree Farm. Yvonne was to be flying in that following day as well.

Thursday proved to be a CRAZY day... I left school after the field trip feeling weird--like my allergies were acting up bad because of the hay. I knew Brian was taking the girls to dance, so I went shopping for my secret Santa gift. I got a phone call from my dad while I was shopping saying he had locked his keys in the car. He was supposed to leave to get Yvonne from the airport in a few hours so time was not on his side. I ended up going to get him, running to buy Yvonne's gift, and then to the church building where Bella's PreK class was to perform Christmas songs.





We left there, Brian and Dad went to get Yvonne from the airport while I took the girls and met Emily and family at Whole Hog for dinner. By the time we got home that evening, I was longing for Benadryl...

However, I didn't sleep well because I kept hearing a rodent in the attic!!! I was so freaked out that I slept on Bella's floor (although, the sleeping was pretty much at a minimum at this point...) So, not only did I not feel good for school on Friday, I was sleep-deprived as well...

As school started, I called the pest control company and they agreed to come out to take care of the rodent problem (ended up being rats from an opening around our new heater--had to have Brian call and get that closed up properly as well...). As the day wore on, I figured I was really sick--not just allergies. I was able to get into the doctor about 1:30 (even though that meant I had to leave my class an hour early--during their Christmas party...) I was tested for strep and it was positive. Great.

I quarantined myself for the evening and started my antibiotic while everyone else went out for dinner. When they returned, Brian got the girls in bed while Dad and Yvonne went out to Walgreens and to get dinner for me at Wendy's. I came down to eat (keeping my distance), then took meds and went to sleep. I did not wake up until about 12 noon the next day. I felt so much better. While I was sleeping, Cooper had come over and the kids made gingerbread houses with Yvonne. Then, they all had gone to Senor Tequilla for lunch, and brought nachos back for me. We had our Christmas" that afternoon. Livie got roller blades and Wheel of Fortune for her Nintendo DS. Belle got several Fancy Nancy things and a Toy Story 3 Leapster game. I got the red dishes I'd been eyeing, and Brian got some polos and other items (I can't remember those at the moment...).





Cooper went home for a nap after that, so we went with Dad and Yvonne to Conway. Dad wanted to see the Harley store there, and I wanted to check on tap shoes for Olivia while Yvonne wanted to check out their Shoe Carnival. We decided to all meet up at the Rave theater in LR at 4:30 for the movie Yogi Bear. We all got combo packs and watched the movie. It was cute.




Then, it was trying to decide what we'd eat for dinner... Five Guys was PACKED so we went to Boston's. Yum!

Yvonne left that next morning (early), and since the girls had a cold (Bella's was pretty bad), we kept them out of church and just met up with Emily and Justin at Shorty Small's. Dad kept Bella while the rest of us went to a parent meeting at the dance studio, then we all went to Gadwall's for dinner.

It was an extrememly eventful weekend, but a good one.
, conway, yogi, boston's, shorty smalls, dance meeting, gadwalls

RCDC Wedding!

On Saturday, December 4th, our dance director got married. Kristen and John David got married at a Methodist church downtown. The reception was at the Junior League Women's House. The wedding itself was beautiful and traditional. The reception was incredibly fun!

A bunch of the girls from the dance studio came...which made the reception so unique and fun! (the food was even tailored to having the girls there--a kids' table offered PB&J sandwiches and a variety of candy jars)

Santa & Me--add more pics

On December 3 & 4, I did a fundraising event with Santa for Emily and Justin's baby fund. Nathan dressed as Santa and we had an entire weekend filled of little ones meeting Santa...How fun! We got our girls in during a slow moment.

(we also did some for the promotional materials with Bella and Cooper together)

Observation week at RCDC

We had Observation week at the dance studio the week of Nov. 15. This is a time that parents can come into classes and see what the kids are learning. We LOVE this week...ha!






On Tuesday, we started off in Tap II class with Olivia. They worked on several new steps and combinations. Kristen told us that one of the combinations would be added into teen tap the next night so she wanted Olivia to work on it. Then, it was off to Ballet II downstairs.









This class was great. We had never seen a ballet class before, but we enjoyed watching it just the same. After that, we came back upstairs for Jazz II. The girls worked on a long stretching routine and then leaps. I loved taking action shots with the leaps!



The next day (Wednesday--Bella's birthday), we watched the choreography. So great. Then on Thursday, we watched Bella's Tap I class and Ballet I class. Liv went into her solo practice during Jazz I so we went in there instead (and hoped Bella could concentrate better without us watching...)

Trip to Louisiana

We went down to visit Mamaw this weekend. It had been waaayyy toooo long since we'd last seen her, so luckily, we all found a weekend we could go together.

We drove down on Friday after school, checked in our hotel, and went by her apartment. On Saturday, we went down to the Boardwalk before lunch to shop a bit. Then, we met up at Mamaw's with Uncle Larry, Tracy, Stephen (with girlfriend, Melissa) and Larry Jr. Uncle Larry had made a big pot of jambalaya that was INCREDIBLE! After that, we all sat around and visited a while (and ate some of Tracy's 7-layer delight--YUM!). It was good to see all of them. I can't remember the last time I'd seen my cousins. :)

Sugar Plum Ball

Thursday, December 2nd was the Sugar Plum Ball here in Little Rock (a Daddy-Daugher ball to benefit CARTI). Brian took Olivia to it when she was in PreK, so it was now Bella's turn to go. Since Thursday is Bella's dance night, she took her dress and got ready at the studio. I came up and did her hair while Brian got dressed there as well. They looked so adorable! Bella thought she looked like a princess, and LOVED the gushy comments she got from the other dancers and teachers at the studio!

Ice Skating at the Rivermarket

We took the girls to iceskate at the Rivermarket the Monday after Thanksgiving. We wanted to go before it got crowded, so we planned to go right after school. It was fun for the girls (and a neat experience for all).

Bella had never been to an ice rink before, so she had to get used to the skates and keeping her balance. Olivia took to it quickly and was OFF!

I always wanted to skate outdoors like this in the winter and so it was pretty much the experience I was looking for...ha! (although, Rockefeller Center in NYC would pretty much top the cake!)