Hall of Fame

Olivia and Kenny took their duet to Hall of Fame on Feb. 21. It is not a competition that our whole studio went to, but we did take our solos, duets and trios for more practice. Love Shack came in 3rd over all. They received a tap technique award (which was a big deal). We bought a CD of pictures that were taken during the dance (with the copyright, these are legal, LOL). They are great!

KAR

Our first 'big' dance competition was March 8, Kids Aristic Revue (KAR). I say big because it was when all the dances were supposed to go. Hip hop didn't but at this point, we aren't sure if hip hop will materialize into a competing dance or not. These kids have worked SO hard (and literally every day for 2 weeks) to learn a small group tap dance, Funk. It is a very difficult dance and has the potential to win it all! Well, first was the duet and it came in 2nd over all. Then, Funk received a special judges award of Bringing Down the House and came in 2nd over all. The large group dances all received a top first (just as the duet and Funk), and 5678 received best costume, terrific tap award and 5th over all. Angels won 3rd over all, and Wild Babies came in 4th over all. It was a LOOOOONNNNNG day, but as always, we had a blast!

Honor Roll Ceremony

Olivia had her honor roll ceremony at school on February 17th. My principal let me come in late to school so I could attend. She received a good character award and the distinguished honor roll (all A's). We are so proud!

Birthday pictures of the girls

I took the girls to the alley behind my studio to take their pictures...Belle for her 3 year old pics, and Liv for her 7 (OH MY!). I wanted to put them on her birthday invitations for her Rock Band party. I think they turned out pretty good. I had them printed on metallic paper and they look great! Just had to share.

Nexstar

Olivia had her Nexstar competition Feb. 7. She got some great awards! For her duet, Love Shack, she and Kenny received a high gold, first place tropy and FIRST PLACE over all for duets/trios in their age group. YEA!!! Then, for the large group dances...Wild Babies received a platinum (one of only a handfull handed out), first place trophy and FIRST OVER ALL! Angels Among Us received a high gold, first place tropy and second over all. 5,6,7,8 received a high gold, first place trophy, and third over all. So much fun! This was the first time their jazz dance, Wild Babies, had performed and it was INCREDIBLE! Here is a picture sent to me from Julianne's mom. Aren't they adorable?

Valentine's gift

This Valentine's day, I painted some small mailboxes to put the girls' goodies in. I plan on using them each year and was pleased with how they turned out. Liv got an eye mask (for sleeping) and Belle got an apron for cooking with me. They got a few other things but one thing I will need to remember for next year...think SMALL. I had bought bigger things that didn't fit inside. :)

Our 'other' dancer...

Nothing like being a month late (still...), but here are pictures from Parent's Night at Bella's dance class. I think they are absolutely adorable! Not bad form for a 3 year old, huh? :)

What a blur! (January in review...)

Ok, so it is no surprise to you that things have been uber-crazy around here seeing as I haven't even checked in to BLOG in almost TWO WHOLE MONTHS! I hate that too, because I have SO much to blog about!

I guess I'll just start from the beginning and hope you all bear with me. :)

First of all, during Christmas break, we cat-sat for a friend of mine, Ashley. It was our first experience with a cat around full time--ever. Her name was Lucy and the girls LOVED her. She took up with Brian's new chair and wouldn't let him sit in it at night, but then she took up with the reading chair in Olivia's room. We got pretty attached to Lucy and the girls hated to see her go.







Then, we got our passports in the mail...WE ARE GOING, BABY! (on our cruise, that is!) It's official! WooHoo!!!



After that, Isabella's school made up their Christmas program that got canceled due to the ice we had in December. Super cute. And she did so well on stage--I was surprised she was so comfortable up there!





Since my dad was sick on Christmas, he and Yvonne were not able to come out between Christmas and New Year's as they had planned. So, they came out the weekend of Brian's birtday instead. We had our 'Christmas' with them on Friday night, and then on Saturday, they took the girls to Build A Bear and let them make bears. They had so much fun! Then on Sunday, we all went to Outback for Brian's birthday before they left to head back home. It was a fast trip, but we had a great time.







The weekend after that, Alan and his fiance' came to visit. It was a 'dance' weekend for us with the first competition being the next weekend, but we still had fun. Also that weekend, my studio 'officially' reopened for business... It was one of my busiest months with some record-breaking sales. I am so blessed!

The next weekend was Primetime, our first competition of the season. Only 3 of Olivia's dances went--her duet Love Shack and two of her large group dances: lyrical, Angels Among Us, and tap, 5,6,7,8. It was great! 5,6,7,8 won 1st place over all, Angels won 3rd and the duet came in 4th. But the best part...Olivia had several family and friends coming to support her this year! My mom, sister, Justin, and Cooper came for her duet. So did her teacher, Mrs. Meek with her husband and daughter. How awesome is that? They even brought her flowers and stayed through the awards...and CAME BACK that evening for the group dances! It meant so much to us that they made such an effort.



Mr. and Mrs. Meek, Annie, and Olivia...


Awards...




Her tap costume...


Her lyrical costume...


To end the month, we got Olivia's grades...STRAIGHT A's! We are so proud!

I have more pictures to add from the family visits, but they are having a problem downloading right now, so I'll add those later (and I'll blog about Feb too...)