Dancing Girls

last dance post of the season, i promise.

 

the recital went off without a hitch! it was fabulous. i was worried about rachel, it was a long time to be back stage & not have her mama with her, but she did great. we got to the civic center at 1:00, i dropped the girls off back-stage then. the recital started at 2:00.

 

both of olivia's dances were before intermission. rachel's was after, so rachel had to sit and wait over an hour after the recital started. so she was back there just hanging out from 1 - 3:15.

 

olivia did AH-MAZING! i'm continuously impressed with olivia. she did well during the dress rehearsal - these pics are from the rehearsal.but she did even better during the recital.

 

maybe my new favorite picture of her ever

 

rachel did soooo good! out of the 5 girls, i can safely say she did the best. she was the only one truly doing the routine. her favorite part was the end when they got to blow kisses to the crowd.

 

my sweet dancing girls, i am so proud of you both! congratulations!

 

Just Dance

this year's dance season is almost over. the girls' recital will be Sunday afternoon. i'm not gonna lie, i'm so excited. like more excited than i have been in a long time.

 

the costumes finally came in last week, and boy are they pink.

 

Olivia will be performing 2 dances. There is just one other girl in her class, so they will both be duets. In each song, the girls both have a "feature" part. So I'm excited to see it put altogether.

 

Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now - from the movie/musical Hairspray. It's a jazz routine.

 

The Second Star to the Right - from Peter Pan. It's a ballet number.

 Rachel will be performing 1 dance. Up until December, there was only 1 other girl in her class. But then there was an enrollment boom & now there are 6 total, I think. 6 four to five year olds, it should be interesting.

 

The Little Old Lady from Pasadena - which I always thought was the Beach Boys, but iTunes didn't find that, so it's Jan & Dean. But it seriously sounds just like The Beach Boys.

 

It's a tap number.

Liv & Rache,

I am so proud of you. I cannot wait to see you dance your little booties off Sunday!

 



December is Busy

what's happening with us in the busy month of december???

we made a gingerbread village.

they may have ate the icing & candies.

the houses may look a little messy.

but the important thing is, the girls had fun.

*******************

dance class is going great for both girls. their classes are back to back. rachel is often the only kid in attendance in her class. so sometimes olivia gets to join in on the fun.

the girls love it. they truly do. it's so fun to watch them in class - watch week is once a month. but it is even more fun to watch their recitals in our living room almost daily.

olivia loves being able to boss rachel around choreograph routines for the 2 of them. it's really very sweet.

speaking of dance recitals. it will be in june again. so they have to practice practice practice. in olivia's class it is just her & one other girl. so they will be doing duets in the recital - a jazz number & a ballet number. i can hardly wait to find out what music it will be to. it will, without a doubt, be totally awesome. i love that olivia is such a littler performer.

like i said before, rachel is often the only little girl in her class. so she may end up with a solo at the recital. since they are wee little ones, it will be one number in the recital. a tap dance to, wait for it, wait for it, the little old lady from pasadena. i may have squealed when i told jar. i cannot wait. thus begins the months of preparation so she doesn't experience any stage fright for the recital if she is doing a solo.

these girls are just awesome. totally awesome.

*******************

we had the first of our Christmas celebrations a couple weeks ago. ugly sweater party with my mom's side.

shout out to my bestie laura, well actually her grandma-in-law for providing us with the sweaters. it was a lot of fun. i didn't get any group pictures - only iPhone pics. my camera died shortly after the Christmas parade & I just got around to buying a new battery this week.



merry christmas!

 

me & hils. making season's bright

 

i don't know why my mouth is wide open. i was probably being loud. this is my brother's sweater

 

my best gal - oh my word, i love her



cousins - best friends



*******************

let's see...a lot more on tap for us. today is olivia's school gingerbread open house. i will miss it ::sad face:: but jar is going. and i sent him with my camera to take pics, we will see what i get.

rachel's pre-school Christmas program is tomorrow night. i'm super excited! they are all wearing costumes & she gets to be an angel. i might pass out from the cuteness.

then we are off for the holiday. liv is pumped about the time off school. rachel is just pumped in general.

i'm ready to spend the long weekend with my family. Christmas with my parents on Sunday. Christmas Eve with my dad's side. Christmas day morning at home. and Christmas day brunch with jar's parents.

Christmas Parade 2012

both of my beautiful girls were in the Chrismtas parade this year with Dance Xtreme. funny, it didn't really feel like Christmas parade weather - it was 65 degrees. here are my smiling girls prior to the parade.

our little town's Christmas parade was extra special this year. no, no, not because both of my girls were in the parade. it was extra special because one of my dear friends Ramee and her beautiful family were the Grand Marshall this year. if you don't know Ramee's story, you should. Ramee is mother to 3 gorgeous little redheads. the youngest of which, Mabel, is extra special. please, go read the story of Mabel & Ramee's incredible strength & faith.

Nora, Ramee, Mabel, Daniel, & Braden



there were some other cute little girls in attendance. 

and here is my smiling Rachey girl.

to be perfectly honest, i was a little worried about how Rachel would do. but she was a rockstar.

Olivia was an old pro, waving & smiling.



Olivia yelling something, no doubt "Nathan!!!"



Cassidy was in the parade again this year with Girl Scouts. She was a magician.

wordless wednesday

3rd position

all she wants to do is dance

Olivia's very first season of dance has come to an end. They had their big recital on Saturday night & performed for a sold-out crowd. We weren't allowed to take any picture or video during the recital. I snapped a couple of pictures during the dress rehearsal, but flash was not encouraged there either, so they didn't turn out very well.

Walking into the high school for the dress rehearsal. She's a pretty big deal.

Start of the jazz number they did.

In the dressing room (aka - my old home ec room in the high school). She was so pumped. And she got to wear some make-up.

Olivia, words cannot describe how proud we are of you! You accomplished so much during this 1st year of dance. You were an excellent student & a leader to your friends in your dance routines. I truly hope with all of my heart that you stick with dance. You are so happy when you are dancing, & I love to see you smile. It was so wonderful to see you realize your dreams & perform on the big stage. We are just so very proud of you, & we love you more than you will ever know!