Ballet Recital 2012

Well, my girls are done with ballet for the season.  :D  They did well!  I was a little worried they would be nervous in a big theater with lots of people but they just smiled really big and did great!  They did more tap than ballet so I decided that they are done for now until we can find a place that is strictly ballet.

 

We had to drop the girls off backstage and then wait an hour before it even started. Since it was just Charles and I, we considered it to be a little date!  We checked out the lake....

 

 

The art museum...

 

 

Saw some interesting art...

 

 

One of my favorites below.  Death of a Popsicle.

 

 

After a bit we headed back into the theater to watch the girls...

 

 

(Below) Looking up at the balconies from my seat....

 

 

Ashley came out first and she was so brave!  A lot of the girls were following her because she remembered her moves well.  :)

 

Ashley far left

Then Ivy went next.  She was more nervous and a bit embarrassed but she was super proud of herself when it was all finished....

 

Ivy far right

After they finished they walked hand in hand....

 

We checked out the new beautiful bridge nearby...

 

 

Got a picture with daddy....

 

 

Then mommy.....

 

 

Then with brothers....

 

 

It was a good night!

 

 

 

 

Little Ballerina Girls and Chicken Soup for the Soul

Ivy and Ashley had pictures today for their upcoming recital.  So cute.  I had to wait in the mommy waiting area but I could hear Ashley shouting out "That's how you know!  That's how you know, he's in love!" from the movie Enchanted.  The ladies told me she was dancing and singing around the studio.  I guess she doesn't have stage fright.  Tee hee...

It can be fun sitting in the waiting area for two (Agggh!) long hours listening to the other moms.  I heard one mom say she goes to Starbucks every single morning for her drink.  I started adding it up in my head and it comes out to $210 a month!  Whoa!  Hey, if you got the bucks, you got the bucks.  LOL.  I think sometimes it's more than just the coffee because I love my Keurig at home.  Maybe it's the atmosphere that people would actually drive there every day just for a cup of joe.  Hmmm.... I don't know.  Haven't figured it out because it just tastes like burnt beans to me.

While I waited I also mentioned the frustration of my dieting.  I told them I lost 10lbs like nothing when I started but then it just stopped.  I guess I'm gonna have to hit the gym again and I seriously don't have the time.  I will have to MAKE the time.  Argh...  A lady mentioned that she does the Insanity workout and she lost 20lbs really fast.  It's a video she buys to do in her home.  I asked her if she ever tried to do aerobics in her house with kids everywhere trying to do it with you.  It's cute till you fling your hand and knock another kid across the room.  I always had to wait till they were sleeping.  She mentioned that on her diet you can eat whatever you want and just not go over 1,500 calories.  I told her I can't eat the carbs because it just makes me hungry again real fast.  I basically eat only meat and vegetables.  Here is one of my favorite meals.  Just chicken soup without the noodles.  So it's just chicken, keep the broth and add NO extra fake chicken flavoring.  That's basically just the broth from the chicken there.  I also added the celery and spinach leaves.  Sooooooo good and the bone broth is so good for you.

Large Families Need a Party Bus

We must really love our big van because every time we turn around there is something else we have to do for it.  Yesterday we spent most of the day just trying to get new tires on it.  Turns out, the ones we had on it weren't even designed for the weight of our van and so it explains why we constantly had to replace them.  This time we paid a lot more money to get really good tires.  While Charles was looking at the van my parents came over and visited for a bit.  My kids love their Nana and Papa.  Do I wish we had a bigger van? Yes, we desperately need one.  However, we are learning that in life you sometimes have to wait rather than rush into debt to get what you want.  We did that in the past and paid dearly for it.  Now, we are trying to do things the right way because we learned the hard way.  

Well, the girls' costumes were ordered for their dance recital coming up in November.  I'm super excited but nervous at the same time.  Before signing the girls up I asked the teacher if there would be any modern dancing in it.  I am only doing this for tap and ballet but I only wanted classical ballet.  We shall see.  The parents can't see what their kids are doing in class.  They are still learning the basics and how to be flexible.  Ivy has been working really hard and can do the splits in the air now. They are so cute.  My living room has turned into a gym room as they are always practicing.  Ivy asked me for about 3 years now if she could do ballet.  I wondered if she would actually like it once she started but so far she absolutely loves it and counts down the days to the next practice.  Ashley was easy to figure out because she was always fluttering around the house.

So much happened in the month of August!  It is a very, very busy month for us!  Cars breaking down, I become a mom to a preteen (Chaz), My kids are asked to be featured in photos for the science center, kids start school,  Ivy gets taken by ambulance to the burn ward, girls start ballet lessons, the kids learn how to make their own rockets, Ryan has a birthday at a fun trampoline place, I make a major change to switch the babies to cloth diapers. While boys are away camping the girls went bowling, the boys join band in school, and Kyle turns 9.  Wow!  That's a lot to happen in just one month but we that's why I love our family!  We have so many adventures together and don't like to be apart for very long.  I feel like we need our own party bus.  Ha ha.  I'm thinking about getting a bumper sticker that says something like "This is our party bus."