GRAMMA TIME, MAY 2016

We were so glad that Jean could come out this month and help us celebrate at all the kids' end of year events (SouthPark Awards Day, Kindergarten Graduation, Girl Scouts End of Year Party, Dance Recital) to make them feel extra special. In between all the events though, she also watched the kids a lot so that we could work as close to 8-hour days as we could fit in among all the activities, which made the kids' last week of school feel that much more special to them. As always, there was lots of crafting and flower (and blackberry) picking and coloring and game playing. Thank you Jean for helping us out and making these kiddos smile!

 (With Cora at a haircut and dress rehearsal most of Friday, James got a bit more Gramma time - and he certainly enjoyed the one-on-one attention!)

GROWING GUINEAS

HIDDEN PRESIDENT

Mack took the (small) group on a Memorial Day History Lesson run this morning and among the lessons about rarely visited monuments and the difference between a Redan, Redoubt, and Lunette, I learned the somewhat hidden location of President Lincoln (in the center of the south loop, at the end of a little trail).

LET THERE BE LIGHT

RiverPointe's Spring Recital this year covered the story of creation, going through each day and ending on the day of rest, which was the studio-wide production number. It was a wonderful show and we were all very impressed with the dancers and the music and the choreography. We feel very lucky to be a part of RiverPointe, where the teachers treat our girl as their own and make us feel like family. They are encouraging, while also stressing descipline. They promote mentoring and ask that the girls build each other up. The older dancers are hard-working and Christian-minded.  Honestly, we couldn't ask for better role models for Cora and she adores them all. We've been with this dance studio long enough now to have seen some of these girls grow into very talented dancers, and to watch the little ones get bigger and stronger and more focused and graceful, and I'll admit to watching them all perform tonight with tears in my eyes. I am extremely proud of the effort Cora has put into dance this year - it was so evident up on stage tonight. And the smile that remained plastered to her face throughout her performances showed me that all the extra time spent on production number rehearsal this year was well worth it, and there is no telling what next year will bring...

Wearing his fish shirt to support his Fishy Sissy

Settled in and ready for the show to begin!

 Ballet: Aquarium

 Tap: Sea Cruise

 Production Number: Glory

 Receiving her chocolate rose from Gramma:

Receiving her ballerina trophy from daddy:

Giving Ms. Bridgett the pink roses she picked out and thanking her for a wonderful year:

 Celebrating the finale of the 2015-2016 dance year with dinner at 10 South:

 Congratulations Baby Doll, our little dancing queen!

DRESS REHEARSAL 2016

Pre-rehearsal hair trim and hairdresser-done bun (while mama covered her grays...)

The girls all attempted these for forever it seemed. An hour, at least (while the pre-show rehearsed). Cora did about 25-30 reps and just hung up there while the rest of them jumped and jumped. I kept worrying she'd exhaust herself before her turn up on stage, but apparently I didn't need to worry about that...

Those muscles of hers... seriously amazing. I want them.

Eventually I convinced them to sit down and color...

The group grew and we broke out the pretzels supplied by daddy

Every now and then they'd get up to watch the other girls rehearse (the 5-year-olds don't dance until the second half of the show, on "Day 5").

Our friends Hazel, Haley, Abbi, and Angel are in the 6-year-old class

Ainsley, Maddie, Cora, and Julia ready to head out for production number

Cute group photo that Julia's mama took of the tap number end pose

Studio-wide production number final pose (Cora is on the far right)

 And now for the videos, since I won't be recording anything during the actual show tomorrow. Be forewarned that the music is poor quality (as are my video taking skills...) because the sound guys couldn't get there until after 5pm (at which point the 2:00 show was finished rehearsing), so Ms. Bridgett was stuck using her iPhone to cue things up and rely on mediocre speakers. All videos are too long to post here on Blogger, so follow the links to see Cora dance her ballet (Aquarium), tap (Sea Cruise), and studio-wide production number (Glory).

DANCE PORTRAITS 2016

WHEN SCORING A 10 IS BAD...

Boo on cavities... 4 for James and 6 for Cora, all flossing casualties

 Cora still has 2 appointments to go, but James is done. Waving happily from the other room.

LAST PRODUCTION NUMBER REHEARSAL

Trying out a "braid bun"

 Modeling her new sparkly skirt and "big girl dance bag"