Winter show 2017

The girls are fortunate to be a part of a dance studio that has some pretty great values of fun over fame and inclusion of all kids. (Granted there are a few things that Ryan would like to change about the studio, but I'll leave his rant out of this post).

This past weekend they took part in the annual winter show. I'm so grateful that this (Christmas themed show) is held after the holidays or we may not get a chance to be a part. With all of the busy-ness of the holidays, adding extra weekend practices and a crazy show week to the mix would likely put me over the edge.

So after much anticipation and a lot of practice, we headed to a new local theater for dress rehearsal in a packed house! There were nearly 400 people at dress rehearsal alone; I'd say that was pretty good practice.

Each of the girls take part in 3 separate classes.

Regan does ballet, lyrical and danceline.

Sidney does acro (more on that in a bit), jazz and tap.

Regan got some compliments on her high kicks after her number at each show. She bashfully blushes and gets high on cloud 9 to know she is doing well on stage. Those legs of hers are l-o-n-g!

And this little one knows how to shake it up there. I chuckled that 2 of her teachers must have choreographed the dances with Sidney in mind. She sure can shake her hips!! I have a video of her at age 3 up on stage shaking away....she's a natural :)

This is her first year in acro (and only the 2nd for the studio). It's a class that combines gymnastics and dance. And she LOVES it! Might have something to do with the fact that during the winter show the younger class was combined with the older kids, or the fact that she aspires to be an Olympic gymnast one day.

Check out that tuck jump!

For weeks upon weeks, all that we heard was "I get to climb under Sarah!". We didn't exactly know what that meant but it meant the world to her to dance with an older girl.

This was show #2, just look at how cute and happy she was!

I love it :)

These girls put in countless hours of practice leading up to the show. There was some blood, sweat and tears and yet they adored every second of being on stage.

In the end, they were in 3 shows, dancing a total of 9 dances each spanning across 12 hours! Talk about a long day. We were all exhausted!

Ice show debut

Regan and Sidney have been taking ice skating lessons for a few sessions now. Last year they came in on the tail end and when the ice show time came, we opted out because of over-scheduling. Fast forward to this year, when both girls got wind of the show again and just had to give it a try. And so, we obliged, paid the outrageous fee for 3 extra classes (only THREE to learn an entire song) and a couple of adorable costumes. 

Sidney was in the "Frozen" number and Regan in "Aladdin". They were most adorable and skated their best. Unfortunately, Sidney and her class couldn't get Olaf to stay built and spent the bulk of the song arguing over what to do with him. Watch it, and I'm sure you'll get a sweet chuckle. Sid on the other hand did NOT think it was funny and insisted I talk with her coach afterwards or she wasn't going to finish out the rest of the shows. 

Click HERE to watch Sidney.
Click HERE to watch Regan.

Softball season wrap up

Regan's softball skills have grown exponentially this summer. We started this season with a hope that she would get her hands out of the dirt in the field and make some sort of contact with the bat. She squashed those ideas from our minds with her first game (no practices in this league, just games). At her first game, she got a hit and I squealed with delight as the tears flowed. Each game after that was just more and more exciting.

 

She got into a rut for a few weeks and was late on every pitch. Loads of strike outs.

We knew her potential was bigger so we worked hard. And got her (mostly) out of that rut.

She fielded balls, she threw hard (most of the time) and had her head in the game.

Leading up to the city-wide tournament which was held this past week/weekend.

At her first game (Thursday), we cheered as loud as we could watching each girl on the team hit ball after ball. My mom was here (helping paint but that's another post for later), and I think it brought back flashbacks watching me play ball.

And in the end, they lost 14-15.

One run.

Her second game was even more intense. They were up 7-3 heading into the last inning. The other team scored 4 runs to tie it up. Good grief! And so we went into international rule.....

 

And then Sidney decided she needed to use the bathroom. And it was urgent...#2.

REALLY!? Talk about timing.

Have I mentioned she takes forever in the bathroom? She does. So we went and I hung out just outside the door so I could still watch the game. But they lost. By one run. Shucks! Boy did they play their hearts out. And I couldn't be more proud of this team!

 

 

The coaches gave each girl a signed softball, an individual award and a medal to round out their season. Regan's award was "most line drives"....not a bad award.

They lost a lot of games, and won only 1 game this season. But they were just gaining momentum and then the season ended. It was a season of learning and a growing.

 

We are sure glad she gave this game another try. Despite the losing season, and an occassional bad call by an ump, she kept her head up and gave it her all. She never shed a tear over losing, or a strike out or missed ball. One might say she just doesn't care enough, but I'm going to let it ride. Afterall, she's only 8.  She has her whole life to get discouraged. This summer, she had life long lessons of team spirit, good sportsmanship and having a good time.

Way to go Regan!

 

 

As for Sidney, she lost interest this weekend in cheering on the team for over an hour. So she made a new friend and had this caterpillar stuck to her dress, check him out, he's huge!....

Overbooked

Today was one of those days that we as parents wonder, "why did we do this to ourselves?!". 

The morning started out with Regan's participation in her very first parade. She's been working hard with her dance studio on a few numbers and today was the big day. The rest of us staked out our spots, shockingly found a decent parking spot, and managed to get Regan to the start.

And yes, you are seeing double below....

 She marched/danced for the mile long parade and was pretty exhausted afterwards. Too bad she had all of 4 minutes to scarf down lunch in the truck and head off to a cheerleading clinic. And for the record, these are all activities that SHE wants to do! You see, once she learned how to read, the things that we used to filter could be filtered no more. She sees the signs, she reads the flyers and then (the biggest influence), she hears her friends. And so, we sign up and she doesn't complain, she's just slightly tired for the rest of the day. 

 Sidney left the parade and went directly to a birthday party, for the famous BOYFRIEND that she's been talking all about the past several months. Oh she just thinks he's great. So missing his party was not an option for her. And so, we went. 

On the way there, I had mentioned his full name (first and last strung together) and Sidney says...."I think it sounds like Sidney ____" adding his last name to her first name. 

Seriously girl!? 

She's already married the sweet fella. 

They share a birthday and have been friends for 4 years. I think they make a pretty cute couple. 

And just when we thought everyone was too tired to move, we went for a swim. Because, well, it was 80 something and it's September. In Minnesota. 

We're likely to see one last day of swimming before we close it up for the year.