New Steps

Stand straight like a popsickle! Wonderful, wonderful....everyone, unzip your feet from the toes to your heels, leaving your heels together, and that is...

First Position.

now...reach your foot to the left aaaannnndd...Point...

D-D is learning some new steps thanks to some Christmas presenting! She has had her first ballet lessons (along with some tap!) and is loving every minute of it. I took a photo of her before we left for her first night (first photo on left)...and then set the camera down and forgot to bring it with us. But never fear... I remembered at another lesson. :o)

Her lessons are so much fun to be a part of and even more fun to watch! She makes me giggle everytime I see her try to keep up with the teachers in the warm up exercises and in her efforts at doing a plié. Her classes are all fun and they focus so much on the girls being little and dreaming of being ballerinas...right now, these teachers are not too technical and I LOVE that. I am also very thrilled she is learning a bit of tap as my childhood ballet teacher seemed to disdain that form of dancing. D-D is worn out by the time her lessons are over, but her smile is huge!

"Little" Accolades

E:: receiving the Gem Award at school for good behavior and perseverance in school work. This is a fun award to receive all because it is such a surprise for the children. The award is given to two students (from each grade/class)for each semester . Since we have not gotten through the last two 9-weeks, these awards were just for the first two quarters. One of the neat things for us this time was that so many children from our neighborhood received these awards...and we had a fun celebration with many of our neighbor-friends.

E with one of his pals

MG:: had some of her artwork chosen (by her art teacher at school) to be on display in a little gallery. This time, it was displayed on the University campus. I love how the picture chosen is along the same lines as the one chosen when MG was in 1st grade.

Dressing Up

The kids enjoy dressing up...for MG that looks a bit different than for her younger siblings. She is past the masks and Cinderella dress, but D-D and Z are loving to still wear all the froo-froo and silly:

(above) Z wearing
an Alabama hat (so silly!) and playing with
"Buzz-Buzz"

<--Quack, quack!!! Wearing -->
momma's boots: Yee-haw

Snow!!??

On the first day the children were scheduled to return to school, school was canceled. Due to the PREDICTION of snow.

!!!

I couldn't get my camera turned on fast enough to capture the wit of our 7 year old, E, but it was turned on in time to catch the other children enjoying E's wit of "playing outside in the snow":

Snow angels are fun to make, huh?

UN-decorating

While taking off the ornaments to the tree, I noticed Dana's earlier effort at putting ornaments on the tree (as well as, I am thinking, his attempt to get me not to ask him to assist in putting up the Christmas decor). This cracked me up and I had to take a photo of his wonderful endeavors.

I love how the star just shoots out from the side of the tree...and how the angel got wrapped up in an ornament! Too funny!

Happy 2010!!!!

We celebrated with a large group of people and welcomed the New Year's with fireworks and sparklers...at 8 p.m. It was, if I remember correctly, Ice Land's New Year at that time. A great way to celebrate without keeping the kids up way too late while mom and dad keep a bit of their own sanity.