August stuff

Some of our events during August.

We went to the Sandy amphitheater and saw "The Little Mermaid." They always put on a great show and the sky always puts on a beautiful sunset. I love amphitheater shows, being outside, singing, theater, children, blankets and jackets. Bring it on.

Parker often rides his unicycle to church. I love seeing him pedal away, with his tie loosened up. Such a handsome man.

Its not every day you see a helicopter being hauled down the freeway. And it was from Sterling's home state - AZ!

Bryce is starting to lose his teeth. See that gap tooth grin? Its exciting for him but it makes me a little sad. Once those permanent teeth come in, it changes a child's whole look. And all of a sudden they move from a child to a kid. Which are totally different things. 

I'm losing my baby. I tell him all the time, "Please stop growing up!" and he looks at me with those sparkly eyes and gap tooth grin and says, "I'm trying, Mom."

Camille's ballet class was in the local newspaper. Unfortunately, she wasn't in the picture but we were pretty proud that her class was recognized for all their hard work in the Royal Academy of Ballet course.

For Stake Conference, he were lucky to have Elder Lawrence and his wife join us. They were fun to get to know and this may have been their first selfie-stick selfie at a stake conference. :)

Summer Outings

When I was a teenager, my family went to see Big River at the Capitol Theater in SLC. It was the early '80s and the musical was a new hit. We bought the soundtrack on cassette and listened to it as a family all the time, memorizing all the words. I LOVED it!

For a long time, I've been wanting to watch it live again and when I saw that Hale Center Theater had it in their line-up, I did not hesitate. I bought tickets right away. 

It was amazing to see the theater full of water and to watch Huck and Jim on their raft, literally floating on the water. The river in the rain. Amazing!!!

Parker got to come with us, for his birthday. I'm so glad. Its a show every boy should see, in my opinion. 

We went to Chick-Fil-A on customer appreciation day and got free meals for dressing up as cows. Not everyone was excited about that. And boy was it hot!!! We learned to not use garbage bags as costumes. They are sw.eat.y!

We saw "Zootopia" at Neptune Park. It was a lot of fun that began with a beautiful sunset. 

Only two of us stayed awake for the whole movie. Parker and Camille. Bryce and Rachel were on either side of me and when they fell asleep, I joined them. So now we need to see the whole movie again!

My best friend, Sara, came to visit again this year. We spent the afternoon together at the Bountiful Rec Center and then finished it off with rainbows at Pace's. Perfection. I love this girl so much, I can hardly stand it. Best Friends Don't End.

Took the kids to the Draper Temple with friends. Always Awesome!

Camille had a party at her ballet teacher's house, Carrie Wright. She was awarded her silver medal from the examination earlier this year.

We've been swimming a lot this summer. Good Times!

Cinderella ballet

This is going backwards in time a little, but on the day of Jeremiah Johnson camp, the girls had a big ballet dress rehearsal for their performance of Cinderella for ballet. Because of Jeremiah Johnson we couldn't go to Camille's rehearsal, but Rachel's rehearsal was in the morning. So we were able to get her there. She was a clock. 

I was able to video Rachel's dance during the rehearsal. I wish I could have recorded Camille's too, but we had to skip rehearsal. Bummer.

Here's Rachel's dance though.

Here are the girls before the performance. Camille and cousin Emily were Spanish dancers. (The prince went to Spain looking for the beautiful lady he danced with at the ball.) And Rachel, the clock.

Grandma and Grandpa joined us.

Camille is loving ballet. That has to do a lot with her teacher, Miss Carrie, and the Royal Academy of Ballet method. This may be the last year for Rachel though. 

We were also treated to a beautiful sunset!

RAD Exam

Oh Camille, my little ballerina! At the beginning of the ballet year, she wanted to quit. She was tired of ballet, didn't like it. And just last night, she came into my room and told me, "I'm glad I'm doing ballet. I really like it." 

She's been taking the Royal Academy of Ballet class with Miss Carrie, grade 4. The Academy sends an examiner, from London to the U.S., to hold exams for all the students of their course of study. This was Camille's first experience with the whole process.

It was held in the morning, during school, so she had to miss, which was super fun for her. And she worked so hard to prepare. Many an afternoon we moved the chairs and tables to make room for practicing at home. 

They were very strict about having a proper bun, hair net required, no stray hairs, no earrings, no fingernail polish. Miss Shauna was there to help make sure everything was made up just right.

This is the group Camille tested with. They did their bar exercises together. They split into groups of two for the center exercises and then tested on two dances individually. A lot of work, a lot of expectation but she handled it like a pro. I think I was more nervous than she was!

And here is Miss Carrie. She is wonderful! She has an English accent and is so kind and patient and accomplished. Camille is lucky to have such a dedicated, skilled teacher. Last year, Camille was in the grade 3 class, learned all the exercises and dances but decided not to do the testing. She was too nervous. This year, Carrie and I convinced her she could do it. And she did it and did it well!

Now, in 6-8 weeks, we will have the results. It was a great experience!

Ballet Recital

All I can say about the girls' ballet recital is that I wish I had taken video. They both did such a good job and smiled so big. Camille was just beaming and Rachel's costume sparkled on stage to match her sparkly eyes.

Certainly a perk was being able to dance with cousin Emily.

And even though Grandma was out of town, she still arranged for the girls to receive flowers after their stellar performance. Thank you Grandma for being so thoughtful!

Look at that arabesque. Camille loves to dance. Even as a young child, she enjoyed watching ballet. She was just as happy to watch my DVD of Baryshnikov dance the Nutcracker as watching Sesame Street. She tells me she wants to keep dancing until she gets toe shoes and then for a few more years after that. She is a beautiful little dancer. 

Look at that face. So much personality. She says she's not dancing next year, but she is. Just ask mom. She is.

These two sisters are lucky to be able to have each other to play with, fight with and dance with. Bestest Frenemies! Ultimately they love each other, support each other and have fun together.

Camille's ballet review

This is Camille's 3rd year in ballet. She takes a one hour class twice a week and is really progressing nicely. This year her teacher, Miss Carrie, is teaching the Royal Academy of Dance method from England. Every exercise is choreographed and must be done from memory. I love watching her classes. Camille will take a test in May to pass off her level and get a nationally recognized certificate from the Royal Academy of Dance. Yay.

 

Rachel's ballet review 2014

In December, Academy of Ballet invites parents to come watch the students dance. They start with an abbreviated class and then perform a dance. This was Rachel's first time and she did a great job.

 

 She was very excited to have her good friend, Lydia, in her class.

Camille the ballerina

The morning of Camille's birthday, we had some special visitors who joined us for Camille's ballet recital. Elder and Sister Dewey, most commonly known as Grandma and Grandpa.

 

 

Camille's ballet studio, Academy of Ballet, produced "Cinderella." Camille was a little mouse. 

I know this picture is fuzzy but just look at that arabesque. Beautiful form.

 

I recorded this during the dress rehearsal and I think it was the first run through. Camille is a beautiful little dancer and her confidence in it is growing every class. I can't wait for her to start again in the fall.

 

There was no time to stand around waiting after the performance though. We had to rush home for Camille's birthday party. What a busy birthday!