Out My Back Window

giving basketball a shot (get it, ha ha)

Basketball season is upon us, and all three of my ladies are playing this year.  Ryan is also coaching Ava's team.  First games were last weekend, and everybody had lots of fun. 

Here we have Sadie scarfing some cold pizza for lunch after her game was over.

I tried to get a good picture in the gym, but this was the best I could do -- Delaney taking a warm-up shot.

The kids have great coaches again and we've been very happy with their experiences at the Y.  Apparently spring soccer sign-ups are just around the corner, Josh can't wait for that!

that special day

If this doesn't say, "Woooohooo, it's FRIDAY!" then I don't know what does!

In case you need a better look:

I think that kid might be crazy.

back to dance

This little muffin has been missing going to dance class all summer!  She was counting down to the first day of her new class for a long time now.  She has a "mother's day out" type class once a week that has the regular dance time, plus craft/snack/play time as well.  We have to rush out of the YMCA PE class on Wed mornings to get her over to this class.  Well, of course the night before she was up all night with a cold, so I wasn't sure that she was gonna make it after all.  She skipped the PE class but insisted she had to get to dance, so I took her and she did fine.  She had a really good time!

 

Delaney and Sadie are both back in dance as well, but we are taking a break from competitive dance this year  (their classes are recital-only).  Delaney is taking an acrobatics class as well as a technique/turns & leaps class, and Sadie is taking a tap/ballet/jazz class.

training

Just in case I ever have to make good on "one day I'm gonna sell you to the circus!!"

 

 

 

 

he survived!

This last weekend, Josh had his first campout with our church youth group (since he just turned 12).  The weather may not have been so fabulous for camping -- high of 103F (heat index about 110F).  I just had to get a picture of our two manly men as they came in the door from the inferno.  Do you think Josh might need a shower and some rest??   :-D

 

He did get some progress done on his Scout rank.  The girls and I had a very lazy "NO BOYS ALLOWED" Friday night of Powerpuff Girls and ice cream, it was glorious.

dancin for the library

The girls danced at the local library's summer reading program kickoff.  We even ran into Aunt Nan & the kids while we were there.  (Josh opted to stay home and watch "Worst Case Scenario" episodes; he's a bit of a Bear Grylls junkie.)

 

This is Delaney with her bestest friend on the dance team, Gabby.

Sadie's preteam normally has 10 girls, so it was impressive that they did so well that day with only 4 of the girls!  (It was the same night as high school graduation around here, so lots of people couldn't make it.)

I really wish I had video of this rather than a picture.  Ava's age group was doin a little dance move where they are supposed to wiggle their knees.  She was perfectly smooth runnin those knees back and forth, I was dying laughing.  You can see that her friend to the side was an admirer as well.  ;-)

I like this shot because you can see the studio owner, Miss Dianne, with my other two girls in the background.  She is such a great teacher, my kids really love her.

Of course, no outing would be complete unless someone caught a creature.  Really.

Here is Sadie with Mr. Baby Toad.

recital 2010

This weekend was the annual recital for the girls' dance studio.  It is also the major fundraiser for the dance team, selling programs, flowers, snacks, etc.  It was a CRAZY busy day, especially since the power went out for an hour or so in the morning and threw off the schedule, though I think they recovered pretty well.  I'm happy for my girls, but glad it is over!!

Here are a couple of snaps of Ava and Sadie ready to head out for their dress rehearsals last Thursday and Friday.  Recital day is too crazy for me to stop to take pics, but I think Don managed to do that pretty well.  Since I didn't get any of Delaney at the recital, here are a couple of grainy backstage pics from one of her competitions that I don't think I ever posted.

 

 

See the tiny sparkles on the blue/black costume?  Rhinestones, individually glued on by the mommas.  They wrap around the back, too. (!)

I bet my neighbors think we're weird

What do ya bet?

 

{the pregnant kitties and their brother were chasing a lizard to catch it}

dance competitions

One of the things keeping us busy lately is DANCE.  These two had dance competitions the last two weekends, though we were so lucky that they were nearby so we at least didn't have to travel to attend.  However, it is very busy between keeping up with which performance is next, running backstage to change costumes/hair/makeup/shoes/etc, waiting for awards, and fitting in all of the other stuff you normally do on the weekend and the other kids' activities.  Both girls did very well.  They have worked hard this year and it has paid off!

Delaney's team will attend a national competition in Galveston this summer and they are very excited about it, so the work is not done yet!

one of these things is not like the other

As most of you are aware, much of our life right now revolves around dance, with three girls in dance class or on a dance team.  This is from a community performance that Sadie did a couple of weeks ago.  You can see that she wasn't wearing her tap shoes -- it was just a few days after she got her cast off her broken heel.  Her foot is still pretty stiff and it is not totally back to normal yet, but it is steadily improving.  She is still as accident prone as ever, though, so it feels like that kid is always recovering from some sort of ailment!