5 Dollars

My life as an at-home momma of 3 amazing kids...it's kind of like shoveling snow in a blizzard.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

SYTYCD Results 6/28

I loved the opening number.

I was glad that they let us see Jessi & Pasha dance their routine. They did great together. Too bad Jessi wasn't there for the taping because they would have rocked the house and she would have been safe with that routine.

Dancing for their lives:
Neil & Lauren
Sara & Jesus (WOW?!)
Danny & Anya
Jessi

So.....Sara and Jesus instead of Cedric & Shauna. Odd.

The girls' solos were all very weak. None of them looked like they were truely dancing for their lives. I said that the judges would be fighting over who to cut since none of them were safe based on the solos. I think Jessi got cut because of her health issues.....they just didn't want to take the risk. (Vote was 2 to 1.....wonder who wanted to keep her?) I think Lauren's solo was the weakest. What was that? A bad strip tease?

The guys all did fabulous solos! Again, the judges had a hard decision in front of them. I think that cutting Jesus was the right choice *from those three guys* but I don't think Jesus belonged in the bottom 3 to start with. Neil's solo was wonderful.....he flew across the stage!

No show next week due to the holiday. SYTYCD should be back July 11th.

SYTYCD Weds 6/27

Sara and Jesus - Krumping
I thought they had great energy. It was fun to watch.

Shauna and Cedric - a Mia Michaels Contemporary piece
Shauna showed power, strength and form. I knew Mia would kick Cedric's behind.
Was having Cedric sit down through part of it clever choreography so he didn't have to do much.....or was it a cop out?
Mia called it a "celebration of goodbyes" and I think that it could very well be a goodbye for Cedric.....finally.
I will give him this.....he is a very well-spoken young man.
I think the offer of classes from Debbie Allen will finally allow the judges to let him go this week since his future is taken care of now.

Lacey and Kameron - Quick Step
I think this was the best quick step we've seen yet. (But I still want to see Pasha do one!) Her dress was beautiful. Kameron cleans up really well.....he looked like a real gentleman! These two always connect so well. The jitterbug section was cute.

Danny & Anya - Hip hop
These two may actually be dancing for their lives this week.....I think we finally found their weak area. They did have some pretty good syncronization, but I thought they just didn't hit it quite hard enough. The flip he did was cool. I wanted more hands from her. (With all the black and white costumes, the hands should have stood out more. I think the gloves she was given were a costume mistake.) Also, I felt like she was "mugging" and making faces.

Sabra and Dominick - Rumba
I really like this couple. I think they are two of the most under-rated dancers on the show. They always seem to connect well with each other. They make good partners. Her lines and extension were lovely, especially at the top. (That rond de jambe was an eye catcher!) Her pirouettes were beautiful. Dominick amazes me. He's a b-boy but he's tackled everything he's been given hard, committed to it and done well with it. He somehow manages to be graceful, smooth, strong and sexy all at once. I loved watching his arm movements and his hands. His lines were wonderful. His build is perfect for this kind of dancing. One of the best numbers of the night!

Lauren and Neil - Tango
Sexy. I thought the beginning with the chairs was wonderful. I thought that once they moved away from the chairs and had to hold the closed frame, they lost a bit of the staccato movement that was intended. It could have been a little cleaner. I agreed with what Mary said about them needing to "dance down into the floor" more.

Jamie and Hok - Jazz
Loved it! One of the best numbers of the evening. Her rising up from the plie on pointe at the top was amazing. That took an enormous amount of strength and control to isolate that as she did. Great sense of balance. Beautiful movements of her arms as she was "blooming" at the start. Hok's commitment to the animalistic movements was great. I loved the inverted pose he did. This number was very well choreographed by Wade to showcase both of their strengths and blend them together. I thought they were very grounded in what they were doing and it looked polished. The only thing I didn't like was the costumes. I felt that they could have supported the intent of the choreography better by being more colorful.

Jessi and Pasha - Cha-cha
So Jessi wasn't able to perform because she was in the hospital. The choreographer's assistant stepped in at the last minute to take her place. Big kudos go to Pasha for his professionalism and rolling with the flow here. Even though he had a brand new partner thrown at him at the last minute, I felt they still connected well. What strength it took for him to do that lift and roll her around over him like that! That couldn't have been easy, especially since he had learned and practiced it with little Jessi! I love to watch when he has long traverses across the floor. He has such a strong and manly presence in everything he does. I hope Jessi is well enough to return tonight. I think the Wednesday night show is actually taped on Monday, so that means she's had a couple of days to recover now. Fingers crossed she's healthy and returns tonight.

I predict the following will dance for their lives:
Jessi (but not Pasha) if she is healthy enough.
Shauna and Cedric
Danny & Anya
Lauren and Neil

I predict that Cedric will be the boy to go home. I think either Lauren or Jessi will be the girl to get cut.

Results show tonight at 9:00 on FOX.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Guess I'm not too controversial.....

Online Dating

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
- sexy (2x)
- dead (1x)

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Harry Potter Parties

Information on Indianapolis area parties planned to celebrate the release of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows in July.

Indiana State Fair banishes trans fats

Sounds like a healthy move! I did giggle a little over something in the article though:


Fair officials say the move should have no effect on the taste of some of the more popular treats people buy at the fair, including elephant ears or "king taters."


followed by.....


"I'm glad this new zero trans fat oil makes the food healthier to eat, but frankly, I switched to this new oil because the food just tastes better," John Barto, owner of Barto's Banquets & Catering, who has been an Indiana State Fair concessionaire for the past 18 years, said in a statement. "It adds to the quality of the food we serve."


So.....is there no effect on the taste, or will it taste better?

*Sniff* My favorite dolphin at the zoo died

I've always had a special love for the dolphin named Phoenix after working at The Phoenix Theatre. Evidently Phoenix was found dead in the dolphin pool over the weekend. Water was found in her lungs, but there hasn't been a real explaination of why or how she died. I know our family will miss her when we visit the zoo again.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

SYTYCD Thurs 6/21

I was a little shocked that Pasha and Jessi were in the bottom three couples.

I am really ticked off that they kicked off Jimmy and kept Cedric AGAIN. I thought Jimmy's solo was awesome! Of the three, I thought he was the one who was definately safe. So Cedric gets to spend another week dragging his partner down before he finally gets kicked off. I was shocked that Nigel stood up for him. Unless he pulls hip-hop out of the hat next week, I expect him to be out of there.

Shauna's solo was amazing. She really put her heart and soul into it. This performance reminded me why she made the top 20. I love Jessi but was afraid she would be in jeopardy because her solo wasn't so great. I'm not too surprised that Faina got picked to go home.

SYTYCD Weds 6/20

Here's my thoughts from last night.

Neil and Lauren — Hip-Hop
I thought they had a great connection this week. They worked together well and played off of each other. They were very fun to watch and did a great job with the style. Neil's strengths were used to his advantage (the dive at the start and the wonderful leap towards the end). But why was his tie backwards?

Pasha and Jessi — Jazz
Their dance had a nice animalistic quality to it. I'm always impressed by Pasha's strength. His footwork is amazing. I really hope we get a chance to see him do a quick-step later this season.

Hok and Jaimie — Samba
There is just something about her voice that really annoys me. I do not like listening to this girl talk!I love his smile and watching his face when he dances. His personality really does help make up for any weaknesses in technique. His frame was very nice but I'm with Mary, I could have used a bit more sexiness and "hip work" from Hok. It was a fun number but not as hot as a samba could have been.

D-Trix and Sabra — Contemporary
Thank goodness Mandy Moore choreographed this instead of Mia. Mia would have totally killed him. This is Sabra's style and she did a nice job. She has nice lines and nice elevation. The opening pose was very nice. (Did he say "weiner" on TV? LOL!?) I felt he was a bit stiff, but it was a good effort on his part.

Cedric and Faina — Foxtrot
Were there some sound problems with their music? I didn't think it sounded quite right.Faina was absolutely fabulous, as I expected. He was like scenery to me.....blended right into the background. He didn't seem to have any confidence in what he was doing and didn't sell his performance.....she mopped up the stage with him. His lines and frame were so horrible and sloppy. Not at all strong and masculine.Why in the heck was that little hip-hop bit in there? I suppose to try to cover up that he just didn't have the style down?They didn't gel and it didn't really feel like it was a finished, polished number ready for an audience. This was proof that Nigel was right in Vegas. He will bring his partners down. He should have been cut last week. Makes me really wanna cry for Ricky. What a shame that Faina will probably be dancing for her life tonight thanks to her partner.

Kameron and Lacey — Broadway
They were very sexy, sassy and connected! These two have really gelled as a couple. The flip he did at the top was great. I love the way they had her sitting on his knee in one part, very much a nod to the "ventriloquist" number in the musical. I would have liked to see it be a little bit more in the strict Fossee style. Over all great though!

Danny and Anya — Viennese Waltz
My favorite number of the evening! So sexy, beautiful lines and extension. Fabulous partnering between the two of them. I melted when he held her face and did those reverse turns. What an amazing amount of coordination to pull that off and still look so dreamy doing it! When they did the walk-around she looked like she was just floating.....and they spun so fast! It was smooth, polished and professional. They are the couple to beat right now!

Jimmy and Shauna — Hip-Hop
They had a nice connection once again. They really attacked it. I want to see Mia's choreography on her. I think she can help teach her to be grounded and really connect with what she's doing. I liked watching him. The steppin' part was in sync, but I felt it was a bit anti-climactic, maybe choreographed too slow? But it was fun to watch.

Jesús and Sara — Paso Doble
I wish they had given them some real Latin music to dance to. I agree with Mia's opinion about the music.....it just didn't fit. Not their fault though.The choreography was great. The only weak part I saw in the execution was that I felt bringing her down from the lift at the start was a little awkward. she did great for someone who has never danced in heels before!Jesús was amazing! Spicey and passionate! He really had lovely Spanish dance lines throughout (perfectly rounded arms, chest forward and pelvis tucked).....beautiful!I liked the last part where the music got faster the best. The part where he was stepping over her was great.

My prediction for the bottom 3 -
Hok and Jaimie
Cedric and Faina
Neil and Lauren
I think Jaimie and Cedric will go home.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Summer vacation update.....so far.....

So far this summer.....

Keithen touched a snake. (Can you see that grin?)

They all touched sharks with their cousins.

And butterflies landed on us at the zoo. (I love that look of wonder on her face!)

We went to see Charlotte's Web at Indianapolis Civic Theatre. Didn't Ruby look sweet in her nice dress? Matt and I were disgusted with the number or people who show up at the theatre dressed like they are going to a BBQ instead of a live theatre performance. And then there was the lady behind us who forgot to turn her cel phone off and couldn't find it in her purse to shut the ringer off when someone called her. We were 2 rows in front of the sound board and she was right behind us. I was waiting on our old college friend who directed the show and was sitting with the board op to pounce on her purse and shut that stupid phone off. I swear my 4 year old is better behaved in a theatre than half the grown ups. She sat quietly with rapt attention on the edge of her seat. All three kids behaved wonderfully and really enjoyed the show. Even Kaylee who had a bit of an earache did better than the grown up behind us.

Lots of reading library books for the summer reading program. Kaylee is helping to read some of her own books to Ruby and me this year. Ruby passed out during story time last night.



Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Computer down

Matt is working on our computer tonight. I hope I'll be back online within 24 hours.....otherwise I might go nutso!

SYTYCD spoilers for 6/20 show

Internet rumor says that the couples will dance the following this Wednesday:

Neil and Lauren — Hip-Hop
Pasha and Jessi — Jazz (I expect this has potential to be good!)
Hok and Jaimie — Samba
D-Trix and Sabra — Contemporary (Lord help him.....wonder if he'll pull it off? More likely that Mia will totally overwhelm him.)
Cedric and Faina — Foxtrot (I predict this couple could possibly be the "hot tamales" of the night! That is.....if Cedric can possibly keep up with Faina!)
Kameron and Lacey — Broadway (That should be very entertaining!)
Danny and Anya — Viennese Waltz
Jimmy and Shauna — Hip-Hop
Jesús and Sara — Paso Doble

And check out this You Tube video of Mia Michaels, Shane Sparks, Wade Robson, and Brian Freedman dancing together.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Area arts worth $469M to Indy

The Arts Council of Indianapolis released a study this past week showing that our local arts organizations are worth millions to our community. Nonprofit arts organizations have a $469 million annual impact on the local economy, according to a national survey of 156 communities.

So, what do we have to do now to get more funding for our arts organizations? Since 1999, the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship program has given $1.88 million to 250 artists. The big names like the ISO and The Children's Museum have received hundreds of thousands in funding. Yet groups such as Indianapolis' Ballet Internationale have recently folded (November 2005). How do we draw more funding into our community to support the arts?

Why are we paying for international artists like Julian Opie to create installations like "Signs" (sorry.....I personally just can't call his work true art) when we have many talented artists right here in our community? Why aren't we supporting local artists?

Friday, June 15, 2007

SYTYCD - the results

I *SO* wish Mia had been a judge last night. Maybe her influence could have saved Ricky. I think they made a terrible decision in cutting him and keeping both of the breakers. I would have cut one of the others, probably Cedric. These two guys have no training and their limitations are going to become evident as the competition moves along. While they are good at what they do, I don't think they will show the versitility needed to win the whole shebang. With a better matched partner, Ricky has the talent, training and passion to have hung in there much longer. Very disappointed to see one of my favorites cut so soon. (Although I will admit that I always have a weakness for the contemporary dancers based on my own background.)

I think they did make the right choice in cutting Ashlee.

I suspect couples will stay the same next week since a whole couple was cut.

The little visit from Benji was nice. Fun to watch him dance, as always. What in the heck was up with that costume? Why the red gloves?

Thursday, June 14, 2007

SYTYCD - Weds 6/13

Here's how the couples were paired up:

Hok and Jaimie - Didn't really get the night off to a great start. Hok is amazing at what he does and that may be enough to save him tonight.

Danny and Anya - Danny has great potential. These two may make a good couple.....fun to watch.

Kameron and Lacey - Wow! When they got Mia, I didn't know what to expect. I always love watching Mia's choreography. She's such a genius. I didn't know Lacey had that in her. What an amazing performance! Very intense. She really committed to it and Kameron showed the strength that was needed. Very well done. My favorite performance of the night.

D'Trix and Sabra - I spent a little too much time giggling at the costumes on this one. The lifts were nice.

Ricky and Ashlee - Oh how I wish he had drawn a different partner. I loved Ricky in the auditions, but not so much last night. With Ashlee standing nearly a head taller than him, they looked so mismatched and awkward trying to dance ballroom as a couple. It looked like she was dancing with her kid brother. They didn't ooze the sexiness that the style called for and didn't really connect with each other. I expect them to be dancing for their lives tonight. I do feel pretty confident that Ricky can pull off a impressive solo tonight to save himself.

Jesus and Sara - I love Wade Robson.....he's like a twisted Bob Fosse. Jesus and Sara did a nice job with his choreography. Very entertaining to watch. Also probably the best lit piece of the night. My third place couple for the night.

Pasha and Jessi - She couldn't have been luckier than to draw Pasha for the waltz. They danced beautifully together, although the choreography wasn't very memorable. His frame is perfect.....very masculine and romantic. She glided beautifully across the stage, but I was not so crazy about her gown.

Cedric and Faina - I bet this was a hard week for them. Faina was very out of her element and I felt she was struggling through parts of the dance. Very "dance by numbers" to me. I'm expecting they may be one of the couples dancing for their lives tonight, but don't expect to see them departing the show anytime soon.

Neil and Lauren - I went into this wanting to like them.....but it just didn't do a lot for me. No strong connection. Not "hot tamales" like they should have been with the salsa.

Jimmy and Shauna - Very well done. Very entertaining.....they sold it and I think they connected well. I really like Jimmy. I agreed with Nigel that the wardrobe department really did Shauna a disservice with that dress. It made her look chunky. Reminded me too much of the yellow dress Donyelle wore last season. Second favorite couple of the evening.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Last Day of School

Yesterday was the last day of school. Yep.....you read that right.....snow days pushed the last day of school up to a Monday. 3 whole hours for Keithen and only an hour for Kaylee.


Kaylee's class had their little Kindergarten Graduation ceremony. The teacher showed a Powerpoint slide show that I helped her with some. She also showed a movie the kids made of advice to next year's Kindergarten class. And the kids sang two songs.

Some of them got special awards. Kaylee got one for helping to plant the butterfly garden in the back of the school.

Then they all got a certificate for completeing Kindergarten

Here Kaylee is with some of her Kindergarten friends at the ice cream party afterwards. (The ribbons around their necks were from the teacher's assistant and said "Future First Grader" on them.)

Emily, Kaylee, Kade and Sam

Kaylee and Emily
Kaylee and A'Jewelle
The only picture I got of her friend Jessica. She is evidently super smart like Keithen. She got a special award for reading chapter books at a 3rd grade level. That's about where he was when he finished KG.

And then, last night.....the long awaited report card presents.....

Webkinz for everyone! (Yes, Ruby got one too. She's been doing a lot of "homework" of her own lately and I didn't want her to be left out as the only one without a pet.)

As you can tell, they were SO excited to get Webkinz!


Saturday, June 09, 2007

Welcome to Gryffindor Tower

Welcome to Keithen's new room.....Gryffindor Tower!










Friday, June 08, 2007

SYTYCD top 20

The 20 finalists were announced on So You Think You Can Dance last night.

There is a post at TVSquad that pretty much covers how I feel about the competition so far. It was very frustrating that the names of the dancers weren't put up on the screen more often. That would really help the viewers begin to recognize the contestants and keep track of who is who. I've had a heck of a time figuring out names so far this season. There were some of the top 20 that I swear I never saw before last night, even though I've seen all the audition shows! It's hard to evalutate the judge's decisions when we really haven't been given a chance to see the contestants dance much yet.

And there were some favorites from previous episodes (Brandon Norris.....the clogger) who were MIA in Vegas, even though they had won plane tickets. Whatever happened to the girl from last season injured her ankle and was promised a ticket straight back to Vegas?

I was sad to see Caitlin Cucchiara get cut. She is very talented and I think she would have done well. I'm sure her age played into that decision. (Remember how often Ivan's age came up last year in the judges' critiques? Nigel really seems to want to stay away from younger dancers from what I've seen.)

I agree about Cedric Gardner's partnering skills being kind of weak. Hopefully he'll get partnered with some ladies who can help him improve in that area.

While I hated to see Twitch cut, I think Hok is a more well-rounded dancer and will probably do better in the other styles. He seemed to handle the choreography in Vegas pretty well, from what little they showed us.

So.....here they are.....the top 20:

MEN
Danny Tidwell
Dominic "D'Trix" Sandoval
Cedric Gardner
Ricky Palomino
Pasha Kovalev
Kameron Bink
Neil Haskell
Jesus "Chuy" Solario
Hok Konishi
Jimmy Arguello

WOMEN
Ashlee Langus
Jaimie Goodwin
Sabra Johnson
Anya Garnis
Faina Savich
Lauren "Misha" Gottlieb
Sara Van Gillern
Shauna Noland
Jessi Peralta
Lacey Schwimmer

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

WHERE do they find these IDIOT contestants?
Do they actually look for the dumbest people they can find?
The adult contestants remind me of some of the people Jay Leno finds for his "man on the street" interviews.

And Keithen brings home the hardware too!

Keithen finally got a chance to play goalie for a while on their very last game. He did a good job. I wish he'd have had more chances this year, as it's something he's pretty good at. He played some good defense tonight and stayed on his man too.




He's trying to show in these ones below that this is trophy number *10* for him!




All lined up on his newly painted shelf. (Note the red and gold.....Gryffindor colors.....on the bookshelf. Kaylee and Ruby helped me paint it for him.)

A sneak peek at Gryffindor Tower here. See the stonework and the crest above the window? Basically we just need to hang pictures and curtains now.



Ruby brings home the bling-bling

Ruby's final game was Monday night. I was a little worried that they might not get to play because it had rained earlier in the day and the sky didn't look so good around game time. We did have to run for cover under one of the shelters for a while during the second half, but it didn't last long and they got to finish the game. She's done a great job and played really hard all season. I think she had a lot of fun and learned a little about playing as a team.




Here she is getting her third trophy. (The other 2 were for "micro soccer" where they just did skill work. This is the first one she's earned by playing on a team.)



Ruby and I had gone to the game alone since Kaylee was feeling sick. For some reason they didn't do the pizza dinner after the awards this year. I took her out to Arby's for dinner afterwards instead. As we were leaving Arby's, we saw something that Ruby thought was super cool in the parking lot, so we grabbed the camera.



I should have gotten her trophy out of the car for her to hold in that last picture!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Angelina & Brad cosleep with their kiddos!

According to this article Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are cosleeping with little Pax and Maddox slept with her at one point. And she says, "We have family sleep on Sundays. Everybody sleeps together."

Yea! to celebs speaking up about cosleeping!

Monday, June 04, 2007

So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance has been back on FOX for a couple of weeks now. Ruby and I have been watching again. This week we should see the group of dancers who made it to Las Vegas. Do you have a favorite yet? Who do you think will make the top 20? Shows this week on Wednesday at 8:00 and Thursday at 9:00. I assume we'll find out the top 20 on Thursday this week.

Thoughts on the season so far:

Bryan Gaynor, the little robot guy with scoliosis, was amazing and I hope Shane Sparks does follow through and get him featured in a movie. That guy was one of the most entertaining performers of the season, unfortunately he's limited style-wise so he won't make the final cut for SYTYCD.

The obese woman who paid $1,400 for someone to tell her she can dance at a workshop is just dreaming if she thought she was going to make it through! Shane was right.....do your research woman! You don't go to a professional audition unless you know they are looking for your type. They're looking for fit, healthy, professional dancers here lady.....not overweight slobs who like to dance. (And yes, this is the former professional stage manager talking here!) If there is no chance that you are what they're looking for, it is RUDE to waste the time of the judges/producers and time that a talented dancer could have used to audition. Shane Sparks wasn't rude to her.....he just gave her a dose of reality!

Tony Velez's audition was great and Shane's conversation with him afterwards was hilarious. I was rolling when Shane was jumping around from seat to seat. Very talented.....I think Tony will definately make the top 20.

Lacey Schwimmer was beautiful and talented, as expected. And of course it was a big treat to see last year's champ Benji again!

Caitlin Cucchiara was very good. Nice emotion and technique. Hopefully she's ready for this since she's still very young.

I loved Myles Johnson.....amazing for having had so little training! (He's only been dancing for 8 months.) His Dad needs to get a grip and stop living through his son....."I had everything?" No, Dad, your son was the one playing sports and dating a cheerleader, not you! I hope this kid goes far just to prove to his Dad the he can be a success at this and he is talented. He had nice extension, wonderful body tension and showed amazing strength in his dancing.

Which season 3 hopeful would you most like to see make the top 20?

Pasha Kovalev
Anya Garnis
Heather Zampier
Hannah-Lee Sakakibura
Jamal Weaver
Faina Savich
Lauren "Misha" Gottlieb
Jessi Peralta
Olivia Usey
Kurt Myers
Dia Beck
Jesus "Chuy" Solorio
Hokuto "Hawk" Konishi
Dominic "D'Trix" Sandovol
Brianne Healey
Lacey Schwimmer
Morgan Larson
Phillip "PacMan" Chbeeb
Yesamin Gomez
Michael Jagger
Eva "Evita" Arce
Janet Bombard
Caitlin Cucchiara
Tony Velez
Brandon Norris
Myles Johnson
Ashley Simpson
Jaimie Goodwin
Danny Tidwell

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Harry Potter in the news this week

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix release date changed.

With no real explaination from Warner Bros., the release date for "Order of the Phoenix" has been changed. Now it's two days earlier, starting on July 11th instead of the 13th.

A Harry Potter theme park?

In late 2009 there will be a Harry Potter theme park opening in Florida. (I know what we're doing for fall break in 2 years!)

AND.....

I discovered Harry Potter 20Q this week. VERY fun! We've only been able to stump it a couple of times with really obscure stuff.

Friday, June 01, 2007

June Ballet Recital

Ruby had her last ballet recital for a while today. She'll take the summer off from dance classes. I'm trying to convince her to move up to the intermediate class when she starts up again in August.

She got this sparkly purple outfit as a hand me down from Kaylee's best friend Emily.


Barre work.....she's always first in line for this. I *love* the way she races to get there and then stands in first position with her hand on the barre, her free arm out and ready to start while all the others monkey around. She's also got a great grasp of all the French vocabulary now.




Learning about "ballet hands" to help make "beautiful pictures."


Ready to chasse'


Practicing in front of the mirror.


Ballerina in motion - grande jete'.

Using the new "bling-bling skirt" for a curtsey.

With her certificate after class.


Siamese sisters?


No wonder they have trouble sleeping.....maybe it's the entanglement

that wakes them up? Can't wait to get another twin mattress so we can move Kaylee to the top bunk by herself.