LADM....LA Dance Magic Convention

This was our first year going to this dance convention. It was a 2 day convention....5 hours each day. The girls had a blast. All the girls wore their NEW dance outfits....hoping to outshine all the other girls. I think they were successful! Their instructors were awesome and taught the girls some cute routines. On Sunday, I took a parents class. Boy was I surprised! Our instructor taught us a hip-hop routine that we were expected to open the convention show performing. I have a new appreciation of how our girls feel when they are on stage. Will never do it again!!!!!!!

Halloween....2009

The girls absolutely love halloween.  They start deciding their costumes in the summer and probably change their minds a 100 times before making a decision.  This year Emma was a pirate girl and Hannah was a witch.  We start the season off by going to the pumpkin patch and picking out our pumpkins.  We didn't go this year...got rained out!  Dad did find some nice looking pumpkins for them to decorate.  We don't carve...too messy...and Dad says the carved pumpkins attract flies and ants.  Oh well!!  On Halloween night we go trick or treating with the neighborhood families...tradition.  It's so much fun.  The moms and dads get to catch up and the kiddos have fun just hanging out and getting lots of candy.  We had a blast this year.

Catch-up

Alot has been going on over the last 3 months and I haven't been good about keeping my blog up.  Just busy I guess.  These posts may not be in order but this is what we have been up to.

9-26-09....3rd District Qualifier....Texas Stars Tomball

This is the last district qualifier before the Judges Cup in San Antonio next week. We're all looking forward to San Antonio and the fun the girls will have. This meet was a really good one for Hannah. She was very confident today....vault 9.1, bars 9.4, beam 8.7, floor 8.9. Whoo hoo for Hannah. Pics to come.

9-19-09....Progressions Elite sleepover

Tonight we hosted a sleepover for all the dancers in our company...rising stars.  Our girls are so close and totally enjoy hanging out together. I had 12 little girls in my house ready to have lots of fun.  12 screaming girls...ouch!  Ms. Kim came over and played some team building games with them.  Afterwards, they painted each others nails and toenails.  We played "freeze" to some of their favorite songs.  The topper for the evening was the funky pajama "strike a pose" little divas runway show!!!!  They all gave us their best pose and dance moves.  We loved it and laughed so hard.  Our girls really are little divas, in their own right!  We had lots of treats for the evening....pizza, popcorn, m&m's, chips, cupcakes and munchies for the adults.  They all pretty much crashed around 11pm.Sunday morning, we made pancakes and bacon.  Then, the girls hit the floor running.  They played "sing along", freeze again and we had another runway show.  Whew!!!!  They still hadn't run out of energy.  We all had a good time and can't wait for the next one.Pics to come.

9-12-09....District Qualifier-Bannon's

This is Hannah's 2nd meet. She's excited because it's being held at her gym. Because I am a booster mom, I worked the entire weekend. I was a beam tabulator. It was fun. I got to see the girls compete up close and personal. It was also interesting talking to the judges. I think when I retire I will become a gymnastics judge. They get paid really well. Mom worked in concessions on Saturday and a vault timer/tabulator on Sunday. Hannah scored well on all the events...vault 8.45, bars 8.1, beam 8.7, floor 8.3. As usual, we are very proud of her and all her hard work.

8-30-09....First gymnastics district qualifier...Juergens

Today is the day....Hannah's first day in the spotlight. She has been working really hard toward this day. The first meet is at Juergen's in Humble. We practiced all weekend just to make sure she was comfortable with her routines. She is very nervous mostly because she doesn't know what to expect. She did very well...vault 8.3, bars 9.20, beam 8.7, floor 8.8. Fantastic!!!!

8-24-09.....First day of school

The girls had a good summer. I think they are ready to go back to school though. Hannah is really excited this is her first year in "real" school....kindergarten. For me, this is bittersweet. I'm glad they are both together at the same school but my baby is in "real" school. I feel like yesterday I was holding my newborn girls!! How time flies!

9-28-09....Fishing (august)

We went to visit Maw Maw and hang out with her at the flea market in Jewitt. The girls had a good time. I think mostly because PawPaw bought them a bunch of stuff. We went back to MawMaw's for dinner and to hang out and talk. Emma informed me she's a city girl and not cut out for the country. I think fishing was too much for her...too many bugs. We did catch a couple of bass but the "BIG" one eluded us!!!! I got it on my line but it was too big for me to reel in and it jumped 2 feet out of the pond and broke loose. MawMaw Fran, we think, caught the same one because it did the same thing to her as well!!! Maybe next time we can outsmart it!!!!

9-28-09....Birthday Pics of girls

I was very late taking their birthday pics this year....better late than never I guess. They came out so good.

9-28-09.....Catching up!!!!

I have been so busy I have neglected my blog....something I promised myself I would not do this year. So, I am going to catch up with this entry. We have been going to concerts like crazy this year. It has been the year of the "hair" bands. We saw Styx/Reo Speedwagon/.38 Special in early June. Early July we went to Cruefest and a week later to Def Leppard/Poison. Now just looking forward to the U2 concert in October. Emma went to Nationals in early July. She was awesome!!! She walked away with a Double Platinum award for Muskrat Ramble and a First Place overall award. We stayed at Moody Gardens and I was really surprised how nice it is!!!! Hannah has been practicing like crazy this summer in gymnastics. She will start competing in August! She is so excited. We went to Space Center Houston with Emily, Aubrey and Grant and our neighbors Danielle, Brooke and Ella. The kiddos had a great time and we enjoyed visiting with the McKays. We don't get to see them very often. We hosted the First Annual Windrose 4th of July Block Party. We had a great time catching up with the neighbors. The kiddos had fun. Mr Jimmy put on an awesome fireworks display. Time for school...Hannah is so excited. She is in Kindergarten this year. She didn't get the teacher we wanted her to have buts that's ok. It will still be an awesome year. Emma is in Mrs. Fox's class. She is super excited and of course, Paige is in her class. The new dance year began. Emma is taking a hip-hop clas along with her tap, jazz and ballet. I'm sure she will enjoy shaking that booty. Hopefully, I haven't forgotten too much!

6-11-09 Summer Vacation....Disney World

Today is the first day of our vacation. The girls are so excited and I'm sure before we ever get out of Houston I will hear "Are we there yet?" 20 times. We are making our usual trek to the sunny state of Florida with a brief stop at the beach in Pensacola. This time the girls will actually be able to get in the water without forming icicles on their feet! This year we are braving the heat and also throwing in the water parks at Disney. We usually go in December when the temps are cool and mild! Blizzard beach and Typhoon Lagoon....here we come!!!! We also are going to Disney Quest and try some of the virtual reality stuff they have.

Sunday 6-7-09.....Styx concert

We went to see Styx in concert at the Pavillion tonight. It was great. You know when a band is really good when they actually sound like they do on their album/cd/dvd/etc!!! Took me back to the days when I was young and didn't have a care in the world!!! Tommy Shaw is still a hottie!!!! REO Speedwagon and .38 Special opened the concert. I was surprised to see how many REO fans there were!!! Looking forward to the next concert....Def Leopard/Poison/Cheap Trick.

Friday 6-5-09....Allison's luau party and sleepover!

Emma is really looking forward to the party tonight! Allison is having the end of the year AJDC party this year. They have a water slide for the girls and lots of food and games. Later they can relax with a movie...sleepover time!! I know they will have a great time.

Thursday 6-4-09....Last day of school

Today is the last day of school for Emma. She is officially a first grader and she can't wait for fall! Go figure...I guess she's nerdy like her mom and dad!!!

Monday 6-1-09....Kindergarten graduation

Today Emma graduated from kindergarten. I honestly don't know how I will make it through Senior graduation without medication!!! The school had a really nice program. There was a slide show and the kiddos sang for everyone. They even marched into the cafeteria by Pomp and Circumstance!!! BooHoo!!! I am so fortunate that I get to do this next year for Hannah!!! BooHoo!!!

Saturday 5-30-09.....AJDC Spring Show

Today was bitter sweet. It is the end of AJDC and the beginning of Progressions Elite...Rising Stars! The girls and guys danced awesomely (if that is a word!). Emma was especially excited because her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Williams, came today to watch her dance.

Friday 5-22-09...International Day at Benignus

We enjoyed a program by the International Club at Benignus on Friday morning. Benignus student body represents 55 countries...how great is that. They sang and danced and wore authentic costumes for the continents they were representing...USA(North America), Africa, Asia, Antartica, South America. Friday afternoon we went back for the parade. The students in Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade were asked to make a shoe box representing their nationality and culture. Those students who made a shoe box were able to participate in the parade. The other grades were required to make a float from their wagons, bikes and scooters, etc. There were some pretty elaborate floats. You could tell the parents really get into this. Emma did a shoe box showcasing the USA...Elvis, Rock-n-Roll, Jazz, Louis Armstrong, Statue of Liberty, First Man on the Moon, Space Shuttle, Norman Rockwell and Mount Rushmore. The top of the box was a replica of the US Flag. We also looked up the nationalities of all the family surnames. We have a quite diverse family. She was pretty proud of it.

Wednesday 5-20-09....Water Day at Klein Weekday Preschool

Today, Hannah had water day at school. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get off work but Dad, Ga and Papa made it over to the school to enjoy watching Hannah have fun. They had a beautiful day for the event...sunny and not too hot!!! They had water cannons that one of Hannah's school mates used on her dad. Danny didn't think it was too funny but Hannah loved it that he got wet!

Saturday 5-16-09...Applause Talent Competition

Today we went to Katy for the Applause competition. Emma performed her solo at 9am and her group at 1:40pm. She placed platinum first place and first place overall for her solo. She also won "Most Photogenic". It was exciting and she was totally surprised. Best of all she won another trophy!!! It's all about the trophy! The group performed and I must say this was their best performance so far this year. A storm blew in and threw a kink into the remaining competition. There were about 5 entries remaining when the lights went out. So, they gave out awards for those whose scores had already been calculated. Whew...because we had been there since 7am that morning and it was already 5:30pm. I couldn't bear to have to go back the next day just for awards. We were spared!!!! Group won High Gold and First place overall....whoo hoo!!!! We have such an awesome group of dancers.

Wednesday 5-13-09...Mother's Day Luncheon at Klein Weekday Preschool

Today, Hannah made a beautiful lunch for me, set on a beautifully decorated table and sang special songs to me. It was so nice! She made me cry!! The children made everything from the food we ate to the paper flowers on the tables. I was so impressed and of course Hannah was very proud and very excited. There was a slide show after the program of pics of the kids.....very nice! They all did such a wonderful job and there wasn't a dry eye in the building!!!

Wednesday 5-6-09....Benignus Field Day

Today was the First Annual Benignus Field Day for our kindergartners. They had a blast. It's funny to watch them all interacting with one another....even though they don't have class together they all seem to know each other! It's great to watch these friendships develop. Emma's class won their first tug and lost the second one. She decided that was too strenuous for her and moved on to jumping rope and hoola hooping. She's such a princess...but mine. Field day was 3 hours and I can tell you she will sleep good tonight.

Sunday 5-10-09....Mommy's Day

I have the best family in the world!!!! My children are the joy in my life. Today, I was pampered....I didn't have to go to the grocery store...Danny went....he knows how much I hate the grocery store. I didn't have to cook...Danny did....and it was pretty awesome. He put mustard chicken on the grill. The girls were good all day. Danielle invited us over for a swim. The girls swam and played with Brooke and we sat around and had some margueritas. Danielle has cornered the market for the best tasting ritas. The girls bought me a beautiful frame and of course I will put a picture of them in it. They also gave me this beautiful engraved mothers momentum and it's personalized with their names on it. Best of all, they made me beautiful pictures.

Saturday 5-9-09....Water slide

Just got home from Gringo's and Doug came by the house to invite the girls over to play on the water slide. I'm thinking "slip-n-slide"....no way...this slide is huge. It's like those moon walk things but with several slides coming off of it and lots of water. I was impressed. They invited the neighborhood kids....5 girls and 1 boy!!!! Austin one day will have his pick!!!! I went back to get the girls and lo and behold...Danielle and a pitcher of Pina Coladas.....I'm there! They're good!!! Might strike up a game of pictionary later.

Saturday 5-9-09....Follow-up to Junior Olympics

What a great time Hannah had today at her Junior Olympics. She was flawless on all her skills. I'm not a proud mom, huh? She told me that she was a bit nervous with everyone watching her. Her Ga (grandma) was hootin' and hollerin' for her. She came home with a t-shirt and a trophy. You know, its all about the trophy AND being in the spotlight! Dad gave her flowers and took her to her favorite restaurant...Gwingo's (Gringo's)...for chips and cheese!

Friday 5-8-09....Movie Date

We met Angie and Leonard at the Movie Tavern on 249 to see Wolverine X-men movie. We had never been to the Movie Tavern...pretty cool. They serve food and drinks. There is this button at your table that summons your waiter and they bring everything to you!!! How bout that! No juggling a large popcorn and 2 large drinks and a box of candy!!! It was fun...we hadn't been to a movie in a while. The movie was good...explained some of the stuff from the 2 previous movies. There is definitely going to be another X-men movie?!

Saturday 5-9-09 ....Junior Olympics

Today is Hannah's day in the spotlight. She gets to be the center of attention once a year....twice a year...her birthday!!! That is getting ready to change, though, because she will be competing on Level 2 team in the fall....yippee!!! Today she has skills routines on the beam, uneven bars, vault and floor. I'm so excited for her to show off how good she is!!! The event is at 1pm and I will post more info later.

Thursday 4-16-09...Nickelback Concert

I can't believe I forgot this post!!!! This concert was so awesome! Seether and Saving Abel opened for them. We had awesome seats right in front of the stage. Danny and I left a little early so we could stop for dinner before the concert. We ended up downtown at a bar and grill...Cabos. It was good. I guess you could say we had a "date". I'd like to have more of these "dates" it was nice. We ran into Karen, Tommy and Kristin at the concert. Small world. Nickelback rocked!!!!!