Taptastic!

I somewhat impulsively decided to take a tap class recently. Somehow I've made it through years of performing in multiple musicals without ever having had the opportunity to learn how. I blame it on my high school theatre department....who the very year after I graduated chose a tap-heavy show to perform for the school musical that year. After spending so much time teaching the kids to tap, they continued to choose taptastic musicals for the next few years so as to maximize that investment. Meaning my sisters know the fundamentals of tapping while I know nada. I mean really, can you imagine tap dancing nurses on the beach in South Pacific? Or tap dancing harem girls in Kismet? Doesn't quite work, does it? (Side note: I did learn a bit of belly dancing in Kismet. So at least there's that.)

Julianne has been taking tap classes for the past year at her theatre studio. She's been having a great time with it. So when they announced an adult class....a beginning adult class for those who have zero to very little tap experience....I decided to sign up. Just because. Shuffle-ball-change, Flap, Buffalo, Time Step.

Maybe it's a turning-40-midlife-crisis thing.....

Summer dance class

I'm always so impressed with the ingenuity of the teenagers in my neighborhood when it comes to their quest in finding ways to raise money in the summers. Art classes, flag service, spreading mulch, yard work, baking treats and taking orders for specific days during vacation, etc. This summer Brooke (one of Julianne's friends) decided to hold a dance camp. Three classes a day for various age groups, three days a week, for three weeks.

And at the end of it all, she arranged to not only hold a dance recital at the studio she dances at, but to also borrow dance costumes for the little girls to wear. So though originally I wasn't planning on having Lilian attend (because of scheduling issues) Lilian talked me into it....and then thoroughly enjoyed it. She learned both a ballet dance as well as a jazz dance. She claims she liked jazz the best...despite the fact that it looked like she knew the ballet better....

The Nutcracker

We went to The Nutcracker yesterday. It was put on by a local dance studio which, you would think, would mean that it would be a so-so, somewhat amateur production. But it blew my socks off! Here's why:
*They performed at the nearby University so the stage and theatre were top notch.
*Live musicians! And they were good!
*Absolutely gorgeous costumes.
*Ballet West principle dancers dancing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the other big Pas de Deux parts. They were, of course, phenomenal!
*The girl dancing Clara was a friend of Rebekah's. All together there were 8 girls from our neighborhood in the production.

And the best part....we had Mindy, Deidra, Tiffany and Kendra with us. They are our dear friends from our old neighborhood and we are SO thankful that even though we have moved away, we still have held onto that friendship and make sure that fun get togethers like this still happen frequently! Notice that Julianne and I both have the same odd look on our faces.... pursed lips and her head tilting one way, mine tilting the opposite way? I have no idea why.

Feeling old?

Want to know a sure way to feel old? Have your daughter tell you that her youth church dance has an 80's theme. And that she's all excited to crimp and rat her hair and wear leg warmers in fluorescent colors. All things that I used to do when I was her age. What ever happened to having a 50's theme with poodle skirts and saddle shoes?Those gloves that Rebekah is wearing? They're Julianne's. She bought them just this past weekend at the mall. At the same store where we also saw a bunch of leg warmers for sale. Maybe this dance had nothing to do with reliving an era of the past but more to do with ushering in the newest fads of the future. Maybe I don't feel so old after all.

What A Day

We had a busy day yesterday.

I took the girls to see The Nutcracker up at Weber State. Wow, it was impressive! Live orchestra and everything. As soon as I heard those opening notes I got chills and a big grin. I know the music well but, amazingly enough, I've never actually seen the ballet.


We were hungry when it was over and stopped at Marie Callendars for lunch. Is it just me or has that place upped it's prices recently?


We were right near a movie theater and decided to see, if by chance, they still had tickets to the 3:00 showing of "Twilight". They did...probably because they were showing it in 4 different theaters. Yay for us! Rebekah was so excited about the movie that she insisted on buying this t-shirt at the mall a few days ago.

By the time we got home the BYU/Utah game was already underway. We quick changed into BYU blue attire and settled in to watch the game. Originally I thought we'd have to listen on the radio but I discovered that we actually had the Mtn. channel. Who would've guessed? This is me cheering after the Cougars made a touchdown....and Julianne rolling her eyes at my silliness. The game didn't end well. Six turnovers? Seriously??

During all of this Bryan had Brandon and Lilian with him. They headed down to visit Grandma and Grandpa and had a glorious time.

Bryan convinced his Dad to head over to the gun show with him where he bought a bunch of ammo at fabulous prices. Apparently you can never have too much ammo. They were also going to try to see James Bond but the awesomeness of the gun show superseded any desire to hurry so they could do both. I have no doubt that they will get to the movie eventually.

Crazy day. Fun day. Filled with family, guns, art culture, pop culture and football. What more could you ask for? :)