July 4th in Utah!

We had decided to make a trip to Utah for July 4th to go the Stadium of Fire.  Carrie Underwood was performing and the girls love her music.  Just before it was time to leave Grandpa bought a 40 foot motorhome and so we travelled in style to Utah.  It was so fun to have the space in the motorhome to travel in with a bathroom on hand and a fridge stocked with food and pop.  The kids thought it was soooooo great!!

On the afternoon of July 4 we went for a picnic up the canyon with Sonya's family.  

It was a beautiful hot day and the river felt really good to cool us off.

We played all kinds of fun games and even Kailey was able to participate despite her broken wrist.  

It was horrible to be in the heat with a cast on her arm.

Of course little Lucy was everybody's favourite!

My boys!

It was so fun to watch them play football together.  

They would draw up plays and execute all kinds of running plays and complex handoffs.

 And then the celebration when they scored!  A little hip bumping in the air!

That evening we went to the BYU stadium to see the Stadium of Fire.  Carrie Underwood was amazing and it was the first concert the kids had been to.  The fireworks were amazing too!

Sadie in Costume!

We always try to get some pictures of Sadie in her costumes every year.

This was her Russian dance costume for the Nutcracker.

And her beautiful Waltz of the Flowers solo costume.

This was one of Sadie's favourite dances of the year.  It was a lyrical dance to a slow version of Titanium.  She didn't like the way the sides of the costume opened up like they did but she loved the dance that went with the costume.

My Pride and Joy

Spring 2014

I find myself looking at my kids and wishing I could just freeze time.  They are growing up so fast and as busy as I am with all of their activities, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I hate missing any games or events because I want to capture every minute of their activities.  I know that before long I will not have the busy schedule I do now and I will miss it.

Carson and Kailey in their club basketball uniforms. 

This is Carson's last year playing Genesis and Kailey plays for CBA.

And just in case you are wondering, Carson is taller than Kailey by about an inch.  Everybody always asks him if his sister is taller than him and his answer is always NO!

JJ loves soccer season!

And there is my ballerina.  Sadie is definitely the most graceful of them all!

Cutest Little Shepard Ever

The kids had the opportunity to be performers in the 50th year celebration of the Nativity pageant at Heritage Park in Calgary.  Even though Jordan wasn't quite old enough to be a performer they allowed him to do it because he made the cutest Shepard ever!

 Jordan loved the sheep and would tend to them all night while he performed the nativity over and over and over.  It was cold outside and Jordan didn't have much time between shows to warm up.  He was chilled to the bone by the end of the performance nights but he was a really good sport and did a fantastic job of being the cutest little Shepard!

We also had angels among us this Christmas  Sadie and Kailey were angels in the Nativity performances.  They were as beautiful as ever.  They had the easy job and got to spend most of the evening in the warm building until they popped out for their 30 seconds in the cold to sing and then back inside where it was warm.  They felt bad for Jordan having to be outside the whole performance and they were really good about helping him warm up with hot shots on his ears in between shows.

5 Days Till Show Time

5 days till show time.  Sadie has been dancing 12-15 hours a week getting ready for the nutcracker.  She has been to dress rehearsal with a fever and major head colds but the show must go on!

  Opening night is this Friday and we can't wait to watch our dancer on stage!

 This is her costume for the lead waltz flower!

Coming Soon To A Stage Near You!

THE NUTCRACKER!

starring Sadie Weston

Sadie has been very busy this fall.  Her dance studio is performing the nutcracker this Christmas season.  It is not just any nutcracker ballet.  This is the nutcracker Alive Danceworks style and it is going to be fun!  There is not just the infamous sugar plum fairy ballet and the Waltz Flower ballets but there is going to be lots of hip hop and jazz dancing in it as well.

Sadie is dancing the Russian dance, the Mirlinton, and is a lead for the Waltz Flower Ballet.

A rehearsal clip for the lead in the Waltz Flowers Ballet.  These video clips were taken right after she had learned her part so they are rough but gives a snippet of what to look forward to at the real show.

These are a few pictures taken before a dress rehearsal of her Mirlinton dance.  

As you can see it is not a typical nutcracker ballet type of costume!

 2 weeks till show time and we can't wait!

Halloween Fun

JJ couldn't decided whether he wanted to be Lu Lu Loopsy or a crazy Trojan for Halloween.  After a few seconds of dilemma he decided he wanted to resort to the same old famous costume  . . . the Football Player!  I think he has only been two things his whole life for Halloween.  He was a pirate for about 3 years and has been a football player for probably 4 or 5 years.  

We had a party dance at the church and of course we were asked to decorate for it.  The decorations always impress everyone and it really makes for a fun party!  Too bad our whole family was busy with all of our other activities on couldn't actually attend the party.  We just setup and took it all down.

Halloween night was the usual ritual.  Grant and Nadia come in from the country to trick or treat with JJ and Sadie.  Every year they get a little faster and little smarter.  We take the van filled with big blue buckets for each kid.  After they run like crazy from house to house on a street they stop by the van and dump their candy so their bag doesn't get too heavy and then they run to the next street.  In two hours they accumulate so much candy it is disgusting!

In the contest between the the Football players and the cute M&M and lady bug guess which ones get more candy?

The M&M and the Lady Bug!

My Angel

Because of all the crazy flooding that went on in Calgary at the end of June, Sadie's final dance show  was cancelled.  I was so disappointed because she had learned new dances I hadn't seen before and even had a few new costumes that didn't get a chance to see the stage.  We decided to do a little photo shoot with all of her costumes.

A few action shots!

JJ trying to imitate Sadie.  You can see the difference between grace and not so graceful!

This is no easy thing to do!  

When Jordan saw this picture he was shocked at high Sadie can 

jump and how straight her arms and legs are in the air!

My very own special Angel!