JOY

Utah Feis Countdown-3 Days

Not really much to report except I worked 5 hours longer than I had anticipated, which put me 5 hours behind.  Needless to say, I didn't get much accomplished today.

One good thing did happen today. I did get a ton of last minute donations (given by truly excited and gracious people) that helped me finalize my end of a really big project that was started by some of us at the dance studio.  It's really a wonderful thing and I can't say much about it right now, except that I can't wait to show pictures on this blog in a few weeks.  I'll have to ask her permission first though.  This was a hard and sometimes draining project to accomplish, but every week I was reminded why we were all working so hard. I know we are all breathing a huge sigh of relief that we're done, but I'm extremely humbled by the outpouring of support we received.  I want to shout it from the rooftops, print it in every newspaper...THANK YOU!!!  THANK YOU!!  GOD BLESS YOU!!   

Utah Feis Countdown-4 Days

I feel so unprepared for the Utah Feis this coming weekend.  I have a bajillion thoughts and worries running through my head and not one of them is about Irish Dancing.  It's crazy.  I feel like I can't get my mind focused enough to concentrate on my children practicing for the upcoming feis.  

Chloe and Casey are doing great with practicing.  I'm really happy that Chloe has reached the point where she self corrects herself.  I don't feel like I constantly need to be right there pointing out the great things as well as the things she needs to work on.  I'm certain the extra private lessons have helped her learn that very valuable habit.  Casey self corrects, but only if he's being watched.  If I leave him alone he'll buzz through his dances and call it quits.  I don't push him, per say, but I do encourage him to stop and go back over what he feels needs work.  Mostly, he feels nothing needs extra work.  AAAHHHH!  LOL

Casey finally received his Novice outfit.  It's pretty much just his old outfit with a vest added on, but it makes such a big difference when he's on stage.  I'll post pictures this weekend.

Brenden and Braden are doing well. They are not much for practicing unless forced, but I figure how far they advance is up to them.  It's a good tool that teaches them if they practice they'll advance...if they don't, they probably won't.  Life's lessons are hard, but well worth learning.  They are ready for the feis.....well, except for one lost green tie.  I keep forgetting about that one.  I must remember to search high and low the next couple days to find it and call the tie store to get a new one!  I should also buy them new black shirts as the ones they have are getting really tight. I'm sure all the girls will be chasing after them.  Hopefully the boys will wait until AFTER the feis to concentrate on meeting them.  I know, I know... 14 year old boys priorities are not the same as their mothers.  

Caleb is excited about the feis, too.  He's in Beginner I levels and will be competing his Reel and Light Jig with 7-8 other competitors in his age range.  We got his hair cut, so he's looking great and not so shaggy up top these days.  I love watching him dance......he has this proud expression on his face. He knows what he's doing and he won't let anyone but Jill (our TCRG) tell him what he needs to change or work on.  So independent he is and oh so stubborn.  

Rob's Brand New Wife

The first two pictures are the day I got the haircut, this past Tuesday.  As you can see, Caleb also got his chopped a bit, too. He looks just like Casey now.   We were both sporting new do's. 

I was afraid to get my hair cut so short, but I trust my hairdresser.  I have a red streak on my "sweeping bangs" which luckily I can tuck behind my ear.  I got so tired of putting my hair up all the time and it was very heavy and hot.  Someday I'll grow it back long, but for now it's a good change. It's something different.  I thought it would make my face look "fatter", but I don't see that it does.  

The last two pictures are from today.  I took a shower last night and didn't do my hair.  Wow, I was in for a short hair shock this morning when I woke up.  I got my hair wet and styled it.  In doing so, I realized I need a new round brush and a couple hair products to help me out......but until then I think I did a pretty decent job recreating what my hairdresser did. 

If you don't see a difference in the two pictures...just know that I can feel it.  Mine feels a bit more poofy than after she did it.  That's all.  Otherwise, it's all good.

All finished and bored.

LEGO Indiana Jones

The game was way too easy.  I mean, I did have to use a couple helps from some internet junkies who spend all their time on the video game boards, but hey....a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do.  I was so close but couldn't find a few pieces no matter how hard I tried.  Ironically, the harder I searched the further they were.  I wasn't the only one that looked online either.  I didn't even have to ask the question.  Someone else had a hard time finding it before me and asked.  They even left a really nice, easy to find, subject line too.   I have to thank the LEGO maniacs...cuz without them...I'd still be playing the game.

I won't even spoil the end of the game.  I will say, however, that after already having saved up to buy all the x features.....I wasn't the least bit happy with the great prize it gave me.   All that saving and hoarding of coins to purchase the x features so early in your game isn't worth it. I'm just sayin'.  

I went back and tried to finish my Star Wars Complete Saga game, but it's really boring having played it 1.6 billion times already.  I think I'll just take a break from XBox 360 and get some laundry done. Oh and someone once said that kids really do need to eat.  ;)

Update on LEGO Indy....SPOILER ALERT!!!

Oh yeah.  

I'm the LEGO Indy Queen!!!!  

In saving all my valuable coins I have single handedly (well, my kids helped some) purchased the x2, x4, x6, x8 and x10 features.  This has given me a total of x3840 per coin value.  I have also purchased EVERYONE...including Han Solo.  I've also found all five of the Star Wars characters who are hidden throughout the game.  

The only thing I haven't done is get all the pieces for each levels artifact.  I'll get those sometime this week.

This game was much easier than the Star Wars ones.  

Can't wait till Batman comes out.  What shall I do until September?  Any suggestions?

Colorado Winterfeis 2008

I found this in my draft archives and feel lame for not posting it. This trip was back in Jan 2008. Gosh. Where have I been?

February 1, 2008 @ 2:25 pm:

Sorry it's taken me a long time to post. I got sick on the airplane going to Denver which absolutely put a black cloud over my mood. I spent the weekend with razors in my throat and feeling extremely horrible. We arrived home Sunday and I've spent the rest of the week coughing up a lung. Or two.

Anyway- the Colorado Winterfeis was great. Both Casey and Chloe did very well. In fact, The Crawford School of Irish Dance novice class was well represented and placed in many dances. I am quite biased, but I must say that the whole class is amazing. They really seem to work hard as a team and this allows them to shine wherever they go. The parents of this group are wonderful. I consider them very good friends.

Casey won FIRST place in his reel. He danced with 11 other dancers, most of them girls. That is pretty amazing. Typically they have the boys separated from the girls, but not here. He still won FIRST! I'm so proud of him! Way to go Casey!! He now is Novice in all of his dances, except his Reel. That moved up to Prizewinner.

Casey also received:

FIGURES:

1st in 4 hand

1st in 3 hand reel

SOLO'S

1st in Reel (moved to prizewinner)

3rd in Hornpipe (stayed in Novice)

3rd in St. Patrick's Day (moved to Novice)

Chloe won FIRST place in her Hornpipe, which is a hardshoe dance.

She moves that dance up to Prizewinner and now has two dances in that level.

FIGURES:

1st in 4 hand

2nd in 3 hand

SOLO'S

2nd in Reel

1st in Single Jig

4th in Treble Jig

1st in Hornpipe

4th in St. . Patrick's Day

Chloe standing while waiting for her competition to begin.  She's standing because she cannot sit on her dress.  We use a padded bucket or a no-back folding tripod type chair for when she's waiting between dances.  She's so patient and I can imagine her legs are so tired by the time feis is over.  Good thing she has a mommy who will lovingly massage them after a nice warm bath.  


The lady behind her is counting for her.  Usually she doesn't need it, but I appreciate having them there.  A few times we've had someone counting off beat...good thing Chloe has good timing and is intently listening.


Casey waiting on stage for his 4 hand to begin.  There are girls next to him, but I cropped them out.  The adjudicator was late for this one.   Doesn't he look like a mini Michael Flatley?

Dancing the 4 hand with fellow Crawford dancers.

Waiting in the SLC airport for our travel mates.  Of course Chloe had to bring her American Girl doll.  :)

The drink I firmly believe was made in Heaven and brought to us by a very energetic angel.  I cannot live without my Starbucks.  

**Edited 6/15/08**

I REALLY hate that gas is $4.00 a gallon.  It's cut deeply into my coffee fund.  :(

My Favorite Picture

A really good friend of mine took this shot.  I fell in love with it immediately.  It's Chloe.  Pretty sweet turn-out wouldn't you say?  

In case anyone asks......

LEGO video games are not the reason I have not been posting in awhile.  

Really, we've been so busy with Irish Dance, work, contemplating moving AGAIN and just life in general.  I'm not sure why 5 children keep me so busy.  You would have thought I'd have figured out all that time management stuff by now.  

I've also had a huge writers block.  Not that I write about anything interesting anyway.  I just haven't felt like doing much more than surfing my favorite blogs when I'm online...oh and researching Cognitive Left Brain Disability.   More on that in another post.

Anyway- after writing about my LEGO adventures I've realized my kids are still up.  So, I guess I must remove myself from my comfy chair and put my kids in bed (it's almost 11 pm) and then (since hubby is still at work) I guess I could go play a few more levels to see if I can get a bit further into my game.  Oh, I should also eat something since all I've eaten all day is a handful of chips, half a hot dog and a diet coke.  Yeah....healthy huh?  A sure fire way for me to hold on to the extra 10 lbs I've gained in the past 6 months.  I have been walking more though.  Thought I'd through in a positive tidbit.

Can't life just stop for a few days?  I really need time to catch up. 

Oh, and just so you can see what I'm up against.  Here's a picture of my LEGO bully sporting the sign for "I Love You!"  Just remember he's the one who pushes you off cliffs and wouldn't think twice about cutting you in half with a light saber.  Don't say I didn't warn ya.

 

My newest addiction.....

Da dadada, da da dum, dadadada, da da da da dum.............

Yep.  LEGO Indiana Jones.  That's my latest, newest......most worthwhile addiction.  I absolutely love the LEGO Xbox 360 games.  We have them all.  

LEGO Star Wars 1, 2, and 3,

LEGO Star Wars 4, 5, and 6,

LEGO the COMPLETE SAGA (both Legos compiled into one...it's SWEET!!!!!) and

LEGO Indiana Jones

There's just something very satisfying about demolishing everything in your path, building things that give you a prize or lead you somewhere and earning MONEY!  Right now I have a little over 1 million with the x2 feature.  I'm working my way up to 2 million so I can buy the x4 thus giving me x8.  HEHE.  I love collecting all the coins. 

There is one thing I do not like about these games.  My 6 year old and I actually argue about them.  He's mean.  He beats me up so I break apart and then grabs the thing I was going for.  How rude!  He'll jump on a rope or do something so I can't do it.  Oh, and one time (this was the final straw) we actually had a fight about who was going to build the object and we both sat there.....for like 5 minutes......saying:  "You build it!" "NO!  You build it!"  "That's not fair! You get to do everything!"  "It's my game"  "Fine!  I'm not playing with you anymore.  You're mean!"  Then I threw down the controller and stomped upstairs.  The nerve of that child.   I swear!  

And coming in September to further my LEGO addiction and quite possibly prolong the LEGO battles with my 6 year old son.............

Please Pray for the Fahmer family

I haven't ever blogged about Jacob, but I'm a huge fan of his and read his blog daily.  I've been following his life for a few months now.  My heart is truly heavy.  

The Life of Jacob Ryan Fahmer

It is with a weird combination of a heavy heart and sense of celebration that we are sad to announce that Jacob went home to be with the Lord today around 5:30 PM. Please pray that his life continues to be celebrated and that others draw close to Christ as a result of his passing.

Red Butte Gardens Field Trip

Spring in Utah hasn't been very warm. We are planning on going back...maybe in June when the surroundings will be a bit more green. The weather on this day was one of the better days we've had...and that's not saying much. It was warm in the sun and by 1 pm I wanted to take my jacket off. I had a great time being in charge of five girls from Chloe's third grade class (including Chloe). Here are some photographs from our trip. I'm really proud of the flower ones I took. I think I'm getting a bit better on my camera. Maybe hubby will buy me that extra lens I want. :)

How it all began.

This is the first performance for Casey & Chloe. I was so happy when I found this picture. It's amazing to think they had been dancing for some time by the time this photo was taken. Oh, and Chloe had been dancing for about 2.5 years before!!

Just because I love him. "He got me."

Monday, Rob came home from work saying that he was having some pain. He mentioned that it might be a "kidney stone".  I lovingly rubbed his back "where he said it hurt" while we watched t.v.  I know the pain of having a stone....it is not fun.

  

Tuesday, he was complaining a bit when I would call him at work. I wasn't quite sure he had a stone though.  The pain is unbearable and he sounded like he had some bad gas.   Uncomfortable, but not necessarily "kidney stone" painful.  

Just so you know.....I'm always the one who is sick or has something serious happen.  

Such as the time I was pregnant and began spotting during my 5th week and cramping really badly.  I was still pregnant according to my doctor, but my "dates were off".  Three weeks later I was rushed into surgery for a ruptured fallopian tube. 

 

Then, when my 4th child was born, I began having severe chest pains.  Rob took me to the ER after a couple attacks and they said it was my gallbladder.  My tiny baby girl was only 3 weeks old when I had that sucker removed.  I ended up staying in the hospital overnight because they were having trouble waking me up. 

In 2005, my oldest son was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that required surgery.  Having spent so many weeks in the hospital clinics running tests for his upcoming surgery...not to mention the stress of knowing my baby was going to have his heart worked on got the best of me.  We spent 24 hours in the PICU and another 4 days on the cardiac floor. I didn't leave his side very often.  I ended up getting an undetected raging strep infection that made my immune system crazy.  After several misdiagnosis' in 10 months,  I finally found someone who could figure it all out.  Sarcoidosis.  Luckily, it hasn't affected my lungs, brain or other major organs.  It might be in my liver (major I know, but still...it's not my brain!) and I know it's in my muscles and possibly my bones.  I still have flare ups and will always have Sarcoid.  I just like it better when it's in remission. 

Anyway-I'm acutely aware of the "universal pain scale".

When he came home from work last night,  I was in the basement with the kids cleaning up/organizing.  He sounded like he was in pain so I went upstairs to check on him.  I was thinking we should go to the InstaCare or ER.  He said he had to go to the bathroom, that it was starting to hurt and he had to urinate very often.  I heard him groaning and opened the bathroom door to see what was wrong.  He had blood all over his hands and his boy bits.  I *almost* started to freak out when I saw what looked like a blood clot at the bottom of the toilet.  That is until I noticed the blood drips on the inside of the toilet.  They weren't red, but more of a darker pink color.  I then looked at his hands and noticed the bright red tint soaking into the skin of his finger tips.

  

I began laughing so hard and told him it wasn't even real blood.  I even touched his hand and the ink instantly soaked into my skin, was thin, not coagulated and was turning dark pink. Coming from a woman who has been menstruating since she was 11 years old.  That is not blood.  Come on!  Are you seriously going to try and pass off PINK blood?  He was so mad that I caught him in his joke.  He told me I wasn't any fun because I could have just let him think he got me for once. 

 

Babe- I am the QUEEN of April Fool's Day!  There is none better than me and you know that.  Had you just played it off and let me drive you to the doctor, you could have totally gotten me.  Instead, you had to add blood.  Big mistake. That ruined it for you.  I'm sorry.

  

In a way, you did get me, though.  You received one night of just laying on the couch without me hassling you to do this or that.  You also got a pretty decent back rub.  Oh and because you were "sick" I decided early April 1st that I couldn't get you with a REAL April Fool's joke because that would make me cruel.  I couldn't bear being cruel.  

Just so you know.  Next year is full on! 

 

Oh, I do love you!!  

Muahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

*Edited to add* That photo is not of me...that's Kathy Bates in Misery.  

You know..to scare the poor fellow. He deserves it.  ;)

  This one does happen to be a photo of me.  Cute, huh?:

The Blog Fog

I have an annoying tendency to just up and leave the things I love to do.  Like blogging.  Mainly because I get too overwhelmed with things going on in my life.  My brain shuts down and I can only focus on the here and now.  Oh, and the other things that drain me when I'm stressed. 

For instance....

1) Taxes.  They were finally finished and filed last night, thanks to the help of a friend of ours. When I did my taxes on TurboTax last January, it notified me that I would owe the state close to $500 dollars.  After mulling it over in my mind for a few weeks, I quietly shoved it away because it was just one more thing added to my plate.  Our friend helped us realize that the reason behind the "First in our lifetime" payment was that we ever so slightly jumped to a higher tax bracket due to my job.  So, instead of paying the government 15% of our wages, we are paying 25%.  That's how it was explained to me, at least.    

2) Finances.  Just going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University has helped a lot. 

It's now just implementing what we are learning in the course.  That's the hard part, but gives me hope that we'll one day be completely out of debt.  I can't wait till our federal return and the dreaded stimulus package arrive.  We'll finally finish Baby Step 1 and really debt snowball, too. Whoo-hoo! 

It's funny how a tiny bit of the fog lifts when something once stressful is now accomplished and checked off the "To Do" list.  It lifted enough for me to blog this.  Hallelujah!!

Learning the Treble Jig

Clare taught us another part of our Treble Jig this evening.  

I know that 3 months from now, I'll be saying the treble jig is SOOOO easy.  However, I'm still on the first step and trying to figure out my left foot now.  

How is it that I can do some of the steps great on my right leg, but those same steps I can't even figure out on my left leg?  Then, there are steps I do on my left leg that I can't seem to figure out on my right leg?

One of the new girls was asking me about the light jig.  That's so cool they are already learning that dance!  Good for them!  I was able to help her with the right leg and I remember having so much trouble with that dance.  Sometimes when you're learning something, you wonder if you'll ever get it.  It's good to know I will...someday.

Now....I just need to figure out how to dance hardshoe with the dang shoes ON.  

Wish me luck!  I am so afraid of falling on my butt and breaking something.  

Made in China

Every Thursday Caleb has Show & Tell, and every week it's a different theme. 

This weeks theme was "Something from China or Japan". Rob was supposed to bring Caleb some rocks he had at work that were from China.  I figured I didn't need to worry about it since dad had already taken care of it. 

Thursday morning I rushed Caleb to daycare so I could get to work. I was already running behind and completely forgot to ask Caleb if he had his Show & Tell for the day. In fact, it wasn't until about 1:45 p.m that it hit me. 

I sank down in my car feeling extremely guilty. I had these horrible thoughts of my son remembering it was Show & Tell the moment he got to school and sobbing because his teacher wouldn't let him call his mommy. I pictured his sad face, distraught at the thought of not being able to share. I imagined his little heart breaking as everyone around him eagerly thrust their hands into the air, waving them frantically, for the teacher to call on them. I thought..."What a horrible mom I am!"

This morning we were waiting in the van at the bus stop.  Caleb was eating his lunch and I remembered that I wanted to apologize for forgetting his Show & Tell. 

Mom: Sweetie, I'm sorry I forgot to give you something for Show & Tell yesterday.

Caleb: You mean the one from China?

Mom: Yes.

Caleb: Oh. I took my airplane. It said,  Made. In. China.

Hardshoe-The First 2 Steps.

The adult class is so much fun!  Nevermind the sore muscles, shin splints and blisters, you'll eventually heal.   Yesterday, at dance,  Clare introduced a new kind of pain.  Something so barbaric I started googling "Midevil torture devices" just to see if these would pop up.

I understand the heel.  It's a fiberglass heel.  Makes a beautiful sound when used on the proper flooring and makes every man, woman and child want to run out and be in Riverdance.  Forget that you've never taken a lesson in your life.  Those shoes.  They are magic.  Amazing.  They make your feet fly. 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not quite how it happens.  First, you must buy those cute little shoes.  

STEP ONE: THE FITTING!

If you're lucky enough to have the "shoe nazi" fitting you, you'll be told you should buy the ones that aren't quite your size.  In fact, you're looking about 2-3 sizes smaller than your street shoe.  You scoff at "shoe nazi's" ridiculous comment and shuffle out to your instructor to see which ones she thinks fit better.   You ask your instructor, feeling confident she'll want you to get what is "comfortable", if you should get the ones that feel a little tight or the ones that cut off your circulation?  All the while trying so hard to make her choose the bigger shoe by wiggling that foot towards her a bit more and trying to point pretty.  After picking your jaw off the floor you shuffle back to "shoe nazi" and show her the meanest scowl you can (for posterity sake), then you whip out your checkbook and as you write her the enormous check...you mumble "She said the smaller ones are better."  She'll mumble something about your point not looking right, blah blah and how you would regret getting the bigger ones after a few months, blah-blah.   Anyway, about $170 dollars later you're ready to move on to step two.  

STEP TWO: STANDING UP! 

After you've figured out how to put the shoes on, you'll want to stand up.  I would suggest grabbing on to the nearest stable piece of furniture.  If one isn't nearby try grabbing your classmates leg and haul yourself up.  You could always try to stand up as if you were just learning to walk, which is what I end up doing.  It works, but it looks very odd.  Brush yourself off and then walk slowly into position.  Now would not be the best time to work on your leaps or skips.  Just steady slow, precise movements will do.  Once you've mastered standing up it's time to learn how to shuffle.

This is about as far as I've gotten.  The front heel/toe/tip thing makes it really hard for me to lift up.  It's hard anyway, but man it's 100x worse with the hardshoe.  Trying to lift my body weight over a toe heel by using my arthritic toes is almost impossible.  I may just have to take a Lortab before class next week.  

Did I mention the adult class is fun?  

 

Look what I did!

Take a look over in my sidebar. It's an image link to Crawford School of Irish Dance! I did that myself. Using HTML. I'm so proud of me! Go Lorri! Go Lorri!

Sorry- I just had to let you see what I did.

Back to your regularly scheduled Irish Dance stuff......

Photos from the ROI show!

I think this photo is absolutely beautiful. 

I can't even explain the pure JOY I feel when I see my children Irish Dance.  Casey, Chloe and the whole novice class were amazing last night. I am so proud of them all.  They truly rose to the occasion and danced their little hearts out.  The audience "awww'ed" when they came on to the stage. Chloe told me later she thought it was cute when they did that.

The Rhythm of Ireland dancers were spectacular in every way. I had tears in my eyes watching them. I love how the girls treat my little ones.  They yelp and whistle while they dance. There are a handful that really lift up my children and have given some amazing help/advice in all aspects of Irish dance.  I adore each and every one of them and thank them for being the kind of young ladies my daughter can look up to. BRAVO ROI dancers!! That goes for Shelley school, too! ALL of you were amazing!

I can't end the post without giving props to Jill Crawford and Tina Shelley. To thank them for allowing the Crawford Novice dance class to perform with an amazing and talented group. Thank you, Jill, for inspiring my kids (even the ones who don't necessarily think dancing is the coolest) and being someone they can trust.

One of our Champion dancers is going on a mission for the LDS church. Guess where? IRELAND!! How cool is that to be an Irish dancer and get sent for 18 months to such a beautiful country?  I somehow doubt she'll be visitin' the local pub in order to get jiggy, but hey....maybe she'll be able to sneak away and be a spectator at Worlds or something. I hope she sends lots of pictures! 

I have several more pictures to share with you of the day.  Enjoy!

This is Casey with a friend of his. Aren't they cute?! Casey wants to be the next Michael Flatley.

This is Caleb (my pee-wee dancer). He was mad (and crying) because he wanted a ROI t-shirt like his brother.


Thanks Dan (Jill's husband), for making his day!


Sorry for the blurry photo.  This is Chloe with, Clare, one of our Championship dancers.  She's also the kids private instructor when it's needed.  We love Clare!

*EDITED TO ADD* I totally forgot to mention that Clare is my adult instructor, too. This week she's been trying to teach us hardshoe. And just when I thought I had finally broken in my ghillies.....here come the hard shoes.



This striking young lady has an amazing heart.  She's one of the people I was discussing above.  She is a graceful dancer and is beautiful....inside and out.  I trust her with my children and the kids adore her.  Her talented father (and my Mac guru) also teaches Casey the Irish whistle.  He'll soon be teaching Chloe how to play the piccolo.  

Gamma (my mom) & Nana (my grandmother) wouldn't have missed this performance for anything!  We are so excited they came.  It's a blessing to have family who cares and supports your children in what they do. 

The Rhythm of Ireland

My kids are famous!

Well, not really, but they are amazingly amazing!  

Casey and Chloe's novice class has been given a wonderful opportunity to dance with Utah's premiere Irish Dance company, The Rhythm of Ireland,  this Saturday during both performances.

My mother bought us tickets to the evening performance. Usually, I'm backstage, but I'll get to see the show this time!  Thanks Mom!!

Practice, practice, practice.

With the Castle Rock feis coming up, Casey and Chloe have been practicing every day. I am so proud of them!

A few months ago we had a flood in our basement and our dance floor was ruined.  Anyone need some plywood that already has a sweet transition?  Skateboard ramp anyone? 

After we cleaned up the soggy mess and organized the Martha Stewart/Lorri way, we decided to move.  Building another dance floor wasn't high on our priority list seeing as we didn't know WHERE we were going to live. Because of our small house and cramped quarters the kids home practice abruptly stopped. The lack of practice led to some rusty dancing and forgetting the new dances they were learning.  The stress of moving made everyone tired and grouchy. 

This was extremely upsetting to Chloe as she began to see her fellow classmates move ahead of her.  There wasn't much she/we  could do. We were moving and I know the stress was very difficult for her.  We finally moved on December 15th and our home is beautiful.  It's a place I want to be.  Chloe's mood improved and on December 31, 2007 she asked me if she could make a New Year's resolution to practice more and to have a better attitude at dance class?  I was very proud of her.  She did that all by herself.  I'm not going to force her to practice...I never have had to. Every chance she gets, she's jiggin' it up.  

Sorry about the quality of this photo. It's actually the start of a video....but I don't have any skillz at editing/coding/uploading little video clips. Regardless, you get to see where she practices for the time being. Do you like my red wall? I'm still decorating, btw. Oh...that reminds me!! See that cross next to the mirror? I am looking for a twin to match. They were sold by PartyLite candle company. I need another one to complete my wall.