I Hope You Dance - 2014 Dance Recitals

Payton and Addi's first year of dance is officially in the books. We weren't able to take any pictures during the recitals, but if you scroll down to the last post, you can see the girls dancing at their dress rehearsals.  After the rehearsal last night, Payton really wanted me to get blue eye shadow for the girls to wear.  I picked some up this morning, before the first recital.  Addi was in Show 1, so she got to be the first to wear it.  Here she is ready to go.  She wouldn't look up, but I thought this ended up being a really cute picture.

We made it to the recital and Payton and I took Addi to her dressing room.  Addi's back stage mom was great and had a DVD going for the girls to watch.  A little Shrek before hitting the stage, well, why not?

Payton and I made our way back to the auditorium.  It made me feel so good that Nana, Papa, Grandma B, Grandma Paula, Uncle Billy, Aunt Kary, Natalie, Emily, and Stephen all made it to Show 1.  I was also so glad that  Jason was able to take the day off of work to make sure that he could be there for his girls' big dancing debut.  And of course, Payton, Evan, and Karsyn were there to cheer Addi along.  Addi's first number was second in the line up.  She did so good!!!  At the end, she took a little bow before she ran off stage.  Her second dance was at number 11 in the line up.  Papa might have got a little tear in his eye when he was watching her.  He leaned over and said, "She's doing such a good job!"  After Addi's last number, I picked up Addi from the dressing room.  We were met in the lobby by the rest of our crew.  As we walked up, everyone started cheering for Addi.  She LOVED it!!!  Then, it was time for a few pictures.

Addi and Grandma Paula

My dancing girl

Pretty Cousins

Karsyn can't wait to start dancing now!

Papa Gene got this beautiful picture of Addi.  I LOVE it!!!  She looks so beautiful!

We left Addi's show after her last dance, so that we could eat and get Payton ready before her show.  Here's Payton right before we left.  She looks gorgeous.  I couldn't take my eyes off of her big, amazing eyes.  Wow!

As we pulled up to the recital, we were met by Papa Floyd and Grandma.  I took Payton to her dressing room while the rest of our crew went to find seats.  Payton got into her slippers and then settled in to wait a while.  Her number was after Intermission.

Karsyn and Addi kept busy at the recital by playing with stickers, their magnetic paper dolls, lap hopping and snuggling.  I really could not have asked them to be any better.

Karsyn

Addi

Evan enjoyed visiting with Stephen and playing the DSi.  He was a good little guy all day.

Payton danced and she did amazing!  Her class did so well!  I picked her up from her dressing room and she had a warm reception of family waiting for her in the lobby.

Payton's hair started to fall, despite having 23 bobby pins.  She loves her Nana!

After the recital, we celebrated by going out for frozen yogurt with Grandma and Papa Floyd.  The kiddos really loved that!

Payton was being silly when we got home, she was making me laugh.

Daddy put all of the recital flowers in the same vase as the roses he got me for our anniversary.  These flowers sure symbolize a great week.

With the girls' first recital in the books, I just can't help but feel grateful!  I am so thankful that the girls had so much family there for them on their big night.  I am thankful for all the nights Grandma tag teamed me at the dance studio, so that I could get Evan to his practices.  I am thankful that Jason works as hard as he does so that the girls can dance. It also make my heart swell up with pride that Addi and Payton both dared to take the stage.  That takes a lot of courage.  They both danced so beautiful.  I couldn't help but think of the song I Hope You Dance by Leann Womak.  Part of the lyrics go, "If you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance."  Addi and Payton did just that tonight.

Final Curtain Call - Dress Rehearsal 2014

Last Fall, Payton and Addi started taking dance.  It was a first for our little family.  Payton has been taking a ballet class.  Addi is taking a class called Creative Movement.  She's learning both tap and ballet.  Tonight, the girls had dress rehearsal for their recitals that are tomorrow.  Nana and Papa Gene were kind enough to keep Karsyn and Evan, since Daddy was at work.  I graduated from the high school where the dance recital is being held.  That was 15 years ago -wow!!!  Here's my dancing girls.

Payton and Addi

Addi's in the first show tomorrow, so her dress rehearsal was first. Her dressing room was the old debate class room.  It was pure chaos!  Three classes shared the dressing room that didn't have a working A/C!  Girls were changing, hair was being sprayed into place, head pieces were getting put on....you name it.  One mommy, from another class, had the great idea to let her little girl color during the wait.  The only problem was, she brought markers.  When mommy wasn't paying attention, little dancer and her friend started writing all over each other's faces!!!   As you can imagine, this didn't go over too well.  Fortunately, someone had baby wipes and the markers got put away. Not to long after that, Addi's class got called and it was time to line up! 

Payton and I hurried to find seats as the girls made it to their curtain call.  They did their tap dance first.  Addi did AMAZING!!!  Payton leaned over and whispered that she thought Addi was the best in her class!  I thought that was so sweet!  Addi got out there and never stopped dancing.  For this routine, they danced to "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast.

We were told to meet at the photography area after Addi's tap dance for make-up pictures.  One of the moms was wondering where the girls were and then we heard all of the girls walking down the hall in their tap shoes.  It was really cute!!!

Payton was such a good helper and so patient during Addi's dress rehearsal.  She's such a good girl!

After Addi's pictures, we had just enough time to switch out the girls' headpieces, shoes, and tights.  Then, the girls got their curtain call.  Addi's teacher put a little more lipstick on her.  And just so you know, putting lipstick on a four year-old is no easy task!  Addi kept trying to suck her lips in, instead of sticking them out. LOL!

 Payton and I headed back into the auditorium and then watched Addi's ballet dance.  They danced to "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid.

Addi blew me away again.  She did such a wonderful job!!!  After her dance, she had to take another picture with the photographer.  Her little class had enough excitement for one day and they didn't make the photographer's job very easy.  We had enough time to get Addi over to Nana and Papa's house before the second session of the dance recital was scheduled to start.  We rushed and got her there.  We could have taken our time, because session 1 dance rehearsal lasted longer than expected.  There were still 11 dances left for show 1 when we got back.  That meant Payton and I got to do a lot of waiting.  A local pizza place was selling slices of pieces, so we ate dinner and then waited in Payton's dressing room.  It was a different classroom, but it still had no A/C and it was quite toasty!  Payton was really quiet.  She said that she was nervous.  After waiting for almost 2 hours, we went and watched our friend Katelyn do her jazz routine.  When that dance was over, it was time to get back to the dressing room.  Katelyn changed to her ballet costume and we took a quick picture with another friend.  All 3 of these girls are about the same age.  It's crazy how their height can vary so much!

Then, the girls got their curtain call.  Payton takes good care of her friends.  She made sure Katelyn's slippers were perfect!

Kim and I made it to our seats and got to watch a couple of dances before the girls were on.  Then, it was their time to shine.  They danced to Celine Dion's song "My Heart Will Go On."

After the girls performed, they got a few directions from their teacher.  Here's Payton soaking it all in.

Payton did amazing!!!  She looked and danced beautifully.  I met her back stage and she was so excited.  She said, "Mom, I feel like I did really good!  And, I don't usually feel that way!"  I loved seeing her that happy!  I made sure that she knew that I thought she was awesome!!!  

All together, we spent 5 hours at the dress rehearsal.  It was worth every second to watch my girls take the stage. I couldn't be more proud of them.  Tomorrow night, I won't be able to take pictures, so I'm so glad that I was able to tonight.  I can't wait to watch their big shows!!!  I am so glad that my girls have been able to take dance these past few months.  It'll be a little more crazy and even more fun when Karsyn starts taking dance next fall!

Play Time At The Park

I really love the weather this time of year.  It's warm enough to play in the water and wear shorts, but it's no where near the dog days of summer.  Soon, the sweltering heat of an Oklahoma summer will be upon us.  We are trying to enjoy as much time outside at possible.  This morning, we once again headed for the park. It was a little cloudy, but every now and then the sun would peak out from behind the clouds.

Here goes Payton!

My Big Guy

I love it when my girlies hold hands.  So sweet!

This play structure is 3 stories tall.

The kids always love to climb to the top and peak out at me!

I LOVE watching Karsyn run.  She always swings her cute little arms like this.

Payton's always a good big sis.  She pushed Karsyn in the swing for quite some time.

Addi sat in a baby swing and got stuck.  I was worried that we would have to call the fire department to get her out.  Evan and I were able to pry her out.  After that, Addi decided that she wanted to push Karsyn instead.

That made both girls really happy.

Sisterly love.

My baby is getting really big!!!

Karsyn

Our last stop was the tire swing!!!!

We had a really fun time!  I know I've posted a lot of park pictures lately, so these will be our last for a while.  I promise!  Hope you all are enjoying a great day!!!