First Solo Competition of 2016

On Friday, we headed out to Fort Worth for Lainey's first solo performance of 2016! Morgan's aunt - Marisa - and I surprised the girls by writing little inspirational messages on balloons and dumping them on the girls. They thought it was awesome. It's so nice when surprises like that work out the way you want them to! :)

Faith, Caitlyn, Lainey, and Morgan

backstage with Faith...watching the competition

sweet, sweet girls

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And next up...a billion pictures from her solo...

Look at that face! She's into it!

I missed my photo opportunity here. But Lainey won the "Category Cup" for her age group and category... Musical Theater, 7-8 year olds.

She also won an entertainment award. :) I think she tied for 8th place here.

Sometimes I wonder if Lainey loves dancing as much as she loves Dippin' Dots. Whenever we're at this venue, those Dippin' Dots are present. And we always get some at the end of a competition.

Lainey got 2nd overall for 8 & Under girls...second only to her good friend, Lauren. She was very proud of herself! :) 

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Lots of laughs. We made videos of each kid like this -- they are hilarious. I remember doing this in about 5th grade or so. Here are some still shots from the videos! :)

JUMP Dance Convention / Competition

I can say, truthfully, that this girl loves to perform.

friends during class: Lainey and Ava

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And in case anyone is wondering, she danced even after she got home. Both days. I would have been exhausted!

January...

Sorry for my lack of blog posts! Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to lately...

Lainey went to a birthday party at Great Wolf Lodge. It was awesome. I didn't stay, but the girls had an absolute blast.

Lainey and Walker discovered our dry-cleaning bin. It's like a fun-house mirror. :) Everything looks longer in the bin...like Lainey's fingers.

She thought it was hilarious. Not kidding. Both kids were entertained for a solid fifteen minutes. Walker discovered that other parts of his body looked long. :-/

Some of my very favorite people. :) I love all of them.

Walker's cute class made "moons" at their tables! And he no longer likes peanut butter because it sticks in his teeth. And he has anxiety about going #2 at school. Always something with that sweet boy. But it's okay. It's all about perspective. :) 

And, the kids have had several "snowball fights" in our house. It's hilarious. Another activity that occupies them for quite some time! :) Basically,.. Lainey is great at inventing games and activities and can almost always create something out of nothing. She's your girl if you have a "bored" child...she is much better at entertaining herself than Walker. :) Which is why we miss her when she's not home... ;)

2016!

Happy New Year! From Lainey. Mid-flip. New Year's Eve Day.

Lainey's first sleepover birthday party was at Morgan's house, just after Christmas. 

They had a blast. Lainey got a whopping 5-1/2 hours of sleep and was a disaster the next day. But she had a wonderful time.

being flexible

Walker and Ben attended the NCAA Division I championship game on Saturday. It was COLD. Walker wore a sweatshirt on top of his long-sleeved shirt. Ben and I consider that a win in the jacket battle. ;) North Dakota State beat Jacksonville State and the boys stayed the WHOLE time. Amazingly!

Hope everyone's year is off to a great start! :)