A Busy Dance Weekend

The girls' LAST class in the old studio was November 30th! 

L to R: Emerson, Madeleine, Lainey, Kali, Ella, Allyson, Brooklyn, and Izzy

Lainey and I headed to a dance convention in Dallas for the weekend, and Walker spent some time with the Sievers family. :) I am so thankful for our friends' and family members' help and support while Ben is in the hospital. I couldn't do it without them!

Lainey with friends Kherington and Reese

Her little "tribe" of friends - what a solid, awesome group of kids. I'm so thankful for them AND their moms! 

getting her tap shoe signed by one of the most talented tap dancers around...Anthony Morigerato 

bottom row, third from the left

with friends Lucah and Avery

cute little tappers

with Jenna from So You Think You Can Dance

Walker spent some time with this little guy...here he is...Thomas Shelby holding the "Shelby" car!

that purplish blur is Lainey...doing her "improv" down the aisle towards the stage during the closing show

Lainey - middle, next to one of her favorites, Anna

This is the cutest photo. I love the hugs they are giving each other. Such an HONOR to even be recognized at these huge conventions. The fact that they are both up there, for the first time, is HUGE. :) 

Three out of four girls are from Lainey's studio. Way to represent, ladies! :)

Morgan & Lainey :)

The new dance studio opened! Dance Industry's new home is AMAZING! 

with Mikey - who is such a wonderful, talented person and who happens to be choreographing her solo this year (we are so lucky!)

with Ms. Christy, the owner

with Ms. Jamie, the studio's "rock" and office manager

playing around in the new ballet studio

And - unrelated - but here's Reagan...and whenever Reagan isn't feeling well (she had a rough few days at the beginning of the week), she climbs into the kids' laps. She will sit wherever she's welcome. Her love language is definitely "physical touch" as she LOVES to be held by anyone and everyone...even kids, if she's desperate enough. ;)

again, sitting with Walker

Reagan started feeling better yesterday evening, and Walker made the comment that "she doesn't like to sit on our laps anymore." :) When she's feeling sick, she likes the laps....but when she's feeling well, not so much. :) She quickly reverts back to her skeptical, feisty self around the kids!

Walker and Lainey have been taking art class through a program called Young Rembrants. Lainey loves it...Walker sorta loves it. However, Walker HAS started to become more interested in drawing. Emmy and Walker spent a little time drawing together last weekend, and just yesterday, Walker drew this picture at school. I think it's pretty good! He obviously has incorporated some of the things that he learned - the shadows, the horizon line, the narrowing of roads as they fade into the distance...all big things! I'm so proud of him! :) And thanks, Emmy, for the tutorials! :)

More Fun Over the Break

Lainey and Walker spent time with Kaitlyn, Brayden, and Camryn so I could hang out at the hospital; it was such a blessing. The kids had a wonderful time! I am so thankful for these lifelong friends! :) 

The boys used shelf liner to create a track for their cars. :) Pretty creative!

Oh and here's Reagan...her most recent haircut has left her very cold so she is wearing her sweater from about 12 years ago. :) Glad it still fits! And this picture is just cute because of her ears - she looks like a tiny bat. She was barking at me in this photo. :) 

Lainey and Walker have set up a classroom upstairs. (Okay, Lainey set it up, but Walker went along with it.) This note went "home" with Walker after a day at "school." Lainey (a.k.a. Ms. Kenny) claimed that Walker had been drawing "bottoms" on his paper during class. :) Ha! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

While we missed Ben terribly, we did manage to have a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. I was able to spend a couple of hours with Ben on Thanksgiving morning, then I took the kids to my parents' house for a fabulous afternoon meal. It was very relaxing and a nice break from our current situation. :) 

Walker is pouting. He really wanted to hold Tom for the first picture. :) 

Then, after I called him out on his behavior, he managed a little smile. :) 

Walker's turn! :) (Tom didn't slide off his lap, not to worry!)

the cute little family of three

Walker was CRACKING us up with his comments about nursing. Whitney would take time to nurse Tom, and Walker just assumed that Tom liked hanging out under Aunt Whitney's shirt. Initially, he was surprised that Tom "was under [Aunt Whitney's] shirt" and then he later told Yiyia that Tom was "trying to eat her shirt."  He also thought that Whitney's shirt was magic, as it calmed Tom down whenever he put his head "under there." He also wanted Whitney to test it; he wanted her to pull Tom out of the shirt and then put him back under...like a game to see how worked up Tom would get before being calmed down again! :) We have laughed and laughed about this! So of course I had to document it on the blog. :)

Sofi. Such a classy dog.

At home every year, we pull out our "Thankful Tree" for the month of November. We've done this since Lainey was in first grade; I've saved all the notes and they are so cute to read year after year. :)

a sweet note from Lainey this year

Walker is thankful for "Daddy trying his hardest." 

(When Walker gets overwhelmed or anxious, I always tell him to "try" - he doesn't have to succeed, but he has to try. I find myself telling Ben the same thing and clearly I've told the kids that I give him that advice!)

another of Lainey's

another of Walker's

To conclude our Thanksgiving week, we got to visit with Kate, Stefo, Lucie, and Eva for a bit! They came over Sunday morning and stayed through lunchtime. Kate and I ran to the hospital to see Ben for a bit while Stefo hung out with the girls (Walker went to a friend's house).  It was SO wonderful to see their family. It just made me so happy!

***

 I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now...it's time to get ready for Christmas!

California Cousins

Lainey and Walker's second cousins came in to visit from California! Ben's cousin, wife, and three kids live in Twentynine Palms, CA. Pictured here with Lainey and Walker are first cousins Brooke and Kate along with second cousins Duncan, Ann, and Clara. We celebrated Bud's birthday last Sunday evening. :) 

On Wednesday, Collin, Cally, and Ella joined the crew for lunch at Benihanas...

and then they went to Top Golf!

We loved seeing these second cousins and their parents, Brandon and Amanda! (And yes, they got to spend some time with Ben at the hospital!)

Adrenaline Dance Convention / Competition

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Lainey attended Adrenaline Dance Convention and Competition in Frisco. It was her first time performing this year and her team did great! She performed in two groups numbers - one jazz, the other hip-hop.

Cousin Kate and Aunt Tisha came to watch Lainey dance!

before hip-hop, with Lucah, Anna, and Brooklyn (a.k.a. B.B.)

Lainey helped demonstrate during tap class. :) That is her, up on the stage! :)

Lainey was chosen as a member of the Adrenaline Performance Crew! She was SO excited! After learning a combination in Musical Theater class and performing it during an audition, 175 girls (give or take a few) were narrowed down to 15. Lainey was chosen as one of the 15! (She's pictured here with a friend from another studio.)

with friends: Lucah, B.B., Reagan, Avery, and Anna

with Lucah and Avery

AND! As a total and complete surprise, Lainey was chosen as a member of the Adrenaline Elite Crew. (The picture above shows the girls waiting patiently for the announcement...the red arrow is pointing to Lainey, so you can find her in the crowd!) This was such an honor as only one student is chosen per level: Mini, Junior, Teen, and Senior. Lainey was chosen from the Mini group (ages 6-10).  I was so shocked that I cried! What a cool experience and a bit of good news goes a long way these days! :) (And being part of the Adrenaline Elite Crew means that we get free tuition to our next Adrenaline convention...that is SO helpful!)

Cute little Walker had fun with Emmy and Tuck while I was with Lainey at dance. :) He looks so big here! :)