Peyton dancing in Rock Star

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTInQGc55J4

Kali dancing in Evacuate the Dance Floor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUEEKFX8Zok

Kali dancing in Naturally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7_ganF35uA

Dance 2010

Another year of dance training under their belts. It will be a busy week for my tiny dancers. Kali has her last week of classes and Peyton has classes and a dress rehearsal. Saturday will be crazy. I have to run a rehearsal for one studio from 9-2 then I have to get across town for a recital at 3. Of course, the other studio has it's show that night at 7. I thought I was done with 14 hours work days ~ guess not. Poor Peyton is in both shows, she's gonna be one tired monkey. Kali has two dances in the second show, but they are back to back. She will have 64 counts of music to change her costume, that kind of stress builds character. We will be celebrating on Sunday, I see a huge BBQ in our future

.

It was a Grand Night for Singing

Love from Aunt Marie and Uncle Tom. Kali received a new iPod Touch from her great aunt and uncle as a reward for all the hard work she put in at school and on stage this year. Hey, where's mine for driving Miss Daisy everywhere she had to be!?!?!?

The extraordinary Civic Theatre. The "God Bless America" Finale.

Extremely proud parents.

As exciting as the show was, by the 2nd night it put Peyton to sleep. Kali in rehearsal with her bball for the Sweet Georgia Brown number. This is probably the closest thing to the court as Kali will ever get.

Proud Mary ~ Kali does a mean Tina Turner impression. The Spanish Medley was great.

Kali did a wonderful job this year at the vocal music department's Big Show. She sang and danced her heart out under the stars at the beautiful Akron Civic Theatre. It was the culmination of an entire year of incredibly hard work. On top of being at the Civic 4 nights last week she also sang a solo at the Akron Public School's May Festival. The festival is a city wide vocal music show. Kali had to make it through 2 rounds of auditions to even sing in a choir at the show ~ she got a solo in "My Guy" and she did a great job. It was the absolute best birthday present I could of received. That girl loves being on stage and it shows. She definitely has her sights set on Broadway.

The Rain in Spain, Falls Mainly........

....in Barcelona. That was our experience. We started our week with lots of sun and blue skies in Toledo and, then, Madrid. The weather took a nose dive in Barcelona. We made the best of it. Kali had a great time, the show choir gave 5 beautiful performances and we got home safely ~ even if it was a day late and many dollars short.

Playing in the Barcelona airport. We spent way too many hours in that place.

Our bonus night in Barcelona. We made the best of it. We took the bus into the city, walked down Las Ramblas to the harbor, got some more souvenirs (just what we needed) and ate 3 great meals at the very nice hotel the airline put us up in. That was the nicest hotel and the tastiest food of the entire trip. The best part of getting stuck in Spain for an extra day was getting to enjoy Barcelona on our own, no tour guides. You know how much I love to explore in Europe on my own.

Castell de Montjuic in Barcelona. Yes, that is an umbrella. It rained in Spain and Kali made the best of it.

Montserrat

La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece.

Parc Guell, another Gaudi highlight in Barcelona.

Rowing in the lake at Retiro Park in Madrid.

We saw a great Flamenco show in Madrid. Those two dancers were fabulous, I wish I could pull off polka dots.

El Escorial outside of Toledo and the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Kali is walking the streets of Madrid with her peeps.

Medieval cobblestone streets of Toledo. A breathtaking city.

Soaking up the sunshine in Toledo with my first born.

..

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter this year, we certainly did. The girls worked hard creating masterpiece eggs. Kali opted for more traditional dyeing. Peyton went with the tie dye and speckled kits ~ of course, she did. They were all beautiful and worthy of the centerpiece position on the table.

That Easter Bunny left a "mess" according to Peyton. A trail of jellybeans and nests full of candy that lead all the way from their rooms to their baskets. That rabbit must have nothing but time on his hands, he also hid 110 eggs all over the house. The girls couldn't of been happier. They ate their weight in candy and edible grass. Kali gorged herself on chocolate, it was a long 40 days without it. If you can believe it, Peyton literally broke into the Hallelujah chorus when she found the chocolate hearts in her basket. They were exactly what she asked for. Everyone was happy.

The girls had their hunt for "money eggs" at Aunt Marie's and Uncle Tom's. Kali found more eggs, but Peyton had a bigger payday. Smiles on faces is a good thing.

Now, it's off to Spain for a week. The good times never stop coming. We are blessed.