Maddie's Turn

Way back a few weeks ago, Maddie had a dance competition. Maddie dances with her studio, Art's Edge. She is in the "company" and has four different dances that she competes. She loves it very much. This coming weekend we are going to another competition in Orlando that is called "JUMP" which features classes with world-renowned choreographers. If you watch "So You Think You Can Dance" as we do, you know a number of their choreographers at JUMP. They travel all over the world and host this competition and convention. The most famous of the choreographers is Mia Michaels and it is my goal to meet her. I'm so excited for this opportunity for the girls to take classes from these people, especially Mia. I'm so excited at the possibility of getting a picture with her. I could just faint.

Anyway, back to Maddie's previous competition.... I finally got the pictures I was waiting for. The photographer was none to good, but there are a few shots worth posting. This is the tap dance to "Beat It". Notice (how can you miss it) the red Micheal Jackson jackets.

This is a jazz dance to "It Don't Mean A Thing" and it is so cute. The costumes aren't cute until they are on stage dancing and then they transform into just the right thing. Although, they make Maddie's legs look impossibly long!!
This is the modern piece called "Flight" and it makes me cry every single time. The music is just beautiful. Rozzie will be dancing in this one at JUMP this weekend, filling in for a girl who is in Germany.
This is the contemporary piece called "Let It Go" and Maddie has a solo at the end. She is very intense!!

Top o' the Mornin' to You!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I should be including a picture of our cat Patrick here. It is his birthday. He is such a nice cat and we are so happy to have him around. He is easy to get along with and is nonjudgmental. He doesn't mind other cats. He is always willing to sit still for a petting. What a good cat. (Licky is the opposite of everything I just mentioned - especially judgmental.)

Last night, Rozzie had some friends over and we made Shamrock Shakes - just like McDonald's. It was pretty good, actually. This was a new experience for the girl in the foreground who is from Taiwan. She moved her to live with her dad's cousin's family to go to school. I don't know why. So she is in our ward and is Rozzie's age. Rozzie and Hannah have done a great job at helping her feel included.

It is interesting to listen to all of them together. Rebecca doesn't understand a lot of their jokes and she isn't shy to ask. Roz, Morgan, and Maddie have a joke about "rash ointment". When Morgan would see Rozzie at school, she'd yell out, "Hey Rozzie, don't forget your rash ointment you forgot in my car!" They do it to each other. Last night, I picked up Maddie's eczema prescription on the counter and said (without thinking), "Maddie, don't forget your rash ointment that is here in the kitchen." This time, I literally meant that there was actual rash ointment. Rebecca didn't understand what a rash was and why it was funny. They just explained it to her. They watched funny youtube videos and had a great time. I like Rebecca's Facebook posts - they are in Chinese characters and I don't understand that!!!

As promised - here is a picture of Rozzie at her Nationals competition. Many of you have seen this on Facebook, but I thought I'd put it here for the non-users. This picture is the exact opposite of her personality. Many people just ask who it is.
This is the team as they finished the dance. I really like this shot.
Yesterday, I got to work at 6:45 for my teacher planning day. I had about 4-5 hours of work to do. I was really looking forward to it, too. It would be nice to get this stuff done. Third quarter is over and there isn't much left of the school year. What a blessing!!

At about 7:45, Travis called to say they had been in an accident. I called the assistant principal, but she was off to Europe, so I told her secretary the problem and the other AP was sitting right there and he said to just go. I was told later that they didn't want to see any paperwork, to that is a real bonus!!

According the the witness, the lady driving this car was going about 45 mph and drive right into the next car. There is speculation that she was on her phone. She was unable to get out of the car on her own. She was transported with injuries to the hospital via ambulance. You see the bumper of the car she hit embedded in her front bumper. You also see the back window of the car she hit embedded in her windshield.
This is the car she hit. It was a car sandwich. There isn't much left other than his speakers in the back. The car ends at the wheels. He was also unable to get out the car on his own and was transported, with injuries to the hospital via ambulance.
Travis' car isn't too bad. It is hard to see, but the outer shell of the car is buckled above the tire. It is a little more than just a fender-bender, even though it doesn't look so bad from here. He was definitely fortunate that the middle-man wasn't following closely. Travis and his carpool buddy, Jack, were fine.
I took them over to Urgent Care, just in case. It just makes for a lost day. Now we have to wait and see what insurance says about the car. We might get insurance back on Morgan's car so that Travis has something to drive in the meantime. What an inconvenience!!

Now for Spring Break!!

March Madness

March started out with a trip to the National Dance Alliance dance competition in Orlando at the Hard Rock Live auditorium. I'll have some other pictures of Rozzie dancing on a later post. Many of you have already seen the scary picture of her that is on Facebook. Here is a less scary picture of her at her school away from school, Hogwarts.

The dance competition went well, although not as well as last year. This year, every team was really good. We came in 8th place and are really happy with that. There are some really fantastic teams out there and we are glad to be one of them. The team that won is the team that won last year and also went on "America's Got Talent". West Springfield Dance Team is amazing to watch!!

Today, my Fashion Design class finished out a project where they had to create an article of clothing or outfit out of "trash". They weren't allowed to buy anything, and they weren't supposed to use fabric. They used a lot of trash bags. They had a lot of fun coming up with different ideas. Today was the judgement day. I had a panel of judges come in to be my judges. The school TV station also reported on the show. I jokingly told them that first place gets an A, 2nd place a B, 3rd place a C, etc. They were so shocked at the grading system. There was a great sigh of relief when I told them that I was joking and then I handed out the grading rubric. I was pleased with how they used their time as well as their creativity. They worked in groups and one person in the group had to model.
This is the winning group!! They made her jacket from a shower curtain. They actually cut out pattern pieces and hot glued it together, including a hood. They also hot glued a zipper in it. Her tank top is newspaper. Her skirt is a garbage bag that they spray painted. It was really cute.
Now we start our Spring Break!!! WOOT WOOT. I can't believe that when we go back to school, it will be 4th quarter. Inconceivable!! (and it will be my birthday!!)