Payton's Dance Recital

Today was Payton's dance recital.  She did so well and looked so cute. 

She has been taking a combo ballet/tap class this past year.  Some weeks I didn't think we were going to make it to the recital, she just did not want to go to class for one reason or another.  I told her she just had to go until the recital and then she could be done if she wanted to be. 

Her dances went well or as what you would expect of a group of 5 and 6 year olds.  Haha!  I loved watching her.

Ballet

Tap

Visiting Teaching Treats

I am so grateful for an abundance of Truffles from our Cooking Group!  My companion, Heather, and I boxed those puppies up and delivered them today.  I hope they all loved them.  :o)

This past weekend we found ourselves at the Lululemon Outlet in Gilroy.  They have a line for little girls called Ivivva.  Some really cute things!  Payton found a few items that she loved and wanted to accessories her dance leotard.  Today was her first chance to show them off.

A New Toy

We had a little incident the other day where I found Austin squatting on the kids table.  Yes, I did pause to take a picture before getting him down.  Haha!  This little adventurous boy is really into climbing, it drives me crazy.  When Lincoln was little and started the climbing phase we borrowed a little climbing slide thing from my friend Aimee.  So I gave Aimee a call to see if we could borrow it again.  She said yes.  Yay!

He loves it!  And so does Lincoln.  And so does Payton.  I hope they don't break it or break themselves on it.

A new session started today at the dance studio.  Payton and her friend Sadie decided they wanted to give Hip Hop a try.  It was SO cute watching them.  Watching them try and do what the teacher was doing was hilarious.  Click here to watch a video of her doing a hip hop walk.

Dance Class

I love this picture!  Not too bad for an iPhone.

This is Payton's second dance class and so far she loves it.  I think she is a little like me.  If you tell me to go and dance I just stand there like an idiot not knowing what to do.  On the other hand, if you give me a routine I can do it. At the beginning of each class the teacher will give the girls a ribbon or some kind of prop and have them dance around the room.  Payton basically just stands there or sways back and forth while the other girls twirl and leap around.  I did catch her twirling around a few times and it was so incredibly cute I just wanted to cry.

Dance Class

I love summer time!  I love that for the most part we can decide what we want to do and when.  Today we decided to go to the pool.  The kids LOVE being in the water, even wee little Austin.  I am so grateful when Mamo Michelle and Auntie Ashley meet us at the pool.  One adult for every kiddo are a lot better odds than 1 adult for 3 kiddos.

Payton started Ballet class at a new place today.  She was so excited and telling everyone about it, even the lifeguards at the pool.  She is especially excited to be taking the class with two of her good friends, Janey and Sadie.  They are all so cute in their dance leotards.

Tonight was Cooking Group.  The topic was Summer dinners.  I was hoping to get some ideas for meals that are easy, quick, and do not involve turning on the oven.  After a little thinking and receiving a few emails with ideas I came up with four categories salads, sandwiches/wraps, pasta, and smoothies.  In preparation for the evening I made two salads that my mom makes that I love (a fruit salad, and a regular veggie one with chicken), a Panini, a tuna wrap, and a pesto pasta dish.  All of them were so yummy. 

As I was putting everything together I kept thinking to myself why do I have such a hard time thinking of things to have for dinner.  I came up with 5 things for cooking group and prepared them all in an hour and a half.  I should be able to do this no problem and yet we end up having pancakes or cereal.  Haha!  Oh well.

Payton's Dance Recital

Payton has been going to a dance class at the Southside Community Center by our house and today was the last day of class and a little recital to show the parents all that the kids learned during the class.

It was just a small recital and mostly it was just the parents that attended.  However, Miss Payton had quite the crowd with Dave and I and both sets of grandparents.  Ha!  Ha!

It was so fun to watch them show off all that they had learned.  I think we all had a smile on our face the entire time.

The class taught the girls tap, jazz, and ballet.  So they had a ballet dance and a tap dance to show us along with all the fundamentals they learned.  You can click on the highlighted text to see a video of the dances.

So proud of our little girl!

Dance Class

Payton wanted to play dance class.  So cute!

Dance Excitment

Payton came into our bedroom at a quarter to 7 this morning holding her dance leotard asking if she could put it on...What happened to my not before 7 rule?  :o)

She was so excited to go to her dance class.  One of those run through the door, see ya mom moments.  I am so glad she is having fun.

Say cheese!  Entertaining ourselves while waiting for Payton.  Ha!  Ha! 

This morning we made chocolate chip banana bread.  I am planning on taking it to a couple of the ladies I visit teach.  Let's see if it makes it out of the house. :o)

Lincoln added the ingredients.

Payton mixed it all up.  What a team!

Lastly, the pillow...

I put Payton down for "quiet time" and a while later had this prompting to check on her.  When I picked up the monitor I could see Payton doing something but couldn't tell what.  When I went back to her room I discovered that she had turned the little hole in her princess pillow into a big one and had pulled out about half of the pillows stuffing.

I remembered the wise words from my mother-in-law.  Take a picture before you react. 

When asked why she did that she responded, "I don't know."

Hair, Dance Stuff, and Blood Draining

This morning Lincoln and I dropped Payton off at preschool and headed off to get Lincoln a haircut.  As you can tell he was totally excited.  Ha!  Ha!

We decided to go a little shorter so we could spike his hair.  It is totally cute.  He looks like a little boy instead of a baby boy.  My baby is growing up. 

After we picked Payton up from preschool we started the search for her dance attire. Payless Shoes had her tap and ballet shoes, Target had her leotard, and we are still on the look out for a pair of dance tights. After visiting 4 different stores we decided to call it quits for the day.

Payton was so excited to get her tap and ballet shoes. She was telling the sales lady all about her class while prancing up and down the isle. Then when we got to Target and were looking at the leotards she picked out on she liked and that was it. No need to look at any others.  She danced and twirled in front of the mirror saying, "I am so cute. I am so pretty." Ha! Ha! I wish I would have had a video camera.

Lastly came the blood drive. My friend Jessie and I both wanted to donate and scheduled our times so that we could watch each others kiddos while the other person was "being drained". I am glad it all worked out so that we could both participate.  As usual, my favorite part was the treats!  :o)

My Little Dancing Diva

We enrolled Payton in the "Little Dancing Divas" class through the Southside Community Center.  She loved it!  We have been wanting to enroll her in a class for a long time but I just didn't know where to start looking. 

I love that this class is so close to our house.  I am excited that it was affordable.  And I loved seeing the smile on Payton's face when she was showing Dave all that she learned.  I only wish they would let the parents sit in the room and watch them during the class.  I peeked through a window and tried to watch and take pictures. I am excited to see their little recital at the end of the class.

Yes, she was in flip flops.  I am going to have to go and buy tap shoes and ballet shoes.  Ha!  Ha! As well as some kind of dance leotard.  Who knew?

Today we also started "Marble Jars".  My friend Sara told me about how they do Marble Jars at their house.  When the kids do certain things (make their bed, take their dishes to the sink, are reverent during prayers, etc.) they get get a marble to put in their jar; but, if they do other things (push, hit, whine, etc.) they have to take a marble out.  The goal is to fill their jar with marbles to get a "prize" or "reward".  I thought this would be a fun thing to try. 

Payton and Lincoln were super excited about the marbles and the jars.  They had big smiles on their faces tonight as they dropped the marbles they earned in their jars.
  

 
We have been doing a responsibility chart with Payton for the past few months and she really enjoys doing it, so I think this will go over big with her.  Lincoln has been wanting to have his own responsibility chart and always asks to do "dots" when Payton is doing hers.  Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a responsibility chart for Lincoln that isn't "girly" (according to Dave).  Ha!  Ha!  So I think this will go over big with him too.  :o)

Their Marble Jars with their selected rewards.