Ashlee's Nutcracker Pictures

Shanda Call Photography took these pictures of Ashlee in her Soldier and Dew costumes from the Nutcracker.  So beautiful!  (and so grown up!)

 

Busy Saturday!

Saturday was a busy day. We started out in the morning with Brynlee and Rob going to her intrasquad at Altius while I took the rest of the kids to a Breakfast with Santa put on by the National Children's Study. 

 

Trevor kept telling me he wasn't going to sit on Santa's lap.  I told him that was fine and that he could just stand next to him so I was pretty surprised when he sat on his lap AND smiled!  Looks like he is finally warming up to the Jolly Old Elf!

 



 

 

Never too old to sit on Santa's lap...

Classic...

Brynlee has made huge improvements on bars since the Rock Springs meet.  She has her kip!!  Wahoo!


She was the only one to stick her landing on vault!


Still needs to get her cartwheel on beam...


Her back has been causing her problems lately.  She hurt it going down a slide one day.  Since then she says she hasn't been able to do her back walkover.  Hopefully once her back heals, she won't need a spot on her floor routine.


Then Rob and I went to the American Festival Chorus Christmas concert.  Rob's mom sings in the choir and it was, as usual, amazing!

We quickly ran out of the concert right at the end so we could go to Ashlee's Christmas ballet recital.  This will be the last year she will perform in this recital since there isn't a performance class after Level 6 (only technique, which she'll continue, plus Jr. Company classes and performances).  We forgot the video camera so Rob got this high quality video on his phone.  :)  She starts out in the middle and ends on the far right.

Chimneys

Me: How does Santa get into our house?

T: Through the chimney.

Me: What's a chimney?

T: I don't know. What is it?

Me: It's that thing on top of the house where the smoke comes out.

T: Oh yeah, is it connected to the fireplace?

Me: Yes. So how does Santa get in through there?

T: He goes into the chimney. What if the glass was in there and the fire was on?

Me: What do you think what would happen?

T: Santa would burn his bum.

Nutcracker 2012

Ashlee was SO excited to be in the Nutcracker this year.  She was a Soldier and Dew Drop.  Rehearsals every Saturday beginning in September and then LOOONG nights of rehearsal the week of Thanksgiving kept her busy but Ashlee loved it all!  There were four shows beginning the day after Thanksgiving (each night Friday, Saturday and Monday and a matinee on Saturday).

With her BBFs (best ballet friends!)

 

And the carpool moms! 

 

With their teacher, Karyn.

Her Activity Days leader spoiled her with a bouquet of 6 white roses!

All I can think of when I look at these pictures is....my little girl is growing up!  *Sigh*

Thanksgiving 2012

This year we went to Grandma and Grandpa Barton's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  Cheryl and Chris and their family and Great Grandma Jones were also there.

Ellie enjoyed her "1st Thanksgiving" (well the first time she actually got to eat the Thanksgiving food!)...

Mmmm....rolls!



The kids' table...

The "Sarah and Trevor" table...

We enjoyed some after dinner entertainment. A little football on the TV and wrestling on the floor!

Of course it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!  Hmmmm, Chinese checkers anyone?

Wyoming Invitational 2012

Brynlee's gymnastics team went to the Wyoming Invitational in Rock Springs on November 10th.  It was a preseason meet so the girls could get used to competing again and have a base score to improve on in the upcoming competition season.  It ended up being one of those times when you say "well, it can only go up from here!"

The Level 5 team before the meet...

They started out on beam.  She scored 6.7.  I can't get the video to upload.  She had two falls, which are each a .5 deduction...ouch!  Plus a deduction for not doing the cartwheel skill since she didn't land on the beam.  It's interesting as I'm learning more and more about the sport and how much deductions are, etc.  Every little thing counts!  Pointed toes, straight legs, legs together on handstand, each skill in the routine...all things to look at!

Up next was floor.  She scored 7.7.


Vault was next.  I think I've said this before but Brynlee is probably the strongest vaulter on her team.  She didn't stick her landing here but usually does.  She got 8.15.


Bars was last.  Brynlee still struggles with her kip and since she didn't do the skill, plus she fell (or was spotted by her coach on high bar), she got big time deductions.  She scored a 4.85, but that wasn't the lowest score on bars at the meet!  I think someone got a 2!  Something to work on!

I can't remember what place Brynlee got in each event but she scored in the top 10 in all of the events except bars and she ended up 10th in the all around with a score of 27.4.

When the team awards were being announced, we (me and the other moms and even their coach) weren't really paying attention to the team all around awards, just because we knew their scores and weren't expecting much.  They announced the 3rd and 2nd place teams and then said "1st place...Altius Gymnastics Academy!"  We were all looked at each other like "did they just say Altius??"  Yes, yes they did!

Alot of the comments after the meet were about how low the scores were.  The judges were pretty strict at this meet but alot of it is the girls needing to fine tune everything.  One of Brynlee's teammates got first place on bars (and usually has a flawless routine but did have a fall at this meet) with a score of 7.7.  Like I said, there should be lots of improvement by the end of the season!

Busy Baby

I have to laugh everytime I think of the phrase "busy baby."  A friend posted on Facebook about how people says kids are "busy" when it really just means the kid is plain naughty, but people kindly call it "being busy."  (Brenda, if you're reading this, this post is for you!)  I really don't think Ellie is naughty so maybe that's why I think the phrase is so funny.  There are kids (perhaps a little older who really know what they are doing and are being naughty) that are more than just busy.  At this age, let's just call it curious!  Maybe since she is so dang cute, I don't think she is capable of being naughty.  LOL!  Whatever you call it, this girl keeps me on my toes!

One day Trevor and his friend, Cassie, were "playing" pool.  I don't know that in the 6 years we've lived in this house that the pool table has actually been used in a real game of pool.  But the kids love to throw roll the balls around on the table and whack each other the balls with the cue sticks.  Ellie is not one that likes to be left out or left behind.  She follows right along as if she is a big kid.

One day I caught her climbing up onto the train table.  She stood by watching for a minute and then decided to go one more level up ONTO the pool table.  I didn't get a picture of her on top but she was pretty proud of herself, squealing and clapping like she was the queen of the table.

One of her favorite places is the pantry and most specifically getting the recycle can out and occasionally emptying it out.  I don't get much done when it comes to cleaning since Ellie is usually right behind me taking toys/books back off the shelf, getting into the bathroom cupboard where the kids' toothbrushes are kept, pulling Kleenex or wipes out of their boxes (okay, those ones are borderline naughty!), etc.  She is definitely a busy baby!  (but we'll keep her, naughty or not!)

Halloween 2012

I thought I was all ready for Halloween...costumes decided and made since most of the kids were a repeat from an older sibling from past years.  Well, I thought so at least.  Until I tried to find the Batman for Trevor to wear that Landon wore when he was 4, and it was no where to be found.  And Landon decided the Jedi outfit I had thrown together for his 5th birthday didn't really fit (which I can't blame him since the pants were for the Robin Hood costume that fit a 3 year old and the top was two pieces of felt sewn to cross in the front and barely covered his belly at the time)  Luckily the robe fit just fine.  So Tuesday night, I headed to Jo-Ann's and Wednesday morning I started sewing at 6:30 a.m.  Yes, I realize Halloween was Wednesday.  I finished Landon's just in time for him to head off to school at 8:45.  Then Trevor's was done at 12:10, just in time for school to start at 12:30 and for him to throw a fit and say he wanted to be a black dragon.  Hooray.  He was finally convinced to put it on once he got to school and saw other kids wearing theirs at drop off.

By 4:00, the kids all made it home from school and there were still pumpkins to be carved and candy to be bought and dinner to be made.  Rob helped the kids with the pumpkins, I bought some candy and then came home and made something for the kids to eat before the sugar rush.  Ashlee informed me that she told her friend she would bring Magic Cookie Bars to her dinner/party.  Uh...nope.  Here, take some apple mouths  :)  I had already planned to make them along with the mummy hotdogs so she took those and the other kids hastily ate their mummies before friends were over ready to go trick or treating.  The kids headed off in all different directions and I was trying to figure out who to go with and who to trust on their own with friends.  WHAT??!!  Am I really getting that old??  Are my kids really that old to be doing that??

Ashlee left to a friend's house before Brynlee came home from a friend's house to get dressed in her costume so I didn't even get picture of everyone together.  Then Ellie was in bed by the time everyone had come home after trick or treating so we just did individual shots.

By the time it was all over, I was exhausted.  Which is why I woke up this morning and decided on my new goal (stated below on Ellie's birthday post).  I wish I could have enjoyed yesterday more but here's to being caught up on at least one aspect of my life!

Halloween Piano Recital

Ashlee and Brynlee started taking piano lessons again this summer after just over a year of no lessons.  After their last teacher had a baby and then moved, I just didn't get around to finding another teacher.  I would ask around for suggestions of who to go to but just never picked up the phone to call a teacher until this summer.  Things were a more low key this summer, and I finally set up lessons starting in July.

Since it was a Halloween recital, they got to dress up.  Brynlee played "Jack-o-lantern's Grin."

 

 

Ashlee played "Spooks."

North Logan Pumpkin Walk

The North Logan Pumpkin Walk is one of my favorite local Fall activities.  This year the theme was "Let the Games Begin."  I'm always amazed at the creativity!

Here are some of the scenes.  Our camera battery died after the first few and then Rob got some pictures with his phone.

Jane and Ellie...little twinners and it wasn't even planned!

Being an election year, there was some politcal humor...

The cutouts are always a hit...

 

Barton cousins...