Showing Off Their Talents.

The girls' school has been organizing a talent show the past few years.  It is such a great thing.  The kids have to 'try out' for it and attend several mandatory practices.  They do not cut out any acts.  However, the tryouts and mandatory practices do weed out the kids that are not going to take it seriously.  They also provide a lot of input so the kids can put their best foot forward.  They usually have so many kids participate that they have to break it up into two shows. 

 

The entire school comes to watch.  I love that the instructors talk about how much courage it takes merely to get up and perform in front of their peers.  The way I see it, everything they do after they get up there is really just icing on the cake.

 

Kendall decided to sing.  I love to hear her sing (most of the time, except for when I am trying to enjoy the quiet).  So, I was thrilled that she chose to sing.  Her song of choice..Invincible (Kelly Clarkson).

 

Here is a short video of her amazing self!

 

Sidney decided to do a solo gymnastics/dance routine.  Sidney is often so quiet and understated that we often overlook what a dynamic force she is.  She had the school really going!  She did her routine to Broken Glass (Rachel Platten).  Kevin and I both got a kick out of talking to her about the meaning of this song (here).  Girl Power!

 

Here is a short video of her performance.  Rock on little lady!

My favorite act of the day was a new one this year.  The staff got up and did a dance medley at the end.  It was absolutely hilarious.  The lady in the black dress on the left, dancing with the wrestling dummy, is their principal, Lisa Hahle.  She has been a great administrator.  Every time I go to the school, she is out and about engaging with the kids.

The man on the right is their PE teacher, Reed McAshland.  I just missed getting a picture of him flossing.  Darn!  He has been great teaching the kids the importance of fitness and exposing them to many new sports/activities.

The students all gathered on stage at the end for one final cheer.

The Montana 'Royal' Wedding

Cody and Kassi had their wedding last weekend.  It was the same day as the 'royal' wedding.  They asked the girls to be their flower girls.  The girls were thrilled.  Several months ago, we spent a day shopping for dresses.  We literally went to every store we could think of in search of pink dresses.  We took pictures of their favorites and texted with Cody and Kassi to find the perfect ones.  It was a lot of fun for the girls.  They skipped school on Friday in order to make it up in time for the rehearsal dinner.  It was an 11 hour car ride each way.  We drove up on Friday and back on Sunday.  I thought certainly we would be miserable, especially since the girls had lost electronic privileges.  I was definitely second guessing that parenting move. 

In hindsight, if one were to ask me one of my favorite parts o the weekend, I would have to say the car rides.  It was awesome.  We spent 22 hours in the car over a three day period and had only about 20 minutes of bickering.  We had a blast.  The girls did their homework, we read The Candy Shop War along the way. sang songs and told stories.  We switched up seating quite a bit.  Kevin managed to take it easy and not over do it, which made me very happy!

Kassi invited the girls to get their hair done with the bridesmaids.  It was a magical time.  We had a chance to visit with Kassi and the rest of the ladies.  The girls hair turned out gorgeous!

Sidney...

Kendall...

Sidney in her flower girl dress. 

Kendall in her flower girl dress.

Whitney and Tracy were at the wedding with baby Nadia.  Sidney is no longer the youngest grandchild.  Grandma Terrell is now a Great Grandma.  Nadia is such a beautiful baby.  Whitney and Tracy have taken right to parenting and seem to be loving every moment of it.

Parrish took this beautiful picture of the girls as they were preparing for Cody and Kassi's big day.

The wedding was absolutely amazing.  They had so many personal touches.  The whole day and evening were incredibly special.  The photographer did a phenomenal job of capturing the day Amber Renee Photography.

 In true Kendall style, she danced the night away. 

It was a very good weekend.  I am so happy that we were able to attend and honored that the girls got to be part of it!

Our Beautiful, Brave and Strong Cousin.

My beautiful cousin Makenna was visiting Boise.  We were lucky enough that Makenna and her husband Tilston took the time to visit us during our trip.  After all, we are probably old people in their eyes. 

 

Makenna is a truly beautiful soul, both inside and out.  She was in a terrible car accident several years ago, in which she suffered a life threatening spinal cord injury.  She has beat all the odds and is doing things that the doctors said she would never do again. 

 

 

We enjoyed a great visit.  Tilston has family in town, and they are moving a bit closer.  We are looking forward to spending more time with them in the future!

 

Awana, Performances and Other Fun Stuff.

The girls finished another year of Awana.  This has been such a good program for our entire family.  I must admit that with as much as I have on my plate, I am often a reluctant volunteer.  That being said, it is such a rewarding program.  Our whole family has learned so much from it. 

Kendall's teacher, Mrs. Barrett, has been going up through the ranks with her class.  The kids have formed some very tight bonds.  Kendall and Hannah have the good fortune of going through the books together.  It has been a great experience.

I managed to talk Kevin into helping out this year.  He really enjoyed being part of the class with Sidney and Mrs. Wasmuth.  We have decided to volunteer with her again next year.

Sidney had her end of the year program last week.  It was awesome.  She did not mention to us that she had one of the speaking parts.  We showed up to the program and were pleasantly surprised.

 

Children Around The World (by Hannah)

 

Some children are brown like newly baked bread
Some are yellow, and some are red,
Some children are black, there are White ones too--
The colors are different--the children like you!

Some children eat noodles, and some eat figs,
Some children like ice cream, and some roast pigs;
Some eat raw fishes, and some fish stew--
Their likings are different--the children like you.

Some children say yes and some say "Si",
Some say "wow!" and some say "naku!"
Their words may be different--the children like you.

Some live in huts of grass and bamboos,
Some live in boats, and some in igloos;
Some live in old houses and some live in new--
Their homes may be different--the children like you.

Some children are Finnish and some from Japan,
Some from Brazil and some from Sudan,
Some know bad weather or skies always blue--
The countries are different--the children like you.

Oh, if they could dance and if they could play
Altogether together a wonderful day!
Some could come sailing and some could just hike!
So much would be different--the children alike!

 

 

Here are a few other random pictures, I just could not resist posting.

Sidney trying out a new gymnastics pose:

 

CRAZY Bailey.  UGH.   It is a good thing we love him, because he is definitely acting like a one year old puppy!

 

I purchased a new toy.  It is a Cameo Silhouette.  I have been wanting one for about 9 years now.  Well, we finally decided to take the plunge.  It has been fun and a bit intimidating.  Hannah came over last weekend, and we made vinyl adhesive transfers for their T-shirts.  They turned out pretty good!

Cousin Love.

My cousin Ron came to town for a visit with his wife, Rebecca, and daughter, Nicole.  It is always awesome to visit them.  He and I were pretty close growing up.  Our mom's are sisters.  We were both born in Santa Cruz and were raised during a very different time.  We spent much of our childhood on the beaches of Capitola.  It was wild.  It was crazy. 

 

We all have a story.  I will not tell Ronnie's for him.  What I will say is that he had it rough during his early childhood.  In middle school, he ended up moving in with our 7th grade science teacher and her husband, who was also a teacher.  They had three boys similar to Ron's age.  It worked out well for him.  Sometimes our past can define how we live our future.  For Ron, his past has made him driven to succeed in life.  His family is very important to him, and I believe he would do anything to keep them together.  He is a good man.

 

When Ron is around, there is never a dull moment.  He lives life to the full.  During their visit, he did not disappoint.  The weekend was filled with water gun fights, gymnastics, slime and lots of story telling.

Nicole was super good with the girls.  She helped them make tie dye shirts and took them to Jump Time to practice their gymnastics.  It was perfect since Nicole was a gymnast growing up.  She had lots of tips and tricks for them.

Ron has several coffee shops in California and sells beans to retailers.  Whole Foods, here in Boise, distributes his coffee.  So, the trip would not have been complete without a visit to Whole Foods.

Nicole also helped the girls do a cool science experiment while she was here.

Our visits are way to few and far between.  I think we all realized that we have to change that.  It was a great time with family!