The Rest of the Things.

Sidney and I on the way out to ride horses on a chilly November morning.

The sprinklers went off at youth group.  Sidney said it was so loud and smelled so bad.  Well, at least we know they work.

I am getting better for sure.  Target 1 was my warmup.  Just look at that grouping on target 3.

Youth group antics.

Mike donned this fabulous shirt featuring Rebecca for Thanksgiving dinner!

Kendall and I decorated the tree.  She  managed to get both dogs sitting nicely for a picture.

Baths and Buckles.

My slight twist on 'horses and dogs'...you will see how I came up with that name.  

Little Levi looking like a big boy in his saddle.

Sweet Sam passed away this month.  He was such a neat dog.  He was the dog that seemed like an old man the day my parents got him.  They rescued him from the Humane Society seven years ago, when he was seven years old.  Dani and Sam became fast friends.  

Sidney just loves this horse.  

She also LOVES her job.  She told me that she used her break the other day to give 'snuggle time' to some of the dogs.  Seriously cute.  She calls me each night on her way home to tell me about the evening.

We are not sure what Bella got into, but her face swelled up like crazy, and she also spent a couple days randomly vomiting.  She did keep her appetite and energy, so we rode it out.

That being said, she was a stinky dog after her sick days.  Sidney took her to the doggie self wash for a nice thorough cleaning.  She love it until the dryers came on.  She was having none of that and promptly tried to jump out of the tub.

Sidney received her belt buckle from the Pony Express Challenge.  It turned out so nice!

I think Pigeon forgets he is a horse and thinks he is a lap dog.

Evergreen & Gingerbread Dreams.

I think this was by far my favorite Winter Recital, but perhaps it was because I knew it would be the last.  I enjoyed every minute of every show!

I wore my camo pants in memory of Kevin.  It had been awhile since I have worn these, and it seemed very fitting, as the recital was on the date that he passed away six years ago.

Half the fun of recital for Kendall is her backstage antics.  

Here are a few pictures of some of the dances.

I managed a picture in front of the tree with both the girls.

Mom and Dad came for the recitals as well.  I tried hard to get my dad to take a nice picture.  I guess you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.

Sav made one of her first appearances after having her little baby girl.  She will be back full time after the winter break.

The instructors and three of the five senior dancers.

Hiking in the Mojave Desert.

While Kendall was in her dance classes during the day, Sidney and I had some time to mess around.  We were only a few miles from the entrance to the Mojave Desert National Preserve.  We found a trail head for a 31 mile trail.  We managed a whopping 3 miles of the trail. It was a lot of fun, and I would much rather hike it in the cool desert temps than the heat of the summer.

After our hike, I took Sidney to our favorite little golf course clubhouse for some delicious food.

The following day, we drove to the Vegas Premium Outlets where Sidney dropped a lot of money on some really fun things.  Heck, she got a $218 pair of jean for the bargain price of $107.  Is anyone's jaw dropping yet?  Yikes!  I had to giggle, as the cashier rang her up, she lamented how many shifts she had to work to buy the jeans.  The girl behind the register responded, 'REAL'.

JUMP Dance Convention 2024.

 It was a great convention.  Kendall took home a ballet scholarship.

Company Production Dance.  Stole the Show.

Jazz.  911.  Shhh....I think this one is my favorite!

Hip Hop.  Queen Nicki.

Lyrical.  I Miss You.

Viva Las Vegas!

I got home from my work trip with just enough time to unpack and repack  my suitcase, and it was off to Vegas for Kendall's first dance competition of the season.  This year is going to be full of lasts.  It is bittersweet.  We did talk Sidney into taking the trip with us.  We landed in Vegas at 7am and promptly hit the strip.

The conservatory in the Bellagio was undergoing a Christmas transformation, so we did not get to walk through it, but rather around it.

Sidney showed some swagger surrounded by both Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

This was about the only fountain going, as the strip was a giant construction site setting up for the Formula 1 racing event.

The most hilarious part of the day was a man loading Kendall up with parrots as Sidney and I watched from afar.  Clearly she had not see the $15 for a picture sign around the man's neck.  

After such an amazing experience last year, Kendall and I dragged Sidney to Guy Fieri's restaurant.  Yep, it was equally good the second time around.

I cannot exactly recall where we ran into this giant Christmas Tree, but everything is a bit over the top in Vegas.

The Venetian was by far the girls' favorite.  I am not sure how Kendall and I have missed this one in the past.

A trip to the Coke store was warranted.  Fun fact, I have always believed that Dr. Pepper was a Coke product.  However, after seeing no DP merch in the store, I googled it to find out that Dr. Pepper is not a Coke product.  It is distributed with Coke, but is most certainly it's own thing.

Sidney was happily overwhelmed in the M&M store.  Yep, it is super cool!

I think I found my spirit candy...

I cropped out the 'Do not lean on the car' sign.

Our last stop of the day was the Ariat flagship store on the strip.  This was a two story treat.

The girls found this nice leather ottoman in the store and took a quick little nap.