Week 11

...Still trying to catch up.  When we returned from contest in Oklahoma City, my sister and two of her kids were in town.  It was the start of Spring Break.  Kayla was so excited to see her cousins.  I guess Caroline has not spent enough time with them.  She asked me "What is the boy's name?"

They all have such a great time together.  While they were at my dad's house we took a trip to the zoo.  Nic and Olivia were able to join us.  It amazes me how well they all get along.  It works out perfectly.  Here are some of the pics that my dad took at the zoo.

 Caroline, Shelby, Tyler, Olivia, Kayla, and Nic

My sister and the kids also spend several days at my mom's house.  She has a great yard that the kids love to play and explore in.  They have found their way down to a little creek.  Kayla was excited for them to get here because I will not let her go down there by herself.  The kids spend almost every moment out in that yard.  I did manage to catch them for a quick photo, but of course the settings on my camera were wrong and the pics are not good.

I did not really take any other pictures that entire week.  It was good to see my sister and the kids, but EVERYONE was worn out by Friday.  It was a great week!

Week 10

I have a few weeks to catch up on.  This is actually from the weekend of March 11-13.  Kayla had a dance competition in Oklahoma City.  We left Friday after school and made the drive.  Kayla's friend Saskia and her mom went with us. 

 Kayla and Saskia happy to be at the hotel.

Our hotel is in Bricktown directly behind the ball field.  After several of us had arrived we walked over to Coach's to get some dinner.  The girls had a great time together, and for some reason they decided to tell everyone that they were from California.  Very random.

Chloe, Saskia, and Kayla

Chloe, Saskia, Kayla, and Katie

Chloe and Kayla are actually both on Face Time...with each other!!!

The next morning we went to watch one of our groups compete.  Then we all headed to Abuelos for lunch.  There were around 25 of us.  Here is the kid side of the table.

The next stop was this super cute cupcake and candy store called Pinkitzel.  It was a fun little place to go, but I am glad we do not have to frequent it.  The cupcakes were $3.50 each, and the candy was $3.50 for 1/4 lb.  That is a little too pricey for me.   It only takes about 3 jellybeans to equal a 1/4 pound!

 

Lots of candy...

 

And lots of yummy cupcakes

 

Saturday night was the swim party

 

Followed by a pizza party in the hotel breakfast area.

Sunday morning it was time for business.  Another mother came over to do Kayla's makeup for me.  That is normally Grandma Sue's job, but she did not go on this trip with us.  It got to be a little chaotic in the room!

We had to leave the hotel before 8 in the morning.  That meant we had to check out.  We managed to get everything loaded up.  It is amazing how much stuff we had!

She is ready to perform

  A last minute practice with her teacher.

 At this point I about panicked.  If you know me, I like to be on time for things.  I prefer to be early.  We were practicing out in the lobby when we discovered that Kayla was the next number to compete.  We were not ready, and we were not even back stage.  It was still about 25 minutes until her scheduled time to compete.  I left Kayla with her teacher and went to the audience.  As I entered they were announcing Kayla as the next competitor.  However, she was not there.  They waited a minute, and then they moved on to the next number.  That poor girls top fell off in the middle of her performance and she quickly ran off stage.  Again they announced Kayla...and she came on stage.  Big sigh of relief!  She did a great job.

She won a Diamond Elite trophy (that is the highest level trophy they give out).  That was really exciting because Kayla has never gotten that before.  She also tied for first place for the intermediate level in the 9-10 age division.  She got a medal, a plaque, and a $50 check. 

Congratulations Kayla!!!!  I am so proud of you.

Weeks 8 and 9

I totally skipped out on doing an entry last week.  It was a slow week and there was not much to report.  Caroline's class made a trip to the donut shop and they got a visit from the Equine Hospital.  She now wants to be a zookeeper.  This last week had a lot more going on.  On Thursday Kayla had her 3rd grade music program.

 It was really cute.  I did not tell my parents what part Kayla had.  It was hilarious watching them try to find her, and to see their reaction when they finally did find her.  The kids did not wear costumes.  Each class just had a different color shirt.  Except for Kayla.  She got the one role in the entire show that needed a costume.  She also has the most NOT creative mother.  I quickly got on the internet and ordered her something.  I did not get a good still picture of her, and I think all of my video clips are too large.  I can't get them to upload to the blog.  Kayla had a pretty large speaking part and she did a wonderful job.  I have no idea where she gets her public speaking skills.  It must be from her father because it is certainly not from her mother.  This is the only clip I could get to load, but you will get the idea...

 I will keep working on some of the other clips.  I would love to get her speaking parts on here because she did such a great job.

On Saturday Kayla had the District piano competition.  She did a lot of practicing to get ready for this day.  Piano sometimes takes a back burner to all of the dance activities so she had a lot of work to do. 

 She did great!  She got a 1+ which is the highest you can get.  She will now go to the state competition in Oklahoma City in May.  We are so proud of her.

I have to give you some Caroline pics.  We have finally had some nice weather and were able to play outside.

Such a cute little cowgirl!