Dance, Dance, Dance All Weekend Long

Last weekend, Olivia attended the Dupree Dance Convention in Phoenix.  While she was there, she had the opportunity to learn choreography from some highly trained choreographers in the tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, and musical theater.  I love that she has the courage to try new things and have fun while she is doing it.

It was an eye opening experience for me.  Dance Moms are a real thing, y'all!  Look at my girl up there in the middle.  She's in wild leggings and a tank top and is surrounded by girls in ballerina outfits and real dance clothes! Ha.  

➹ This is Ellenore Scott, who placed 4th on the show So You Think You Can Dance!  She was Olivia's Musical Theater teacher and she was amazing. ➹

Sunday was a very long day, but we had a huge break in the middle of classes, so we spent an hour and a half at the Children's Museum.  It's so crazy to see how big she is on some of these toys  compared to when we used to go all the time in preschool.

At the end of the two day session, the girls in Liv's group performed a cute hip hop routine on the big stage.  I'm so proud of her for being fearless when it comes to performing!

Honestly, I think the highlight of her weekend at the convention was riding the glass elevator!

When October Flies By

Can you guys believe Halloween is next week!?  Has this month flown by or what?  We have been busy little BOOgers this month, and if I know you like I think I do, you're wanting to see what we've been up to.  So let's get to it.

➸➸  We celebrated Magnum on his special day.  He turned 15 this month!  Bless his sweet heart, he has overcome so much in his life.  He's broken his leg 4 times before finally having it amputated, and his most recent ailment was having a cancerous spot above his eye removed.  Since the surgery, he has not been able to blink his eye.  But, good ol' Magnum is still kicking it with the best of them.  {It probably has to do with the frozen waffles he eats on a daily basis!}

➸➸  School resumed and all the moms in the neighborhood breathed a collective sigh of relief.

➸➸  My brother has moved to LA, and my parents have been watching Peyton while he is in corporate housing.  They left to Vegas last weekend, and so Peyton spent the night at our house for two nights.  Let's just say, I'm glad we only have one dog.  :)

➸➸  We got BOO'd, and inside our Boo Basket were these delightful suckers.  The girls had fun making scary/funny faces with them.

➸➸  The weather has FINALLY cooled off, and we can be outside without sweating!  Now, if these darn mosquitos would disappear!  We took the girls for a long bike ride after school last week and it was glorious!

➸➸  I booked a last minute mini photo session for Christmas pictures on Saturday {like booked it Friday afternoon and the session was the next day}, and so on Saturday we scrambled around like mad trying to find something for the girls to wear in the pictures {because their closets are empty}!

They did a good job posing for pictures and were rewarded with playground time and milkshakes.  #beingamodelishard

➸➸  And, what's a miscellaneous post these days without pictures of us eating MOD Pizza?!

➸➸  And, let me leave you with this fabulous picture of Sydney.

The End of Our Fall Break

You guys, we have a slight obsession with Mod Pizza.  I'm pretty sure we ate there at least 3 times over our break.

{We love it so much, in fact, that I just ordered it for dinner.}

We found about every gymnastics camp and open gym we could find to let these girls burn off some energy.

Looks like it worked!

And, we helped take care of a few kiddos by packing meals at Feed My Starving Children.  This is such an amazing opportunity for kids - it's one of the few places that allow children 5 and over to volunteer.  This time, the food was being sent to the Philippines.  {Thanks, Nana, for going with sand being such a great scooper.}

Roooaaaaaaddddd Trippppp!!!!

My friend Sheri and I decided to take a little "Girls Only" trip up to Prescott over fall break.  And, by girls only, we mean girls of all ages {except for babies, I guess, because we left Reese at home}.  We convinced Nana to go, because who doesn't love fairs and pumpkin patches?

This was my first time to Prescott, and I've got to say, I was really impressed.  The weather was much cooler than the temperatures here in the valley, so maybe I was just blinded by the weather.

We hit some traffic on the way up and got to the fair a little later than we originally planned, but I think it worked out perfectly.  The girls had a blast riding the smaller carnival rides, and after checking out the animals, we sat in the stands of the arena and watched a little bit of a rodeo!  The girls got a little antsy because they could see the fair rides, so we let them ride a few more before heading to the hotel for the night.

➹ They LOVED that kettle corn! ➹

➹ Sydney was defending "her" bag! ➹

The next morning, we had breakfast in the hotel, and then went to an event for veterans around the town square.  Sheri's friend is in the Honor Guard and was performing there.  The girls had a nice time running around and collecting candy from all the booths.  While we were there, we met a veteran who fought in WWII!  

➹ I don't even know what is going on in this picture. ➹

After we left the Prescott, we headed towards home and made a pit stop at Mortimer Farms Pumpkin Patch.  The entrance fee sort of made my eyes pop out of my head, but the girls were able to do just about everything without additional costs once they were inside.

➹ She looks so big on that little pony! ➹

➹ They are all supposed to be pointing in different directions! ➹

➹ This picture breaks my heart.  She was upset with Olivia because Olivia was trying to tell everyone where to sit and how to pose and she wasn't listening to any of the suggestions Sydney was making.  She ran off and cried and then got back up on the hay and asked me to take her picture.  Bless her heart, she is trying to smile so big through her tears. ➹

All in all, I would say it was a wonderful 30 hour road trip!  The girls were filthy and exhausted when we got home.  I'm thinking we just started a yearly tradition!  ;)