Competitions

 Two weeks ago Victoria's dance studio participated in the CRU dance competition in Dearborn, MI. It's a harder competition with more studios at the elite level. Dancin' Feet is at the intermediate level. The determining factor for what level a studio is is the amount of time they practice. At Dancin' Feet, Victoria participates in regular dance classes, 3 days a week for around 2-3 hours each class. On Fridays, they have competition practice for up to 5 hours. A couple of times there will be a Saturday 5-hour competition practice. This seems like a nice, load of practices, and a lot of them are even able to participate in other activities- like Victoria is on the track team and participated in the Winter Throws Club. She also has a job and church obligations. I can't imagine having to uphold an elite studio practice schedule!

At CRU Victoria and all the other dancers from our studio danced beautifully and claimed some amazing awards, despite going against some pretty tough competition. They weren't scored against the elite teams in all categories since they are on different levels, but they were in some. For all the numbers they danced, they scored from the top 10 to the top 2, which was Victoria's trio dance. They received all Ultimate Elite and Superior adjudications, which are the top in CRU. Their group number Jailhouse Rock was called back as part of the Entertainment Showdown. For Victoria's solo, she was invited to perform at the Broadway National Company in Universal Studios Florida, next January. We looked into sending her there since she'll be off track from BYU I in January, but it seems like the biggest honor is just to be invited. No one from our studio goes, or from a lot of studios this far away, because of the time commitment and cost. She's fine with that. In fact, she was looking forward to the next competition that occurred this past weekend, and then on to Nationals in July.

Saturday's competition was the Empire Dance Challenge. It's with pretty much all intermediate dance studios, so Dancin' Feet definitely "shows up" there. They have a different scoring system from CRU, so Victoria received High Gold for her solo and trio and Platinum for the rest. Those are the top two levels of scores. All numbers were in the top 10 again. They received Best Precision for Singing in the Rain, best senior large groups for Singing in the Rain and Jailhouse Rock, Best Teen Production for Jailhouse Rock, and a special judges' award for Stand By Me for dancing with "feeling".

Whether or not they get top scores,  I'm so proud of the hard work they all put into it, and love watching Victoria and her friends dance. Their main instructor, George, works so hard, as well as the other instructors. It will be sad to move on after Nationals this summer. She's worked with George for so many years!

These pictures and videos are all from CRU. I paid for the package from there since you're not allowed to record, though I do have one pic that I took at Empire of the trio since it captures the beginning formation better. Some dances were performed better at CRU, and some at Empire, but the quality of the pictures are amazing since they're professional.

Trio- Everybody Wants to be a Cat

Solo- I Think It's Going to Rain Today

Large Group-Jailhouse Rock

Small Group- Make You Feel My Love

Group-Singing in the Rain (which they did last year, but it's such a favorite, they have to perform it at Nationals, which they haven't done yet.)

Group- Stand By Me

The beginning of Cat at Empire (they creep out of the curtains, which adds so much to the dance!)

On the Saturday of the CRU competition, Victoria was able to participate in the States throwing competition for weight throw, which she qualified for. It wasn't her best throw, but considering she had danced the night before at CRU and then had an early wake-up time to make it to States, she was awesome! I mean, how many dancers can say they just threw a 25 lb ball 23 feet, the weekend of their dance competition? 

What dancers do when waiting to throw- dance!

The best throwers in the state!

What happens when you throw early after a late night of dance-slap happy!

In Like a Lion

 People finally got power back after that ice storm, the puddles were finally starting to dry up, and there was no ice nor snow on the ground, then we got hit with a snowstorm Friday afternoon. Luckily, school wasn't canceled because they followed the weather predictions, which were actually pretty accurate. However, they did cancel after-school activities, which was also a good call. The one thing that wasn't canceled was Victoria's dance practice and parent meeting immediately following it. Next weekend is our next competition and George didn't want to practice the night before the competition. Jason was perceptive as we watched the snow pile up outside. There was more lightning, which they call "Thundersnow" and is a song that Kai played in orchestra recently. Jason and I agreed that he should go with me to the meeting so that he could drive Peppa (Victoria's car) home while I drove Cinnamon. 

Good thing he did! When we came out of the meeting into the 6 inches of snow that had just fallen in the previous 5 hours, Peppa being only a little Ford Fusion, couldn't carve its way through the unplowed snow. So, Peppa had to stay at the Summit Friday night while we all drove back in Cinnamon. Another good thing since the defrost wasn't working and I couldn't see a thing! The windshield was fogged up, the snow was coming down, and it was night. So Jason had to take over and try his best to get us home safely. Victoria thought the adventure was a blast. 

Again, we kept our power, but many places lost it. Lots of trees were ruined, due to the fact they just went through an ice storm and then got pounded on with heavy snow. Here's what our yard looked like yesterday morning.

The way they bend is not good!

That apple tree was always leaning, but we believe it is now uprooted because it's leaning too much.

The forsythia in front looks awful! 

Around 11am on Saturday, the roads were still not plowed and Jason had to go through the grooves of previous cars, surrounded by piles of wet snow on the roads themselves, to help a friend whose car was in a ditch from the night before. When I left at noon, the roads were better. I took Erik and a couple of friends sledding, which was the only good thing out of this storm. Erik got to sled this winter, which hadn't happened due to Austin's broken arm, and Austin and his friend didn't even want to come with us, now that his arm is healed. Oh well, we had fun and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day!

short sleeves! It got warm!

Erik found this heart-shaped snowball.

This is today and we are enjoying more sun!

Sleep Bank

 Oftentimes I have wished there was such a thing as a sleep bank. The times we get extra sleep we can deposit some of the extra hours into this bank for those times when we're sleep deprived and can make a withdrawal to help us get through.  

The past couple days I would have been able to deposit some of the extra sleep I've gotten due to school being canceled for the ice storm. I would use them this weekend for when I'll be out till midnight, or later, on Friday night and up by 6:30 the next morning. 

Friday night is the Cru competition for dance. Victoria is the last to perform her solo at 10:45 and the awards start at 11pm! The next morning,  she has States for weight throw and has to be there at 8am. Phew! On top of that, her other dance competition numbers are all day Sunday,  so no day of rest on the Sabbath.

Maybe this ice storm is a blessing in disguise with all the downtime and extra sleep we're able to get as we prepare for the busy weekend.

We just came out of midwinter break where we missed Friday and Monday,  though actually,  I got to go to work Friday and brought a couple of my kids with me. Monday,  the preschool program was closed, so I took my boys to the Henry Ford Rouge Factory tour where they assemble all the F150s. 650 a day! Jason's dad's will be assembled there tomorrow,  so we didn't get to see his, but we imagined that every blue one we saw was his. It was super educational,  entertaining, and fun! We couldn't take pictures of the assembly line,  but we took pictures where we could. 

Bus ride from Henry Ford museum to the Rouge.

Building a truck of their own!

The simulator they had there had "Jason's Phone" on the screen with a country station on the radio.  Coincidence!

Here's some pics of the effects of the ice storm.  We're some of the lucky few who didn't lose power in this storm. 

The kids decided to run around in it and break some of the ice off of the trampoline.  I missed that photo op, but here's Austin running around. 

Last night while watching a movie,  there were about 5 or 6 lightning strikes that were green,  one of them with a flash of red. The green means the oxygen is super charged and the red is caused by a build up of electricity in the clouds. The bolts themselves don't look colorful,  just the sky. We actually didn't see any bolts, nor did I get pictures of the flashes,  but in this pic it looks kinda green,  so it gives you an idea of what it looked like. 

Here's the trees this morning.  If you can tell,  they're frozen in bent over positions. 

The arbovidae tree in the back of the maple is bent over with ice through the middle as well. 

Celebration of Love

This was the first year in I don't know how many years my own children and I didn't make Valentines together for the grandparents. That's always been a fun tradition, but somehow we forgot until it would have been too late to send to get to their houses on time. I believe at various other years they have been late because we sometimes send ones that need to be in more oversized envelopes that would take longer to deliver. We did think about all the grandparents and Erik composed some virtual ones for me to send to their email addresses through Punchbowl, so all was not lost, but it made me think about all the different directions my kids are going in.

This is Erik's last few months in elementary school and his last Valentine's celebration at school. We typically don't go all out to make Valentine's boxes to collect the valentines in, usually opting for a basic box with heart stickers on them, but this year, Erik and I, with some help from Kai, made a collection toilet for him to bring. It was pretty fun! He brought in Valentine-themed fruit snacks to give out. 

He wrote, "Dispose of your goods here!" They could put them in the top or the bottom, though.

I barely see Victoria and she's the one I've been making Valentines with for the longest, so it's good I'm getting prepared for her to move out. Kai was very helpful in creating the toilet with her artistic ability to make something out of nothing. Austin still had his cast on till yesterday, and while he did very well with his non-dominate hand, he still needed help with various things. Now that his cast is off, he'll wear a brace for two weeks straight. It's less protective, so no horsing around like he was starting to do with his cast on! His right arm is noticeably thinner than his left, even after only 4 weeks. He'll have a virtual appointment in March and then an in-person one in July to make sure his growth plate is still on track. 

It's harder to tell with the watch, but it's definitely thinner!

Besides making Valentines with my students and doing all things Valentines with them, my Primary girls made Valentines to give to friends and teachers, as well as some for me to deliver to the local retirement home. Erik helped me deliver those and it was very rewarding!

They had these little shelves outside their doors that we put them on.

Erik choose the shelves that had no decor on them.

Yesterday, Jason and I got lunch to-go from Levant Kitchen, a Mediterranean Restaurant, after I returned home from work. It was yummy and relaxing! I made shrimp stir fry for dinner that we ate in shifts when everyone was available to eat. Jason got me chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert- my fav!! It was great to still celebrate with those I love!

Tomorrow, to show our love for Michigan State and the recent shootings, everyone is wearing green to school, no matter their school affiliation. A lot of people in our area, including us, are Michigan fans, some more die-hard than others. The rivalry will be set aside tomorrow to show support for "Little Brother", where we have friends who were directly involved in the incident. 

Pet Shenanigans

 About 10 days ago, Kai rushed off to early-morning seminary with Victoria in the dark. However, as I was working out and getting ready for the day, I heard a slight thumping sound. I ignored it at first, thinking it was Luke jumping off of Erik's bed. I even thought it was just my imagination since my ear was plugged up and I couldn't hear much anyhow. Well, a little bit later, I heard another sound. This time, I felt like I should check in Kai's room, just in case. 

When I walked into her room, there was Luke, stuck in there with the door shut, twitching his tail and staring at Ross's (the snake) terrarium. I looked over at the terrarium and was horrified! The screen had been smashed in, leaving the terrarium wide open. I quickly threw Luke out and called for Jason to help me fix the screen in the lid of the terrarium and make sure Ross was in there and still alive. Jason confirmed that Ross was burrowed at the bottom of a ton of hay, but he couldn't tell what state he was in. So we fixed the screen, made sure all sides were sealed, shut the bedroom door, and I finished up to leave for work. Jason had to go in to work that day, so he was gone all day. When I returned from work to check on Ross 4-5 hours later, he was still in the exact same place and I felt my heart sink. I was sure he was dead and I felt awful! What was I supposed to do? What would I tell Kai?

I'm not a huge fan of snakes, but I was so worried about Ross and started bawling at the idea that he was dead (while I'm not a fan of snakes, I'm even less of a fan of dead pets) that I built up the courage to open the terrarium and unbury a part of him to touch him and see if I could tell whether or not he was alive. I couldn't feel anything, so I continued crying and panicking. I couldn't reach Jason by phone, but he texted me and I told him my concerns. We decided we didn't know much still, so we thought I should just wait a little longer. I definitely wasn't going to tell Kai until she arrived home from school. I didn't want to distract her from school nor did I want to worry her, but I did say a prayer for Ross.

About an hour later, I decided to put Kai's paintbrushes back in the room that she had let Erik borrow. I purposely did not look in the direction of the terrarium until I was ready to look. When I did, this is what I saw.

Happy Day!

Halleluiah! Ross had peeked his head out and I was so happy! I texted the picture to Jason right away. We decided that Ross had buried himself so deeply under the hay that he was buffered from the weight of Luke falling in on him and doing whatever else he was doing. Ross is so smart!

It turned out that when Kai found out what had happened, she wasn't concerned at all. She said, "Yeah, that's what he did the last two times Luke got in". I knew he had been okay the other two times, but I didn't know the amount of time it was until we knew he was okay, and since I was the one who heard the noises and found him, I felt more responsible. 

Two days later, the day before we received the new top for the terrarium that's hard screened rather than soft, Kai declared Ross missing! She couldn't figure out how, because there was only a very small opening gap on the side of the screen and we didn't think he could fit. Apparently, he could and Albino Corn Snakes are known for being escape artists. I started feeling panicky again and Jason and I took turns helping search her room in all the warm places, without accidentally squishing him underneath something. Even though her door is always closed, a part of me, and Victoria, were worried that he had gotten out of the room. We just didn't want to find him curled up inside our sheets!

When Jason tried to go into Kai's room the next day to look again, Kai said, "No more looking. I think it's scaring him. I have a feeling that he's going to be fine and will show up if we stop looking". Sure enough, the next day, Kai found Ross curled up in a bin in her closet, where she had looked many times. She put him back in the terrarium and she and Jason put the new lid on top. Phew! We were relieved!

While that story was sad, stressful, and exciting and spanned way too many days for that much pet drama, here's a quick one from today.

Jason was putting a package in Victoria's room and this is what he saw.

Victoria's room is always neat as a pin, so the black fur on the floor blew her through the roof!

That cats had gone into her room, which the door is usually open when she's not in there, had a major fight, and then laid on her bare bed (her sheets were in the wash), enjoying the rare sunshine. When she returned, Austin showed her the "surprise" and Jason couldn't stop laughing at her reaction 😂. I wasn't home, so I missed it, but I can only imagine what it was like! 

Pet shenanigans...

The plant was knocked on the floor the same day as Luke had messed up Ross's terrarium. Naughty kitties!

Leia sunbathing today.

Luke staring at Ross today while Kai was in the room.