Rori's 1st Dance Recital

Wednesday was a very exciting day at our house.  We had 4 big things happening that we had been excited about for a long time. 

1.  Zuri's Birthday
2.  Rori's Dance Recital
3.  Grandma and Grandpa Utah Coming to help us celebrate those 2 things!
4.  Daddy coming home from his out of town business training trip to also be at all of these things!

After a birthday dinner which we'll talk about in another birthday post, we raced home and got Rori dressed for her big performance.  She has been taking her dance class all Spring in preparation of this big performance.  She's really liked going to class every week and being with her friends there.  We have felt very fortunate that the class took place right by her school making it so much more possible to do with 3 friends from Church.  Her dance teacher has been teaching for years and apparently has quite the following.  I have been amazed at how many families we know have kids that are her students.  It was just the right mix of fun and actual learning for a 3 year old.  We're so glad Kinzie encourages Rori to do this class with her as it really was a fun experience.

When we first saw Rori's outfit we thought it was hilarious.  They had professional posed pictures taken which we should get in a few more weeks which I will post then to give the full effect.   Gymnastics was always my thing growing up so the whole dance outfit thing has been a little foreign.  Plus Rori probably tends to me a little more on the tomboy side of things and it was just so girly.  She and her friends looked so cute though and I really do think that it made it so much more fun for all the kids to get so dressed up.  They were adorable up on the stage and had the whole audience in love with them.

The place where they had the performance was awesome. It was at the Henderson Pavilion. It was big but not too overwhelming and so fun with the big stage and stage lights. We thought the chances were good that some 3 year old's (they were the youngest group) would likely never make it on the stage due to such a big crowd and new place, but I think they all did great. Rori was thrilled with the whole experience. She had a huge smile on her face for much of it and even shot us a few excited waves in between dance steps. She did a great job remembering much of the dance and really just seemed to enjoy all the attention. It was especially fun for her to have grandma and grandpa Utah there!

Monday dance days were pretty exhausting this Spring as it meant taking Rori to school, picking her up 1 1/2 hours later, taking her to dance for 1 hour, and then returning her to school for 1 more hour. But, I knew she loved and it and it was good for her. After the recital I'm even more glad as I really do think it was a neat experience for Rori. Good job little dancer!

  

A Busy Weekend

Last weekend was a packed one for our family.  It sort of set the pace for the rest of the week which might be why it has taken me almost a whole week to blog about it.    It started Friday with Lance and Kai heading out to Red Rock for Father's and Son's.  I understand there was hiking, smores, and lots of playing.  The girls and I had dinner with some of the other Mom's and Daughters that night and then ran some errands.  The boys came back late that night instead of sleeping over because we had a big day the next day. 

Saturday started bright and early with us heading to North Las Vegas for the annual Angelman Walk A-Thon.  There was a great turn out and lots of fun activities and things going on like a marching band leading the walk, popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy, bubbles, balloon animals, a karate display and more.  We had lots of fun spending some time with our Las Vegas "Whitney Friends".

After some time at the walk we had to dash back towards home to make it to Rori's dress rehearsal for her upcoming dance recital. There was quite a large crowd of parents watching because there were tons of ages of girls performing so I wondered how Rori and her little classmates would handle it all.  It was fun to see that they did great and actually seemed to like all the attention and getting to dance. 

Right after she got dismissed we headed home for a quick change in to bathing suits and to fill up water bottles before heading to the AGBell Summer Kick-off Picnic. Fortunately this was held at a park fairly close to where we live . The kids had a blast!. They had hamburgers and hot dogs and all sorts of other lunch goodies for everyone at the party. It was also right by a splash pad and big playground area. In addition to playing in the water there were also all sorts of games (water balloon toss, sack races, limbo etc.), raffles, a craft area, and even an ice cream truck that made a special stop at the party. Zuri was our big raffle winner who won some free frozen yogurt coupons- she really will love that. Plus Kai and Rori were thrilled as usual to get to play with all this fun stuff with the Simons kids, Rori's other school buddy E.J., and even her teacher Ms. Wheeler.

It was a super fun day and we were so happy that the weather was manageable in the low 90's for all the outdoor activities.  We were all beat by the time we got home that afternoon, but grateful that we had successfully been able to make it to each special thing.   

1 Year Old

It's amazing that Zuri has been a part of our family for 1 year.  We love this little one so much.  We had a super fun celebration today and will be continuing the party throughout the weekend.  Lots more pictures to come. 

Graduation 2012

Lance graduated with his Master's Degree in History on May 12, 2012 from UNLV.  He's been working hard on this for the last 2 years and has done very well.  Prior to graduation he received an award for being the History Pre-Comp Masters student of the year.  He's really enjoyed the program and working closely with several of the professors.  They've given him several opportunities to do some teaching and work on special projects.  He has decided to continue on this path and work towards his PHD.  We are all very proud of him!

The graduation was held in the Thomas and Mack basketball arena on the UNLV campus.  The kids and I found some seats that worked great for us in the last row of the upper bowl.  I had a place to fold up and stash the stroller and a few bags of snacks and other provisions to help us make it through the ceremony right behind our seats.  This area also later doubled as a great little play area for Rori to color in her coloring book.  I was also happy with it because we had easy access the the bathrooms and I could stand and sway Zuri to sleep right next to the seats without obstructing others view.  These are all important criteria when you are sitting by yourself with 3 young kids at a massive event. 

The kids actually did great though. They loved the jumbo screen, the live orchestra, all the people, the "funny graduation costumes",  the crowd cheering, and especially hearing their Dad's name and seeing him on the jumbo screen. Towards the end of the ceremony a graduate in cap and gown even flew over the stadium on to the stage (only in Vegas) which they really thought was awesome. We did finally get up and wander around some after Lance's name was called.  3 hours is a long time to sit- especially when a lot of it is reading names.  Thankfully Lance's name being read was towards the beginning since it was an advanced degree.  It was a big day, but Lance and I both felt like it was a really good memory and experience for the kids to have about how amazing it is to work hard and achieve a graduation. They are very proud of their Dad and that is the best!