Sparky and His Three Little House Guests

So while my in-laws are in Hawaii on family vacation/dropping off Tasha at BYU-Hawaii, I get to watch three little kitties!  Let's just say that I love it!  All three are so cute and I'm not sure whether they are male or female.  One is a chocolate point and the other are two blue points.  Sparky's parents (Max and Sugar) had this third litter two months ago and so it was safer for everyone if they came to our place.  Brett and I are having a blast, but Sparky is loving it more.  All they do is play play play and then take three hour naps with some food breaks.  They have such a hard life! ;)

Sparky was wiped out too!

One of my favorites!  They all had to keep an eye on me while I was getting ready for bed.  Sparky is such a father figure to them! haha!

Look at the feet! haha

sun bathing

I'm so sad that tomorrow they go back to my in-laws.  Sparky, Brett, and I love them and have enjoyed their company the last two weeks.  Lots of great memories and love!

Tasha leaving for BYU-H!

My sister-in-law Tasha left last Friday to go attend BYU Hawaii.  She received a scholarship to go play soccer for them for the next two years.  Let's just say, I'm excited for her even though I'm going to miss her a lot!  Plus, it's going to be weird to not have her around at family dinners on Sunday because this means I have to defend my food even more from Brett.  ;)

Miss you already, Tasha!  And Sparky says hi!

Us in Athens last Summer!

Magical Princess Camp

The last two weeks I have kept my mornings busy with Magical Princess Camp.  I was in charge and organized the whole thing (feels great by the way).  Every summer at Momentum Dance Center, we have summer camps and usually a fun ballet camp for ages 3-6.  It's kind of a way to introduce ballet to the little ones and they love it.
Since I was going to have two weeks of this camp, I took eight different Disney Princesses and built my camp off of them.  Each day I had a craft that went with the Princess.  It was a lot of preparation to get these crafts prepared, but I had a lot of fun doing them.  From there, I had to create a schedule of what we were doing during the camp.  I also created two different dances that they would perform to their parents on Thursday of each week.
Both weeks were a hit and the kids had a lot of fun which reflected great on me and my T/A's. The demonstrations went really well and the girls always love they get to wear their tutus and other crafts. I am really proud with what I accomplished and look forward to repeating the camp next year.

Here's the Princesses and Crafts that I did:

Ariel/Seashell Bracelet
Belle/Tutus
Sleeping Beauty/Banner
Pocahontas/sunflower
Mulan/lacy fan
Cinderella/tutu
Jasmine/Cave of Wonders Picture Frame
Snow White/crown

Some of my little Princess Girlies!  We made those Tutu's!

Sparky had to join me during craft time

Some crafts

Ariel's Bracelet

I made a Cave of Wonders Box which I kept the Princess of the Day and the crafts in there as a surprise.  The girls loved it!

Lacy Fan (made with wrapping paper)

A Dream Fulfilled- Performing at the Land of D

So I've been going to Disneyland since I was 4 months and yes, I am still obsessed with the place.  I honestly think it is so fun!  When I was little, I always told my family that I wanted to work there.       But as I got older, I didn't want to anymore because I thought it might kill how I feel about the place.  Performing while not working there has always been a goal and yes, I officially completed that goal.
My boss, Cathy, asked me if I wanted to do the Lollipop solo and I definitely agreed for the opportunity! Cathy worked at Disney years ago and still currently does guest choreography and Turtle Talk training.  She has some pretty good connections and Disney asked if we would perform two shows at Disney's California Adventure in honor of the grand re-opening of Buena Vista Street
at the Hollywood Backlot.
Friday July 20 was a hot humid day here in Southern California (felt like Florida).  Our first show was at 11:30 a.m. and went great.  I did my solo on flat because the floor was too slippery for pointe shoes (can't really use rosin at Disney).  I had a great time and loved every minute of it.  The second show was 12:30 p.m. and by this time the floor was extremely hot.  Two numbers before I was to go on again, the teenagers were flipping out because their feet were literally on fire. (I later found out the floor was 180 degrees Fahrenheit.) I was bummed, but it's better to keep every one safe.  At least I did one performance and had a blast living the dream!
After performing and getting ready to have fun, I found Laura and Patrice and we walked through Cars Land.  I hadn't had a chance to see it yet, and it was packed, but awesome to look at.  We stayed over at Disneyland the rest of the time because believe it or not the crowds were less there. :)

It's me!

A special thanks for Patrice for the picture!

Cars Land

The Matterhorn has been closed for 5 months so they could change the seating! Sad Day!

Pineapple Dole Whip Float!

Can't forget the Dinosaurs on the Train

The Wizard Of Oz

I know, I'm a month behind on my events for the blog.  Lots of stuff going on that I haven't had a spare moment to blog. So let's talk about the Recital/Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz officially came to a close on July 1st and I survived!  It was one crazy final week with lots of rehearsals and four incredible shows.  I had double duty of watching over my kids while they danced and also performing and yes, I think my mind was going crazy.
I am very proud of my 90 kids that I taught this last year.  I have seen so many of them grow and it's fun to watch them excited to perform.  They were so adorable as Munckins, the Lullaby Guild, Crows, and Emerald Gems.  I'm one proud mama!
I especially feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to perform again because it was something I needed to do for myself.    The last time I performed was in 2009 when I was in Repertory Ballet Ensemble at school and when I graduated, I just needed a break.  Dancing 8 hours a day, 5 times a week for 4 years was a lot on my body and mind.  But last year, I decided I was ready to give it a go again.  I really enjoyed being the Lollipop soloist because it was the hardest solo in the ballet. Plus, I was using it as a tool to inspire the kids I teach on what they could achieve one day. I also danced in the corps of the Tornado and Forest.
It was great to have Brett, my parents, and Brett's grandparents come and support me.  I always appreciate the support of my family and friends.  I was really excited to finally show Brett my ballerina skills and yes, he was quite impressed.  My parents who have been watching me dance since I was 6 thought I looked really professional.  That makes me happy to hear because in the 19 years that I have danced, I have put a lot of sweat and tears into what I love.  That's a life of a ballerina!
Glad to have life back to normal until next time!

One of my kidance classes.  They were Sleeping Beauty Ballerinas

Lollipop (Picture Day)

I got this Momentum sweatshirt from my boss and I love it!

Some live action shots!

Recital Time

Ever since May 12, I have pretty much said goodbye to my weekends.  I have been in rehearsals staging my classes and actually dancing for The Wizard of Oz Ballet.  I've known ever since I was 11 when I participated in my first Nutcracker, how much you have to be dedicated to dance.  Call me crazy, but I like being busy with dance because it's what I do best and I enjoy sharing my talents of choreographing and dancing.  The performances are not until the end of June so right now everything is in crunch mode.  We have picture day coming up this weekend and so projects for headpieces, accessories on costumes, etc have become take home projects for the ballet teachers.  Last week I put raffia on 29 of my crow costumes, decorated 14 munchkin hats, and made 10 flower berrets also for the munchkins.

One of my cute little Crows trying on her costume

Some of the Munchkin headpieces 

Don't worry, I've been able to squeeze in some fun for my sanity.  I've been going to Disneyland a lot because Brett and I decided to not renew our Disney annual passes after June 10.  I've been really bummed about this because I seriously love feeling like a child and having fun in the land of D, but I know it's not worth it this year for multiple reasons.  Brett promised me we would definitely go back (haha, I know I'm such a baby on this).  For another aspect of fun, I also went to the Brea Mall and did some shopping with my birthday money.  I found a great deal on some cute Jessica Simpson heels from Nordstrom and then some cute clothes from Banana Republic.  Spending time with Brett and Sparky during my down time has been fantastic. With all the recent chaos, Fridays are the one day where we can spend time together.  We still manage to have date nights to go eat, making the copycat recipe of the Levan cookies, attending the Temple, etc.  Since Memorial Day, Brett's half day Fridays have officially begun for the summer for him at Avery.  As for Sparky, he has been a little mad at me because I am gone all the time.

Laura and I in our World Peace shirts

Throwin' some elbows like World Peace

Angry Pirate

Yes, ate another Monte Cristo with Pommes Frittes

My elegant Siamese

 

Sparky entertained me with my cup

Clothes fresh out of the dryer are his favorite

This is why Brett and I love Sparky

The copycat Chocolate Chip cookie from Levan's in New York! 

One of the best cookies I've ever had!

Same shoe in three different colors.  I love the purple the most!

On another note, yesterday, I was not able to go to church because I found out I was performing in the Yorba Linda Arts Alliance and also because after there was the first full cast rehearsal for Wiz.  The 1st Counselor in the Bishopric at church kept trying to call me because they had a new calling for me.  Uh-oh!  First, I was nervous because I thought they were going to put me back in Relief Society (being 25 and married with no kids in a family ward, you don't really fit in plus, it's too much estrogen in one room) and second, they had called me six months ago to be a teacher in Primary and I love my kids.  Well, my new calling is the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency.  I guess the Bishop of our ward said that he wanted me to be in this calling. I accepted and I'm excited, but the whole sharing time once a month makes me nervous.  Plus, I probably have to be either at scouts or achievement days which I don't know how I am going to fit this in.  Wish me luck especially this next month!

Here's some extra pictures!

Laura and I have way too much fun!

The Little Mermaid Ride

The ice cream hair until about a month ago

Two weeks ago, they finally changed the hair

 

My favorite dancing lobsters

A pointe shoe necklace from one of my 5 year olds I teach!

Love Brett's pirate look