Learning the Cuddle & the Dip ... Wow!

Friday night was another successful & fun night of Salsa dancing. The teachers definitely threw new stuff at the class but they did quite well. Not perfect, of course, but they're learning & soaking it all up. This class was very "hands on" compared to other classes. It was pretty funny to watch Callie & Oskar figure out how to deal with it. They were both embarrassed when the class began but were getting more comfortable with all the "touchy-feely" stuff near the end. I hope they get more comfortable, especially considering this was only week 3 & I imagine they'll be more where that came from. :)

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We can't remember the name of this move ...

but Oskar had to wrap his arms around

Callie in order to switch hands.

The 2nd half of the picture below is capturing

quite a moment. In this move Callie is supposed

to "drag" her hand across Oskar's stomach.

It's the move people! lol

Anyway, she was hesitant to do it &

was just learning her hand in the air rather

than on his stomach. You can see where she's

actually touching him AND him noticing it as well!

Love it!!!

Oskar being, well, Oskar! :)

Just dancing The "Cuddle"
The "fling from cuddle"

Callie & Oskar reacting to hearing they

were learning "the dip" next.

Learning "the dip"

Oh yeah!

Their final dip of the night.

Stretching It Out

The other night after Contemporary, Callie & I

had a 45-minute wait until Salsa started.

She wanted to do some stretching

& I of course took pictures.

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I love the look of this first picture.

I used the flash which explains why the

color is SO different than the pictures below it.

It also explains why you see what looks

like stretch marks on her legs ...

it's actually the reflection of the floor

on the bottom of her legs.

Weird but cool.

A triple-picture ... such good stretching!

Splits ... ouch!

She's SO proud of herself though.

She's worked VERY hard to get them!!!

Salsa pictures tomorrow!!!

Studio Time

Sorry, She's Busy Dancing :)

Friday was the 2nd week of Callie's Contemporary class & Salsa class. She's loving them both SO much!!! Contemporary is for the whole session but Salsa is only a 6-week class. She's also taking ballet still, twice a week, so she's a busy girl. Since she's now dancing 3 days a week, her 2 days off are spent dancing in the house ... lol ... she can't get enough.

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Miss Becki & Callie

in Contemporary

Callie & Oskar were SO much better in their 2nd week of Salsa. I was pretty surprised because they didn't practice (together) since the actual class the week before. I was impressed though.

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Callie giving me the "stare" &

Learning the push turn

Learning the "Around the World" turn

Killing me!
Oh my!

Having fun!

Freestyle

Another successful class!

Cowgirl Up!

I've been meaning to post this picture of Callie & Oskar for a while now. It was taken in August at the NW WA Fair. Callie wanted to get it done & Oskar was quite happy to comply. I was pretty shocked ... it's not a boy's thing so much. Maybe he did it to make Callie happy ... lol ... who knows. We tried to talk Callie into dressing girly for the picture but she was having none of it. I don't know if it's because Oskar already knew what he wanted to wear & she wanted to go along with him ... which wouldn't surprise me at all.

**Regardless, they're adorable!**

Twirly Girl

Callie bought herself a new skirt at Old Navy

& oh my goodness does she love it.

She's demonstrating it's "twirliness"

in the picture below.

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Enjoy!

Callie and a Hairbrush

Callie is such a girly girl ... and she fully embraces that side of herself. I, on the other hand, struggle with it. I'm NOT a girly girl & can't wrap my head around the way she thinks or the things she does. Regardless, she's my daughter and I love her. As a girly girl, she likes to primp. Brush her hair, stare at herself in the mirror, brush her hair ... you get the idea. The other night she was brushing her hair ... a lot ... and I took some pictures of her in all her hair brushing glory. lol The first set is a little funky (kind of like the jumping ones of Calob) but the second set is much better. Enjoy!

Salsa ... oh la la!

Callie had a BIG Friday! A while ago, her "special friend" Oskar, asked if she would take a 6-week Salsa class with him. She was SO thrilled & said yes immediately. Friday was their first class. She's been talking about it almost non-stop. Well, little did she know that we (T & I) had also signed her up for a Contemporary class. She's wanted to take it for quite some time but we always told her no, mainly from a financial standpoint. We decided this would be a good time for her to try it. We just forgot to tell her about it. lol As the class got closer, it just never really came up again (she was too excited about her Salsa class to even think about Contemporary) so I decided we just wouldn't tell her ... at all. So on Friday, we left for Salsa super early, with her thinking we were going to the library beforehand. Here's her face when she found out why we actually left so early. (The Contemporary class is right before Salsa, so it's perfect) Needless to say she was THRILLED!!! She's still talking about how excited she is to take the class. Here's Callie stretching at the beginning of class. And that's Makenna you see too. They were the only 2 to show up to the first class.

Then it was time for Salsa class with Oskar.

She was practically vibrating with excitement

... it was SO cute.

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Oskar THRILLED I'm taking pictures

Watching the teachers Learning the turn

Learning the crossover

Here are the best pictures of the night (except that Callie is slightly out-of-focus ... my camera is totally focused on Oskar). Callie & Oskar holding hands when they didn't have to ... OMG ... adorable!!!

My Kiddos

Let There Be Light!

Callie has been asking us to put Christmas lights in her room for quite a while. I've always said no. Then we bought new lights this year & once we realized they wouldn't work on our tree (white cord on a green tree, uh NO) we didn't know what to do with them. And to top it off, Terence never returned them, so we've had these lights just sitting around the house. I figured that was as good a reason as any to put them in her room. We didn't tell her though. She knew we were doing something in her room but she didn't know what.

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SURPRISE!!!

Movie Date

On Monday, Calob & I accompanied Callie & Oskar on what I classify as their "first date." Granted we were with them BUT they sat on their own to eat & in the movies. Yep, they saw their first movie together. We saw "Alvin the the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" which wouldn't have been the first choice for any of us but it was pretty much the only appropriate movie showing. So that's what we saw. It wasn't great but it certainly wasn't horrible. I've read some people talking about how awful it is. Seriously, it's a cartoon about chipmunks ... if you're expecting Oscar worthy stuff, you're in the wrong place. If you go into it rationally you will get exactly what you expect ... at least I think so. They both seemed to enjoy the movie (although I couldn't really see them). The whole thing was super sweet ... they even shared a drink (his idea). Memories for sure. After the movie Oskar came to our house for a bit to wait for his mom to pick him up. Callie & Oskar played Wii ... because really, what else is there to do when mom is right there with a camera? ☺

Christmas Vacation

We have done a whole lot of nothing during Christmas Break this year & I think we're all pretty ok with it! We've slept, watched tv, napped, ate ... and that pretty much covers it. We did get out on Christmas Eve for our dinner but other than that, we've been pretty homebound ... and it's been great.

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Calob hanging with Tamara

Callie hanging with Kit

(and the new outfit Grandma Judy bought for Kit)

Pillowcases Galore

My Aunt Lainey is a very creative gal ... more creative than anyone I know! It blows me away the stuff she can do. She surprised us with personalized pillowcases this year. Not only are they personalized, but they are also handmade. We are SO touched to have someone so special in our lives & that knows us so well. Each pillowcase reflects who we are individually and then also has our name embroidered on it too (mine has a kitty next to my name too ... perfect)!!! We absolutely love them!!! Thanks bunches Aunt Lainey ... they're fabulous!!!

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The kids & their pillowcases &

Callie with the adorable cup & saucer ...

can you tell how tickled she is by it?!? :)

Here are all the pillowcases. I included the

part with my name & adorable kitty

larger because it was kind of hard to see in the original

picture & it's SO adorable, I didn't want anyone to miss it! :)

"Miracle on Main Street"

On Sunday, the Kidsing Praise Network, performed "Miracle on Main Street." The basic story is that the mayor (along with some townspeople) no longer want the Christmas pageant performed in the Main Street square. The kids decide they need to save Christmas & set about making it happen. Of course, the kids were successful.

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The preschoolers opened the show &

oh how I wish you could've heard them.

They were a R-I-O-T!!! ☺

"I Hate to Wait for Christmas"

The hippies that didn't want the

Christmas pageant to be performed

in Main Street square.

"I Believe"

The Nativity Scene

Teacher Presents

Callie is VERY creative. She has her own ideas of what is stylish & how things should be. I shouldn't be surprised by the ornaments she made for her teachers then. Yet I was. I have a feeling these handpainted gems will never get lost on a tree. ☺

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Opening a treat bag
Singing with the honor choir