Ease on Down the Road

The June recital for Academy of Dance has come and gone.  As in 2 months ago, I know.  For the first time, Lauren was in more than one number (given her involvement over the past year in ballet, junior musical theatre, and jazz), which meant 3 costumes, lots more rehearsal, and lots more fun for our girl.  Add to that my role as the head of concessions for the second year, and our summer kicked off with quite a bang.

The studio always puts on incredibly creative shows.  This year we saw their take on The Wizard of Oz.

Saturday night prior to the recital was the dress rehearsal, and Kristen came to enjoy the performance followed by dinner.  Always a treat to spend time with her.



The afternoon of the recital was sunny and hot.



Perfect for selling tons of cold drinks at the concessions stand (manned by Joe for the second year running).



The first role for Lauren was that of a Munchkin (her ballet class):








(With Gigi, in her last recital)


(With Harley)














Next we saw a portrayal of the Tin Man with her jazz class compadres.







Her final role - a Jitterbug with her musical theatre class, singing and dancing to "If I Only Had a Heart".








Another year, another incredible production.

So proud.




[With studio owner Merle]

Next up?  Rehearsals and costume fittings (not to mention concessions) for The Nutcracker, on tap for 2 shows in November.  Deep breaths.

Afternoon Tea

Lauren and I enjoyed some afternoon high tea a few weeks ago with a few dance friends and their moms.  All the girls tried the tea but ended up switching to lemonade. Finger sandwiches, pastries and scones were delish!








[the yellow and blue rubber bands on her braces are her school colors….]

Did I mention how much I love having a daughter??  :)

Ice Skating Competition in Yorba Linda

On May 18th, Lauren took the ice at her first competition against skaters from other rinks.  A fairly quick trip to Yorba Linda and we entered The Rinks.  It was a whole new world for us and yes, our girl was quite nervous.   Thankfully, her coach Vanessa was there to help calm her nerves and was by her side as she took the ice for her routine.





Lauren had to pick music for a routine about 6 weeks prior to the competition - after much consideration, she chose "You Can Count on Me" by Bruno Mars (her other selection was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland).  Proud to say her music stood out as original - "Frozen" seemed to be the song of choice for many of the 6 to 10-year-old age group.

Given that she had only been working on the routine a couple of times per week in advance of the competition, she overcame her fears and looked just about as relaxed and confident on the ice as I've ever seen in her dance recitals (where she rehearses for months).

Thanks to the professional photographer present to capture all of the skaters, we have a wonderful memory of her performance (in addition to the professional video also purchased).  And yes, I am going to post most of the photos…...































Due to the wonders of technology, her entire performance can also be viewed:



The final result?

Second place (first place went to a 9-year-old), and a very happy little girl.