Back from Salt Lake

We traveled to Salt Lake City this weekend so Bailee and her friends could audition for the Ballet West summer program.  Of course one of the bigger winter storms we've had decided to arrive as well.  That made for an interesting trip.  Going down wasn't bad, but the return trip definitely had its moments as the snow piled up on the roads and the snow plows were nowhere to be seen.  I was really glad to get home at 11 pm.

We left for SLC Friday after school.  Our friend, Amy, drove her new Nissan Pathfinder with 4WD.  It did well.  Nice rig.  We made good time and got to our hotel in downtown around 7 pm.  We then walked over to Olive Garden for a late dinner.  It was in the 40s down in SLC, totally balmy after our week of subzero weather (-30+ degrees wind chills).  Even though it was rainy, it was still great.  We were on the 11th floor of the Hilton, which was a new experience for Bailee.  Being downtown was nice too.  We got to watch all the folks decked out in their finery heading to listen to the Utah Symphony concert.  Then it was back to the hotel for relaxation for the adults and homework for the girls. 

The girls got up early (6:30), and went down to work out.  We then headed down for what we thought was a complimentary breakfast. Nope.  We were taken to a table and handed a menu.  $10 for a bowl of frosted flakes.  $5 for a bagel.  $20 for anything else.  We left and went over to a Denny's.  lol  When we got back, the girls hit the pool and hot tub.  Then then preparation for the audition began.  Nerves were pretty high.

We went to an outdoor mall located downtown that was really interesting.  Bailee picked up a new hat, which she needed.  It started raining, and the wind picked up.  It was still nice in comparison to Idaho, but there was a growing chill to the air.  We then went over to Noodles and Company for lunch.  I had the best tomato basil soup ever.  Yummy!  Bailee had their mac and cheese, which she also loved.  The girls stopped in at Lunaberry for boba smoothies.  Bai loves them.  We then went to Les Madeleines to pick up some French pastries for the McMullins.  Daddy McMullin is addicted to their signature pastry, and he begged for them as a souvenir. 

After that, we took the girls to the Marriott Center for Dance on the U of U campus.  We saw several students from Brindusa-Moore (which helped our girls' nerves - seeing people you know and have danced with always helps).  While they auditioned, Amy and I went to Starbucks and tried to relax and distract ourselves.  We returned at 5 to pick them up, and had a chance to visit with some other parents from Idaho Falls and Brandi Simpson, who owns Idaho Ballet Theater.  Even she was nervous for her daughter.  Guess it's a typical parental malady.

After the auditions we took the girls for dinner at The Pie Pizzeria.  They loved it - and the chance to relax.  After dinner we hit the road.  By this time it was raining heavily.  We kept a pretty close watch on the weather and road conditions using our Smart Phones, so we were prepared when the rain turned to snow around Malad and the roads got ugly.  That slowed us down, but we didn't have any problems, thankfully.  We pulled into town around 11 pm - definitely ready for bed. 

I'm glad we left last night, as the weather hasn't improved.  In fact, the wind has kicked up.  That would certainly NOT have been fun.  Now we wait to hear.  Yes or no, it's all good.  We had a good time, made memories, and learned some important information about the University of Utah's scholarships and dance program.  Of course, I hope Bailee makes it, but if she doesn't we have learned that it isn't the end of the world.  Life goes on, and that's a pretty valuable life lesson for her to get under her belt. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The sun is shining for the first time in awhile.  No more fog, but also no more hoar frost.  I'm sorry about that, because it is so beautiful! 


All is well here, and we hope that your holidays are bright and festive.  We'll soon be off to finish delivering gifts, eat dinner at Olive Garden, and attend church.  Afterward we will settle in for a wonderful night together.  God bless you all!  You are dear to us.

The Christmas Carol

Last weekend Bailee performed in the ballet "A Christmas Carol."  She had several parts, but her main role was that of the ghost of Christmas future.  She did an amazing job.  We're very proud of her.

Finally Back

Computer difficulties with Blogger have prevented access for months.  Glad that Cableone and Blogger and Google are finally all talking to one another.  Technology is great when it works and a pain like no other when it doesn't.

Too much has happened in the past five months to probably ever catch up on, but here it is in a nutshell:

1. Bailee did a one week master class with the New York City Ballet in Jackson during the month of August.
2. I had a reaction to prednisone and an antibiotic in the later part of August that turned my life and my chemical levels inside out.  I was very ill for a month, and am still trying to recover (my iron levels are still erratic).
3. School started for all of us.  A rough beginning for me (being so sick), but it is going all right.  Diana loves her new principal.  Bailee loves high school.
4. Bailee is dancing with the Moscow Ballet of Russia on November 25th in their local presentation of THE NUTCRACKER.  She's in the Chinese Tea Dance.
5. Bailee's studio is doing THE CHRISTMAS CAROL again this year.  Her main role is the ghost of Christmas future. 
6. Mom had some issues with her heart, but is doing better now.
7. Mom's brother and sister-in-law came to visit in September.  It was great seeing them again.
8. Diana has been passing tiny kidney stones for months.  I guess if you have to have stones, then tiny is the way to go.  We're hoping that we can get a handle on the cause in the near future.
9. Bailee is buried under homework thanks to her four honors classes, but she is holding her own.  She wants to join the track team this spring.

That's it, I guess.  We're eagerly looking forward to the Thanksgiving Break and time away from school.  The break begins tonight for Diana and Bailee.  I have to wait until the 27th for the start of my vacation.  Sure could use the time to catch up around the house.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!



 

Bailee's Surgery

When Bailee was around 3 years-old, she was jumping on our old sofa in the family room.  On her last bounce, her feet went behind the cushions and straight down into the sofa.  Unfortunately, she also connected with the inner framework of the sofa.  End result, she sliced through the toenails on her little toes.  Odd that it happened to the same toes on both feet, but that's the way it fell out.  It was off to the pediatrician for some Rx.  They healed up pretty well, but looked a little strange.  No big deal though.  Until now.

Now they look really strange, and they've become very painful - especially when shoved into pointe shoes.  As Bailee's foot doc said,  "Time to take care of this problem at last."  And so we did.  He removed the damaged portion of each toenail.  Bailee, never a big fan of shots, decided she better bring Nemo along to squeeze.  Getting shots in your toes is no fun, especially when you're a ballerina with rather impressive calluses on your toes.  This photo is right after the shots.  Worst part over. 

Well, worst part if you're the numbed up girl I suppose.  Watching the process was definitely not fun.  Removing a toenail, even a part, is pretty extreme.  Bailee peeked around her screen to watch him do the left toe and thought it was cool.  I did not find it cool.

She had some pain last night, but had a pretty good night.  She also walks like a penguin now, which is rather amusing.  For the next two weeks we're be soaking her feet in Epsom salts 4x a day so a scab does not form.  Scabs are bad in this scenario.  So, if you wonder what we're up to ... we're soaking feet most likely.

Remember Us?

I really get disgusted with people whose blog I'm following and they go months without updating.  It irritates me.  Yeah ... I haven't updated our blog since March, and yes, I am aware that this is a period of three months.  I am ashamed.  I have an excuse, but I'm still ashamed.  Sorry.

The excuse - the slow death of a laptop.  It was a pill for two months.  I couldn't get the darned thing to do anything on the internet really.  It was a pain.  In May I got a new laptop.  I had to reconfigure everything and transfer things to the new computer.  It was a little time consuming, and in May I do not have much in the way of time.  June is ballet intensive month, so time is nonexistent then as well.  So - no updates.

Till now.

Bailee had a wonderful time at her summer intensive in Pocatello at Brindusa-Moore Ballet Academy.  Despite having her phone stolen (we tracked it down and got it back - long story I'll blog about later), it was her best experience yet.  She had a wonderful time seeing all her friends from past intensives.  She also got to work with Constantin Apetrei (Ballet Apetrei in New Orleans - he trained at the Bolshoi Academy in Russia), Vladimir Bykov (Artistic Director of Central Florida Ballet and the World Ballet Competition), Monique Betty (Ballet Idaho), Geoffrey Bennett (acting instructor), and of course Sergiu Brindusa and Beth Moore.

 

 

They performed the ballet "La Fille Mal Gardee" (yup, they put this together in 3 weeks), and Bailee did an amazing job.  We were very proud of her.  This was her 5th year at intensive, and her 3rd year in the advanced class.  Such an amazing experience for her.

After the first week of intensive, Bailee's ballet studio put on a recital featuring the classical ballet variations the older girls have been learning (as well as some of their modern dance projects).  I still cannot believe I got this photo of Bai airborn.  Way to go phone!

 

 

These are some of the costumes she wore for the performance.  We made most of them, and yes, that does mean Bailee helped.  She's learning so much!

 

 

One of the cooler things about the performance was the fact that Bailee's artwork was used for the program and DVD cover.  She was very excited.

Mom is working with a home health group right now.  They are helping her to get a handle on her blood pressure and are doing physical therapy with her as well.  So far, she is doing very well.  That is very good news.  We were really worried about her in May.  Now it appears that she has turned the corner and is on the road to improvement.

Now that we are done with our ballet commitments for a time, we're going to concentrate on home.  Bailee is having her little toenails partially removed tomorrow (she injured them when she was 3).  Mom has 5 billion yard and home projects for me, so I will be very busy I'm sure!  Tired too.  ha ha

The Update on the Trip

 

 

I did a quick post to let everyone know the results of the audition, but then life got away from me.  Well, it actually ran over me, slapped me upside of the head, and stomped on me several times.  Life does that sometimes.  Today I am motivated by guilt to finish the update.


We left after school on the 8th in a blizzard.  Seriously!  Heavy snow, blowing, the whole deal.  We really had our doubts about proceeding, but our Smart Phones came to the rescue.  I was tracking the storm on radar, and saw that it eased up after Blackfoot.  We hung in there (passing on the news to the other parents driving down behind us), and were relieved to find that the storm didn't extend southward.  Such a relief!  We had great roads for the remainder of the trip.  We pulled off at Brigham City around 7 to get  some dinner, connecting with Mary and her mom, who were right behind us.  The girls were thrilled to have the chance to eat together.  (They'd been constantly texting throughout the trip.)


Salt Lake has changed a great deal since the Olympics ... certainly for the better!  I was very impressed by the changes which had been made.  We pulled in to Salt Lake around 8:30 p.m.  Definitely don't love ten lane highways - my least favorite thing about SLC.  However, we were once again thankful for our Smart Phones AND our GPS apps.  It made getting around SO much easier.  Bailee, who has never been to a large city (in her memory) was blown away by Salt Lake.  It's the first time she's seen skyscrapers up close and personal.  Once we got to our hotel (just off the U of U campus), Peggy and I concentrated on getting Bailee settled for the night.  She had a terrible cold, and felt miserable.  Luckily, the medicine I gave her helped her to have a good night.  She felt a wee bit better when she got up the next morning.


We spent the morning touring around SLC.  We found the building where her audition would be, then headed off to Trader Joe's.  I have several friends who are big fans of Trader Joe's, and they have gifted us with some of the products available through the store.  Needless to say, we were excited to check it out.  Bailee loved it.  Really loved it.  She can't wait to go back - with coolers.  After stocking up on some items, we toured the downtown area.  The highlight was seeing the Capitol Theater where Ballet West performs.  Bai was really excited.


Before we knew it, it was time to head back up to the university for the audition.  Bailee was excited to see her friends, but they were all pretty nervous.  The parents opted for going out to lunch since we couldn't watch the audition and didn't want to just hang around for two hours being nervous.  We had a great time together.  When we returned for the girls, they all felt that they had done pretty well.  By this time, the weather had turned on us, and it was snowing heavily.  The others went out for dinner, but Peggy and I decided that we should probably get on the road before it got any worse.


Our roads got pretty dicey around Ogden, and remained so until we passed Malad in Idaho.  Lots of slideoffs, but we did okay.  So thankful for that!  Bailee basically passed out in the back seat.  Once we passed Malad Pass, our roads were great.  We got home around 9:30.  Trip over.


A week later we got the e-mail telling us that Bailee hadn't been accepted.  Her ballet teacher was stunned.  Mary and Aleks couldn't understand why (and both cried on her behalf).  Bailee, however, was fine with it.  She just said "God doesn't want me to go this year.  That's okay.  He has a reason."  She then told us that she had been struggling with a bad feeling about it since we returned home.  So, we don't know why it's a no go this year, but we're willing to accept that there's a reason.  She'll try again next year.


Meanwhile, she'll attend her usual summer intensive in Pocatello with Sergiu and Beth.  We also are hoping that we can arrange for private lessons with either  a former Ballet West dancer OR Risa Mochizuki, a Japanese dancer currently working with a ballet company in Romania.  Either way, Bailee will have a chance to continue to develop her ballet skills.  I'm glad that she has had the opportunity to find out that the disappointments in life don't have to destroy you.  Life goes on, and so do we.



Not This Year

Bailee was not accepted to the Ballet West summer intensive program.

Take a deep breath ...

The hotel reservations are made.  Our friend, Peggy, offered to drive us to Salt Lake since she doesn't trust my van (no one in their right mind does).  We leave after school on Friday.  Bailee registers at 11 am and her two hour audition begins at 2 pm.

Your thoughts and prayers will be appreciated.  We're hoping the roads are decent.  Bailee is pretty calm so far.  The adults, not so much.  You'd think WE were auditioning.  Wish I could observe, but the audition is a very private affair.  Bailee and the other students applying will have to demonstrate their proficiency at bar and floor work, technique, and prove their stamina is up to the company's standards.  It's going to be rough, but I know Bailee will do well.  She is very excited, especially since her good friends Mary and Aleks from her studio will be trying out as well.  There are also several students from the Pocatello studio attending as well.  I'm glad she'll have so many friends there.  I am especially glad that the older boys from Pocatello will be there to watch over their little dance sisters.

Next week I'll recap the trip and tell you how things went!

Winter is TOTALLY here!

 

Idaho got off to a slow start on winter this year. Really slow. We still had green grass in evidence in early December. On Christmas Eve we were blasted with our first bout of snow and cold. Once started, Idaho went crazy. What followed was a month of sub zero temperatures, cruel wind chills, and inside recess days. It was miserable. My van hated it, and as a form of vengeance started having troubles. It would start overheating every morning ... which would mean pulling over and letting it cool down (which, given the weather, didn't take long). The heater also ceased to work properly. It usually took about 30 minutes to start feebly throwing out lukewarm air. Like I said - miserable.  I ended up having to replace a cracked water pump, serpentine belt, and thermostat this past Friday.

 



 

We got one cold day off from school on January 14th, as temps were -20+ F and wind chills clocked in at -30+ F. Ugly stuff. It was SO nice to huddle in the house that day watching the gas and electric meters spin.  On the 16th, I attended an informational meeting on retirement.  They advise that you do so a few years before you retire so that you understand the process etc.  It was a long day, but I learned a great deal  A portion of our retirement money is invested in stocks ... and I learned what exactly I have stock in --  IBM, Proctor and Gamble, Mircrosoft, Apple,  Goldman Sachs, Johnson and Johnson, Walmart (ewww), Exxon Mobil (double ewww), Wells Fargo, Coca Cola (triple ewww) Samsung, and Schlumberger.  In view of all this cold and miserable weather, retirement and the need to haul my body over the river and through the woods to work every day, seemed mighty tempting.  Luckily, just as my spirit was beginning to wane, the inversion to blame for it all finally broke (on Friday). There was much rejoicing in the land.

 

Of course, once the inversion broke, the winter storms moved in.  On Sunday morning we woke to about 5 inches of white stuff.  Today several more inches were added, plus a great deal of wind.  Once again, schools are closed.  The roads are a nightmare, so I am very thankful that I do NOT have to fight them in order to get to school.  No sign of snow plows yet, so we're more than happy to hibernate.  We actually had a leisurely breakfast.  I'm going to do some laundry and bake some bread.  I am really thankful for this little gift of time that winter gives us sometimes.  I just wish more businesses had the sense to put the welfare of their employees ahead of their pursuit of a buck.  I hope that those forced to go to work in this mess arrive safely at work and then reach their homes safely tonight.

Bailee and I shoveled out yesterday, but today we were "rescued" by our wonderful neighbor, Alberto.  He is the best ever, and arrived early this morning to shovel us out.  No small job, and I was thankful the snow was lighter than yesterday's fall.  It at least made the task somewhat easier.  We certainly are blessed with good neighbors. 

Merry Christmas

The Cratchetts

 

Scrooge's visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past

 

The finale

 

Bailee's dance studio put on "A Chirstmas Carol" last weekend.  I thought they did a wonderful job.  Bailee has almost recovered as well, though she is still craving sleep.


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We had one of the best Christmas Eves in a long time.  It started with an early morning trip to The Prepared Pantry for neighbor gifts and some bread mixes for Mom.  Then it was time to make deliveries.  So much fun!  Bailee had a great time being our elf.  It also snowed - so we got the White Christmas no one thought would be possible this year!  I was really happy.


We went out to a late lunch at Olive Garden (Bailee's favorite spot).  The snow was coming down heavy, the fireplace was cozy, and it was perfect.  We had a fab time.


After we ate, we headed to St. Paul's for the 5:30 p.m. children's church service.  Our neighbor, Sydney, was in the pageant.  It was cute - all about the best gift of Christmas ... Jesus.  The one draw back ... they did all the singing of carols.  We did get to sing "Silent Night" at the end, which always chokes me up.  Dad and I would always softly sing this carol in German - heads together, softly, just something special we shared.  I felt very close to him as we sang.


After church we came home and relaxed.  We watched some Christmas movies, snacked on Diana's meat and cheese platter, and then decided it was time to reinstate the Zinzer tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve.  Bailee thought it was a pretty great tradition.  ha ha


Christmas was leisurely and laid back.  I made a breakfast casserole, and then did a spiral ham in the slow cooker.  All in all, a good day.


I hope your holidays were happy!

Bring it On!

You sometimes get to that point where life gets so hard that you just turn on it and say,  "You want a piece of me?  Fine, bring it on!"  I'm there now.  If life wants to find out how tough I can be, then we are there.  Bring it.


During the past five weeks, as most of you know, Diana and Mom have been to the emergency room five times.  That statistic alone is total insanity.  Who does that?  No one I know.  Just us.  I don't like being the pathetic poster child family for "a rough time."  Those comments of , "Again?  You had to take them to the ER again?" are well meaning, but they might just earn the next person to utter them a smack on the head. 


Luckily, there MAY be a light at the end of the tunnel.  Diana seems to be doing okay.  She hasn't mentioned passing a kidney stone in days.  Of course, she may just be afraid to bring that topic up around me at the moment.  Still, she seems fine, so I will declare her fine.


Mom is marginally better.  The pain seems to be easing up, and she is acting a little more like herself.  She's still got a long way to go, but this is the first real improvement we've seen in two weeks.   I will take that and be glad.


Bailee is spending ALL her time at dance.  What little time she has at home is devoted to homework.  Her school is rather ridiculous in that regard.  She's had 5 large projects assigned for December.  Ugly.


Her studio will be performing "A Christmas Carol" on December 15th.  Bailee is the Ghost of Christmas past ... plus several other roles.  That means that the coming week will be absolutely insane. 

So ... here's hoping we make it through the next week!  Keep us in your prayers - no more trips to the ER!

Rain? Seriously?

It has been pouring rain for the past several days.  Yes, you heard me right - rain.  I have been looking out the window in absolute disgust.  Somehow "I'm dreaming of a muddy Christmas" just lacks a great deal.  This rainy weather and the howling wind that is accompanying it is making me quite irritable.  I figure if I have to live in Idaho, then I should at least have snow at the appropriate times of the year.  This rain is ridiculous.  Enough already!


Mom scared the daylights out of us on Friday.  She told me at noon that it hurt when she breathed.  She's had pleurisy numerous times before, and she said that is what it felt like.  Since I had a workday at school, I told her to call me if the pain got worse to call.  It did, and she didn't.  When Bailee got home from school, she was in quite a state.  She got hold of Diana and ratted Grandma out.


Diana dropped Bailee at dance, then headed up to the ER with Grandma.  Yes, this was our fourth trip to the hospital during the month of November.  Not a fun thing at all!  I did my job at the Dance Shop, then drove over to the studio and picked Bailee up.  Together, we headed up to the hospital.


You know ... I seriously think some nurses need a few classes on how to handle people who are in the ER.  It's a given that they are frightened.  Telling them (and their family members) that they might have a blood clot in their lung and could die any minute is NOT good bedside practice!!!!!!!!!  Do these people think?

Thankfully, the CT scan and chest s-ray just showed pleurisy.  Bad enough, but much better than a blood clot or pneumonia.  Grandma has been in a great deal of pain, but is at least breathing easier now.  We are very thankful for that miracle. 

Let me tell you - I do NOT want to see the hospital again for a good long time! 

Happy Thanksgiving

God bless all of you!  We are thankful for the part you play in all our lives.  I hope that you can take the time today to appreciate the blessings all around you.

Winter? Maybe Baby!

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but we've had a pretty warm autumn 'round these parts.  That changed this week.  Temps plunged and snow fell.  Roads got icy.  Looks like winter is intent on giving us notice that it is on its way (and may soon be here to stay).

Temps will rise a little bit in the coming week (we might even see some 50s), and dry weather is predicted.  It doesn't matter.  You know winter is prowling around, just waiting to jump on us when we least expect it.

My feeling - Just get it over with.

You know winter is coming.  You know the snow will fall.  You know the roads will deteriorate.  It's just a matter of time.  I look on it as that proverbial bandaid.  Quit messing around.  Just rip it off already.

I've got my head wrapped around winter.  I'm ready.  I can handle it.

So let the snow fall.  Let the wind blow.  It's winter. 

Bring it on!

Election Day or The End of the World?

There have been times during this election that I have almost hoped the Mayans were right about the world ending in December.  I'm that tired of the whole affair.

Seriously, if you study Mayan history, they WERE right - their predictions deal more with huge changes to the state of the world.  The last end of the world prediction ushered in the Spanish conquistadors and European colonization.  Yup, that was definitely a world ending event.  One need only read the news to come to the conclusion that our familiar world HAS ended.  We are plowing new ground as we move forward through a crippled worldwide economy.

I'm tired of all the hate.  I'm sorry to say it, but the worst offender in this state has been the Republican Party.  It's been so over the top that they nearly succeeded in turning this Independent into a Democrat.  As it is, I find the Republican candidates totally repugnant now.  They've shown themselves to be the most hypocritical and hateful folks out of the gate in a long time ... and quite frankly, they make my flesh crawl.  They lost my vote, not based on the other candidate, but because of what "they" are.  I don't believe anyone has the right to govern from a position of hatred.

Checking In. Yes, We're Still Alive

This picture was taken during one of the many dance workshops Bailee attended this summer.  This one was taught by Risa Mochizuki, who is from Japan - but works as a professional dancer in Romania.  Bailee adored her.  She was also thrilled because she was actually taller than Risa.  HOPE!  You always hear that ballet companies prefer taller dancers, and that worries Bailee.  She's still growing though.  I'm hoping that she might still his 5'5".  Maybe.  We'll see.

This is a photo of Bailee and her friend, Mary, plus one of their "fans."  Bailee is currently working as a teaching assisstant at her dance studio.  It's her first real job, which is pretty cool.  The "fans" she's garnered are a hilarious perk.  They are so stinking cute.  I'm finding many of the "fans" show up at The Dance Shop" to purchase "clothes like Bailee's."  So funny.

I am continually thankful for the friends Bailee has made at dance.  They're crazy when they get together, but they are so good with one another.  None of that Dance Cattiness one hears about.  They are very supportive of one another.  Such good friends.

Silly, aren't they?

 

 

I love that Bailee is passionate about dance.  We just finished our Red Ribbon Week - which is geared at keeping kids off drugs.  It has been proven that the whole "Just Say No" mantra does not  work when it comes to keeping kids off drugs.  Instead, the research is saying that if a child has something they are passionate about, they are the most likely to stay  drug-free.  So, we're thankful.

 

 

Besides, when you see your child pull off something like this ... you have to be proud. 

 

 



August? Seriously?

Well, we just got a look at our future.  The schedule for Studio One came out this week.  Bailee will be dancing 4 hours on Monday, 1 hour on Tuesday, 1.5 hours on Wednesday, and 1.5 hours on Thursday.  She'll also be have rehearsals on Friday night and Saturdays for the studio's upcoming performance of The Christmas Carol.  No moss grows on that child!  She just finished a month long contemporary dance workshop, and starts another ballet workshop on Monday.  That will run 3 weeks long, and will be taught by two dancers from the Romanian ballet company in Sibiu.  She'll have Sunday off, and then the regular dance year starts.  She's proving to us that dance is her passion, as she just can't stand NOT dancing.  We'll be reminding ourselves of that when she spends a portion of the summer down in Salt Lake at Ballet West next year.  It's going to be hard to let her go, but she'll be nearly 15 ... so the time is right.  Now, we just need to raise the money to pay for it.  ha ha



On the garden front, the basils and other herbs are doing really well.  Let there be pesto!  The bird nailed every single cherry before they were really ripe this year, and they are in the process of stripping the chokecherries.  This is not a real great year for fruit thanks to the late frosts and the horrible heat and lack of moisture.





Speaking of heat, we are SO tired of temps in the higher 90s day after day after day.  Next week they are threatening temps over 100.  Come on autumn!  Even if it means returning to school, we are more than ready for a change in season!  Caribou, our resident "snow dog" spends every afternoon sprawled on the kitchen floor by the window air conditioner.  Poor guy.  He usually likes to spend every minute outside during the summer, but this year he wants no part of it during the afternoon hours.

Bailee has been spending her time trying to eat as many raspberries as possible every day.  Thank goodness for Sam's Club!  Next year I'm going to take another stab at growing raspberries in a raised bed, since they HATE our soil here in Ammon.

The summer is winding down, and we're preparing to head back to school.  The family is looking forward to getting rid of all the school stuff I brought home to work on.  Me too.  It will be nice to have the house back.



Photo Updates

I had a few friends request that I put some of our Instagram photos on the website.  Happy to oblige!

#1 - Bailee Mutant Ninja Turtle!

#2 - In solo costumes for the Studio One June recital.

#3 - Fossils costumes for the recital

Video of dances:

http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/rbmcmjr/family/?action=view&current=MVI_0003.mp4

http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/rbmcmjr/family/?action=view&current=MVI_0007.mp4

The End (?) of the Dance Year

Last weekend Bailee and many of the other girls from Studio One performed in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as the finale of the summer intensive program at Brindusa-Moore Ballet Academy.  They did a fabulous job.  I still can't believe that they put together a full scale ballet in 3 weeks!


This weekend the studio did a casual recital showcasing the younger students, with featured dances with the older girls.  Bailee did her "Aquarium" solo from  The Carnival of the Animals, and the group number, "Fossils."  It was an enjoyable evening.


Bailee will be taking a workshop through July (but just 2 days a week) with one of the dancers from Odyssey Dance Theater in Salt Lake City.  In July, she'll be doing a weeklong intensive workshop with Risa Mochizuki from Japan, who is currently dancing with a ballet company in Sibiu, Romania.


The regular dance year begins in August.  Like I always say, our lives revolve around dance.  However, we're hoping to enjoy some different activities during July.  I'd like to make a few road trips.  After working like dogs throughout June, I feel like we're entitled to a little fun.