... the dramatic pause

_MG_6419 (via lilliedavis)tori busting a move to Hannah...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:31:44 -0500

_MG_6419 (via lilliedavis)

tori busting a move to Hannah Montana… proof.

IMG_6435 (via kirshon56)Emma playing air guitar at her birthday...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:30:42 -0500

IMG_6435 (via kirshon56)

Emma playing air guitar at her birthday with her friend Keali

_MG_6127 (via academydancekc)Blow out the candles!!!! Emma at...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:28:09 -0500

_MG_6127 (via academydancekc)

Blow out the candles!!!! Emma at her 7th birthday party!

_MG_6177 (via academydancekc)Emma as Hannah Montana on her 7th...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:26:45 -0500

_MG_6177 (via academydancekc)

Emma as Hannah Montana on her 7th birthday!!!!

Pop corn with cell phones : made by Cardo Systems (via...

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:20:08 -0500

Pop corn with cell phones : made by Cardo Systems (via bobtel08)

NO WAY. That is crazy.

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance."

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:15:00 -0500

“Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.”

- This quote was at the end of a lovely e-mail containing a story about an old woman and a taxi driver… (this is not a set up for a joke). I like this quote b/c I am a sappy dancer and quotes about dance are easy to relate to. I have a hard time remembering quotes, but now it is forever documented on my bloggity blog blog. Oh and here is a cute old photo Emma playing dress up and dancing like the beautiful innocent creature she is. I love you Emma.

I am going to try to start documenting the different wines I...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:17:03 -0500

I am going to try to start documenting the different wines I like when we try something new and which ones I don’t really care for. This is Mattie’s Perch- a South Eastern Australian Shiraz. It is really good. Nick also really liked it. It has a blackberry flavor to it with also the sweet hints of caramel. (well, I read those flavors on the back- but now that I read it- I can TOTALLY TELL.) It was lovely from the very first sip. Goes down nice and smooth and has a very earthy taste. Yummy. It also has a very cute koala bear on the label. They are the cutest of the bears I think.

John Travolta - 1983 - Staying Alive - Intro (via )

Sat, 31 May 2008 23:58:19 -0500

John Travolta - 1983 - Staying Alive - Intro (via )

John Travolta - 1983 - Staying Alive - Intro (via )I am an...

Sat, 31 May 2008 23:40:00 -0500

John Travolta - 1983 - Staying Alive - Intro (via )

I am an emotional idiot. I was talking about this movie with Amanda and I started searching for clips on you tube… and of course they are there b/c you tube never lets you down. Can I just say…this is the essence of my core. I really think this movie is a part of the make up of my being. It makes me cry just to see the opening credits…. still.

Free Harvard.....

Fri, 30 May 2008 15:37:58 -0500

maybe it could work….

Harvard. The name means top of your class, hard work, elite, and money… but why not take the money part out? Why should money even be a factor? Doesn’t that taint the reputaion? I found out that the Harvard Endowment has enough money in it to pay for student tuition forever… forever. So do it. Make Harvard the most elite school in the world by making it so crazy difficult to get in and stay in based on merit, but make it free. The school will only house the smartest… not the richest. There would be no trust-fund kids there… you can’t buy your way in… your money would be no good. Just think of what that school could produce. I think it is an amazing idea for the future… I am sure there is a major flaw in there… but maybe it is that simple. Read this.

tori upclose bw (via academydancekc)Upclose- One of the last...

Fri, 30 May 2008 14:19:16 -0500

tori upclose bw (via academydancekc)

Upclose- One of the last upclose shots of Tori before she officially becomes a teenager… beautiful skin, beautiful smile, happy loving eyes. That’s Tori.

sneaky eyed tori (via academydancekc)On Memeorial Day we went...

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:50:24 -0500

sneaky eyed tori (via academydancekc)

On Memeorial Day we went to Bam’s and this is the best shot I was able to get of Tori. She kept making these stupid faces at me and then complains that there aren’t any good pictures of her….sheesh.

em and meg 8x10 (via academydancekc)Emma and her best friend in...

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:48:00 -0500

em and meg 8x10 (via academydancekc)

Emma and her best friend in the whole world on the last day of school at the brownie pool party. Remember when you thought putting bunny ears on someone in a photo was hilarious?

Emma and Mrs L final (via academydancekc)This is Emma and one...

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:34:24 -0500

Emma and Mrs L final (via academydancekc)

This is Emma and one of her first grade teachers, Ms. Lippencott. She is a fantastically talented lady. They are posed on the last day of school with some plants that Emma grabed on her way out… Nobody claimed them and she didn’t want them to die.

Crazy May (this is a long one...)

Sun, 25 May 2008 11:06:15 -0500

May has been nuts! And it isn’t even over yet. Talent shows, strings concerts, awards ceremonies, parties, concerts, and of course RECITAL. My mom, Granma Wilma, came in to town for the week of recital and I could not have done it without her. I loved having her here and so did the girls. We had a great time and believe me I dragged her all over town with the million things I had to do and she didn’t mind a bit. She jumped in when I needed her and I will be forever grateful. My only regret for the whole trip was that we didn’t take ONE photo. Not one! I suck I know. There was not time to take photos. I swear. I did attempt one night to take photos, but of course I did not check to see if my wonderful 20D had batteries from the heavy picture taking weekend for the show. That was dumb. I promise pictures from recital are coming…and so it the dvd. promise promise promise. (that is a lot of promises, I better come through.)

Overview-

So I posted Emma’s talent show- so cute, and I cried at the end.

Tori had two strings concerts I believe and I actually got to go to one of them- She is so great. I could watch her play the viola all day. The way her body moves when playing that instrument is so beautifully organic. I cried through the whole thing.

Tori had her 7th grade awards ceremony, but I didn’t get to go (teaching). She was one of 30 kids in the whole 7th grade to get the 4.0 GPA award! Wow. I am so proud of her. She also got a merit award for performance and creative writing, social studies, and for the 3.5 GPA and above…( I didn’t understand that one, but that’s ok.) I mean this kid does not slow down…I think she might possibly get that from me…..dance, soccer, viola, school, homework and time to be a kid…and doing it all with straight As…..sounds like someone I knew once…..a long time ago…..

There has been so many parties, I just can’t keep up. Emma and Tori both had a soccer party to mark the end of the season (which I couldn’t attend, but Nick went). Emma had her 1000s breakfast at school b/c she was one of 10 kids in her class who was able to write to 1000. Let me just take a moment to talk about Emma and first grade….

The teachers Emma had this year were/are amazing. They are the type of teachers who embrace the differences in children and make it a positive thing. Emma was nurtured when she needed it, reprimanded when she needed it , but most important, she was given freedom and independence when she needed it. I know Emma is not the easiest of the children in the room, but my god she is smart, and funny, and caring, and inquisitive, and is a learning sponge. We just have to work on the fact that she thinks she already knows more than you. So Miss L and Mrs. Aber…. I am sure I will be thanking you for a long time.

What’s next….oh yes concerts! You know how much Nick and I love concerts. At the end of April we went to see the Raconteurs, but we just got back from Omaha where we saw my favorite band in the whole world…Rilo Kiley. I will do a whole post on this show later. Utterly amazing.

So now the big one…Recital 2008. The show was fabulous. No problems, happy parents, happier students, perfect costumes, perfect lighting, and I did it in an hour and half as promised! The dress rehearsal was nerve racking. Trying to get all the photos done and have good runs of each dance, all in 3 hours was a little hard. But…. we did it. Now the two weeks before that ….. the most nervous I have ever been. I am really hoping that next year is better (meaning my stomach and sleeping patterns) and I hope I was so nervous b/c this was my first year going solo. ie- if something bad happens… there is NO ONE TO BLAME EXCEPT YOU. awesome. I did only have one minor panic attack that I thought I was not going to recover from.

It is 6:45pm, I am backstage going over my crappy speech for the start on the show. Julie is back there to make sure I have all that need. All the kids are backstage, all the parents are in the audience, we are all ready to go… so Charles, big scary black guy in charge of all the custodial staff comes backstage with another big black scary guy named Steve. He has a scary look on his face. He asks me who I am. I proceed to tell him I am the owner of the dance studio about to perform. He says there is no paperwork for any show here tonight. My stomach falls on my toes.

I say, “… well (nervous laugh) you should.” He says for me to show him my pink copy of the paperwork…. now. I am fumbling through my binder where I have all my other reciepts, but I KNOW that this particular sheet of pink paper is tucked neatly away in my file box, probably in a file folder labeled, “really important stuff.” So I ask him, what happens if I don’t have it HERE. He says matter of factly, “Then you are gonna have to get out.” The blood drains from my face. I think I might faint.

I must have been the whitest white girl he has ever seen. Julie shoots out her hand in a hand shake and starts to see if he remembers her and the fact that we have been doing recital here for many years now. I proceed to tell him that we were here this morning from 9-12 and the building was open for us then, and that Loren Bridge came to set up the lights and the sound…so SOMEONE knew we were coming….. inside my head….pleeeease god don’t let this be happening……seriously. Charles smiles at me and says, I’m just playin’. I say, “dude, that was not funny.” He said, “you couldn’t tell I was playin’?” I looked at Julie and said, “Did you think he was playin’?” She shook her head…b/c she knew I was about to crack. It was the worst - the WORST- possible thing anyone has ever done to me…. And this is the story of how close I have ever come to strangling someone….seriously.

So the show was great, my dance was ok, I felt better about it later when multiple parents told me how great it was to know and see for themselves that I can actually DANCE. That’s a relief. I know…I KNOW…that this show could not have gone so well without all the help I received from all the parents backstage, from nick and from my mom. I absolutely expect the same thing for next year….thanks.
(when you see the dvd of the show and you start to make fun of that look I have on my face or how I am fumbling through my speech…you know what happened 5 minutes before I walked out there…so be nice.)

I will post photos as soon I get my hands on them. This post will have to continue b/c…oh my… May is not done yet. Wish me luck.

nickdavis: Rokr: Trying out my new Canon G9.Nick’s new...

Sun, 25 May 2008 09:29:13 -0500

nickdavis:

Rokr: Trying out my new Canon G9.

Nick’s new Camera- it also took some other shots I totally love. This camera is way cool. I guess he can keep it.

wow.

Mon, 12 May 2008 23:23:53 -0500

Bill O’Reilly On “Inside Edition”: Vintage Meltdown - Media on The Huffington Post

The absolute most wonderful Mother's Day ever.... for real

Sun, 11 May 2008 20:35:00 -0500

This morning Tori and Emma made me the best breakfast all by themselves…I mean that they actually made a GOOD breakfast, not just it was the “best” b/c it was made by my children…. I am talking about chocolate chip waffles, with strawberries, hot coffee and crispy hash-browns! It was a wonderful spread and they even cleaned the kitchen as they went! I don’t mean to brag…BUT… this can only attribute to just the level of love these children have for me! They made me feel so special by working so hard to make it just perfect…. just for me.

Before I could even take a second bite, Nick was handing me presents. This is my first card….

It was from the girls and it had a song inside announcing my arrival as queen. Of course Emma chimed in and said, “we can take the sound thingy out after this and keep it for a project.” I told them I was going to punch a hole in it and wear it around my neck and open the card everytime I enter the room.

So then I got an abstract painting from Emma she did at artichokes and I told her I thought it looked like a fish tangled up in some red seaweed…. but she said that it was really a spaceship crashing into the Earth… I stand corrected.

Next it was time for Tori. She gave me a lovely wooden tray she painted herself. She also decorated it with Texas inspired crafty bits. I am going to poly over it just to make it last a long time and I am going to use it in my bedroom when I am having a snack (wine) or a special place to keep a book (the remote).

So the last thing I open is from Nick. He hands me a white envelope with a beautiful card inside that of course says all the right things. This is my favorite part that got me a little teary…

“I value the generous, courageous, uniquely beautiful woman I was blessed to find.”

(I mean does the card industry know what the hell they are doing or what?!!!) So I thank him for the card and tell him it is perfect and he tells me there is something else in there…..

I pull back the last page of the card and I pull out 4 tickets…. they look like concert tickets… and I read one word…. WICKED.

“OH MY GOSH! You got us tickets to WICKED!!!!!!!!!” Across the table Tori and Emma simultaneously shot both their fists in the air and screamed “woo-hoo!” Nick was like look at the date… He was like they are for TODAY AT 2:00. Another round of cheerleader yells and touchdown arms straight up in the air. (How does he DO IT?) Then of course Tori and I had to figure what we were going to wear…..

After we got over the shock and awe that we were really going to see Wicked when everything we had known thus far told us it was sold out and tickets were impossible to find or afford….we got all showered and pretty, inhaled a sandwich and headed downtown. The show was so amazing. Just amazing. Everyone in the cast was so good. Tori and I both just loved the woman who played Galinda (with a GUGH) and thought the woman who played Elphaba was fantastic. “Popular” was our favorite number mainly b/c it surprised us how they were able to make it even BETTER than we could have imagined. The sets and the lighting and the costumes….I mean a loss for words. We all had a wonderful time and I even got a green t-shirt. Afterwards we went and had dumplings and noodles at a place on 39th Street and then ice cream at Foo’s in our neighborhood. I just love that we spent the entire day together. I love hanging out with my husband and my wonderful kids more than just about anything I can imagine. It will always be better with them by my side. I feel ridiculously spoiled…. Happy Mother’s Day to me… thank the universe for them and giving them to me.

Father Daughter Dance 2008 (via...

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:30:34 -0500

Father Daughter Dance 2008 (via academydancekc)

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey…….. What a fabulous father he is.

Father Daughter Dance 2008 (via academydancekc)I mean it...

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:29:35 -0500

Father Daughter Dance 2008 (via academydancekc)

I mean it doesn’t get any cuter than this. Nick and Emma before the Father Daughter Dance. It is Emma’s first sock hop!