Halloween Dance

Only my son (a farm boy who shows pigs) and his girlfriend (a farm girl who shows pigs) would go to their school Halloween costume dance dressed as a man who shows pigs and his prize winning pig. LOL

I do have to admit that while he looked the way I see him dressed most days (jeans, boots, Heeren Farms jacket and hat), she looked so cute! She was most proud of her pink slip on "hooves" that she found for $1.00 at Target.

Prom 2010

If you happened to see my Project 365 pictures for this past week, then you saw a glimpse of the pictures I'll show here.

Last Saturday Austin went to prom with his girlfriend of 7 months. Boy, getting him ready for prom is sure different than with our girls. With them, they had to get their hair done and their nails done, and then the whole putting on of the dress, and then their make-up and jewelry. It was exhausting.

I asked Austin "So, are you thinking of doing anything with your hair?" His comment: "Washing it".

Ok then. lol

With girls, it is an all day ordeal to get ready. Austin was to be at his girlfriends house at 12:30 for pictures. He literally got in the shower at 11:45 and still had time to make the 20 minute drive to her house. LOL

But let me back-up.... it all started a couple of weeks earlier with getting measured and fitted for the tux, and then last week we had to get last minute alterations done.

The vest was a little big, so the shop owner showed him how to adjust that.

But his jacket fit great.

While they were busy doing all of that, I got a little bored and started playing around with the camera on my phone. Peek-a-boo. Someone's peeking around the mirror. ha!

I nearly cried at how handsome Austin looked in his tux. I think I mostly teared-up over how grown-up my little boy is getting. His comment was "I clean up good don't I?"

We went to his girlfriend "K"s house to take pictures. She was so beautiful, she looked like a princess. She even had a tiara to top it off. They looked so nice together.

We headed out to take some outdoor pictures and K said she felt the urge for an impromptu hug. :)

Before Prom officially begins, there is the Promenade, where students and their dates are introduced and they walk down a runway so people can see the dresses and tuxes, and pictures can be taken. Its a fun way to allow people from the community to see all the kids.

Our school alternates the locations of where the Prom is held. On the odd years it is held at the school. On the even years it is held somewhere else. This year they made an hour long drive to Des Moines for the meal, dance and after prom activities.

Here they are on the bus waiting to leave.

When all the festivities were over, Austin & K came back to our house. According to Austin they were just going to stay up and watch movies until it was time to go to church. They didn't quite make that goal...ha!

Another fun thing our community does is, most kids who go to prom, go to church the following morning wearing their dresses and tuxes. So fun! This year we had 16 kids dressed up at church! Considering they had only managed to get a little over an hours worth of sleep, I think Austin & K are still looking pretty good! :)

Let's Dance

This past Saturday we made the hour long trip to Ashley's University to watch her and the dance team perform during time-outs at the womens basketball game. They also danced at half-time. Here's some pictures of her dancing....








I think she is just too cute when I watch her dance, and her smile shows just how much she loves doing it. In my mind I can still see her at 4yrs old in her dance class learning to point and spin. Hard for me to believe that little girl will be 20 soon.

State Dance

Last Weekend the State Dance/Drill Team Championships for all of Iowa were held in Des Moines. College teams (including Ashley's team) and all large high school teams competed on Friday. All other high school teams (including our high school team) competed on Saturday.

Ashley is on the White squad (JV) at her college, which is mostly the Freshmen and Sophomores. They performed 2 routines: Pom and Jazz. They earned Division I ratings for both dances, which is a superior rating. Not only did they beat out other varsity squads, but they were the only JV squad to earn that high of a rating. Their coach and we parents were all so proud of them!!

Here are some pictures from the competition:

Jazz Routine

Isn't her hair cute? One of the girls on the Varsity squad does everyone's hair like that before all competitions and performances.



This is Ashley with one of her roommates, who is on the varsity squad.







Hamming it up for the camera between dances.



Pom Routine







It was a great day with them getting the Division I ratings, and it got even better because the Varsity team from her college won both the Pom and Jazz competitions, so they are State Champs! Congratulations to all the girls. We are so proud of you!!

I Hope You Dance....

Ashley attends a private University and last year she tried out for and earned a spot on the school's competitive dance team. She was super excited and we were so proud of her! She has a natural talent for dance and you could always tell that she enjoyed it, so it was fun to watch her and the team compete/perform.

To keep the girls "sharp" they must earn a spot on the team every year. No chance to get complacent if you want to keep your spot, and I think that's only fair.

Ashley was confident in her abilities before try-outs this year (held recently), but was also nervous because there is some good talent transferring in from other schools. She worked hard, and I'm proud to announce that she has made it on the competitive team again for her upcoming Sophmore year! She's very excited and so are we!

The team performs at all home football and basketball games, besides the different competitions they are in around the midwest (they will also try to earn a chance to once again compete at Nationals in Florida). This will give us many opportunities to get to watch her perform again. :)

Here is a picture of the team - Ashley is in the front row, on the far left end:

And here is another picture of them after one of the competitions this past season - Ashley is in the front row, 2nd from the right:

Give The Girl A Robe

On this past Monday night the new season of Dancing With The Stars began. I've watched this show from time to time, but never have been a diehard, must-tivo if I'm not going to be home, kind of fan. However, this season is different. Shawn Johnson is competing.

I'm sure you've heard of Shawn. She's the young girl from right here in Iowa who became America's sweetheart of gymnastics at the Olympics. Rumor has it that she grew up wanting to be a gymnast after hearing her parents talk about seeing me in all my high kick glory as a high school cheerleader. Something about my front handsprings bringing a tear to their eyes. I cannot confirm or deny that rumor, and no, I have no idea how that rumor got started.

Oh, I kid.

I don't even personally know this young girl or her lovely parents. But not much exciting happens here in farm country other than when we party hardy once we know for sure the corn will be knee high by the fourth of July. So when a small town girl like Shawn makes it in the big time she kind of becomes the daughter of all of us. Plus, she's about the same age and height of my daughters, so I can relate to her mama...well except for the going to Bejing part, which is ok since we all know I'm not a fan of flying anyhow.

So any ways, Shawn gets a call one day and is asked to be on DWTS. That had to be so cool to get that call. Given the fact that I have lost any rythm I have ever had, sadly I know that's a call I will never receive. I noticed on the show that Shawn's parents were right there in the front row as they have been for years at all her gymnastic events. What good supportive parents they have been. However, there was one thing I am hoping they had issue with.....

Did you see how their little baby girl was dressed when she danced? Oh Mylanta! People! There had to be less than a half a yard of fabric in her entire outfit...and most of that was in her long skirt.

I don't consider myself to be a prude, but when you take into regards the age of a person there is appropriate, inappropriate, and go get a robe on NOW, kind of clothing. In my opinion, Shawn needed a robe. In the picture above you can see that there is no back to her dress - just 3 or 4 thin little straps of fabric across her back. That's the way it was in the front basically. It was cut clear down to her belly button...her BELLY BUTTON, with just 2 strips of fabric holding each front section together. As a mom, I kept having the urge to cover my tv screen. I don't know that I could handle seeing one of my girls dressed like that. And Shawn is only 17! Isn't there some kind of rule regarding minors showing too much skin? If not, there should be!

I know ballroom dancing is all about flashy costumes and sexiness, but this is a 17 year old high school CHILD! She's been busy night and day getting ready for her dream of being in the Olympics, and I can imagine that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for dating. Her inexperience with dating was proven to be fairly evident when her dance partner kept talking about how their dance was to be passionate and sexy, she'd break into a giggle. To me it was a giggle of someone thinking "awkward!"

Plus, Shawn has to totally feel like a fish out of water. I mean, here she is a high school kid from Des Moines and she is standing on a stage with a female competitor/rapper/ex-con who announces "I am dedicating my dance to all my friends at the federal detention center, yo".

Yea, Toto - you're not in the midwest anymore.

I just wish tv shows weren't so blatant about wanting to sell the sex factor. I actually have watched a few ballroom dancing competitions on tv over the years, and while there are a lot of skimpy outfits, there are some that are actually more classy than just in-your-face, you know what I'm saying?

So for goodness sakes, let the young girl be a young girl, not dressed like a hoochie. Oh and keep that foul-mouthed rapper girl away from our Shawn. We don't like her.

Project 365 - Week 8

Week 8!

Here we go! I'm finding it easier to remember to take pictures now. The problem is, my best camera is too big to just toss in my purse, and the camera on my phone doesn't take great pictures, but it's ok, I make do.

2/15

Our niece Jenna is on a competitive dance team which was in a competition nearby, so we went to watch her. This photo shows her doing her solo. It's a horrible picture...even for my phone, but it was dark in there and you weren't supposed to take pictures, so I had to be quick and sneaky and make sure I didn't use any flash! ssshhhhh.


2/16

Last Fall we had 4 cats. Then one day two wild strays showed up, and within a week both had litters of kittens. All of them are wild, but we're not heartless, so we throw food out to them. They are wild enough that you can't just place the food...they will attack! See the one in the front staring me down? He was also growling at me....which he does frequently. I know they are Gods creatures, but it really is hard to be nice to them.

2/17

We were at a basketball game, and I tivoed "The Biggest Loser" and watched it when we got home. You know it must have been an exciting day if this is my photo to post. LOL

2/18

Pasta night at our house. Always a crowd favorite. Although, as you can tell, I'm still cooking way more than what we 3 need. I can't get out of the cooking for 5 mindset.

2/19

I had a doctor appointment back in my hometown. This is the water tower there. I can remember watching this tower being put up when I was in my teens. It was so much bigger than the old "teapot" style we used to have, and I remember at that time thinking it had to be the largest, most beautiful thing in the world. :)

2/20

I ran a few errands and scored big when I found a couple of shirts on sale. I even managed to find a couple of scarves to go with them. Doesn't the front one shout "Hurry Up Spring!"?

2/21

My 2 golfaholic guys are going on a Spring Break golfing trip next month, so we went shopping to get them new shoes. My son will also use them when he is on the school golf team this Spring. I really do think I earned the "wife of the day" award. I spent over an hour in a golf store, and never complained once! LOL

There you have it....another week of winter behind us. I can't wait for Spring!! Be sure to click on the Project 365 logo in the sidebar to go see Sara the hostess for this project. She's also got the links for the others who are participating.

MN Dance Competition

Saturday morning we took off for Minnesota to go watch Ashley and her college dance team in a competition. It had snowed the night before, but the roads weren't as as bad as we feared they would be. The right lane was great the whole way, so it was only when we wanted to pass was it tricky. The closer we got to Minnesota, the better the roads got.

About half-way into our 3 hr drive, Jay and I remembered how important communication really can be. I assumed our GPS was still in the glove box, and didn't realize Jay had used it 2 days earlier in his truck. He thought I knew that, and assumed I had put it back into our Vue.

You know why you shouldn't assume...right? ahem

It was near the Minnesota border when we came to the realization that the GPS was still in his truck, back home. We had no directions for our hotel, only a street address. But, I knew it was directly across the street from the Mall of America, and since it is known as the "Mega Mall" there HAS to be signs everywhere, right?

Again...don't assume.

Long story short...there were no signs. We went left when we should have gone right, we got lost, Jay called a friend familiar with the area who guided us back to where we should have been and we finally found the hotel.

We checked in, unloaded our bag and headed to the mall to meet up with Ashley. It was a HUGE competition! I mean it. Total craziness! There were so many people in the entire mall that at times you could hardly move. It made shopping tough, but we did make it into a few stores. My back kept going into spasms, so I had to take frequent breaks too. We did manage to get a few cool things, so it was a good day.

This competition was for the categories of Youth through College. There was even a high school team from New Mexico. NM to MN...wow!! That has to be one long drive!

Ashley's college competed in 3 categories. The varsity did 2 routines and the JV (team Ashley is on) did 1 routine. We got to see her during the day until she had to go get ready.

If you've been to the Mall of America, you know there are 4 floors. On the main floor, people were standing 3-4 people deep trying to see the dancers. On all the upper floors there were people all around the railings looking down and watching. Thankfully they had a special VIP section for family, friends and team members to get to sit right in front while you're school was performing. Otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten to see much.

It turned out that their JV team was the only college JV team in the entire competition. Therefore, in order for them to get to even perform, they had to bump up to the varsity level of competition. They did awesome, however varsity does much technically harder moves, so there's really no way to compare the two, which was unfortunate for them.

Ashley's team was recognized and they earned an honorable mention for their efforts.

But, they held their heads high, as they should have. Their jazz routine was beautiful and they performed it flawlessly! They were all in sync and flowed so gracefully from one move to the next. Knowing this is only Ashley's 3rd year to even be on a dance team or do any dancing at all, I'd say she's got a gift. She looks like she's been dancing forever.

Here's some pictures from their routine.....

This is as they are taking the floor to perform:

Here they are waiting for the music to begin. That is Ashley's roommate behind her and one of her closest friends at college. We feel so blessed that she has the roommate she has. She is a doll.

The ending pose...isn't that cute?!

While waiting for the awards presentations, Jay and I walked around and got smoothies. They were awesome! Mine had 3 kinds of berries, yogurt, protein powder and orange juice in it. Jay's was the same only instead of the 3 berries he had strawberries and bananas. We were looking over the menu of this place and it is a total health food stand. They even sold shots of wheat grass. I kept daring Jay to try one, but he was too chicken. I even tried to bribe him. "I'll give you $5 if you try a shot." He of course, being such a "guy" said "It'll come out my nose or something and it'll be all green. Then my shirt will be stained and in about an hour who knows how badly it will affect other parts of me, so no way!" What a goof!

By the time the awards were over it was after 8pm and Jay and I were starved! Since it was dark out and we had no GPS, we decided to stay in the mall to eat and went here:

We've been here before and eaten and it's always been great. This time however, we were not pleased. We were seated in "time-out". Literally! We had a small table, in a corner, with the 2 chairs facing into the corner. That was our view. A stone wall with vines and they were approximately 2 1/2 feet from our faces. Our backs were to everything and everyone. It took forever to get our order placed and then it took forever for our food to arrive. When it did it wasn't very hot. Not our best experience there.

The misery continued...We got to the hotel and I don't believe we had an actual mattress on our bed. I think it was solid plywood. Seriously, I have never had to try to sleep on a bed that hard before. Currently I spend a lot of my time sleeping on one side with my arm propped so it doesn't go numb. 3 times during the night I woke up with my hip so sore from laying on it on this bed, that I had to get up and move around. Poor Jay could barely walk in the morning! I was just grateful my doctor told me to bring my own pillows so my head would be supported good. We brought Jay's also. At least our heads rested comfortably.

Our trip home on Sunday morning was quite interesting at times....stay tuned.