Dance Performance

Over the weekend we watched Brandon perform in his second dance concert. What a fun evening! The event was called "Competition Kickoff" because the dance company is sending two teams and several couples to compete in the National DanceSport Competition held at BYU later this week. This is not a traditional dance concert on a stage with the lighting and effects, but more of a chance for those who are going to nationals this week to give their parents and friends a preview. Brandon is not competing, but his team got to perform the cha cha that they've been learning. 

Brandon is on the far side in the front. We were on the wrong side to be able to see him up close. Here's the video. Enlarge it to full screen and enjoy!

And as a bonus, we got to watch the competition pieces from the teams that are going to Utah. They are so fun to watch! This first team has middle school aged kids, and two of my 13 year old young women from church are in it.

This final team is made up of high school aged kids. Very impressive! And as an interesting note, it is not coincidence that everyone on the oldest team has dark hair......they always dye their hair before nationals, boys and girls. There are actually a lot of blondes, but they all look great with their dark locks!

They also had standard dance medleys that were excellent (waltz, foxtrot, quick step, tango) that they'll be using in the competition.

Even if Brandon never does dance again in his life,  I think this has been a good experience for him to learn some dance skills, but also to see what hard work with a team of great kids can do.

One more dance performance to go in May!

Finishing up February

Here are some pictures from the rest of our February.....

Here we are after a "family dance night" activity at Katelyn's school. She showed us the dance moves that she had learned at school that week.

#1 and #5. Love my boys!

Weston has discovered his hands. Here's Weston checking them out....

That reminded me of this picture of Brandon:

Here's a Valentine hat that Dylan made at playgroup

Cute boy

Katelyn on Valentine's Day....ready for school, holding her homemade Valentine box

We did heart hair

We had a fun Valentine dinner with the kids this year....everyone had heart necklaces to wear for dinner

Katelyn helping me by drawing on everyone's napkins

Another playgroup project Dylan brought home

Apparently his favorite color that day was orange, and dogs, cats, blocks, "sheeps," and baths

I "mustache" you a question....from a Valentine

And a beautiful art project by Katelyn

I love cuddling my baby. He won't be small for long! He's already growing up too fast!

Lindsey's beautiful nails

Here is her "mad face!"

The super big smile

And some funny faces from Brandon

And not to be outdone....

I am the choir director in our ward and we have practice at our house. Consequently, we have purchased some folding chairs and a music stand. They stay folded up in our empty dining room during the week and the kids love to play with them. Here are Katelyn and Dylan singing songs from a nursery rhyme book.

Brandon got a bow and arrow and is quite a good shot!

We love family game night!

 Lindsey's home made invitation to her baptism. She was so excited to pass them out to friends at school and ward members. My favorite part is the self portrait, and the hyphenated last name.

I can't believe how big this girl is getting! 

And finally, this is the look of a boy who is now officially moved into his brothers' room. They're as snug as bugs in there, and they love it!

I got a new lamp that Dylan can reach to turn on a light, and the pull on it is a real whistle. He loves blowing it.

Here we have the bunk beds and new bookcase

Cute boys

And a better view

Everyone has a bed and a dresser. What more do you need?

And that wraps up my summary of February!

February Fun

I tell ya, I love having this baby boy! He's so sweet, and I'm trying to enjoy him as much as I can. He will be big before I know it.

Here's my big helper organizing the diapers

The girls and Dylan had a big dance concert in our empty dining room the other night. Ah, I remember the days of home made dance concerts when I was a girl!

Here is Dylan's little friend Sadie from church and play group. Dylan loves her and asks to go to "Sadie's house" almost every day.

And finally, here is Brandon playing one of his favorite songs from his lessons upside down and backward on the piano. He was inspired by the Piano Guys, specifically this video.

And I couldn't believe it, but he could actually play the song.....kind of! Good job Brandon!

BYU Pictures

Here are a few random pictures....Katelyn likes to make Dylan little forts or "beds" for when he wakes up from his nap.

She makes them right outside of his bedroom door. This one is complete with a picture and pillows and blankets for him. She's very thoughtful!

Here is Charlie, caught red handed or red tounged in this case....he snuck up to Weston and started licking his hand! Eeeeew!  

And here is Katelyn with all of her babies....let's see, today she is a mother of 5! Boy, that's a lot of babies!

And now, for the pictures that this post is named for. We all got BYU gear for Christmas and we were able to get a pretty good picture of our whole family all decked out. I won't tell you how many not-good pictures we got too, but we got one, and that's all that matters! 

My camera has a timer setting that allows you to take pictures, 3 in a row, continuously. So my kids thought that was great fun. Here is some of their handy work.

I have a feeling that the timer setting could entertain them for hours on end!