Access dance recital

The girls had their annual dance recital this afternoon.

Alayna was very excited.  Dariya, however was grumpy and got very overwhelmed in the waiting to go on stage time.  Like fall on the floor and cry, Dariya.  Seriously?

She pulled herself together enough to join Geb's harem!  He is crazy good with the ladies!

Once distracted and on stage both girls did a great job.

It was fun to see how far they had come since starting dance last year.

We are so thankful to the volunteers who give up each Sunday to come and work with our girls!  They are a huge blessing.

For any locals, the girls will be dancing Sunday June 8th at 1:30-2ish at Old Shawnee Days.  Come out and have some fun with us.

Busy but fun weekend

April seems to be crazy busy for us between church, school, piano, soccer, dance, recitals, birthdays and everything in between.  We are booked solid.

This weekend was no different.

Saturday morning the boys headed to Aidan's soccer game while the girls and I took in the Easter egg hunt at our church.  It was a beautifully sunny day for being outside!

One girl was hopping over to maul hug the bunny while the other one was a little standoffish.

They soon got to business harvesting eggs.  There were hundreds of them!

My child who usually doesn't care for sweets too much decided to plop down and investigate a York peppermint pattie.

One taste and she was in heaven...she decided the hunt was over she was going to chow down on the treats!

Alayna decided hunting eggs wasn't fun enough so decided to practice her dance moves!

Once Dariya was cut off the chocolate she decided to throw a fit cry a bit.  

Dominic to the rescue!  He is a peer model in their pre K class and also is in Sunday school classes with them.  He said, " Come on Dariya" and away they went to the play set, happy as can be!

Is this the cutest?

I told his mom to expect a double date for prom.;)

Sunday brought church, a dance competition for the girls and more volunteering at church for Aidan and I, some birthday shopping for the soon to be 11 year old (more on that later) and another soccer game that thankfully, darn the bad luck was canceled due to the thunderstorms ;)

I love that I caught Dariya in mid jump!  So cute!
Both girls LOVE dancing and love performing!

The crowd always goes crazy when the girl's dance troop comes on.

We are blessed to have such a great set of volunteers to work with our girls.

What a busy but, fabulously fun weekend we had.

We hope your weekend was super fun too!

Dancing fun

Sunday afternoon the girls were able to don their dancing shoes and take on the big stage at the Kansas City Music Hall to perform on the Tribute National Talent competition.  Tribute has a special angels category which allows children with special needs to perform on the program free of charge.  Access dance signed us up and away we went.

The girls were super excited when we arrived at this HUGE hall and quickly warmed up.

Alayna and Jillian have an incredible bond.  Jillian helps in the girls dance class each week and she and Alayna are stuck together like glue.

They wasted no time jumping out on the big stage and showing their stuff.  Alayna was a little stunned as they started the music while the kids were still walking out.  But, overall it was a fabulous performance and a fun afternoon.

And if pics aren't good enough...here is the video!
Enjoy!  Dariya is 2nd from left and Alayna is 3rd from left.


We are grateful to Access Dance and all their volunteers who make our Sundays full of dance!

Dance recital video and pics

Friday night the girls performed in their first dance recital.  Above the Barre dance studio has blessed Access Dance this year by including our performers in everything.

We arrived early to take pictures and get prepared.  Both girls were doing well until the recital started.  I was a little worried as the recital didn't start until 7pm and they were the 22nd dance number to go on stage.

Alayna absolutely loved all the dancers and was dancing at her seat the whole recital.  Dariya did not want to be in the auditorium after the first dance number.  She and I sat in the atrium until it was time for them to perform about an hour into the show.  I didn't think she would go on stage.  But, as always she surprised me and went and sat with her class.

Once on stage they had the wrong music cued so she immediately had to be picked up by one of the helpers.  BUT, as soon as she heard the correct music start she jumped down and joined right in.  She amazed us and did a great job.  Alayna "the entertainer" tried to make a couple escapes and dove on the stage but, overall both girls were fabulous.  In the video you can see Dariya tap the floor telling Alayna to get back in her spot. LOL!

After they were finished Alayna immediately said, "more please!" That girl likes to be the center of attention that is for sure.

I had tears watching them both and seeing how far Dariya has come in such a short time.  A long way from an orphanage in Ukraine....

We love our little dancers and are so thankful to Mackenzie and the Access Dance team for working with our girls this year!

Alayna is 2nd from the right and Dariya is next to her 3rd from the right

Here is the video to enjoy.  Alayna is 2nd from the right and Dariya is 3rd from the right.  At times Mackenzie is standing in front of Alayna so you can't always see her.

A year of dance

The girls began taking dance last August.  Since then we have seen such huge improvements in their dancing, listening and obeying skills.  

They both absolutely love it and look forward to going each Sunday after lunch. 

We are thankful to Ms. McKenzi using her dancing skills to grow a love of dance in the girls.

 A recital is in the works for May 31st so today was the last dress rehearsal.

A sisterly pep talk before the dance.

 And there is ALWAYS time to pose for a few pictures when you look ....

 this cute!

We couldn't be more proud of our little dancers!  Video to come after recital.

Dancing Queens

Sunday afternoon marked the girls first dance class.  They were very excited to get into their "dance clothes" and boogie the afternoon away.

This dance program is a class for kids with any kind of special need.  The classes are provided at no cost to us.  This program was started a few years ago by the sister and nephew of one of our neighbors.

As I never taken dance, nor had any inkling to sign the girls up for dance we thought we would take this opportunity to see what they think and give them some dance experience.

Their class is made up of about ten 3,4,& 5 year old boys and girls.  Each child had a volunteer (high school age dancer) that stayed with them and helped them during class.  My oh my did Dariya's girl get a workout!  Dariya wanted to be held most of the time as class is about an hour after church and runs right into their nap time.

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At the end of class they "perform" what they learned that  session for the families.  Dariya has perfected the cuddle and I love that our friend Avery is watching her helper closely!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I think this last picture of Alayna hugging Lexi, her helper says it all.

A great time was had by both girls!