Ok... here it comes...

WAY TOO MANY pictures of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!

But I can't help it! It is my one Girl's Night Out a year!

A view from our seats! Great seats!

Always get best available on the side... NEVER the floor!

Trust me!

Here they come! The traditional white opening number outfits.
An upside down Ade!
The resident Ballerina. And Levi's favorite!
This year's winner Jeanine!

For the ladies, a picture of Jason!

The end of the Phillip and Jeanine "Mad" Hip Hop!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6-i362rscI

The "butt" dance! Such a cute dance! For those who did not watch the show this year, yes, this dance is about her butt. Mia Michaels choreographed and so cute. If you want to see it, go here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4-nmwoxp_4

Mr. Monotony! Cute routine... and Kayla seem to be in the most routines this year. Poor girl must be exhausted!

Romeo and Juliet Ballet.

Kapono! I always like the quirky Hawaiian dancers!

The Russian Fold Dance Spoof by Jeanine and Phillip.

Jason with Catelyn's booty in his face doing the Bollywood dance! Which was so much more awesome live I thought!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_zJKbm7I7A

The Sonja Superhero Girls Dance!

Kayla and Kupono doing Sonja!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQcfyY2SZ14

Evan and Melissa doing Broadway! This is my favorite picture!

The Tango/Hip Hop Dance with the water table! Jeanette was sick and was not there to do the dance. She usually does the water table. It just was not the same without her!

The "One" from A Chorus Line Group number!

The Zombie Hip Hop!

A Fosse number... Bye Bye Life.

Kupono's "infomercial" for SYTYCD work out DVDs. He looked good in short shorts.

The Boys Top 3 Group number.

The Russian Folk Dance spoof turned into an awesome group dance!

This guy somehow has a front row seat every year and he stands up and dances through most the performances. I would cry if I got a 2nd row seat and then realized I was behind this guy!

Brandon's Solo! He is such a powerful dancer that it makes you think he is a big guy. Even in-person on stage he just seems huge. Then you meet him in real life and realize he is shorter than me!

I refused to take pictures during my favorite dance, the addiction dance! But at the end I did manage to take a picture of Kupono's evil drug-addiction face on the screen. If you have not seen this dance, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS3qNcEBCv0

Same thing with this dance. Love this dance. This is the Travis Wall contemporary. It is an amazingly done piece.

There was very little ballroom this year. I think because Jeanette was sick. But there was this piece that was very well done by Randi and Evan. Also Brandon and Jeanine had their Paso Doble.

Jeanine's solo.

The breast cancer piece. This one is so powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA6Nnez7bKI The final group number!

The end of the show! I am already looking forward to next year!

After that we stayed and, per tradition, met all the dancers. We just missed Jason, Jeanine, and Jeanette because they were sick. The only pic I got on my camera was of Phillip. I do have other pictures of some of the dancers holding signs that say thing about the business. But then I got into trouble because they are not allowed to promote products. I did not even think about it!!! I thought the guy was going to take my camera and make me delete them. But he was cool about it and asked that I not put the pics on the internet. Which I will not do. Because I am honest and all that. The only place they will be is on my "Wall of Fame" at work :)!

Here is us a Phillip!

I thought the picture was done, and ended up looking possessed!

Katie posted on her blog about today (the day after the show) going all wrong because of being out late the night before. The funny thing is I had the same thing. So, here is mine...

First off, on my way home (somewhere between 12:30 and 1am) there were no clouds in the sky and suddenly I see a flickering blue flash of light in the sky like there was lighting a long way away. I thoguht it was strange since they were not calling for storms. Then suddenly there is a HUGE flash of white behind me and blue light all around that lit up the trees all around me just like lightning had struck right behind my van, yet there was no boom, just a crackling sound. So it had me all shook up, so it was hard to go to sleep.

Then I had to wake-up for Muffins for Mom at school. And I am a little sick and it was hard to wake up. Basically Muffins for Mom is a way to get you in to buy books at the book fair. The problem is... the books at the book fair were rediculously expensive. They were full price. So I had to tell 5 kids we were not getting a book. Which made Lettie cry. And me feel bad. But each bedroom has a bookcase FULL of books, and then there are 3 boxes of books on top of the boys shelfs that do not fit on the 4 bookcases we have. We do not need another book. And they all wanted books that were overprices because they came with a neckace or stickers... sigh. I am a mean mom. I just did not want to spend $50 when they would have been more excited by a $1 store toy!

Then Nolan's teacher has been telling him he needs to pay for a rug he ruined, so I went to the classroom to check out the dreaded rug. Which was not as bad as it seemed according to the teachers note. He really does not have a mean bone in his body... just a lot of loud and impulsice bones!!! But the whole situation was frustrating and I ended up just crying on the way home because I know how it feels to be given a hard time by teachers.

Then I get home and go back to sleep for 3 hours where I dream that the SYTYCD dancers comeing to my shop and they keep turning off the lights and dancing with only the light from the outside lighting the shop, but when customers come in I turn the light back on and they keep turning them off again. And then my ice shaver completely falls apart (seriouly in pieces on the floor) and all my toppings fall over and my employee would not stop texting and then says she quits and walks out. Then I wake up and have to tackle the issue of freezing liquid in my ice block maker. And tonight is the hard night to be home because there is a lot of homework on Tuesdays and I knew I could not handle it so Levi said I could go to work. So, I have spent the afternoon putting pictures on my blog. He is so good to me! So, staying up till all hours, not good...

But in Katie's words...

It was ALL worth it!

Tonight...

I am going to eat the best food ever,
eat the best cheesecake ever,
chill with the coolest people ever,
and watch the best dancing ever!

So You Think You Can Dance Tour Season 5 is today!

I will have some pictures tomorrow!

2 Babies in a Box!

I love my "babies"! I call them "The Babies" and I do not know at which age they will cease to be "The Babies". But they are always referred to around the house as "The Babies" and I am in no hurry to change that! They are often refferred to as if they were one entity because they are always together.

They are really so opposite, yet they are SO CLOSE! The Yin and Yang that work in perfect harmony. I can not imagine one without the other! They love each other, help each other, look after each other, understand each other, play with each other... they truly are the best of friends. And they get a long so well to be so different.

Here is an example:

Jovie crawled into the diaper box today, announced that it was her ice cream shop, and offered me a lollipop made out of air. Of course, Callie wanted in on the action and went to get into the box. Instead of pushing her away, Jovie moved over, making room for Callie, and they BOTH served "ice cream" out of the cramped diaper box.

Proof that you can get them the best toys money can buy, but a diaper box can be just as fun!

Jovie is the "Clown" and Callie is the "Easily Entertained". Jovie is a lot like Nolan, she likes to put on a show. Callie just loves to smile. Callie thinks Jovie is hilarious! This is a familiar scene in our house. Jovie goofing off and Callie laughing at her!

Best Friends Forever!
These 2 were meant to be sisters!

The Princess and the Worms!

We call Lettie Princess Teenie.

Because she is a Princess!

She LOVES to be a girly girl!

I was always a dig-in-the-dirt skinned knees Tom-boy.

But underneath that cute little blue-eyed Princess exterior...

DO NOT BE FOOLED!

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She still takes after her Mommy! She loves ants, frogs, worms, and all things yucky!
She found all these worms underneath the kiddie pool when she moved it.
So of course she collected as many as possible and proudly showed them off!
She often brings inside all sorts of frogs, grasshoppers, worms, and bugs.
She is such a cute little walking contradiction!

The Brownie Sin!!!

We had a really fun FHE (Family Home Evening) last night!

Confession Time: We really have not been good about doing FHE. I could tell you all my excuses... but seriously... we have had A LOT going on for a very long time. Life finally feels leveled-off and normal, and all our kids now understand most English, so that helps too!

FHE is really important right now! #1 Because the kids are old enough and it is time. #2 Because we are commanded to do it. #3 Is because since Yonas has never been legally 8 years old he was legally too young for baptism and now he is 9 so he has to have the missionary discussions (He has never been legally 8 years old). So we need to do teenie-tiny teach-the-son-with-limited-English steps to get him ready to even have the first missionary discussion. (We tried to do the first discussion, but when he answered every question with "Be good and help mommy and daddy and be nice" we realized he has gotten by at church on Sunday School answers. He would even say that when asked "Do you know what a prophet is?").

So we started with a lesson that focused on the key words "Prophet" & "Repentance" with a little "Holy Ghost" thrown in there. Then we were going to play a game and then we were going to eat brownies.

So I talked about what a prophet does. Talked about how we know things are true with the Holy Ghost. Then I talked about Samuel the Lamanite and how he told the people to repent and say they are sorry and do better because they sinned. But the people were angry and threw stones and shot arrows at him but they did not touch him because Heavenly Father protected them. Then I realized I needed to explain what sin meant. So I told them it was when you did something Heavenly Father does not want you to do. Then I gave examples and if it was a sin they had to yell "Sin" and if it was not a sin they had to yell "Good Thing"!

-Go to church!
-Good Thing
-Hit your sister!
-Sin
-Don't listen to mom and dad!
-Sin
-Give hugs!
-Good Thing
....
I went through a few examples and because we were having brownies as a dessert I jokingly threw in:
"Eat the Brownies when mom is not looking"
and they all yelled

SIN!
Then right on cue...
Someone I did not realize was missing came around the corner...
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SIN!!!

I just said, "Oh no Callie! What did you do?!?"

Then, We all cracked up! It was hilarious and the timing was PERFECT!

The perfect object lesson!

But she said "Sawey" and Repented!

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Here is how the rest of the FHE went! We went to the table and everyone drew a Sin on a piece of paper while they ate their brownies.

Lettie drew Callie getting into the brownies!
Silas drew people throwing stones and arrows at Samuel the Lamanite.

Yonas drew someone kicking someone else.

Ruby drew someone pushing someone at school.

Nolan drew himself using the computer and then when he leaves to go to the bathroom someone hops on the computer and plays his computer game.

Then they made their pictures into either a arrow (paper airplane)

or a stone (balled the paper up).

Then someone would stand on the ottoman and cry repentance to the people and as soon as they said "Repent" we threw our "stones" and "arrows" at them.

Repent!

Repent!

Repent!

Repent!

Repent!

Repent!

Repent!

After we were done in turned into a free-for-all of kids crying repentance and getting pelted with paper! They ran around the house laughing, giggling, and squealing until it was time for bed! Moments like that make me happy to have such a big bunch of happy kids!

I think sometimes I would put off making FHE part of our life because I was making it too complicated. FHE assignment wheels, home-made object lessons, visual aids. Not that all that stuff is bad. I just have a hard time not being a perfectionist and just being satisfied with what I can do right now, so I decided I was just going to do it. Even if it is haphazardly planned and I am winging it. Which I was. I decided on the paper throwing while making dinner. I decided I was going to do FHE, plan or not, I was going to do something. Then the lesson just came to me. But I must say it came together nicely, the kids are still talking about it this morning, and I may turn in to the queen of 10 min. preparation FHEs!

Nolan made the Chess Club!

Yes, I am now the proud mom of a Chess Club Geek!

The thing is, he had to earn it! At his school, since chess club is during school time around lunch, you can not just join. You have to write an essay and then pass a skills test. He wrote his essay a few times until it was just right. He practiced his skills; with me, on the computer, or by studying his skills sheet. He said he felt he did well on the test, but we had not heard if he made it for awhile. I knew how much he wanted it, so I was hoping there was a delay and it was not that he just did not realize he had not made it.

So I am very proud of his effort and dedication!

He starts next Monday and we have been playing each other. I am REALLY bad a chess! I am impressed because he can just about beat me and he is really good about thinking ahead and planning out his moves! Fun stuff!

And he lost another tooth last night. I swear he loses teeth right and left! I was so worried before because all his friends were losing teeth and he had not lost any. Now they are practically falling out of his head! And he is really good about letting me know, letting them get a good amount of loose, and then letting me take a string and just pop the sucker out! I can not stand a dangally tooth!

2 Little Rascals!

First, Baby Mermaid... aka Jovie! This last week she has decided she is "Baby Mermaid"... not Jovie. And Lettie is "Mommy Mermaid". So, when she is calling for Mommy, is she calling for me... nope. Lettie! The other night she was not going to sleep and was instead standing at the gate outside her room yelling, "Mommy! Wake up! Mommy! Mommy Mermaid! Wake up!" Nope, she was not looking for me, she was looking for her Mommy Mermaid. I ask her if I was her mommy and she says, "Nope! You not my mommy! Mommy Mermaid is my mommy! You Lettie!" Sigh...

After this weekend in the mountinas she is ready to claim me again. So she is calling me mommy again, but she still calls Lettie "Mommy Mermaid".

The next few blog posts will have some of our mountain pics! This is how I found Jovie one afternoon; In her "Baby Mermaid" hat, eating watermelon... her way!
Then that night Callie said she was hungry so my mom gave her a piece of bologna and cheese, but she did not want the bread. A few minutes later we found a

Callie, Bologna, & Cheese Sandwich...

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She never just eats lunch meat, she plays with it first! I forgot to warn my mom! Just today she had a piece of ham and she folded it about 10 different ways before tearing it into little pieces and eating it. She is really into folding things lately. Paper, lunch meat, clothes, towels, anything... I need to put her on laundry duty!