How icy was it!?!
It was soooo icy that…
…I started to think gutters were made for icicles.
…it was growing on trees.
…it was stringing up lights.
…it was conducting electricity!!
…it was spreading, like mold, and, and…and it was evolving…
…and conducting nuclear experiments!!
and the final step before I made it all melt…
…it was starting to brainwash my Mermaids!!
That long one measures over 14 inches.
The lights are flickering.
Frozen rain is still coming down.
Bushes and trees are straining.
Not sure I’ve wished for thawing as much in the past.
This post is gonna be a double whammy.
Burnin’ The Floor
We have observed, over the past 6 years, that LaGrande has become increasingly serious about her dance.
Last weekend she participated in her 2012 kick-off performance for the competition season called Burnin’ The Floor.
It is put on by the parent’s association affiliated with her dance studio and ticket sales contribute to fundraising for the nationals competition this year.
It also gives the dancers some non-competition, real-world, friendly audience experience.
I frequently ask her things like
Is it still fun?
Sometimes the answer hurts my ears it is so emphatic.
Here are some snapshots I took from the videos I made of her dances – other more quality shots can be found on Facebook at Allegro Performing Arts Academy.
Boats and birds – Lyrical – Small Group 
Jazz – group 
Jazz group – end pose 
Newsies – Musical Theater group 
Newsies – Woops – lost her hat on the front roll. Next time – more pins. 
Nice quick change TheMommy. 
Then – that was all over and then came…
Freezin’ The Floor
If you live in the Northwest, and not in a bubble, you may realize that we’ve had snow for a couple days.
That night, while TheMommy and LaGrande were still watching other dances at Burnin’ The Floor – TheWeeOne and I motored home to find something altogether different.
Without a moment to spare – TheWeeOne and I got straight to work on our traditional snow sculpture. I wasn’t sure, you see, whether the snow would stick around long enough for another shot at it.
TheWeeOne? – she had other priorities.
We finished the cupcake, you can see in the background, just in time for TheMommy and LaGrande to come home.
The next day being MLK day – we celebrated the freedom of which he so eloquently spoke, by hitting the slopes at our local baseball diamond outfield.
It’s amazing how much fun can be had on a worn-thin hill.
Priorities being what they are – we hadn’t yet taken off LaGrande’s show make-up.
Action Mermaids!
Today I worked and then – after that left the camera at home and we all hit the slopes hard, with the neighbors, for a good old huzzah! to winter – you gotta have priorities.