Leah's Dance Recital - Tap Routine

Okay, Leah is just too cute. I just posted her ballet routine and here is her tap routine. It looks like she really had a good time with her dance recital.

Enjoy!

Leah's Dance Recital - Ballet Routine

Since I had some free time today, I thought I'd post a video from Leah's Recital she did while I was in Iraq. I'm biased, but this is adorable. Probably good ammunition when she gets older too!

I hope everyone enjoys as much as I do.

Marc

I'm Back!

Well, I've been home almost a week now, and am still getting adjusted to it. I haven't been playing much with the camera, so not many photos to choose from of the kids. We've been playing too much for that.

But I did manage to snap a couple of shots of Ian and Leah together on the couch in the dying light of the sunset the other day.

We are planning an absolutely wonderful sounding vacation through the Burgundy and Rhone areas of France on our way to a Mediterranean villa on the coast of Spain starting later this week. Most of the places advertise internet, so look for updated posts from that in the days ahead. Otherwise, if internet is not available, I'll post updates in early/mid-December.

Cheers!

Marc

Halloween 2009

So, after forgetting to take the camera to the Pre-Halloween parties, I actually remembered to take pics of the kids before we went to trick or treat.

Here is Batman Ian:




and Pooh Bear Leah:



They are posing with a pumpkin that Ian decorated at one of the fall events that they had here on base (yes, that I also forgot to take the camera too). They were excited to get out to trick or treat this year:



It does get dark early here. We were out from about 5 - 6:30 or so & then it started to get really cold (I had layered both kids with fleece under their costumes).


The MP's are usually out giving the kids glow sticks so all of the kids can be "seen" on Halloween, but they also limit traffic flow on base that night, which is also nice.


We came home & handed out some candy to those who were still out & I put hats & gloves on the kids for that. They had a blast & got to enjoy a few of their treats before crashing into their beds that night. Hope everyone else had a fun night too!

Catherine

Leah's Dance Recital

Thought I would share a few pictures from Leah's recent dance recital. She is learning tap & ballet and she is loving every minute of it. I did take some video of the recital, but I can't figure out how to get it from the card to the computer yet. I also took it sideways, so just shows how much i know about doing the video thing right now...

Anyways, here is Leah dancing to one of the tap songs:


And doing some of the moves with some of the ballet stuff mixed in:



Walking with a bean bag on her head, they are working on balance (Leah had also done this in gymnastics, so she knows what to do here):


Sitting and hanging out waiting for the music to start:


At the end of each class all the girls gather with their teacher to tell what their favorite part of class was & to get sprinkled with fairy dust:


My mom & Ian had fun watching the dustings after the recital. Hope everyone enjoys the pics. If I figure out how to do the video thing, I'll try to post one here.

Catherine

New Swim Class

We recently started a new series of swim classes after taking the summer off. Ian is now in the Big Pool, which the depth starts at 4 ft. deep. He was a bit nervous before the class (as was I), but he managed to jump right in at the beginning of class:



His new teacher is wonderful. She had him swimming in no time, and Ian did great listening for a change of pace.



Here he is half way through the class & is all smiles. He had so much fun that first class, and is still really enjoying being in the deeper pool. He wants to swim under the water now & his teacher is trying to teach him the strokes on top of the water, so we're working on it a bit.


Leah is still in the kiddie pool that only goes about 3 ft. deep total. She is still working on getting her kicking down in her class and she finally hit a milestone in her last class, she finally put her face in the water! She's had a real fear of going under the water, so this was a huge step for her. She wears the goggles & ear plugs because of her ear tubes, so that gave her some comfort.



On the way out, they have a new display in the lobby and the kids of course have to put their faces in the holes now every time we go swimming. Leah is in the mermaid side & Ian is in the sea king side.



Hopefully the kids will continue to learn & progress in their swimming skills so we can eventually take classes here on our base. Leah is the slower swim learner, but I'm excited by her progress. She has always been more timid in the water, even in the bathtub, so getting her comfortable in the water is worth the drive to the nearby air force pool. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

Catherine

School Carnival and more...

First of all, I'd like to thank my sister Christina for letting me use some of the pictures that she took while on her trip here from Memphis.

We went to the Elementary School Carnival tonight & the kids had a blast. I'm thinking they are going to sleep well tonight!

They played the "fishing game" and Ian is here looking at his prize he got while Leah sees what she got:

They also both had fun in the bouncy houses. Ian went into the bigger kids bouncy house:



Leah went into the one for the smaller kids:




We had dinner out there & each kid got some cotton candy & popcorn, so they were very happy campers.


Since I know Marc will also be happy to see a couple other pictures of the kids, here are they kids before Leah's ballet class:


And also here is one of us at home & the kids were waving at Christina & there I am in the background trying to get out of the picture.


I hope everyone enjoys seeing a few pictures of the kids & I hope all is well with all of you!

Catherine