Shenanigans

I help out in Jaden's class once a month and this last time there was an assembly right after the 'centers' that I help with. Mrs. Stuart said I could stay for the assembly. Yay! There were two ladies from the Pocatello zoo there. They talked about what makes a habitat and then they brought out their friend Molter. She's a Ball Python. Fun huh? Jaden was pleased because there were no snakes out at the Idaho Falls zoo when we visited so now he did get to see a snake. 

yup he's paying attention.

Okay so this is really blurry but if you can find Jaden  (in the red between the teacher and kid in white) he is really fascinated with that snake.

Some fun stuff, Jaden's Sombrero, some of Bella's water color paintings and my Mother's day pictures. 

 Bella insisted I take a picture of her picture. I have to say, it is pretty cool. 

 And a picture of her playing the baby piano that she probably took away from Olivia.

 I'm getting a patio in my backyard. Yay!

 Here's the gravel for the base under the cement. Or for now, the gravel mountain to play on. :)

Field Trip to the Zoo!

I volunteered to help out with Jaden's class on their school field trip to the Idaho Falls zoo. I got there before the buses and got the rundown from the zoo keeper lady. She said there would be 12 schools at the zoo that day and to be sure to keep close watch over the kids. She mentioned that the day before they caught a kid riding the turtle. Umm oops. So I started to get a little concerned. Watching a group of kindergarteners would be tricky enough, but to do so with SO MANY other kids around! Fortunately Jaden's class had so many parent volunteers that I only had Jaden and Nala. Phew! I can handle 2 kiddos easy peasy!

All the kindergarteners got these super cool sunglasses. 

 Baby Ducks! They're so fluffy!

 There was a highschool biology class there. One of the boys bought some food at the petting zoo and gave some to Jaden to feed the goats.

 The black swans had some little babies as well. They were gray and fluffy. Made me think of the ugly duckling. I loved it!

 "The camel needs a hair cut mom"

 Cranes

 Jaden pretending to be a crane.

 Riding a tiger is so cool!

 Aww Baby zebra!

 This silly thing was licking the glass. It made the kids laugh. 

 After we saw everything we headed to the park for lunch. Jaden had been asking what time it was every 10 minutes cause he was most excited about eating lunch. I let him pick it out himself. Peanut butter and honey, dried mango, cheetos, oreos, and a squeeze it. Yeah you'd be excited too wouldn't ya?

We found Jaden's friend Brady and sat with him and his mom.

 After they were done with lunch they played tag.

 Jaden even picked a dandilion for me. What a sweet boy. I really enjoyed the time with him. He said his favorite part was the monkeys, he might be part monkey himself. :) I'm so glad I went it was a lot of fun. 

Bella's Dance Recital!

First up Bella's team picture. You may ask what kind of face she's making down there, well if you tell her to smile that is what she does. That's right she thinks that IS a smile. I have to make her laugh or capture her in a genuine happy moment to get her beautiful smile (you'll see here in a bit) Her single picture is pretty cute though!

We've been waiting all well I guess perhaps since Jan. for. The BIG recital. What I say big I really mean 

B I G. I had to buy the tickets a month in advance because they sell out so fast. Bella has had several evening and extra rehearsals for this. The recital includes around 300 dancers (in the whole company) and they do it 2 nights to accommodation so many people. So yes it was B I G. 

The first night I volunteered to help. See there are 3 groups of  3-4 year old dancers. Around 40 girls I believe. So while Miss Dayna and Miss Kathy (the teachers) were out with the performing group, someone had to keep these girlies in check, take them to the bathroom, help them line up in the right order and somehow manage to keep them there. It was and adventure.

Here's my pretty Bella ready for her first night. She was pretty excited. 

 And Silly

The last group was number 11 on the program. This is Bella's group. They had a long wait. We sang many songs like Old McDonald, and Wheels on the Bus. It was hard to keep their attention (clearly) but we survived and when it was their turn to dance they were more than ready to go.

Because Bella was the last group I got to slip in the door and watch. This was a big deal because my seat for the next night was clear at the top (thanks to the crappy ticket program that wouldn't let me choose my seats). Anyway this ended up being great. I even got great video from there since Bella was the closest to the doors. Yay. See there she is in the back on the left. They danced to Touch the Sky from Brave.

Paying super close attention to the teacher.

Saturday night we all came to watch. Including Grandma Yancey and Grandma and Grandpa Potter (yes we've kept them busy this week with our kids activities.) Bella was super duper excited to have everyone come watch her.

It started at the kids bedtime and Bella wouldn't be dancing till an hour in. We settled in for a long wait.

 Yup we were THAT far up. 

 We expected Jaden to be bored and Ryan gave him his phone to play on. But as soon as the show started he handed it back. He was amazed. "Look at that." "Look how fast they move!" "That's pretty hard to do." "If I was doing that I'd already be tired." He was so fun to listen to. When we left after Bella's dance he was disappointed. I think the boy would've been more than happy to watch the whole show, Olivia however was done for. I'm sure everyone around us appreciated it when we left. ;)

Because my old video camera had a better zoom I used it Sat. night. However the battery was really crappy and no longer held a charge so I only got a little bit of the dance. Making me grateful again that I got to record the night before. 

After the show we had a rose for Bella. She was amazed. "Just for me? My very own? Thank you!" Seriously adorable!

 Here Jaden Smell it!

 On the way back to the car she offered to share the flower with Olivia. It was so sweet. Clearly she was in a great mood. With good reason, she was so cute and she had a great time!

 She had to give her rose a hug and kiss before bed. And insisted I take a few more pictures of it.

I really appreciate Bella's dance teachers. They were amazing and even with so many girls to teach they manage to make each and every one feel special. All the costumes for all the girls were modest and the choreography was tasteful and beautiful. Bella loved dance and I loved watching her. I was so proud of her. She was truly "Brave" and I'll admit it made me a little teary eyed. I sure love the girl.