Learning experience, right?

Molly had her dance recital tonight.  As with most things with Molly, dance has been a little rough lately.  She's not super excited about it and it sometimes takes rewarding with Slurpees after dance class to get her to be good.  She and I have been talking about her program for a while and building it up that she needed to cooperate, do a good job, and no crying.  She tried.

We got to Kearns High School for her performance and she was actually really excited.  We got her hair in a sort-of bun and her little costume looked cute.  She was pretty good backstage and when it was time to go on, she held hands with her classmates and off she went.

I went in the side door to watch the performance. It started great and then (Molly is 2nd from the right on the front row) . . . .



. . . for that 8 second part of the dance when Molly is supposed to spin around with a partner, she just became momentarily devastated.  She couldn't find a partner.  There are 11 girls in her class and all 11 were there.  I don't know what the plan for spinning around was, but somehow she was odd man out and hadn't been prepared for that (we only get to see the dance at one open-parent lesson and she had a partner that day).  I felt really bad for her because she had been trying so hard to be good.  It wasn't like she was being a stinker, she just didn't know what to do.  Ugh.  I wish I could have fixed it.

By the time it was all over, she was ok about it.  She told me she was sorry she cried and wondered if she could still get a Slurpee.  When I asked her what happened, she didn't really know, just that something went wrong.  We did get a slushee from the Holiday on the way home.  Afterwards we talked about how if we or other people make mistakes like that, it's ok.  We can just keep dancing and don't need to be upset about it.  Hopefully that was the right parenting thing to do.

I'm not sure if we are going to continue with dance or not in the fall.  We will just play it by ear and see what happens.  We are going to try swimming lessons again over the summer and then we'll see what activities the fall brings.

My favorite grandmas

All Dressed Up For Pictures

This was our third visit to Foto Fly in Draper and although each visit has been pretty good, this one was the best!  Our photographer was Jim and he was excellent!  The kids were mostly cooperative!  The pictures turned out great!  Thanks to my mom and Annie for contributing to their photo outfits by giving them new birthday clothes.

Phone photos

Molly had a birthday.  She got to be the "star of the week," we made a poster, and she took little ice cream cups to school for her treat.

We skyped with Willie on Mother's Day.  He seems to be doing great!

We had a birthday party for Molly and Jack.  The Snackeez (or Snacky Cups as Molly calls them) were the most favorite gift, along with everything else.

Both kids got mitts and balls.  

Jack got his first "real" haircut at a Great Clips while Molly had dance class.  He got a little nervous with the clippers at first, but then chilled out and sat perfectly still.  He was a pro!

After the haircut.

Molly had her last dance class before the program.  She got 2 trophies.  One is for participation and the other is for perfect attendance.

We finally made it to one of Elliott's baseball games.  Molly and Jack had a cute moment at the fence.  The game was long and the kids started melting so we left before it was over.  Unfortunately Elliott got a hit right after we left.  

Grandpa is still hanging in there.  Jack found the walker the other night and had fun pushing it around.

Murray High had it's annual Arts Fest.  It is a pretty big deal and seemed to be a little bigger than normal this year.  The daycare kids even ran one of the booths for a little while in the morning.  Their booth was a face-painting booth, but the artists were the kids.  It was pretty cute!  Molly painted my face, this girl's, and then a boy before she decided she had had enough.  It was a great day because I got to hang out with my own kids for a while!

Molly played on a pottery wheel.  We got weird Japanese sodas.  Jack got his hair chalked blue.  They both got tattoos and ate some homemade mac & cheese for lunch made by our Pro Start students.

And then on Saturday, we got Jack a new bed.  He hasn't regularly slept in his crib for months anyway, so we thought we'd upgrade him and see if that would solve some of his sleeping issues.  Both kids went to bed at the same time and in their own beds for night #1.  Jack did wake up in the night, but with some help, went back to his bed.  Hopefully it stays that way.  

End of Year Program Updates

If there are any readers of this blog who marked Molly's and Jack's end of year program dates on their calendars and planned to attend, here is an update (the school program changed dates).

Molly's Dance Recital
Thursday, May 29th -- 6:00 p.m. -- Kearns High School Auditorium
$3 tickets
(Molly's group is #2 on the schedule and they only have one number, so plan to be early/on time to see her)

Molly and Jack's School Program 
Friday, May 30th -- 6:00 p.m. -- Murray High School Little Theater
Molly will be sporting a Little Mermaid costume and Jack is . . . I don't know, but he has to wear a costume.
There are always good refreshments afterwards, though it can be a bit of a mad house.
(It is also Jack's birthday that day!)