Justice has been busy with Scouts and has earned quite a few pins & belt loops. He really enjoys it and has fun hanging out with his friends. Recently he earned his Astronomy, Science, & Chess belt loops. They had a Mexican Fiesta themed Blue & Gold Banquet (end of the year party) and it was a lot of fun watching him do the Mexican Hat Dance with his friends. haha...the boy has got some moves!
Justice earned money for a used I-pod by saving his allowance. He was living the high life and felt so grown-up. A little too grown up. Got himself into some trouble (things he shouldn't be doing) and has now lost privileges for that I-pod. It's probably the saddest thing he's ever had to go thru. But it's important for him to learn that having responsibility also has it's price. It's tough growing up some times.
The boy is going to try basketball this spring and see if it suits him. We have tried most of the sports out there, but we feel it is important to find something that interests him, something other than video games! :-) So hopefully it will be a good experience.
Justice & Montana have both been involved in their school Choir this year. They've had a few performances this year, most recently for the School District Budget Meeting- they were over the moon excited. Kinda funny. But they really did such a fantastic job. For an elementary choir- I think they are VERY good. They have another performance on Tuesday, can't wait! Here is the link to the article that was written about them in the West Valley Journal! http://t.co/Inghr0Cf
Justice & Montana also were involved in JA Biz Town this year. It's a program where they teach the kids about business, community, and handling your personal finances. They travel to Biz Town where lots of local businesses sponsor their names to a mall type atmosphere, and the kids are all assigned jobs for the day. They get paid twice, have to deposit their paychecks in the "bank", update their check registers, and have the opportunity to go "shopping" on both of their "breaks". This year, Justice was a meter reader for the Gas Company, Montana was a bank teller, and I worked at the Supermarket as a volunteer supervisor. It is such a fun day for them and they truly enjoyed it. Here is the school news "TNN" featuring Montana as a Student Council Reporter, and it has video of the Biz Town day, as well as some other fun school stuff. http://www.youtube.com/embed/uxAoh40g2dw
Montana is still playing soccer for Fusion. They have been practicing all winter and decided to have a couple of Intramural Tournaments between teams of a few ages. Montana invited a few of her friends to come and participate. It was a lot of fun for her to show off her MAD SKILLS for her friends, and to be able to play with them as well. They are ready to start playing games again in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to get outside and play again.
Montana got accepted to the Junior High she put in a special application to attend, Bennion Junior High. We are thrilled! I know she is nervous about this as not all of her friends are going there, but we feel it will be the best option for our little smarty pants! She is such a high achiever- she really needs to be pushed. She is reading at a 10th grade level, and has chosen many honors classes to take. Junior High, here she comes!
She also had her braces taken off recently. She is looking so beautiful and grown up.
Sierra had her car broken into at school just before leaving for our trip to California to watch her compete in the Miss Dance Drill Team USA Competition. They broke her driver side window and took her GPS system as well as a bag that had a lot of her dance items that she needed for the competition (tights, shoes, shorts, etc). Luckily, we were able to leave the car at the school with the Vice Principal (who happens to be her boyfriends dad) and he kept it in the school car shop until we got back. Her dad was able to buy a window, and the shop kids are putting it in for her. So, all in all, it wasn't too bad- but happened at the most stressful time for the poor kid.
She flew to California with her Grama Judy. Montana, Justice, my parents and I, all drove down in their new Prius. Which got the most amazing gas mileage!!! Although we were squished like sardines, it was well worth it for the savings. Sierra's dad also flew in for the festivities and met them at their hotel.
We had a wonderful time exploring the city and the hotels. Sierra stayed at the Hyatt Regency with the girls from TEAM UTAH who were also competing. Chris and Judy stayed at the same hotel, but we stayed a few miles away at a hotel that was closer to Knott's Berry Farm. We had planned on taking the kids there the first day, but they both got sick. So our "fun" day wasn't so fun. We did squeeze in a day at Huntington Beach and the weather was perfect. They were having a car show so we were in heaven! People were walking their dogs, there were street vendors, loud 50's music playing and sidewalk cafe's full of happy folks. Dad rented an electric scooter/chair which was a big help for getting him around. His sciatica is really bothering him lately and he has a hard time walking for long periods of time or standing for more than 20 minutes. It was fun to watch him finally feel like he could just go and go. :-) Plus Grama Dodie let us use her handicap sticker and so we were able to park in ALL the best spots (Thanks Grama!).
This competition has been a culmination of two years of hard work for Sierra. She competed last year and made top 5 in Utah, competed at Nationals and won 8th place. She was determined that she would win this year. She has dedicated herself to personal practice, choreography sessions, costume design, music editing, practice competitions, technique classes, and more and more and more practice. She has visualized, stressed, and dreamed about this competition for more than a year. This year she was awarded first runner up at the Utah competition and was determined she would work even harder for Nationals.
Here in California for Nationals, Sierra competed for 3 days and made her way up the charts. The best of the best of all the high schools are here to compete. There was some seriously amazing talent here from all over the country & from Japan. Honestly, we had no idea how she would place- they were all so excellent. First she made Top 10. Then she performed her modeling. 45 seconds to do 5 "poses" and their best moves/tricks while walking in a star formation. She nailed it.
She was then brought out in her beautiful ballgown with the other Top 5 girls. They did this instead of announcing who had made the cut. It was pretty awesome! We were all looking at each other and getting our hopes up for her. Then it was impromptu question time. She was asked if drill team was a sacrifice on her time, or an opportunity. She started strong, but started to repeat herself, once or twice, ok three times...Not the best, but she was so nervous! We were all having heart palpitations!! I could never speak in front of thousands of people- especially when put on the spot! So we were glad that was over!
Then it was time to perform her routine again- and she really shined! She choreographed the routine herself (with a few minor changes by her coach Maryann Renteria) and that made it even more beautiful. Her song was Celine Dion "It's all coming back to me". A real crowd pleaser! I hope I can post video soon. We weren't allowed to video and had to order one from the company there- so it will take some time.
Then it was time for the coronation to be announced. She was crowned MISS DANCE DRILL TEAM USA....then, we didn't even know what was happening- but there was a second competition including the performers from outside of the US. And she was crowned MISS DANCE DRILL TEAM INTERNATIONAL! We were all screaming our heads off and jumping up and down! I was so excited for her! We all ran down from the bleachers to hug her and take pictures and celebrate. I know this was a dream she has been chasing for a while and it was so exciting to see it all come true for her!
Her Aunt Niki arranged for friends and family to meet Sierra at the airport with Congratulation signs, balloons, and flowers. We were still driving back from California so we missed that part of the celebration. Then they met at her dad's house for cake and ice cream. Niki took lots of pics so we were able to see that so many of her drill team and friends were there to support her and celebrate with her!
So here is the link to the hundreds of pics from our vacation. :-)
http://www.flickr.com//photos/78418033@N02/show/
Lastly, Sierra has been accepted to the U of U and has decided to try out for their dance team. We are so excited for her to continue her education and her love of dance. She is teaching this summer with BDT a traveling dance camp, choreographing for a drill team in TX, and continuing substitute teaching with Xcite dance studio and Elite Academy.
p.s. Big thanks to Patrick for watching Roxy while we were out of town. It was nice to have her stay with someone she knows will scratch her back. :-)
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