School is just more fun these days!

Peyton hit the jackpot this year for teachers.  She got the "top pod" of teachers - very engaging, good communicators, teachers who expect and help their kids learn and prepare for middle school.

Peyton (like her mother) is very hands-on.  She learns best when the lesson is interesting and she has to do several things to get to the end.  Make something.  Read something.  Print something.  Paste something.  Write something.  And then put it all together in a finished project.

Ms. Cotton, her Language Arts teacher, had them do a customized cereal box to teach them to use different parts of speech.  Nouns.  Adverbs.  Adjectives.  Conjunctions.  "All that jazz" to quote Peyton!

Peyton Puffs was the name of her cereal and Canva was the vehicle to make the panels.  It was really fun to teach her how to use a graphic site.  I helped her with the front of the box and then she took it from there.  She had already written the different sections.  We just had to format them, choose some colors, some fonts and a few graphics and print them.

Then she attached everything to a Frosted Flakes box with this fun polka dot duct tape and some pink card stock.   She had a blast from start to finish.  How cool is that?  And she learned a few things!

In the end - her teacher asked to keep her box to use as an example for next year.  Quite a compliment.  She kept her menu project too...so proud of my girl!

Regionals, Day 2 (We Rock!)

Had to head back to Kennedale for Day 2 of the Dance Showcase Regional competition.  Peyton, Victoria and Nicole dance with Sarah for their tap routine - so that takes them up an age group. 

No hair change and only one costume for today - but I brought them all, cuz you just never know!  I have decided it is better to be WAY over prepared for these things than under - because last minute shopping for bloch tan tights is not an option!  Dance items are pretty specific and the stores that sell them aren't exactly open 7 days a week!

 Hallway run-through with Miss Rachel before their performance.  Got their game faces on!

Sarah, Peyton and Victoria

 They performed early in their age group so we had nearly 3 hours to kill before awards.  We headed to Braum's for some ice cream (cuz that's what Texans do!)

 Lemme take a selfie (with a Victoria photo bomb!)

 Back for awards - platinum first place and 

FIRST OVERALL in their age group!!!!

 3 of the 4 13 and under tap team for "Pom Pom"

Nicole, Peyton and Victoria and their trophy, medals and ribbons

 When you live closest to the studio - you get to transport the trophies back home.  I thought Peyton was gonna bust she was so happy!

 For her Instagram 

For her mother - I love this silly, beautiful girl!

Time for Regionals!

This weekend is our first Regional Dance Competition.  We are back at the Kennedale Performing Arts Center - Peyton's favorite stage!  So that's good! 

This is our third competition and we are not exactly experts, but we get better with every trip.  We are better at packing.  We are much better at the under eye liner!  We had a hair change for this competition - from the high ballet bun to the bump and side bun.  I thought it would be tricky.  But Peyton is an expert at the bump.  Preperation for cheerleading, I guess!  We forgot her competition jacket - which she really should have for awards...we'll bring it tomorrow!

We got there in plenty of time (another perk of mom being at the Harrison) and got a spot for us to hang our things.  The girls got dressed in their lyrical costumes, threw on cover ups and we went out to watch some of the other routines. 

 Victoria and Peyton (and Victoria's dad Jose in the background)

 "Fierce" Friends

 Warming up with Miss Kaylie

 Hair change - check out that perfect bump!  She's my hero!

 Ready for Ooh-La-La

 Victoria, Peyton, Nicole and Cynthia

 So cute!

 Third place overall for "Diamonds"

The girls got platinum awards for both dances and third place overall in their age group for their lyrical

And we're back again today to dance in the next age group up for tap!  

Break a leg ladies!

Murphy Moments

April flew by and here we are in May already.  This weekend is a big dance competition, so I wanted to post a few photos that have been collecting in my phone. 

It's still crazy with mom in rehab.  They tried to kick her out because they said she has "plateaued"  - you can translate that to "she's too difficult for us to want to deal with here in our beautiful, new, fancy long term care facility".  I had to file this awful appeal - which we won, but oh my goodness!  No one should have to go through this. 

Anyway, I did what I could remember to do to capture our days as April came to a close...

 We saw this shirt while dress shopping for Peyton's social and HAD to get it!

 It was just too clever not to own!

 There is a special place in heaven for this man, Dr. Miguel Hernandez.  Kind, patient, thorough, inquisitive, great communicator.  And so nice to my mom and me.  Best doctor ever!

 Plateaued, my butt!  Check mom out on the road to recovery!  Go Peg!

 Sweet picture of the kids helping me with One Word Wednesday.

 Sophie likes to play Mario Cart too!  She's actually better than I am...sigh...!

 Peyton working on her "Wreck This Journal"

 Pick up this journal without using your hands

1.  with your teeth

 2. with your feet and knees

3.  with your elbows (or bell-bows, as she used to say when she was 3)

Spring Social shopping

I am ashamed to say, but there is a theme to these posts...things we are able to do with mom in rehab.  It's a lot more work for me with her someplace else, but it's so freeing to be able to go shopping and out to lunch or out for coffee or to pick up the kids or go for a swim.

Peyton's Spring Social is coming up and it's an occasion to buy a new dress.  I told the entire story here.  (you could sub-title it, 47 Dresses!)  I'm pretty sure we did more shopping for this dress than I did shopping to outfit her nursery! 

But we got the best one and she will be stunning at the big event!

Happy Easter!

I know the kids don't believe in the Easter bunny anymore, but they still like the candy and the annual egg hunt.  And I don't mind at all now that I can get them to help me shop for candy and get the eggs filled.  I still do the hiding and this year, I still went out in the very early morning to hide the eggs, but only because I happened to wake up, not because I had to set an alarm and go on this Easter Bunny stealth mission!

We still have the tradition of hiding one egg in each kids' underwear drawer and one in one of their shoes.  They did pretty good - there were 2 that didn't get found until after Easter was over.  One the next day and one 3 days later! 

 Before the hunt - Easter baskets with the big bunnies and all the other stuff that can't be outside over night if it rains

 Breaking one of the ASDA confetti eggs over Daddy's head ... Peyton's favorite part of the morning!

 Sophie was not as fond of her confetti egg...especially when she discovered that she couldn't eat it!

 On the hunt...even at their age - it's still a competition!

 Murph finds the stuff up high...

 ...and Peyton finds the stuff down low!

Checking out the final haul!

ASDA Easter Picnic

Yesterday was the annual All Star Dance Academy Easter Picnic and Egg Hunt.  I forgot.  I've been so busy with mom and completely out of my routine, that I actually thought Easter was next Sunday.  Hard to believe it's been 40 days since I gave up computer games for Lent.  The ones on my phone that were sucking precious time away from getting other things done. 

Anyway, Peyton reminded me about the picnic early last week and I asked her to get the information from Miss Tiffany and we would go.  Of course that meant shopping and baking something and finding something to wear that was semi-cute, could get muddy and was perfect for coolish/warmish muggy weather.

She was excited to do the Easter Egg hunt with her friends - it's such a wonderful, girly environment when the dancers get together.  But yesterday morning via text - she found out the girls on her team weren't going.  Dilemma!

Do we go to the picnic (which I still hadn't shopped for or baked anything and Peyton hadn't gotten any details)?  Or do we hit the mall to shop for a Spring Social dress?

Luckily, she chose the picnic and just like last year - we had a ball.  I bailed on the baking and brought buns and chips (I've always secretly envied those people who don't cook or bake who get to bring plastic silverware or bags of chips!), we both found suitable outfits, Patrick dug out the Easter baskets and off we went.

 And they're OFF - check Peyton out on the right - these girls are serious

 

The basket is full, most of the eggs have been found...but still looking, just in case

Basket full of candy and maybe $$$ (she found 2 this year)

A girl and her Easter basket

 The confetti eggs are always the biggest hit with the girls and the parents and the little brothers and the instructors.  This is from the one Kara broke over Peyton's head.  We're saving one to use on Sophie this morning during our Easter Egg Hunt