Dance Competition at Dixie

The senior hip hop team gets mentally ready for their first performance on stage. They have rehearsed through this a few times today and are now visualizing how well they are going to do in front of the judges.  It must have worked because they took 1st place! 

My sister Tina and her girls came down here for spring break and came over to watch Madi and Sara dance. Kelsey is an amazing dancer too!

We are about halfway through this 12 hour day (Whew). These girls still look very fresh and happy. It helps to have snacks and fun friends to hang around with!

Since the competition will go until 11:30pm, Tina and I took a break and grabbed some dirty diet cokes and some fresh sugar cookies.

Some of Madi's lyrical team just after their all star performance - Later on they will receive a 1st place award and they deserved it!

Sisterly Love - I love that these two get to dance together and support one another!

Overall their dance teams did fantastic! It is so much fun to watch all their energy on stage...They ended the night with 4 first place awards and 1 second place. Great Job Girls!

Driving home - Gracie and Sara are best dance friends and we loved having Gracie with us while her mom attended her other sister's volleyball tournament in LA this weekend.

Sand Dunes and Swig!

We are all convinced that the perfect spot to take dance pictures is in the beautiful Snow Canyon - Sand Dunes.  Since the girls would be in their dance competition all day tomorrow (Saturday) we knew we had to meet right when we got to St George.  The weather was PERFECT!

The girls looked gorgeous as they posed for the camera...

Sara in her splits...

Just look at this hair - so cool! This is one of my favorites!

Madi - Eliza - Lindsey - Sara - Gracie - Kaymie 

These girls all know how to have fun!

Madi's handstand - great form!

 Spectacular views all around this place - Wow this was a great shot!

The moms, drivers, photographers, cheerleaders...

Afterwards, we all headed over to Swig for a sugar cookie and a soda! It really doesn't get much better then this. These are some of the best moments with friends!

Gracie and Sara found these cute t-shirts at Old Navy for only $4 (bought with their own money). They love to wear twinner outfits together!

Saturday afternoon spent at Wasatch Wing & Clay

I think my Grandpa Warnick would be so proud that I am actually learning how to shoot one of his favorite shotguns.  Getting the stance down was the easy part.  However, I definitely need a lot more practice hitting the clay targets. Is 2 out of 5 okay for the first time?

It was a little windy and cold. Oh yea, I could blame the missed shots on the wind...hahah. Thanks Derek for being so patient with taking a girl shooting today. Where are the Butters Brothers when a guy needs them? I promise I will remember at least one thing you taught me! :)

A Good Reason for a 5K

 For the past few weeks we have known about this 5K for a friend that had been diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer about 6 months ago. Several neighborhoods have rallied around her to help with a fundraiser to ease their financial burdens. It was a cold windy morning, but we all felt warmth in our hearts.

Cosmo made a surprise appearance to honor her as she will be graduating from BYU next month.

A delightful atmosphere with people there to honor a lady we know and love.

This is sweet Bev. She always has a smile on her face and is more concerned about others than she is about herself. Definitely one of those people who brings happiness to this world. Her days are numbered, but she makes the most of them surrounded by her family and friends.

I Can't Believe My Youngest Girl is 12!!

Sara really got to celebrate her birthday over two days.  Lucky Girl! Since she had dance for most the day on Tuesday, we went out to dinner the night before.

 Kayli and Chris met us at Noodles and Company! 

She opened a few gifts...a new shirt from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Doug. 

 And she was thrilled to receive a favorite 'Red Envelope' from Grandma and Grandpa Butters.

 Good morning birthday girl! Birthdays are such an exciting time!

 A special breakfast to start off her real special day. Sara requested German Pancakes- YUM!

 We had to sneak her Cake in before she took off for ballet. She tried to blow out all her candles. It didn't quite happen...

 So her dad gave her two more chances and kept relighting all the candles.  Not really sure if this is legal by the birthday wishes rules...Oh well, she thought if was fun to keep trying.

 Success! - All 12 candles completely blown out.  

One of the BEST parts of her birthday was getting her very own handwritten letter from her brother Jake.  He wrote Happy Birthday in Russian and gave a lot of good advice for turning 12.  He even wrote the letter in purple (Sara's favorite color).

Pre-Birthday Surprise!

Even though there was no school today, Sara's day started very early (especially, with daylight savings time change just yesterday). Her cute friends were at my door at 6:30am to kidnap Sara and take her to breakfast.  Outside it was pitch black, but they seemed all awake and excited for the job.

Bri brought a pillow case to put over Sara's head as she announced in a loud voice "Happy Birthday, Sara!" Sara immediately woke up. Then there was much giggling, laughing and chatting. Jensen handed Sara her coat and shoes and they were off.

Her friends treated her to french toast at Kneaders and then they walked over to Smith's and had fun trying on clothes.

 The rest of the morning the girls enjoyed jump roping and doing stunts on the trampoline.

Such a cute group of girls! {Lili, Kate, Sara, Bri & Jensen}

What a great start for a successful B-day celebration!