Ode to a Dancer

To dance is to be out of yourself.  Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.  ~Agnes De Mille
The dance season is in full swing. Mckenna’s joy of dancing shows when she is dancing with her PAC family. She brings smiles  to my heart, she makes me wish  I knew how to dance, but then again she doesn’t like to read and I can’t dance like she does so… I watch and smile wide!
This quote is apropos for how I view life and how Mckenna views life; Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.  ~John Wain
Mckenna has competed in 4 competitions so far this year, but has only done her contemporary solo 3 times and her jazz solo 2 times. I think that her contemporary gets better and better each time she performs it. Too bad she only competes one more time!
But here through pictures you can see her beautiful dancing and  a video that was posted on Youtube from The VIP dance website from one of Mckenna’s competitions. just a hint: Kenna is in the amazing turn sequence of 4 girls where she is on the far right side and the rest of the time is in the back left. This is their most awesome routine!

Performing Arts Conservatory of Ocala

 
It takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer.  ~Shanna LaFleur

    
In the dance sequence above Kenna is sitting in one of the hair chairs on the far right side. It was a really cute dance!
 
She sure is a beauty isn’t she?
  

The amazing Mckenna in her various costumes and her many faces.  I love her Jazz costume! She should have a mini top hat, but it was all floopy so she went with the messy buns instead. Reminds me of her 5 year old self.
 
This last few pictures is Mckenna and Devon Rose watching and copying the DJ across the street at the local Taco place in Lakeland. Funny, he kept telling them to come and get a Taco- I don’t think that he realized from a far that they were YOUNG teenagers!

This is a catalogue picture of Kenna’s contemporary costume but her costume has been shortened and varied in the skirt strips. I looks great on her. She doesn’t like the ropes so she doesn’t wear them.

Light Up Ocala 2010

Today was Pac’s performance at Light Up Ocala. There were adorable singers, little tap dancers, Makayla singing the First Noel and Jr.& Sr. Sudden Impact team members dancing to Christmas music. The girls did a really great job!
I will try and add video so that you can see Mckenna dancing. I just can’t do that on my laptop (no designated camcorder connector!)
It was absolutely gorgeous out, the down town area wasn’t badly crowded and after Eating with the Stentiford’s and the Griffis’s at Harry’s, we went to see the Crampton’s  Kettle and Kernal stand. Yummy Kettle corn… The caramel was the best! We sat there pulling gag advertising, yelling out that the Kettle Corn was hot and delicious! It was fun!
 
Around 6:30 Downtown was extremely crowded. I don’t mean crowded like an elevator gets but Crowded like we are jammed into a phone booth trying to get into the Ministry of Magic but the operator isn’t putting us through. It was oppressive seriously; It wasn’t even a great- Hey' let’s people watch here… It was just too CROWDED! Just a taste of the crowd:

The tree was beautiful, it was hard to see it while it was being lit up. And the sad thing was they didn’t play any Christmas music while it was happening! I wanted  music,” Oh, Christmas Tree.” any thing Kwanzaa, Hanukah etc… I am not picky about the theme for the holiday just wanted something!!!

 

                       The tree in the Day and the Tree in the green and Red stripe in the far away dark! 

Sorry, this is an old post, but wanted to put it up since it is a fun tradition in our family now that we live in Ocala!

Mckenna and her afternoon of Boredom…

So, Kenna decided that she was BORED and instead of whining about it she just went and started gathering supplies.  She gathered some Styrofoam, purple, black and white paint and a sheet of Roofing paper and headed outside. All of a sudden she runs in the house, yells for me to grab the camera and I hesitated for a second. By the time I got out there, I guess the splattering was done, but here is what I found…

Kenna decided to make her own bulletin board and she was a fun mess.  I really loved that she used Dance Track colors. She loves these colors and she is re-doing her room in Black and Lavender with a shot of Fuchsia when we moved into the new house.

If you look closely at the bulletin board you will see that the top layer of her bulletin board is decorated with her handprints. Which means that not only is this a great piece of splatter work but also a work memorabilia, she has created something that  I will cherish for along time because she has frozen her 14 year old self into her décor. I think she did an awesome job! Don’t you?




This is Mckenna’s squishy feeling face with the paint on her hands. She is a funny girl even though she loves doing projects she hates the clean up. Well really , who does?!  But I had to snap this pic because it is so much a characteristic of her cleanup response!


“mom, you better watch it I’m going to get you!”

Clean up, clean up everybody every where… Yeah, the kids loved that song when they were little, now… NOT happening!  I am lame, I KNOW.

Our New House- March 1st

Since Matt has become the City Manager of Ocala we need to move. We live in Ocala but not in the City proper, which to be honest is fine by me because then we are closer to the College, Mckenna;s dance studio and all our Dr.’s etc…
Our new Rental is 5 min from the dance studio, Mckenna’s school (until she goes next year to the HS,) and Matt will be able to come home for lunch because it will be a 5 minute drive… But the best thing to me is that It is bright and happy!  It is in our favorite Subdivision: Rosewood and there are 2 ward members in the neighborhood plus it within walking distance to the Church, Ashley’s house (for Kenna,) and a few other ward members live close by.  Kenna will not have far to go for Seminary next year and did I say it was SUNNY AND HAPPY?!!!
Well, today, I went in and took pictures- Now, a little unknown information- it was Foggy today and so when you see the pictures remember it is still--- HAPPY AND SUNNY looking!  We will be painting the kids rooms and the bathroom Kenna will have that connects to the pool area.
If you notice it has plenty of space for visitor’s so come one down and hang out but plan to have a lot of fun- because if I haven’t already told you it is a very HAPPY & SUNNY house (I mean I have proof- it has an orange tree, can’t get any sunnier than that!)


This is what you see when you walk into the house through these doors…

To the right of these doors is this…

and this is in the entrance of the master bedroom

Which is what this looks like…

Then you turn to the right and you see this…
a little grand don’t you think?



When you walk out of the master bedroom you see this mirrored wall (which is also to the left of the door.) which is the Formal Dining room (but will for awhile be Mckenna’s dance studio.

And look at that gorgeous lighting

after you walk past the dining room you see this…

which at a different angle looks like this…

And to the left of the stove is this Laundry room

another view of the kitchen

Which has this nice beautiful desk/china hutch and wine rack

go past the sink and turn right and you see this… the entrance to the Other bedrooms.

This one is the door on the above pics left- it will be Kyler’s bedroom

And his bathroom

The office is the 2nd bedroom- it will also have another desk in it for the kids computer (and a mini walkin closet. yeah for scrapbook storage!)

and when you walk out of the hallway to those 2 bedrooms you see this… the family room

and the breakfast nook…

which leads to Kenna’s bedroom (which picture didn't turn out but has a mini walk in closet) and her separate bathroom off the pool area (it has a walkout to the lanai)

which looks like this…

and this- hot tub is in that top corner

and then this (outside the bathroom door) yes, the table and bbq stay!

then the beautiful backyard view

another view

Then past the hot tub is THIS…. A 2 story POOL HOUSE!



Check out this toilet lid…

Full Bath (and a view of me)

wet bar

see the sink (no fridge – kyler wants to get a mini fridge. I want a full size one with a freezer for extra storage.)

extra space (crawl space- under the stairs besides that hot water heater. {Harry Potter would love it!})

Stair Case

Bonus room

Another view of Bonus room with built in bookcases

and closet (kyler and kenna argued about each other having this as their bedroom--- nope not happening.)

beautiful window (the only bad thing is a busy road is behind the backyard.)

The light breezy window in the bonus room with built in window seat that holds a blanket chest!)

Another view of the backyard

and as promised that beautiful proof that it is sunny- an orange tree!

the great bbqer

Sunny, NO?