Just Dance!

I have been feeling a little lost for a couple months; other than a mother, who am I?  Other than watching my kids and doing laundry, what are my hobbies? (I don't know if laundry even counts as a hobby.) And I have been doing a lot of soul searching, remembering how I used to be identified and thinking about who I want to be.  Then I had a series of events that threw me back into an old hobby and identity and I am excited to see where it takes me. And that hobby is- DANCE!

I love to dance but I haven't done it in over 5 years, which is sad.  I not only love to dance but, even more, I love to teach dance. I was approached by a woman in my ward who home schools her children and is part of a Commonwealth School (independent parent run school- home school but not at home... and with other people) and wanted me to teach a class as part of their curriculum. So on January 13, I started teaching a Dance and Etiquette class at the Liberty Commonwealth School.  I teach a class of 17 kids (ages 12-16) every Wednesday for two hours.  The Mom's who are there
watch Elizabeth and James for me; Elizabeth has been invited to join their explorers class (ages 2-8) where they do new experiences and fun projects together (last week they made a string maze for the kids to crawl through).

I have loved it so far.  It is a lot of work because I am writing my own curriculum and having to re-learn my etiquette.  The dancing is fun and,with only 4 boys, the girls are getting to learn both parts, so it is going slow but giving me a chance to re-learn and perfect my knowledge of the guys steps.  I am so excited for the rest of the class (16 weeks) and for the Cotillion at the end.

Another teaching opportunity I had was to teach Latin dancing at Mom's Relief Society Activity in January. They wanted to learn some moves that they could do, without partners, that could be good exercise.  We did some fun line dances, the salsa, bachata, merenguie, and chacha. It was fun to teach (I was nervous to teach an older group) and I think they all had fun.

The last dance opportunity we has this month was a performance at a woman in our ward's birthday party; She was turning 50 and threw herself a big party with dancing and a 'dancing showcase.'  After finding out what the other couples were doing (salsa, swing, line dances, ect) we decided to do a formal waltz and then, to add some excitement, Ben was going to step on my gown half way through and tear it off, revealing a latin dress at which time we finish with the chacha.  Mom did an amazing job at, quickly and with no time, making me a formal dress that transformed into a shorter latin dress.  It was fun busting out my dance shoes (wow the sore feet and blisters) and doing my hair and make up for a performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the performance my dress didn't actually rip off and, with a mess up from the DJ, made people think that we just stopped and some uncomfortable applause started but when we finally got the dress off (and the new music started) we were able to finish the dance!

After our performance, at the party!

 

It was really fun to perform again but it definitely has encouraged me to get back into shape so I can be more confident, in the future, when dancing.  I hope to continue to get both teaching and performance opportunities and to get to rekindle this wonderful love and hobby of mine!

Florida Girl in Winter Wonderland

Merideth came to visit Rachel (and in turn us- yay) and to enjoy the wonders of a white winter (she lives in Florida).  She came at a perfect time because she was here for a great snow.  She got to shovel, drive the tractor plow, go ice skating, build a snowman, make snow angels, have a snowball fight and go sledding.  We joined her for some of those snow-filled adventures and we had so much fun.  It is cool to see the snow through her eyes because she was so excited.  It made something that we take for granted (and sometimes dread) feel fresh and new. We loved having her here and loved playing with her!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Temple Trip!

To start 2016 off right we decided to go to the temple (Jan 2).  I went in and did inititories while Ben watched the kids and then he did an endownment session while I had them. It was beautiful (and cold) walk around the grounds and they still had the nativity up from Christmas, which was fun for Elizabeth to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Ben was in the temple we drove down to Krispy Kreme and Elizabeth got to see them make the donuts, she thought that was pretty cool.  It was fun to spend time together and get to share with Elizabeth the blessings and importance of attending the temple.

New Years and Ben's Birthday!

On New Years Eve we got together with friends for a fun party and white elephant gift exchange.  During the gift exchange we got the Nun Pot.  This is literally a Nun standing on a Pot and was a white elephant gift brought by the Woods years ago.  Since then it has circulated among friends from being hidden in people's houses, to being a house warming gift, ect.  We had never had and it and now, we have! We have fun friends.

 

We are excited for the New Year and the new goals and resolutions we get to make.  I am going to have fruit and/or veggies available and eaten at every meal and try harder to cook more.  I also want to participate in some type of race or obstacle course, maybe a mud run. We are going to go on at least 3 family trips (not to visit family) this year, which can include camping up in the mountains. We are hoping that by the end of this year Ben is in grad school. We are looking forward to 2016 and the experiences it will bring to our family!

New Years morning we went to Longmont to my parents house and had breakfast with the Gibson's.  They were visiting Amy's family in Loveland and got to come down and see us.  The kids played and we got to talk.  It was fun to see them and catch up.

My parents came over in the afternoon for Ben's dinner and presents and dessert.  For dinner we made Brazillian Beans with cheese rolls and shrimp on the side.  It was delicious.  Every birthday is like Elizabeth's birthday; she gets to help open presents, blow out candles and eat cake (or cheesecake). 

 

 

 

 

 Ben is 33 and an amazing husband and father.  He supports us financially, spiritually and emotionally.  He is loving, kind and Elizabeth's best friend. We are so grateful to have such a wonderful man in our lives!