Spring talent show (with guitar solo)

Last time the school had a talent show, Leo performed after only rehearsing with the band for one week.  They had a little hiccup in the beginning of the song but overall did an outstanding job.  

When the school announced a second talent show, he had a chance to perform again, with the addition of another guitarist, Isaac.  They had more time to practice and chose a song that Isaac knew very well.  They lost their singer (off to a solo career, perhaps?), but that's okay because the lyrics to this particular song are not middle school friendly.  Another big difference this time around was that Tom and I got to watch him perform in-person.  The last show was during the Omicron wave and we weren't allowed on campus.  It was amazing to see him perform, and I may have even gotten a little teary-eyed, though I did my best not to embarrass him. 

We joined all the kids in the "grand room" where they hold assemblies and such. 

Leo's friends Vivian and Hadley were leaders of the fan club. 

His classmate Drew also held up a sign. 

There were a couple of skillful piano players, and some nervous singers, but the band was the big act. 
 Here's my video of the performance.  My camera work is shaky and there are a few people wandering through my shot, but you get the audience-view of the band.  From left to right is Leo on guitar, Johnny on bass, Isaac on guitar, and Rob (music club director and dad to Johnny) on drums. 

This is Tom's video.  He had a side angle but he also captured the intro by Rob, and some crowd reaction shots. 

Both videos are quite long, so if you just want to get to the "meat" of it, here's Leo's solo and the hard rocking end to the song. 

Tom, Theo and Saturday sweets

Last week, Tom went to Colorado for work but he finished out his trip with a visit to Mike, Lynz and Theo.  I can't get over the cuteness of these pictures of Tom with Theo.  He loves being an uncle. 

Tom didn't come home until Saturday night, so during the day on Saturday we passed the time with a trip to Yogurtland.  

Sunny joined us because she is usually part of our Saturday crew. 

 

Snowy Spring Break and Happy Easter

Last week the kids had spring break.  Before everyone dispersed to different vacation destinations, Serafina and Mia celebrated Purple's birthday at his house.  

Here they are with Mia holding the puppy Purple's family was pet sitting. 

It was warm enough for the kids to go in their pool.  

They often act too cool so I was happy to see these pictures of them being silly and having fun. 

Wednesday night we headed up to the lake house.  During the drive up, a storm rolled in. Thursday morning we woke up to fresh snow.  It snowed all day.   

Mousse was happy with the snow but it was chilly.  Apparently the fresh snow made for a fun, but slightly challenging day of skiing.  Of course, no one took a single picture or video. 

Friday, the sun came out in our neighborhood, so Mousse and I made sure to get out and enjoy it.  

Snow zoomies are the best zoomies!  Mousse loves the snow. 

Tom and the kids headed to Palisades Tahoe (forming known as Squaw Valley) to ski with our old housemates.  I told them to take some pictures to document this fun day of skiing with friends.  I chatted with Tom at lunchtime and reminded him of my photo request.  And guess what?  They didn't take a single stinking picture.  Anyway, they had a fun time even thought the skiing conditions weren't great. 
Saturday, the weather wasn't great, and everyone was a bit sore and tired from skiing so we headed home in the afternoon.  

We were home for Easter on Sunday.  Nana came over to hang out with us during the day.  I didn't take any pictures, except of Mousse with his brand new duck toy that he got in his Easter basket. 

 

Early April Tahoe visit

We spent the weekend at the lake house.  It was beautiful weather, but that also means the snow is quickly disappearing.  It was nice to be back at the house, even though some of the kitchen stuff had been moved to new and interesting places by various renters or maybe the cleaning ladies. 

Apparently, no one takes pictures while they're skiing, but I do take pictures of the dog when we walk about the neighborhood.  How can I resist?  He's so handsome. 

 

 There is one video of Leo going off a jump.  He said it was "spooky" because there was only a small strip of snow on the rock. 

Back-to-back dance weekends

Typically we get a little breather between dance activities, but not this month.  Every weekend in March has had some type of dance commitment.  First was the Showcase, then auditions for next year's teams (they have to audition every year).  The past two weekends, Serafina has competed.  

First up was Encore.  It was at a hotel in Burlingame, which is where it was last year.  She had a very early call time on Sunday morning so we stayed the night on Saturday.  We drove up in time to watch the older girls on her team compete.  It was fun to cheer them on.  We also had to sit through other studios' routines.  Some are better than others, and some are completely unhinged.  There was a tap dance to a song from the musical Book of Mormon, complete with doors for the dancers to knock on and little books, just like the Mormons proselytizing in the neighborhood. 

Sunday she competed in three routines before lunch and her big hip hop routine after lunch.  She doesn't like me taking pictures very much so I took screenshots of her Snapchats with her friends. She was also willing to share some of her selfies. 

Here she is celebrating a win with Linda. 

Waiting to perform Jazz with Stella. 

Other moms and I teamed up to force the Lyrical team to stop and pose for a picture.  This was the first competition they were allowed to perform without masks if they wanted.  Serafina didn't wear a mask on stage and it was amazing to finally see her full face while she danced.  I got a little teary eyed, to be honest. 

We got home Sunday afternoon utterly exhausted.  Neither of us slept very well in the hotel room, but we survived.  The hard part?  We needed to do it all again the very next weekend!

Up next was Hollywood Vibe, which is competition with a full convention.  That means she spends her day in workshop classes learning routines and technique from the Hollywood Vibe instructors.  Her first class was at 8am on Saturday morning.  We hustled back up to Burlingame (but a different hotel), and she started off the long day.  I was very lucky to get early check in to our room, which had a lovely view of the freeway and a yipping dog next door.  
 

After a morning of classes, Serafina opted to skip the classes after lunch because there wasn't much time between the last class and her call time.  A dancer was hurt the prior weekend and two more were sick, so two of her four routines needed to be re-staged.  Her part was shifted around for both dances but she handled it like a pro.  

The other thing she handles like a pro?  Putting on her own make-up (and looking annoyed at me for taking a picture). 

I thank my lucky stars every day that she's able to put her own lashes on.  I don't think I could handle the pressure if it was up to me.  

After the workshop classes are done for the day, the ballrooms that had been used as classrooms are then used as dressing rooms.  The energy in that room is hard to describe.  The girls are all excited and there are shoes and dance bags and make-up everywhere.  Groups practice, and kids talk and laugh. 

Here's a crew of them waiting to perform.  Serafina's friend "stole" her phone and took a bunch of funny pictures. 

Stolen from Snapchat... Kahvni, Serafina and Megan in the back of the main ballroom watching their friends' routines. 

Stella and Serafina

Serafina and Megan

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! 

All of her routines earned Platinum scores and "The Big Noise", the extra large jazz team, won first. 

One of the other moms secretly recorded the lyrical routine. Here's the link to the YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/sEgTAly7BOY

Boys' Ski Weekend

Because Serafina's dance showcase got shifted to this past weekend, the boys had to go to Tahoe without us and adjust the days so that they could be home in time to attend the performance.  Tom had the smart idea to invite his friend Rich and his boys.  This is the same crew Tom and Leo backpacked with in September. 

Rich's boys are homeschooled so they had the flexiblity to ski on Friday and Saturday.  Apparently Friday wasn't the best weather but they all made the best of it.  The boys don't always use their birth names, but their chosen names start with the same letters so their parents often just call them by the first initial.  I'll do the same here.  

This is E and Leo on the lift. 

Tom getting in on the picture. 

The whole crew. 

Leo and E again.  E doesn't have a ton of snowboarding experience, but he's got a whole lot of guts, so he was willing to go on big runs with Tom and Leo and figure out how to get himself down the mountain despite lacking skills.  Both Tom and Leo were really impressed with his bravery and fortitude.  Rich and J skied together on some more mellow runs.  

The house accommodated them all really well and it sounds like they had a great trip.  It was so nice their friends were able to join them because it made Serafina and I feel less guilty for not going. 

 

Dance Showcase

Serafina's dance studio had planned a showcase in January for all the competitive teams to perform their routines for family and friends.  Then omicron made it unsafe for everyone to hang out in the theater for several hours so it got posted to this past Sunday.  We were originally supposed to all go to Tahoe this weekend, but we had to send the boys on their own.  

Serafina needed to be at the theater at 9am so she could warm up and they could have a full dress rehearsal.  

The show started at 1:30pm, and we brought Nana along to see her dance in-person.  This was the first time for her since the recital in June 2019. 

Here's a proud dad! 

The showcase was fabulous, and even though I've seen almost all the dances before (some more than once), it was great to see all the kids perform.  My kid was especially spectacular, of course!  She gives it her all every time she steps on stage and it's absolutely delightful to watch. 

Here are some backstage selfies she took.