Summer? Maybe....

Well, the kids only have 3 more days of school left until they are out for the summer. It always comes with mixed feelings because I do enjoy the little bit of quiet time I have while they are at school but I am also excited to do some fun things with them. We decided not to put Addison in her summer pre-school even though I do have a couple of classes.This past week we had some fun things going on. First, Evan had a solo part in a song presented to a retiring teacher at his school. The song was performed in sign language as the music was sung...Evan had a solosigning part. It was so touching to see him do this and to know how excited he was to be doing it. He came home and practiced all the time. The song is beautiful and written by Masa Fukuda the composer I have spoken about before. He has been a wonderful part of Evan's third grade experience. I posted a video of him at the end of the post...

Here is a picture of Miss Priss at the performance...

I took this picture of her and as I was putting the camera away, she huffed "Only one picture?!".... I figure it must be the sunglasses or her inner diva making an appearance. So, I took a second one to make her happy :)

I love watching my kids when they are concentrating on something that they find very important and engaging. Ian is a book worm, just like his mom...I can often find him this way with his nose in a book.

Addison is my artist (so is Evan actually) she is constantly creating her own masterpieces. I cannot tell you how much paper we go through in this house because of her and her pictures...here she is drawing something in the car while we wait for Evan to finish scouts.

She is also starting to show an interest in cheerleading, or gymnastics...I think it must come from some of the girls in her pre-school class. They have competitions to see who can kick the highest.

Here are a few more instagram shots. This will be a regular appearance on the blog until I get sick of it...if I ever do. I love the way it makes my pictures look.

This morning was Addison's spring dance recital. This year it was done to all the music from the movie "Tangled"... they were little Rapunzel's. We have finally overcome the stage fright phase and Addie was excited to dance up there with her friend Abbie (brown haired girl that Addie partners with in video) She was quite proud of herself when she finished the first number, clapping vigorously on stage....I just love watching her twirl. I hope she stays in dance forever. Here are a few pictures of the morning and a video at the end of her ballet number.

Today was Evan's last soccer game of the season. They really did a number on the other team winning 15-1. Addie and I enjoyed sitting in the shade.

She was a bit tired from her big morning. Evan had previously decided that after 3 seasons of soccer he was ready to do something different and planned on signing up for basketball instead this fall. After the game was over today he ran up to me and said he changed his mind...he still wants to play soccer. He has such a great team...they are all friends and his coach is wonderful. I guess we will just have to stay tuned as to what Evan will be playing this fall.

The weather is gorgeous today! 83 degrees finally! I am getting ready to go on my girls trip next week to Colorado so the next post will probably be an update from my trip. Happy Summer!!

Dancing Queen....

Ok, so the last 2 attempts at a dance recital that we have made with Addison have resulted in major meltdowns, screaming, crying.....and yes, disappointment. So, this year when Addison said she wanted to dance again with Miss Julie (we just love Miss Julie, pictured with Addie below)
I decided ahead of time that she would go to classes but not participate in the recitals. It was just too traumatic for her and for me! Fast forward to this month and it's all Addison has talked about: my dance recital, my dance recital! I asked her if she was going to be able to do it and she announced that she would be going up on stage with her friend Abby....pictured with her below

Ok...well, I guess we will try it again I said. I am happy to report that this time, Addie did it!!! I am so proud of her for overcoming her fear of being on stage. The first number was the tap dance and she started to get watery eyed and was just staring at me the whole time. She really didnt dance a step of the whole dance but she managed to stay on stage and not have a meltdown. I was ecstatic for that. Toward the end we even managed to get some smiles out of her and a little toe tapping. Next was the ballet number and by this time she was ready to go. She danced the entire number from start to finish!!! Yay!!! It was a big day in the Shannon house today. Her brothers were some of her biggest supporters and could be heard yelling for her when she finished....she was so excited to hug them when she got off stage.

It was a great morning. Ballet West here she comes! Here is the video of her ballet number..be sure to turn off music player at bottom of blog so you can hear the video:

My Little Dancer....Sometimes....

I think we are finally coming to accept that Addison has a deep fear of being in front of crowds. It is hard to understand because most of the time she is a little performer and cant get enough singing and dancing. Put her in front of people though, and she falls apart. I'm not talking just acting shy or freezing up....I'm talking meltdown city! We were so excited for her Spring Recital....even she was. The morning of, she jumped out of bed and said "is it time for my recital mom"? All was well until we actually put on her costume. Meltdown #1. Once we finally got it on and bribed her with Laffy Taffy, we were on our way to the school. Once we got there and she remembered what is was she was going to do, Meltdown #2. Once we found our seats and sat down and other dancers began their performance...she calmed down and let me take a picture...sort-of. Still not thrilled as you can see.

Then it was her turn....we made to the stage, and Meltdown #3 took place. I hadn't planned on being part of the performance but as you can see in the video, there I was!! We were right in the middle of the group so I did my best to hide so as not to appear on everyone's home videos. Oh well....perhaps she will grow out of it? I hope so because when no one is looking, she is so very talented :)

Our Little Performers.....

First we went to Ian's school for his piano recital. His school is fortunate enough to have a piano lesson program starting with second grade. It was fun to watch although Ian could have played a more difficult piece.....he picked it out himself and said it was "fun to play" (see video below)

Next was miss Addison's very first dance recital. I was a little nervous with how it would go since she doesnt really like to perform on demand. I let her play up on the stage before the recital started hoping that it would help her feel more comfortable. She seemed to be OK after a few minutes and even stood up there by herself waving to us. Then when it was her groups turn to do their little dance....she started out fine but suddenly panicked. Then the screaming ensued and I had to go and remove her from the stage. It was cute, funny, and sad all at the same time. They had a second song to perform as well but no amount of bribing could get her back up on that stage. Oh well....she was still the prettiest girl up there and hopefully when the spring recital comes around she will be more comfortable on the stage . Here are a few pics of her before the recital and of course the video!