Cadence's Bridal Shower

Early August, I threw Cadence a bridal shower.  She wanted me to do something along the lines of "Happily Ever After" with Cinderella colors.

We had fun planning & found lots of ways to incorporate that theme & the blue & white colors.

I found a set of bridal shower games on Amazon in blue & white that were really fun for the guests to play.

And there was a box for "advice & wishes" for the bride as well.

Cadence wanted Hawaiian Haystacks & cookies which made for an easy brunch on a Saturday afternoon.

One of my dearest friends from my time in Mountain View, CA came to say hello & it made my heart swell with joy.  I love how I haven't seen Kara in nearly 8 years, but we picked up as if we saw each other yesterday.  It was SO nice talking to her & catching up.

Lorien MC'ed the event & interviewed Cadence about the answers to the games.  She had Cadence tell stories of how Amkaa & she met, about their first date, & more.

Cadence had so much fun opening gifts.

And yes, I did buy a white something for her wedding night.  Every new bride needs one.

Lorien & Taya also got her one, but in "blue" which is Cadence's favorite color.

The only family members who came were my Aunt Sharon & 2 of her girls.  It was Sharon's birthday & she wanted a "chauffeur" for her birthday, so my Uncle Dale dressed up & was their chauffeur for the day.  It was so cute.

Nancy sent Cadence a beautiful 24k gold necklace that said "Love" for the bridal shower.  It was beautiful.

Cadence got some amazing gifts, cards, & money.  We love & appreciate all those who have supported her as she prepares for married life.  It's an exciting time.

After the bridal shower, we loaded up the van & drove all the gifts to the apartment they will be living in when they get married.  Amkaa is already living there & Cadence will move in on September 6th when they are officially husband & wife.  They got a lot of really awesome things to start their lives together with.

 

Ballroom - Craiger

Much to our surprise, Craiger tried out for & made it on the Varsity Ballroom team for the 25-26 school year.  He is the only freshman boy on the team & he looks SO little next to these boys that look like men.

The first two weeks of August they had a ballroom boot camp where they learned several dances as well as got to know each other.  It was hard.  9 hours a day for 10 days (before school even started so 2 weeks of summer spent at the school all day long).  But he's learning, getting stronger (the lifts are HARD), & having a blast along the way.  He's made some awesome friends & it's fun to see his improvement in technique, strength, & just in confidence.  He's adorable.

There are 12 couples on the varsity team (12 girls & 12 boys total).

And as a member of the Varsity team, he gets a "ballroom locker" right next to the dance room which is super cool too.

I got to go & feed the whole team lunch twice during those 2 weeks.  I loved going & getting to know the kids better.  They're an amazing group of teens.

Their first performance (the Tango) was at the welcome ceremony on the 3rd day of school.  Craiger wasn't in that particular dance, but he will be in the Homecoming Spectacular Disco Cha Cha.

For Ballroom you compete with 8 couples (not 12) so throughout the year there will be some dances he gets to be in & some that he doesn't dance in.  It gives all the dancers breaks from so many routines, but also gives everyone the chance to shine.  I'm looking forward to Homecoming.

You're awesome Craiger.  I can't wait to see all you're going to do this year.

 

Broadway Kidz - The Care & Keeping of Magical Creatures - Taya & Canyon

Canyon had so much fun doing the Broadway Kidz play last year, that he decided to do it again this year, but this year Taya joined in on the fun.  They rehearsed 3 hours a day almost everyday from mid-may to the end of July when they performed 4 times at East High School.  They both had several parts in the play & they both had an absolute blast.

They were excited to perform at East High School because that is the school that High School Musical was performed in.  The director of Broadway Kidz is the drama teacher there.  It was a great theater with a HUGE stage.  They were loving rehearsing there.

Opa & Oma even came out to watch them perform.  We took the other kiddos to the Saturday night show, but Bladen joined Opa & Oma for the Monday night show.

The first scene Taya was in was the cheerleader scene.  She was a cheerleader & sang the song ROAR.

After that, Canyon entered the stage as a really awesome chess player.  He sang "Pure Energy" for this one.  This song was the majority of the audiences favorite song just because of the little chess pieces (who were ages 3-5).  They were so cute & you never knew what they were going to do up there.  It made the song extra funny to watch.

Taya got to hold the water for the song "Geronimo."

Then she did an amazing job as an ocean dancer.  I love seeing how she's growing as a dancer.

After the closing of Act 1, we moved into Act 2 where Taya was in several scenes.  Her first  was as a book monster in ABC123.  It was one of her favorite characters to play because she got to puppeteer a giant book monster puppet.

After that scene she swapped over into her crossing guard costume for "Get Back Up Again" where her job was to lead the tiny "butterflies & flowers) around the stage.

Then they concluded Act 2 with the song Miracle where she was a book monster one more time.

Act 3 was Canyon's big act.  He was in almost every song.  First he was Bertrand the slacker in "Always a Good Time" & even had a line.

Then he changed into all black to be "Rocky" (the pet rock).  This was a puppet so he had to hide behind the girl who owned the pet rock.  But he got to sing the song "Cool Kids" as a solo song so he was really excited & nervous about that.  He did amazing as always.

After that scene he had to run behind the stage to change back into his slacker costume so he could transform into a werewolf for Born to be Wild.

Then he went back to his Rocky costume for "Fight Song."  It was a marathon for him doing this over & over & over again.  Changing clothes, running behind the stage to get to the other side, & then back again.  But he loved every minute of it.

The final song in Act 3 was "You Can Go Your Own Way" which was a choir piece & Taya was part of that choir.

After Act 3 was Intermission so the kids got to go talk to Bladen, Trek, & Opa/Oma.

But the show much go on.  In Act 4 Taya got to be an old grandma pushing a shopping cart for "Working For the Weekend."

Then got blown away by the dragon before the disco dragons arrived.

And sweet little Canyon was the cutest disco dragon I've ever scene singing "Disco Inferno."

Then Taya came out again as a beautiful Fairy for "Fooling Yourself."

After the conclusion of act 4, we moved on to the final act of the play with Canyon as a gnome singing "Gone Daddy Gone."

And the final song "Light."

The bows concluded with "Best Day of My Life," & the play officially ended.

It was hours & hours of work for the kiddos, but they did amazing.  I'm so proud of their hard work & dedication to practices, singing, dancing, & all that was required for this play.

We look forward to doing it all again next year.