Perfect Beach Day!

Cooper had spent the last few days at Mimi's house again, so we headed to Newport this morning to pick him up and spend the day at the beach. The kids kept bickering about whether they wanted to go to the regular beach, or the bay at Uncle Jeff's house, so after much debate, we decided on both!
We started out at the beach, and it turned out to be absolutely beautiful!

We took the kids' annual photo on the rocks, which we've been doing since they were little ones!

 They started off on their boogie boards and caught some great rides.

Then they ditched the boards and just played in the water. The water was pretty cold, but still fun, I even joined them for a while.

 Time for some Smashball! These boys have gotten really good this summer...

 Later, we decided to head over to the bay at Uncle Jeff's place.

 They played in the sand, swam around the boats, and jumped off the docks. Then it was time to give the kayaks a try!

We started out with Gramps and Jax riding tandem, Coop and I going tandem, and Zoe going single. Off we went! I was impressed with how quickly they took to paddling.

 After a while, we switched up the kayaks. The boys went tandem for a while...

and by the end of the day, the 3 kids were out riding by themselves.

 We had such a great day, and enjoyed the perfect weather and beach fun! I was able to go visit Poppe for a while, and we all had some pizza before heading home. We are trying to enjoy every minute as our summer is quickly winding down!

Summer Dance Intensive

Although Zoe was hoping to be dancing in New York this summer, she was so excited and thankful to be a part of the summer dance intensive at Dunamix. For two weeks, she has been at the studio for 6-9 hours a day. It has been an awesome time of physical and spiritual growth and she is sad that it has come to an end!
They began each day with a 1/2 hour of devotions and prayer. This is a pretty spiritually strong group and they give so much support to each other as they continue to grow in their faith.

Each day consisted of a variety of classes, including lots of ballet and pointe, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, choreography, acting, improv, conditioning, pilates, health, massage technique and injury prevention.  Nicole brought in a couple of fantastic master class teachers also.
The first was Nikki White, who has performed all over the world and is an incredible dancer. The girls loved her and she spent some time autographing pictures and pointe shoes after class.

 The next week they took several classes with Melissa Sandvig, from So You Think You Can Dance (Season 5). The girls (and I!) were beyond thrilled to not only meet her, but get taught by her. She is beautiful, inside and out, and was a joy to watch and learn from. She taught them technique, choreography, and helped them learn about the process of auditions.

Today marked the official end of their intensive. Nicole likes to put on a casual performance for them to showcase a little of what they learned and have some fun!
They started off sharing a bible verse that touched them this week. Zoe chose Matthew 4:4 - But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Then they went on to show off some conditioning...

 barre work...

 floor work...

 a few choreography pieces...

 acting and improv...

 hip hop...

 contemporary...

 and finally ended the show!

It was such a fantastic 2 weeks for Zoe. I'm so proud of how hard she worked these two weeks, and incredibly grateful for the opportunity for her to grow in her dance, her faith, and her friendships!

American Idol Concert

Feliza and Lauryn invited us to go to the American Idol Concert in San Diego, with some meet-n-greet passes included! Although Zoe was still finishing up her dance intensive and it would lead to a very tired girl, who could turn it down?!
So, straight from dance, we headed to San Diego for a delicious Mexican dinner before the show with some of Jessica Sanchez's family (runner up on Idol!).

We got to the arena, picked up a program and took our seats. We had a great view... 5th row up on the side of the stage!

The 10 performers put on a great show. There were solos, duets, and group performances. I think they have all really improved since leaving Idol and some of them are extremely talented!

After the show we were able to meet up with a couple of them. The girls got photos and autographs with Jessica and Diandre, and spent a few minutes chatting.

 We heard that some of the other performers were outside by their tour buses, so we walked around the arena to check it out. What we found was a small mob scene surrounding several more performers!

 Zoe was quick to weave her way in. She was determined to meet Colton Dixon and get a picture!

 They also got autographs from Philip Philips, the winner of American Idol, and Elise. The girls had such a fun night and I'm so thankful we were able to go. Thanks Feliza!!