Merry Christmas!

 

halftime!

On Saturday, Clara and her friend performed during halftime of a DePaul Women's basketball game.  They danced to You're My Only Shorty.  Clara was SUPER nervous since she had never done anything like this before!  They both did really well (they had a bit of a glitch mid-song when you see the video once I get it edited... there are usually three of them with some staggered choreography in this song, but the other girl had a conflict and didn't come that night and I think it threw them off a little).

But here are the still shots for now...

After this, they performed Frosty the Snowman with the little girls.  Those photos to come later along with the videos.  They had a great time!  They both managed to catch t-shirts that they were throwing up into the stands which just added to their excitement (Alex even ended up with one too!).  They ended the evening with dinner out and a sleepover at our house!  Very different from our serious ballet Nutcracker Decembers in the past.  Clara is having so much fun with her switched up schedule.  I think her favorite thing is having the time to do more fun things with friends!

More to come!

The Turkey Vulture Trot

On Thanksgiving morning we all got up fairly early so Jeff and the kids could do the Turkey Vulture Trot.  Our original plan was for Jeff and Alex to run the 5k and Clara and I walk it.  However, when it came time to register, Clara wanted to run and opted for the 1 mile fun run instead.  So, with that, I ended up as family photographer :-)

 First up was the 5k for the boys.

Alex sitting on our new bench on our new deck to tie his shoes...

The boys, ready to run!

Clara's race didn't start until about an hour after the 5k, so we hung around the house for a bit longer before walking over.

The girl ready for her run...

We got there in plenty of time to see the boys finish.

First was Jeff....

He ran with Alex most of the time, but then took off by himself near the end.

Then here came Alex...

It was a tough run for the boy!  Every 5k he's ever done before has been on flat ground, this one had lots of ups and downs!  But... he finished at his normal time!!  Great job by Alex!

Then, it was time for the 1 mile fun run.  I didn't get any photos of the start because Clara was in a clump of boys and she was determined to stick with them.  She can be just slightly competitive at times :-)

Here she is at the finish...

(Alex joined her near the end to cheer her on).

It was a tough run for Clara too...

The fun run started out going up a pretty steep incline and she was running a bit harder than she probably should have (trying to keep pace with the boys)... but she did great!

My family of Turkey Vulture Trot finishers!