Let the Little Ones Come

Fun in Fort Smith

 

The girls and I (Grace, Rose and Marie) went up to Fort Smith, AR, this week-end for an Irish dance competition (feis).  

We had a lovely time.  I did forget my camera but a friend managed to capture a few photos of the girls for me.  Rose did very well placing in all her dances with three 1sts and two 3rds....Grace did well, too.  She got a first in her treble reel (and received a beautiful crystal plate from Ireland as her trophy), two 2nds and two fourths.  Here is Grace with one of her dearest friends, Niamh.  They are both lovely girls.

Rose before the dancing started; she had the best time dancing--she said it was so much fun!  We are now less than three weeks away from their biggest competition of the year--the Southern Region Oireachtas.  

Marie did not dance as she has just learned the three different dance stamps necessary for her easy reel, but she sure did have fun watching and playing with the other kids.  It was a wonderful mother/daughter week-end.  :)

Irish Dancing at the State Fair 2009

 

Grandmothers are the best...

at remembering to video their grandchildren!  Grace was disappointed that we didn't have any videos of her performances this past week-end at the Irish Festival.  Well, Mimi to the rescue.  Check out a little video of Grace dancing...she is wearing the salmon-colored dress.  Thank you Mimi!!  :)

Irish Dancing Fun at the Irish Festival!

Wordless Wednesday: Back from Florida

Oireachtas Dress Rehearsal Pictures

Grace is preparing to head to Orlando, Florida for the Irish Dancing Southern Regional Championships.  She is mostly going for the experience.  Her teacher does not expect her to place high enough to recall but she said she was close!  Either way, we will have a fun time next week-end....my mother, Joseph, Grace and I will be flying out early Friday morning and returning Monday afternoon...

Here are some pictures that I just had to share.  I am very proud of my Grace and all the students who have worked so very hard to prepare for this prestigious event.  The kids at our school are just fabulous...and three families that are going belong to my parish!  Gotta love the Irish Catholic connection!  :)

Grace is second from left.  This is their four-hand group.  They are all wearing their class costumes.

Grace in her solo dress.  Her dress has the claddagh on each petal of her skirt and in the center of her bodice.  Isn't it lovely?  It belonged to her teacher's daughter and she kindly passed it on to Grace when they found another dress.  It is brand new--only worn twice and she gave it to us for our budget which was way below the value of the dress...her teacher is a gem...

Gotta love those Shirley Temple curls!!

Well, off to the races for me...I have a major to do list to start writing first thing--packing lists, meals to plan for the family while I'm away, last-minute purchases to keep the baby occupied on the plane....  I haven't flown since September of 2001 when we happened to be visiting family in the DC area....and we were the first flight heading back to Dallas out of Dulles airport after 9/11....I hope the flight this Friday isn't as stressful, but with a 22 month old lap child, who knows?  ;)

Feis Fun

Irish Dancing has been a blessing to our family.  Our teacher is a great gal who attends our church and just had her fourth baby!  Many of the dancers are homeschoolers and a there are a great many Catholics who belong to our school--it IS Irish dancing after all!  ;)  The families that belong to this school are friendly, down-to-earth and loving-we are blessed to be a part of it all.

This past week-end our family headed up to Fort Smith, Arkansas for a competition (Feis) for Grace and Rose.  It was a good trip, though traveling with a 21 month old toddler is a challenge in many different ways!  Grace and Rose both placed well in their dances.  Grace, especially, is happy to have moved up a level in four of her dances.  She has been dancing for almost two years and is ready for the challenge.  :)  Rose got a first place at her first feis.  Yeah Rose!

A Big Day for my Big Girls

Tomorrow is a big day for Meg (12) and Grace (10). Meg (below at her Christmas recital) will be attending her first Solo and Ensemble Band Contest!

Grace (below at her dress rehearsal for Irish Fest) will be attending her first Feis.

Please pray that the girls have fun and do their best! Bill and I will be splitting up to get them to their destinations and I will have baby Joseph with me as I navigate Grace through her first Irish dance competition. Here's hoping her wig stays put! ;)

ETA: The girls did their best! Meg bravely played her solo and managed to make it through in one piece; the judge was very kind with her praise and criticism and offered to call her when she is in town for some lessons! A good day for my Meg! :) Grace received a first place in her 4-Hand Reel and placed 5th in her reel (solo). This is pretty awesome considering it was her first feis and she was competing against 20+ in each dance! Baby Joseph was pretty popular with the crowds, too! :)

Irish Dance Week-end Pictures

Our family had a very nice but busy week-end at our local Irish Festival. Grace and Rose both danced and had a really fun time sharing their love of Irish dance with everyone (including one of Grace's friends and both grandmothers!).

Here is a picture of Rose (short blonde hair and in focus and to the right of the red jumper and next to the adult) doing her Beginner Reel. Our dear friend, Doug, took most of the pictures this week-end. It IS handy to have one of your kid's godfather enjoy photography as a hobby!

Rose dancing again:

Grace (center):

Grace (center):

Grace with her partner doing her Reel Choreography:

Dancing in her hardshoes:

With one of her best friends and my god-daughter (next to one another):

Having fun on one of the rides on Saturday:

The happy crew (minus Marie who was NOT in a photographic mood and me, the photographer!):

Baby Joseph had fun just ambling around and tasting acorns (UGH!):