Floor Barre, Straddles and Fairy-Tales; A Typical Dance Class

Hello everyone! It's Melodie, finally able to blog. I have been so busy with school and other activities that I have left the blogging responsibilities to Morgan. Now, I have some time to post, so I decided I would do one. As you can tell by the title, I chose to blog about dance class. I have shown one of our performances here on the blog, and I have mentioned taking class, but I have never actually shown it. So, here is a look into our dance class.

It was a usual Friday at our house, which meant that Ella had gymnastics, and Morgan and I had ballet class. Ariana usually goes with Mom to Ella's practice, and Lexi usually is at track with a friend. Today Mom came to take pictures for the blog, while Ariana had a playdate at a frends' house. Ella had ridden with her friends, so it was just us and Mom. Morgan and I went into the studio and started to stretch. We were the only ones in the room, and it was pretty quiet.

Then Briana got there. She put on her ballet shoes while we kept stretching. After she was done, Briana joined us in stretching, Sam soon came in to join us. She had borrowed a pair of my ballet shoes on Wednesday, so she brought them for me to use. As Sam began stretching, Charlotte and Hazel arrived. We all stretched until it was time to start class. Here are the photos. Sorry for the odd arrangement.

This week, our teacher said we would be doing floor barre. In a regular ballet class, we have barre at the barre, a long metal/wood pole that can either be free-standing or attached to the wall. Floor barre is different. It is regularly called "barre" at gyms, and it is just executing the steps/stretches that we usually do at barre while lying on the floor.

We did floor barre. Mom took some good photos from some different angles. My teacher directed us, and barre passed quickly.

After barre, we paired off and stretched. We did our straddle splits against the wall. One partner would lie down with their bottom against the wall, and the other partner would press their legs down to stretch them farther. It hurts, but it's good for us. We get into the best straddle possible. I was partners with Briana, Morgan and Hazel were together, and Sam and Charlotte worked together.
Sam had been working really hard on her straddle, and Charlotte just looked when Sam got into hers. Then, we straddled on the floor. Not as exciting, but definitely picture-worthy.

After we finished stretching, our teacher assigned partners for duets. We are going to have a Spring Recital at the end of the year, and my teacher wanted us to start working on dance concepts. The theme of the Spring Recital is "Fairy-Tale", and that gives a lot of room for imagination. Briana and I are partners, and we had a few ideas, but nothing is final yet. Charlotte and Hazel are also in the process of thinking, but they both want to do something related to animals. Morgan and Sam want to do a twisted fairy-tale, but they can't decide which one. After we discussed for a bit, we tried working on a few steps we could use. We are allowed to have our dance in any style we want, Briana and I think we want to do a ballet/lyrical dance. Charlotte and Hazel are thinking more contemporary, with acro steps. Sam and Morgan think contemporary or modern would be fun, but they are waiting until they decide on a theme before choosing their dance style.

Like always, class went by way to quickly. Before we left, Mom had us get a photo together. It is at the top of the post, in case you missed it.

I love dance, and I always enjoy class. I'm even more excited to be in a duet with my cousin Briana. Do you have any ideas for fairy-tale dances?

Do you enjoy dancing, and what do you think of the ideas for our Spring Recital?

~Melodie

A Fun Concert Together: told by Samantha and Riley

Hello everyone. It's Morgan. Sorry we haven't posted in so long, but we've been busy with school, our local science fair, and just life. We also have been planning a big surprise, which you will hear about later on.

So, last week on Wednesday (Feb. 10) Samantha and Riley went to a concert. They had a lot of fun together, and asked if they could share it with you. Riley will be posting in purple and Sam will be posting in blue.

Hello! I am so excited to share the story of last Wednesday's concert. Sam and I had so much fun.

I agree. So, my mom had told me about the concert a week before. It was called the Rock and Worship Roadshow concert, and some of my favorite bands and artists were going to play. I asked my mom if we could go, but sadly, she had to work. I was pretty disappointed, but I understood.

Sam had sent all of us a link to the concert, and I thought it sounded fun. Phil Wickham was going to be there, and the Newsboys! I showed my parents, and they thought it was a great idea, too. They decided to take me, and of course I was overjoyed. They also asked if any of my friends wanted to go. I texted around, and nobody was available, but Sam.

So, I went to the concert with Riley's family. I was thrilled to go, even if it meant standing for an hour in freezing weather.It finally feels like winter, compared to the nice weather we had around Christmas. Riley and I talked the whole time we were waiting in the cold, and it didn't feel that long. When we finally got in, the whole place was packed. It was really loud, so Riley's dad bought us some ear plugs. We got really good seats near the stage but not right next to it.


The concert was amazing. I really enjoyed all of the artists and their songs. Rock and Worship Roadshow encouraged taking pictures and videos, so we did. Here are a few photos from the evening of some of the artists/bands.

 Here is Mandisa. You can see her on the screen better than on stage, because we weren't right up against the stage.

 Here's Phil Wickham. He is so awesome. I love all of his music. He had a concert here over a year ago, but I didn't see it because I was still living overseas.
















Sadly, we really didn't get any good pictures of the other artists. But I can still remember who was there. Jeremy Camp was there right after the intermission. The Family Force Five was there, and they were so cool.

Audio Adrenaline played, although I only knew one of their songs. Citizen Way and Danny Gokey hosted the pre-show party, which meant they played some of their songs, like the other artists. 

And then of course the Newsboys! They are so cool. I have heard their songs on the radio off and on, and I loved all of the songs they played. Plus, we got to see some clips from the movie "God's Not Dead 2" which comes out later this year. I can't wait to go see it.

So that was our night. Sam and I had so much fun singing with the different bands and getting to spend time together. It was a great night.

Who is your favorite artist/band?

~Samantha and Riley

Riley's Gymnastic Vlogs

Hello everyone! Melodie here! Today I asked Riley to post one of her Gymnastic Vlogs. Riley has been vlogging about gymnastics for ahwile now, but this is her first one at her new gym in TN. Her teamate and our friend Hazel Cookes guest-starred on her first episode. They made a video about their gymnastics practice.

Here is Riley's Gymnastic Vlogs: Episode 1

I hope you enjoyed this video. Please comment below if you would like to see more. If enough people liked this, Riley says she'll post one every week.

What did you think of the video, and would you like to see a new one weekly?

~Melodie

Guest-Post by Riley: My Trip to Pigeon Forge

Hello. This is Riley, guest-posting today. I can't believe it is already Christmas Break. I realized I had never given Meloide the photos for this post, and I'm so sorry about the delay. Here is my travel-journal of my trip to Pigeon Forge!

November 22, 2015 3:01 P.M. ET

Hello! This is my travel journal. I am going to record my adventures on this trip.

I guess I should begin by explaining why I decided to make a travel journal. My love for journaling started when I moved to Hungary with my parents. I really missed all of my friends, so I decided to make a journal that I would send to them monthly by email. I told them all about my new house, friends, and some of the fun things I did in Hungary.

One of my favorite things to write about was the trips I went on in Hungary. During the summer, my dad would take me places, and I would come home and write about it. I would also print pictures we took on the trip and put them in my journal.

So here I am now. Melodie and Morgan saw some of my old journal entries I sent to friends, and they really liked it. So, when I mentioned that I was going to keep one during my trip over Thanksgiving break, they asked if I might want to post it on their blog. They explained the "guest-post" idea to me, and of course I accepted.

We are going to Pigeon Forge, TN. Well, pretty close to there. We plan to go to the aquarium in Gatinburg, which is only twenty minutes away. I don't know what our plans are for the second day. We are going to be there for only two full days, but I'm still glad we get to go.

Oh, I almost forgot. Charlotte and Audrey are coming, too! They had planned to go on vacation in Pigeon Forge before we even met. When I was hanging out with them one day, Charlotte mentioned it, and I told her that we were planning to go there. So, we got the addresses from our moms, and we were only a few cabins apart! Charlotte and her family are going to the aquarium with us. I can't wait to get to know her better.

November 23, 2015   8:26 P.M. ET

Today was amazing. We went to the Ripley's Aquarium in the Smokies, and I got so many amazing photos. 

We got to the Aquarium and got our tickets. When we first walked in, there was a round tank with fish to greet us.

"Well, what do you girls want to do first?" my dad asked. I looked over his shoulder at the map.

"There's a Penguin Feeding in about twenty minutes, " I commented. "Could we go see that?"

"Sounds like a plan. So, how do we get there?" We all looked at the map. "I think we need to go this way." Dad pointed. "Shall we try to find those penguins?"

So we set off. We had to go through another exhibit, and I tried to get few pictures, but the lighting wasn't great. Finally we found the penguins, where I got a few photos with the better light. I also took a video of the feeding. The penguins were so silly.


Next, we went to the Stingray Tank. They, too, were about to have a feeding show, so we decided to watch that.

"Look, those are eagle rays!" Charlotte said excitedly.

"They're so big. I forgot how big they were." I took a few videos of the rays just swimming around. "I remember the eagle rays at SeaWorld in Orlando, but Lexi told me that there was only one left last time she went."

The stingrays were amazing. The diver talked about the rays, and the rays kept swimming on him to get his fish. After the dive show, the diver fed the rays near the touch tank so we could touch the rays. I actually touched an eagle ray. It was so cool.

After the rays, we went through the Shark tunnel. It is a large tunnel with a moving floor, and lots of shark. I took a video as we went through. It was so cool to see the nurse sharks, sawtooth shark, and other fish and sharks I don't remember the names of.

As we exited the sharks, Audrey commented that she was kind of hungry. we all agreeed, and so we bought and ice cream from one of the vendors. We also discussed what else we wanted to see. We had been through most of the big exhibits, and it was getting kind of late. We decided to hang around for a half hour, then go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

There were a few little tanks over by the ice cream, where I took some silly photos of a pufferfish. He looked straight at me, and I just had to get a picture.

We walked through another exhibit, but I didn't take any pictures due to the bad lighting. We left by the gift shop, but decided against buying anything. We drove to Texas Roadhouse, but the wait was really long. So, we went next door to McAllister's Deli. Melodie told me it was good, and I have to agree.

So that was our day. We actually spent the morning playing pool (the cabin has a pool table) and watching Food Network (the cabin also has cable). I can't wait for tomorrow. We plan to do something, but so far it's still a surprise to me. See you tomorrow!

November 24, 2015 10:30 A.M. ET

We have decided that we are going to spend the morning here at the cabin. I am going out to take some pictures after I finish this. We are going to go out for lunch, and then go to the Christmas Store, a whole shop dedicated to Christmas stuff. We want to find an ornament for our Christmas tree. Then, we are going to Hard Rock Cafe, a resturant filled with memorabilia of famous songwriters and music artists. Then, if that wasn't cool enough, we are going to go see the Terry Evanswood Magic Show! I can't wait for tonight!

9:37 P.M. ET

The magic show was amazing. And so was the Hard Rock Cafe and the Christmas Store. I had so much fun, but I didn't take any pictures. I did get some of Charlotte and I this morning on the deck of the cabin. Tomorrow we leave, so I had to pack up today. I'm sad to leave, but I'm really excited to see all my friends at home. I will blog tomorrow on the way home to highlight my trip.

November 25, 2015 11:32 A.M.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm so happy to be with my friends this Thanksgiving. I am also so thankful that I got to go on an amazing trip with my family.

My highlights of the trip would have to be the eagle rays at Ripley's Aquarium and the Terry Evanswood Magic Show. The eagle rays are so majestic and I loved getting to touch one. I texted Melodie yesterday and she told me Lexi had never even touched one before. Terry Evanswood is so funny, and he got the crowd involved in his act. I laughed so hard that I forgot we were leaving the next day.

So, now my trip is over and I'm headed home. It is so fun to get to share my vacation on Melodie's blog. Thanks Melodie and Morgan for letting me guest post.

This is Riley, signing out.

So that's my travel journal. Here are a few photos that didn't make it into the journal.

  

Thank you Melodie and Morgan for letting me post it.

What was your faortie part of my travels, and where do you like to go for vacation?

~Riley

Guest Posters and Travel Journals

Hello everyone. Morgan here. Melodie and I have been thinking, and we are going to allow our friends Samantha and Riley to guest post. Samantha is always getting pictures of Nutcracker rehearsals that we don't get. Speaking of Nutcracker, we are all in it, except Riley, Kariss and Lexi. Samantha is Clara, so she gets a lot of pictures of rehearsals we aren't at. Riley wanted to guest post because she is going on vacation today. She wants to post her travel journal from the trip. She should post on Friday.

We have talked with both girls, and they are thrilled to have opportunities to post. We plan to talk with our cousins and Hazel and Charlotte to see if they would like to join, too.

What do you think of the idea of guest posts? And would you like us to do a post about Nutcracker rehearsals?

~Morgan

Guess Who Just Moved In?

As you can tell by the title, someone moved in recently. So, we wanted to take the time to introduce this new girl and let her tell about herself. But first, here's the story that goes with it.

I (Morgan) was walking our dog Lauren one afternoon (as you can tell by the picture). I had my phone, and I was taking pictures of Lauren walking. I thought it would be fun to do special effects with the pictures.

Suddenly, Lauren took off in front of me down the hall. I had to run to keep up with that little puppy. She stopped in front of a girl who I didn't recognize.

So I introduced myself to...

...my new friend Riley. That's a picture of the two of us. I told her about myself, and I mentioned the blog. Riley said it sounded cool, so I showed her a few post on my phone. Then I asked if I could post about her. She said that would be really cool, then asked if she could introduce herself. I agreed and so I am passing the keyboard to Riley.

Hi. I'm Riley Katherine Matthews and I am so excited to introduce myself. I just moved to Tennessee from Budapest, Hungary. I've lived there for five years now, and I'm super excited to be in the States. I am an only child, but I am hoping to get a pet soon. I love designing clothes, singing, and doing gymnastics.

We are so happy to get to introduce Riley to you, and we hope to have many fun times with her.

As a side note, Melodie is planning to do the next post in the What I'm Wearing series soon. We just wanted to introduce Riley to you.

So, what do you think of Riley?
~Morgan

What I'm Wearing: Morgan

Hello everyone! Here is the special post we promised. As the title suggests, this blogpost is going to be about clothes. My sisters and I thought of a fun blogging series we're calling "What I'm Wearing". I (Morgan) love fashion and making fun, new clothes with my own twist. So, I am going to start off the series.

The series is going to have pictures with some of my outfits, along with comments about the clothes and ideas on how to make the look for yourself with your own style. I am going to do it in three parts: fancier wear, regular clothing, and sporty outfits.

This is my first outfit. The top is just a black tank, then a floral skirt I made, and my blue flats. I did my hair in two braids like I would if I was having a bad hair day. This outfit can be made fancier with a necklace, jewelry, or headband.

This is my other fancy outfit. I was experimenting with different camera angles, and I loved this idea. The outfit is a little flowery and light for fall, but it is cool enough for late summer/early fall.

Now onto the casual wear. This is one t-shirt that works perfectly with any outfit. Here is the first idea I had of wearing it. Shorts, a simple ponytail and a pair of sneakers is a simple but fun way to go when I'm in a hurry.

When I want to dress up the outfit a bit, such as if I'm going to nicer restaurant or meeting some friends, I like to add a few accessories. I love my navy bow to keep my hair out of my face while still looking elegant. The shoes add a little flair to the outfit.

When the weather is colder, I turn to my hat. It is a light gray that looks good with anything. The shoes are just Crocs, and I put my hair into two pigtails. It looks very cute altogether.

Having a fun t-shirt that goes with anything is always a must for me. You can keep it simple, or add your own touch with what you wear with it. Make it your own with how you accessorize. It's not about the clothes you wear, it's about how you wear the clothes.

Here we are to the sporty clothing. I do cheer, as I have posted about before, and I need a flexible, cool, fun outfit for practice. The shirt is the same material as the previous shirt, and it is one of my favorites. The pants are thin enough to keep me cool but not to thin. Crocs really come in handy when you have to change shoes. I love wearing this over my ballet leotard when I'm going to class.

My cheer uniform! I love the color, and it is so fun to wear to games. The shoes are my black sneakers. They are definitely my all-purpose shoes.

Here's the outfit with pom-poms and spirit. I love practicing with my pom-poms.

Here's another cheer photo. I couldn't resist doing one of our moves for the camera. Go Team!

Whenever I have cheer on a chillier day, I add my cheer jacket, fun bright leggings, and my crocheted boots. They are warm and fuzzy, and I know I won't be cold.

These are the things I am going to be wearing this year. You will probably see them other places. I love having fun clothes and accessories to go with any outfit. I also love to make my own outfits. A lot of what you see here are things that I made.

Which outfit do you like best, and what are some of your favorite outfits?

~Morgan