Whew! The holiday season just gets INSANE!! I'll try an catch you up from the last post in October. Luckily, it's only been two months, but lots have been packed into those weeks! First up, Cooper was asked to the Halloween Dance at school. Kendal is his good friend and they dressed up like Penny Benjamin and Maverick from Top Gun: Maverick. They looked amazing! He had so much fun and I'm happy he's making so many fun high school memories.
Right after Halloween, the holiday season was in full swing! Cooper had a concert at BYU-Idaho with the choirs there. It was fantastic, and I think maybe Cooper may decide to attend there after he graduates. He really liked the professors and the students he interacted with.
Next, The Nutcracker started getting serious. Cooper practiced with Bailee, the ballerina playing Clara, 2-3 times a week to get ready. Their pas de duex is going to be amazing (Cooper won't let me watch his practices, he wants it to be a surprise) from what I've heard from Amelia and others. I'm so excited to see it! In between Nutcracker practices, Cooper has been preparing for Dancing With the Rexburg Stars. One of my co-workers is dancing this year, and I'm excited to watch her as well as Cooper. He'll dance twice with his teams. I'll try and post the videos. The first one he's in a blue shirt and starts further back, but moves up.
Cooper also continued cabaret practices with Claire. They'll compete in the new year. Here's the latest video---I'm so impressed with their skill and hard work!
Thanksgiving was a fun time, we decided to combine our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations this year because everyone is so busy. So we had "Thanks-mas" and it was so much fun to see all my nieces and nephews. It really gets wild when we all get together, but in the best way. My family really is fantastic. Here's a picture of Amelia with the youngest grandchild, Riggins.
The rest of November was spent in Nutcracker practice, Cooper's Bel Canto performances (the downtown lighting ceremony), and ballroom lessons.
Nutcracker! It. Was. AMAZING!! I can't say enough excellent things about it. I am SO proud of Cooper. I cannot believe how talented and hard working he is. He's turned into a fabulous, talented, strong, beautiful ballroom dancer. Let me back up--the morning of the first Nutcracker performance he had his Christmas Classic for ballroom. This is his least favorite competition. It's a technique competition, and Cooper thinks it's boring. He's not wrong. 😂 But it's an important part of ballroom dancing, so we all suffer through it. Luckily, he was finished by noon, so he had some down time before the ballet that night.
Now, the Nutcracker---this is my 14th year attending. I still love watching the ballet and the story. I've always loved the Nutcracker, and it's been so much fun to watch my children perform in the beloved ballet. Cooper was AWESOME. His pas de duex was INSANE, and he was the only dancer to perform an overhead lift. I love watching him dance and the happiness he gets from it. Here are TONS of pictures from the two performances. Yes, we need to figure out how to keep the shirt tucked in next year. :-)
Amelia and Cooper back stage during the performance. I love that they share this.
This month, along with EVERYTHING else that happened, I had the opportunity to help with Shop With a Cop. I wrapped the gifts the children had chosen for their family members. It was an early morning (yawn) but it was so gratifying to see the police officers shopping with the children and interacting with them. I'm so blessed to live in this community, and the people here are fantastic.Onto Amelia! I haven't written much about her because to be honest--I don't see her much when she's living on campus! Even though she only a few blocks away. she has her own life (as she should) and I usually only see her on Sunday afternoons. I can say she LOVED this semester. She had fantastic roommates, met so many new people (aka boys), had a wonderful student ward and enjoyed her classes for the most part. She's thriving and happy and progressing. The best news we got this month is her Europe trip with BYUI has been officially approved, so it's happening! All she has to do is apply for the program, pay her money and start preparing. We talked to the couple in charge and they said some of the places they'll be visiting are: London, Paris, Germany, Florence and Rome. Amelia cannot wait! I'm so grateful she'll have this experience. she's worked so hard for it.
Amelia move home around December 12th, and it's been so much fun having her home again. We sure miss her when she's gone. She's also been extremely busy with the Nutcracker. She coaches three girls on their solos (the same ones she performed), and was back stage holding things together the two nights of the performance.
Moving on through the month, Cooper had a trip with the Bel Canto choir to SLC. They performed on Temple Square in the tabernacle. It was an overnight trip, so I was a little worried, but Cooper had a fantastic time. He rode down on the bus with a bunch of his friends, and hung out with them performing, eating, and chilling. One of his performances was aired online, so I was able to log on at school and watch. It was so fun to see him in his tux, singing in the Tabernacle that was all decorated for Christmas. He's had so many wonderful experiences with Bel Cantos, I'm grateful he had the courage to try out for it!
Lastly, Cooper had Madison Presents with Kurt Bestor. It was a fund-raising concert and Amelia attended with me. It was fun for her because she had performed with the orchestra in the same concert two years earlier. It was packed, and the fine arts departments did an amazing job! Can you believe that was only the first two weeks of December?! Luckily, the last two were must calmer, even though not as fun. After visiting Katie and David in Utah and seeing all the beautiful lights, we all caught horrendous colds/sickness and were pretty much laid flat for the remainder of the month. Not how I envisioned spending my holiday break. Cooper is still planning on going to the New Year's Eve dance tonight, so we'll see how he does. Hopefully though we're on the mend, and we can start 2024 a little healthier. Here's a few pics before the sickness set in:
It's going to be an amazing year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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