All of April!

 We rushed into April with not much slowing down. Cooper began practicing for his part in Aladdin, which will be his final performance with Ballet Arts. At least for 2 years. 😃 He continued with his ballroom practices, even though competition season is over. He'll still have his final concert, which will definitely be bittersweet. I'm planning on crying during that one for sure. He also submitted his "Spirit of IBA" essay. He's hoping for one of the scholarships they hand out to help with his pre-mission planning and  purchases. I helped him with the grammar and wording here and there, but Cooper wrote an AMAZING, insightful and touching essay about IBA and how it's helped him. 

At ballroom, they took yearly pictures. I'll post Cooper's below. It's fun to look back and see how he's matured (physically and emotionally) over the years dancing with them. 

Senior Gold Team "Hercules".

Graduating seniors

Cooper and Sage

Cooper and Sage

Gold Lift Team

Cooper and Evie cabaret "Blue Suede Shoes".

Cooper and Claire "Fighting For Me" cabaret

Cooper and Kalli

In Amelia news, she finished her winter semester and moved back home. We started the adjustment period of all of us under one roof again, which is fantastic--but tricky at times. She's been dating someone since February, and he may be THE ONE. I'll keep you updated. 

Cooper had his 18th birthday party with friends. He's made so many good friends through ballroom and school, I'm grateful for the relationships he has with them. They are a good bunch and I never worry about them. We also celebrated Cooper's 18th birthday! I can't believe I have two full-grown adults now! 

Cooper has been a charmer since birth, has a smile that is contagious and gets him out of a lot of trouble! He's quick witted, kind, hard-working, and has a self confidence I envy. I can't wait to see what he accomplishes as an official "adult".

To end April, Cooper had his final ballroom performance last Saturday. It was a bittersweet experience for him, and me. Idaho Ballroom Academy has been such a huge part of his life the last 7 years. He's LOVED dancing with all his partners and learning from his fantastic coaches that have been amazing role models. It is a fantastic program run by generous, kind, talented people. He'll miss it terribly, and I'm SO grateful for the impact it's had on him! He danced in two shows, a 5pm and the 8pm. I did, too. Yes, I gave in and did the mother-son dance. It was so much fun! To make the night even better, Cooper was won $700 for his Spirit of IBA essay! I was so proud of him. He was shocked, but then couldn't stop grinning.

Janie (owner) and Cooper

Sam, Cooper and Sara. These two were THE BEST coaches and cheerleaders for Cooper. 

Scholarship recipients

Whew! April was really a fun but crazy emotional rollercoaster. It's difficult to be so proud of your child, but to also feel sad that their experience is over, especially when they love it so much. I hope Cooper takes what he learned in IBA and uses it in his life. Now, brace for May--if you thought April was nuts, just wait. 

Competition Season & Mission Call (February and March 2025)

 This month started with the Utah Classic competition. For Cooper, it started Thursday night with his cabaret. He actually has two this year, but one of his partners--Evie--hurt her leg so she wasn't able to perform at Utah Classic. 

Cooper and Clair did an AMAZING job. It was so much fun to watch their routine, hold my breath with the lifts, and see the pure happiness ballroom gives Cooper. 

                                                  

Cooper and Claire with their coach, Sara.

Friday was team routines. Cooper had four to dance. He is on Gold Lift, and the Senior Gold. I'll post a senior gold dance below and save his Gold Lift routines for another post. I love watching him dance and see how much progress he's made over the years. This team placed second for this routine.

               https://photos.app.goo.gl/LvHR2ydEZQ33kqdw7

Cooper's least favorite part of the competition is the syllabus routines. Except this year he didn't mind because he was dancing with his good friend, Sage. They've been friends since middle school. To be honest, I wouldn't mind her being a future daughter-in-law, and I don't think Cooper would protest, either! 😂 She's a cutie and they have so much fun together. You can tell they love dancing together when you watch the video. 

Cooper had a quick break from dancing to present his Project Citizen for his senior year. His group chose book banning, and took the stance of against it. They did a fantastic job! 

Now, back to dancing! We had the Sugar Showcase on March 1, which is kinda a mini-recital. It's another chance for the dancers to perform but not as structured as a competition. Cooper did amazing, as always. I'll post a video of his lift routine because so many people were missing it's easy to see him! His partner had just replaced Cooper's original partner because she was sick. She didn't know the routine very well yet, so they're behind a bit. Still, the lifts are incredible. 

Gold Lift: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LvHR2ydEZQ33kqdw7

Syllabus with Sage (I can't help it--I love watching them dance together) : https://photos.app.goo.gl/i8B75Lqys59Lb6sr9

In between competitions, Cooper had his spring choir concert. He's loved being in choir and it's given him so many fun opportunities. He's also meet fantastic people and made new friends.

A LOT was going on during this time. Cooper had completed his mission papers and sent them in. We were waiting on pins and needles for his call to come, and on March 24 it arrived! Cooper opted to open it with just me and Amelia, and then do a "reveal" party with friends and family. I really liked that idea, as it gave him time to process and feel all the feelings without a big audience. He's going to serve in Iowa City, Iowa (English speaking) and will begin home MTC on August 4. He was so relieved to be staying stateside and not learning a language. When I asked him why he didn't want to learn a language he said, "I don't want to have to worry about learning a new language and the stress of not being able to communicate. This way I can just get straight into sharing the Gospel and doing the work." Made me tear up. I asked if he was disappointed about going to Iowa and he quietly replied, " No. This is where I'm supposed to go." He's a fantastic young man. 

So the next day he read it in front of family and friends. I was blown away of the support and love shown by those who came. I can't even put it into words. We really are surrounded by amazing people who take care of us and want to make our lives easier. 

All I ask for is a nice picture of these two and this is what I get. Sure love them!

With the relief of knowing where Cooper will be serving off our chests, we turned back to competitions. Gem State was up next. We like this one the best, because it's held in Idaho and the judges are more knowledgeable with lifts and technical side of dancing. Idaho Ballroom Academy dancers tend to do better in this competition. Cooper LOVED this competition. With Utah Classic under his belt, a lot of the nerves were gone and he just danced for fun. It showed. This is his cabaret with Claire, and they placed 4th.

Claire & Cooper: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LdhEhLPxp8ggsGiaA

His second cabaret was with Evie. Most cabarets are "lyrical", meaning a certain type of moves and song is needed. They are slower and more expressive and telling a story through the dance. Since Cooper had two partners (very rare, but he wanted to do it) he couldn't complete against himself. So he and Evie had to enter a "non-lyrical" dance. This is usually very modern, which is not Cooper's style. Luckily, Sara their coach, came up with a high-energy lindy-hop for them. It's a nice change because most cabarets are very slow and flowly. Cooper and Evie were the last ones to dance, and they came outta the gate with so much energy and up beat choreography and music. You could see the whole audience perk up as soon as the music started. Here's the link. You'll watch it more than once, guaranteed. They placed second and were THRILLED.

Evie & Cooper: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pzm3WwDWUZNAWKbD7

I'm going to post their final dance if this routine, which is more polished. The hat falling off put them off count a bit, as you can see. 😁

Cabaret photos:

Coach Sara and all the dancers she coached for cabaret

Cooper with both partners!

The next day was team competitions, and then of course--syllabus. Cooper did amazing in the team, placing 1st in all his dances but one. I'll post the links below. Needless to say, between cabaret and team routines, I spent a small fortune on engraving all his trophies and medals. SO PROUD OF HIM.

Gold Lift: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pzm3WwDWUZNAWKbD7

Hercules (Senior Gold): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1KSzVdxPhVbH54z8

Laundromat Swing (Senior Gold):

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PhLiN1Rqos2aEWmq5

Guy I Used to Be (Senior Gold): https://photos.app.goo.gl/eAm4bRSnEwjaAWZg9

Caveman (Combined Lift):https://photos.app.goo.gl/uizhJmbhyGV6AXP48

Whew! What a weekend that was. Lastly in March, we celebrated Amelia's 21st birthday! She's now legal in all the ways. I'm so proud of her and all she's accomplished! She's finishing her junior year of college and is planning on graduating next April. She's been to Europe, traveled all over the states surrounding us, has friends, and is generally a happy, happy girl. We love her!

And that's February and March! If you thought that was packed--stay tune for April and May. They both had so many important, huge, significant events I'll be recapping them separately. Stay tuned!

December 2024-January 2025

 I'm going to be playing catch-up for a while. Between Cooper's last year of high school, graduation, end of year ballroom performances, concerts, activities and  other "final" things, our lives have been nothing short of crazy. It's been a fun, bittersweet crazy. It's hard to believe my children are all grown up. They have both turned into fantastic human beings and I couldn't be prouder of them! Here's a recap of December and January!

It all began with the final Nutcracker performance. It was special because Amelia choreographed the dance again, and it was the best one yet! Truly. He has loved dancing and playing the many parts of the Nutcracker. He'll miss it for sure. I don't know what Ballet Arts will do next year without Cooper!

After that weekend, we had a slew of choir concerts including Madison Presents: A George Dyer Christmas. Amelia and I attended and were petrified when George Dyer came into the audience to have us help him sing---especially since we were sitting on aisle seats. Luckily, we didn't get chosen.

ANOTHER of our December weekends was the Fine Arts Dance. This was for all the Fine Arts students because they had missed the Winter Formal due to being in Utah the weekend it was held. Cooper asked one of his cabaret partners, Claire. They had a fantastic time. And, of course, ruled the dance floor!

I know it seems like my entries are mostly about Cooper because.....well, they are. Amelia is living upon campus both semesters this year because she's no longer saving money for Europe. Needless to say, we don't see much of her! 😂 Now, back to Cooper.

Christmas was a quiet, fun time with my little family together for the last time for a few years. Cooper will be missing the next two Christmases because he'll be on a mission. 

Whew! I think I remembered everything. Now that we've covered our crazy December--on to January.

First up was Cooper being accepted to Brigham Young University Idaho. He's deferring for his mission of course, but I was so proud of him for being admitted!

Cooper also had the East Idaho Ballroom concert. Unfortunately, he was feeling ill during the ballroom performance, but still danced and did an amazing job considering how he felt! The video is too large to upload, so here's the link: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3hQuhqisoncQbGKx6

To wrap up January, Cooper worked on his cabarets (he's dancing two this year!) and got ready for competition season that begins in February. Hopefully I didn't miss anything, but if I did I'll try to edit it in. Stay tuned for February, March, April and May!

In the ballroom studio--where he's happiest.