SUMMER-PART 1

We have had so much fun this summer! The bestest thing about being married to a teacher (besides the teacher himself) is the family time. We are so spoiled to get to play all summer long. I can hardly believe it is ending... sad.

Our first adventure was an overnight trip up to the Uintahs. It was beautiful and COLD!!! We froze all night and then got up for some fishing. Jacob has his own fishing pole now, and he was in HEAVEN! So cute!

 This shot is my favorite! Sadly, no fish were caught on this trip, but I'm not sure Jacob cared. He has a good imagination and I'm sure he believed we caught tons of fish and threw them back. :)

Kate started solids this summer and LOVES them! Here she is bathed in carrots...

 And, here she is in the bathtub-so pretty! :)

 And this is me loving my baby girl. :)

I threw a baby shower and the canteloupe baby was a hit.

While I was at the shower, Brian and Jacob went fishing at a local pond. Look at the yummy catfish they caught...to be continued...

Jake's new camp chair. :)

This little man takes after daddy, in almost every respect. He has to do whatever daddy is doing in the yard or garden. It's pretty darn cute!

 

Back to the catfish from above...I had to leave for a meeting one day, so Brian and Jake cooked their catfish for lunch. (I am aware of the knife in the photo-apparently dad was supervising...)

Apparently it was pretty good! :)

This is quite possibly my favorite time of night-stories in the tent before bedtime.

One day, Jacob came to me dressed like this...He said he was Nephi. Enough said... :)

Brian had a BIRTHDAY!!!!! Happy 32! As with tradition, we made him carrot cake. Mmm.

He got a wheelbarrow. I stuffed it with balloons that were stuffed with hersey's kissses. Each balloon had a wish written on it. Sadly, the balloons were left in the wheelbarrow outside on a hot day, so the kisses were mostly mushy by the time we got to them. It was still fun, though. :)

We went to St. George for the 24th of July and swam in Grandma Terri's "ghetto pool." We don't think it's ghetto. We think it's awesome, but grandpa thinks it's awful...Sorry, grandpa.

We went the the famous Washington City parade. Jacob's favorite part was the fire truck!

More swimming....Isn't she lovely?

 We went to the firework show with Jamie, Lexie and Baby Oaks. Here is Baby Oaks with Jake. So sweet.

After the fireworks, Jake got a real big-boy haircut from talented Aunt Lexie. So handsome!

The newest addition to the Crosby family is Radar, the bunny. I'm in love with him. You have never met a sweeter bunny in your life. I guarantee it. He's the best!

This is Jacob writing his "camping song"... He would play and write and play and write and sing and write and it was absolutely adorable!

 And here is baby sister, taking it all in. We love this happy girl.



To be continued...not sure when, but sometime hopefully soon. :)

It's been a while...

It's been a while...here's a little peak into life with the Crosbys:





Whenever Jake needs a haircut, we have a little routine.We strip him down to a diaper, and Brian sets up a chair for him in the kitchen, looking into the family room, and we turn on "Thomas the Train." It's the only way we get him to hold still while Brian cuts his hair (with a pretty shabby pair of scissors-someday we'll break down and buy a hair razor). I'm not allowed to touch Jake's hair, and with good reason. Brian is MUCH better at the job. :)

Afterward, Jacob gets a treat! :)

And a bath. :)

And here is our princess, Katelyn, in her Easter outfit, with the giant flower headband from Grandma...

Jacob also got a new Easter outfit. He was rather dashing in it, if I do say so myself.

A couple of favorites...

This was one of my favorite mommy moments EVER! Kate was really grumpy on a little family walk, so I took her out of the "Snugli" and just snuggled while we walked. She cuddled right into me, popped her thumb in her mouth, and sucked herself to sleep. I wanted to snuggle her forever just like this and never let go. I'm so smitted with our baby girl.

We have had a few "kool-aid" adventures recently. This was our kool-aid play dough. Brian and Jacob made a truck-totally awesome, and then Jake wanted to call and tell grandma about it. I think he just likes to talk on the phone. He just likes to talk in general. :)

This picture speaks a thousand words. I absolutely love watching Brian love his baby girl.

Jake's basketball hoop: After weeks of sitting on the egde of our sidewalk, watching the older neighborhood boys play basketball and pointing out every basketball hoop in the subdivision, we decided it was time for Jacob to get his own. He sure loves it! Every day he says to me, "Let's play basketball!" How can I refuse?

Admitedly, after a week or so it became easier to deny the request, but it still melts my heart and I usually give in, at least for a few minutes.

A few more favorites of Princess Katelyn:

Jacob LOVES to play outside, loves the park, and could care less about how hot it is. Bless his heart, he was in dire need of this popsicle after having fun in the sun in St. George a few weeks ago.

A typical afternoon with "Gwama Te-wi" and "Papa Brian"...and the dogs. :)

My little guy is OBSESSED with trains. Here is the junior engineer at work. cute!

We baby-sat my cousin's super cute kids, Carter and Kinley, a few weeks ago. Jacob was so thrilled to have friends stay with us the whole day! He loves friends, and is always looking for someone to play with and say hello to when we go to the park or take a walk. I love his happy, open, friendly nature. I hope I never stifle it. Anyway, this was a picture of his "jam session" with Carter. (Carter is playing a drum-didn't show in the picture very well.)

Katelyn's current favorite: toes! So irresistable!

These are some of my beautiful Ogden dancers. I SO love teaching them! They're adorable!

Here we are. Brian and I get so excited when the tulips come out every year on temple grounds. Someday, we are going to have white, light pink, and dark purple tulips just like this all over our front yard in the spring! One thing we really enjoy doing together is designing and creating the landscape of our yard-which often changes (because we aren't like the professional temple gardeners and can never get it just right.) We like to wander the temple gardens and dream. Our yard probably won't ever reach that level, but we're having fun trying. :)

I have always dreamed of having a yard full of flowers, and we are starting to get one! The reason I want lots of flowers is so I can pick them, make bouquets and give them away. Everyone loves flowers, right? I've had so much fun picking our flowers this spring. :)

Speaking of gardening, how cute is daddy's little helper here?

For memorial day, we took a little family picnic to the Huntsville park and then threw rocks in Pineview Reservoir. :) Jacob had a blast. I love how easy it is to entertain him!

And here are my angels. I just love them!

Life is pretty wonderful and I'm feeling very grateful right now.
Love to all our family and friends!!



A Few Thoughts About Why I Teach Creative Dance...

So, I am often asked about my dancing and where I teach. When I mention the words "creative dance" most people have no idea what I am talking about. There are reasons I prefer teaching for a creative dance program verses other studios. Don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful dance forms and programs, and I enjoy many of them. However, creative dance truly teaches the "whole child." It is a "mind, body, spirit" experience, and I believe one of the most valuable and powerful teaching methods in the world. (All of this is just my opinion, but I know others who would agree. :)

That said, I feel like sharing the following about why I teach for University of Utah's Tanner Dance Program. Tanner Dance did not endorse me to write this. No one has any idea that I did write it, unless they read this blog. I actually wrote this for my own purposes earlier, and for some reason, I feel inclined to share it on the blog today. So here it is:

Why I Choose Creative Dance (and the Tanner Dance Program):

                Many people ask me why I choose to work for a dance organization that is based 45 minutes away from my home, when there are tons of dance studios in my local area. Aside from explaining that Tanner Dance offers classes only 15 minutes away from my home, through their satellite program, I offer my opinion that Tanner Dance offers children a unique experience.

                What I love about creative dance is founder and dance pioneer Virginia Tanner’s philosophy that we are not only “developing excellent dancers, but more importantly, developing young people who are useful, imaginative, worthwhile human beings.” In a creative dance class children learn dance technique in a way that involves imagination and creativity. There is an expectation that the dancers rise to be their best self, and opportunities are given to express themselves in a place of respect and friendship. Children are inspired to think outside the box as they improvise and create in class. They work together as they dance and develop their movement vocabulary, which encourages friendship, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Dancers are respected for who they are and what they bring to their dance community. They are free to explore movement, and in doing so they often discover not only a love of dance, but a love of the world and people around them. That love often brings greater respect for their environment within class as well as without.  

Movement and costumes are always modest and appropriate. Children are treated as children-not dressed to be someone or something they are not. As such, the children who dance within the Tanner Dance program seem to glow. They touch audiences with their innocence and honesty. Children have a power to move our souls with their simple goodness and pure love. Creative dance encourages the natural goodness and beauty found within children.

In a creative dance program, Dance is respected as an art, not just a means of exercise or entertainment. Though it may serve those other purposes well, dance is an art form. It is a means of bringing something beautiful, inspiring and new to the world. Dance, and all art, helps define and add to our humanity.  It reaches into our souls and encourages us to do and be better than we already are. It helps us connect with others and reminds us that we are not alone in our feelings and experiences. Tanner dance teaches dance as an art. Creative dance not only trains the body, but enlightens the mind and inspires the soul.

Finally, the teachers, children, and parents who have experienced learning and dance in such a program come to view the world with a “magic eye.” This eye searches for the dance in the world around them and inside them. Upon finding the dance in the tiny seedling, the whistling wind, the lonely heart, and the joyful butterfly, creative dancers discover and treasure an inner peace and satisfaction-knowing that we are truly all connected, that all life is valuable and worthwhile, and that everyone has something wonderful to give. 

So, there you have it. I tend to get a little passionate about it at times, but having grown up in a creative dance program inspired by Virginia Tanner (Southwest Dance Theater) and knowing how it influenced my life for good, and now having taught for nearly 9 years and seeing the good it brings into my student's lives, and that of their families I think I have good reason behind that passion. I'm vey grateful for the choice my mother made when she took me to Miss Candy's class for the first time. My life is so much richer because of that choice. Thank you, mom!