SYTYCD 4.7...

I can't believe there is only one more week of SYTYCD. What a bummer! The top 6 performed tonight. Each couple performed two dances as well as individual solos. Overall I think everyone did well and I really don't know who is going to win. My favorites last night were Joshua and Courtney although they all did great! Here are my favorite dances.

My favorite was Courtney & Mark's Jazz Routine choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. It was performed to "The Garden" by Mirah. It was about the battle of the sex's. It was very dark, sexy, aggressive and raw. Although a little twisted I really liked it and think Sonja's work is really unique, fresh and perfect for Mark. Courtney did an awesome job as well. These two were great together.

My next favorite was Katee & Joshua's Contemporary Routine choreographed by Tyce Diorio. It was performed to "All By myself" by Celine Dion. It was a Romeo & Juliet story about two lovers that have undying love and can't bear to be apart. I thought the part where Katee runs and jumps into the splits and Joshua catches her in the air was amazing. These two have great chemistry together and were lucky to be the only couple paired up again. So I think they had a small advantage.

My favorite solo was Twitch's. It was performed to "Midas Touch" by Midnight Star. He used some funky teeth and glasses(which Cat tried out herself-yuck!) It was really fun and entertaining.

I'm not going to predict who the top four will be because I honestly don't know and don't even really know who I want it to be. I really love watching all the remaining contestants.

32 Flavors Tag...

I finally got around to doing this tag(sorry it took so long Hillary.) Hopefully I've escaped your hex! I already took it upon myself to remove most of my hair. :) Stacy I promise I will get to yours it just takes a little more thought. In the mean time I tag you(Stacy), Jamie and anyone else that reads this that hasn't already been tagged.

1. Do you like blue cheese? Nope-can't get over the moldy appearance.
2. Have you ever smoked? Nope-I think that is probably the grossest, smelliest habit-who wants to smell like that? Who wants to burn their money on cigarettes and then burn more money with medical bills?
3. Do you own a gun? Yes, although I'm afraid of it-I know of some freak accidents that resulted in death.
4. What do you think of hot dogs? OK-crave them once in a while if they are burned on a grill and then covered with ketsup and mustard.
5. Favorite Christmas movie? Don't have one but I hate that one where the kid sticks his tongue to the pole. I think it is "Christmas Story."
6. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water-unless it is milk on my cereal. I also like a glass of oj if I'm having a real breafast(eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, etc.)
7. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring-it is the only piece I wear regularly.
8. Favorite hobby? Blogging, Sleeping.
9. Do you have A.D.D.? I would say no.
10. What's one trait you hate about yourself? My pasty skin.
11. Middle name? Don't have one unless you count my maiden name.
12. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I need to balance my checkbook. I need to call the dr. to get my referral appointment scheduled. I'm excited to watch SYTYCD tonight.
13. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Water, milk, water.
14. Current worry? Getting pregnant and staying pregnant past 25 weeks(no we are not trying yet.) The Economy.
15. Current hate right now? My eyesight-can't stand glasses or contacts.
16. Favorite place to be? My bed.
17. How did you bring in the New Year? Sleeping.
18. Where would you like to go? On a vacation anywhere fun.
19. What shirt are you wearing? A boring white t-shirt. I haven't gotten ready for the day yet.
20. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, my feet get caught on them because they(my feet) aren't perfectly soft and smooth.
21. Can you whistle? A little.
22. Favorite color? Coral.
23. Would you be a pirate? No, I would feel trapped out at sea knowing I couldn't just drive away if I wanted to.
24. What songs do you sing in the shower? I can't think of any in particular. I'm usually in a hurry or if I'm not I'm enjoying the hot water and trying to relax in silence.
25. Favorite girl's name? Mia(not because of Mia Michaels-I liked it before I knew of her.) If we have another girl that will probably be her name.
26. Last thing that made you laugh? Maddy making me lego juice-he is very imaginative these days.
27. Worst injury you've ever had? Injured my knees in gymnastics as a teenager and couldn't walk for a week. My dad had to carry me to the bathroom, dr. etc. How embarrassing! To top it off I had strep throat at the same time.
28. Do you love where you live? Yes I do but I'm pretty sheltered-I have never lived outside of Utah.
29. What is your favorite book(s)? Until this past week I haven't read much in a long time. I started the Twilight series this week(I know I'm slow) and I'm currently reading the second book. Loved Twilight so I guess I would say that. I think I will be a better reader now so any good book suggestions would be appreciated.
30. What is your favorite candy? Not a big candy person but I would have to say Reeses Pieces.
31. Favorite Sports Team? Don't have one.
32. What song do you want played at your funeral? Haven't ever thought about it...may be "Amazing Grace?" I will have to think about that one!

1930's wife?

I saw this little quiz on a couple of friends blogs and I was curious so I took it. I got 59(out of 100) and it says I would be a superior 1930's wife. Since when is 59 superior? Anyway it was pretty interesting!

59 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

24th of July...

On the 24th of July my sisters Jamie and Stacy and their families come over for a BBQ. We had chicken, hot dogs, corn on the cob, fresh fruit, chips and (mango)salsa and strawberry shortcake. All the food was yummy and we enjoyed each others company.

As you can see the Mango Salsa was a huge hit(thanks Stacy)-especially with the kids. I've never seen two kids (who are usually too busy playing to eat anything) destroy a bowl of salsa.

My two brother-in-law's grilling up our food(wait a minute...whose house are we at?) Steve was busy taking a little nap-go figure!

Could they be having a better time? Dallin even broke out some moves and performed a table top dance.

My sister Stacy gave this little car to Maddy and I was trying to teach him how to pull it backwards(to wind it) and then let it go. He finally figured it out the next day.

Stacy and Jace. After we ate the boys headed downstairs to watch a movie and of course the girls stayed upstairs to watch the SYTYCD results show. We were all bummed that Will went home but glad that Comfort went home.

Thanks Stacy and Jamie for the yummy food you brought. Thanks Ben and Justin for cooking! And as always thanks for the great company!

Yesterday in the Backyard...

I think this picture is so cute and I couldn't resist putting it in "old photo" setting.

Avery loves the noise it makes when she smacks her hands on this table. I love how perfect her skin looks!

I love how you can see the tan lines on Maddy's feet and all his scrapes and bruises-such a boy!

Adorable! I love how they love to play together!

Maddy crawling with Avery. He was saying "Come on Avery."

Watching the waterfall and playing in the dirt...

Maddy doing tricks and Avery cheering him on. I love how her leg is in the air-she is such a wiggle worm!

Avery trying to eat grass and Maddy was saying "No Avery!"

Avery trying not to smile...she tucks her bottom lip in and tries to hold her mouth closed.

Maddy loves being outside!

Avery also loves being outside!

Avery trying to sneak off to the pond again with her signature crawl.

SYTYCD Elimination...

Normally I don't post after elimination night but I'm bummed that Will got eliminated. He is such an amazing dancer. Twitch was also in the bottom two guys and I think these two performed the best. I guess America thought they were safe so they didn't vote for them. Comfort finally got the boot(again) and was joined in the bottom two by Courtney. That makes the top six Joshua, Mark, Twitch, Chelsie, Katee and Courtney. Check out the awesome montage video above someone put together to commemorate Will's time on the show.

SYTYCD 4.6...

Before I go any further let me explain the above picture. My sister Jamie and Steve came up with this idea for a designated SYTYCD notebook for me. I'm a little embarrassed to say how this all came about but here it is. OK so I admit it the last few weeks I have been taking a few notes while watching SYTYCD. The reason for this is that by the end of a two hour episode sometimes I have a hard time remembering(I have a bad memory) all the dances. Since I've been blogging about it I wanted to make sure I didn't leave something out that I really wanted to mention. So anyway last week Steve noticed me writing something down and asked me what I was doing. When I told him he about died laughing. So of course he had to tell my sister and this is how my new "Official SYTYCD Judges Notebook" complete with attached pen and personal photo came to be. So there, the secret is out! I must admit it is pretty cool(thanks Jamie...I think?) I will probably never hear the end of it. So I broke in my new notebook last night and here is my recap...

This week the top four couples performed two routines each as well as their individual solos. We also got a little tidbit on each of the contestants regarding how they started dancing. Here are my(a.k.a. "America's Judge) favorites...

Courtney & Will's (Smooth)Hip-Hop Routine choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon Dumo gets my gold. The song was "Like You'll Never See Me Again" by Alicia Keys. It was about being able to turn back time and spend one last moment with someone you love that you have lost. In this case it was a husband that had passed away. It was a very touching number and a great reminder to not take the people you love for granted and enjoy every moment you have with them because you never know when it will be the last.

Katee & Twitch's Contemporary Routine choreographed by Mia Michaels gets my silver. The song was "Mercy" by Duffy. It was about a guy and the pyscho ex-girlfriend that doesn't want to go away. It was a explosive number that used a door as a prop. There was also a pretty steamy kiss at the very beginning.

Courtney & Will's Samba Routine choreographed by Jean Marc Genereux gets my bronze. The song was "I Fell In Love With The DJ" by Che'Nelle. It was just a really fun, hip shaking number. I have really started looking forward to watching Courtney because she is so fun and usually does such a great job at all of her dances and this was no exception.

Chelsie & Joshua's Disco Routine choreographed by Doriana Sanchez gets my honorable mention. The song was "Everlasting Love" by Gloria Estefan. It was jam packed with extremely difficult lifts all of which these two pulled off amazingly. It was quite the work out for even tough boy Joshua and he was pretty much drenched with sweat(and out of breath) by the end.

My favorite solo was Will's(he was inspired to start dancing as a result of seeing Dirty Dancing) which he danced to "Get Up Offa That Thing" by James Brown. He was dressed like James Brown(including hair) and it was a real fun routine and tribute.

My prediction for who will go home this week is Comfort and Mark. I know I've mentioned who my top four are before but after this week Twitch and Courtney are among my favorites as well. So I think if Comfort and Mark go then any of the top six are contenders for the title. There are a few that stand out as amazing technical dancers and then there are those that dance from their heart. So I guess we will see how America votes.

Bridal Veil Falls...

On Tuesday I went to Bridal Veil Falls with my sisters Jamie and Stacy and their kids. We have decided we are going to try and get together once a week. We figure we are so lucky to live so close that we should take advantage of each other's company while we can. Other than hauling the kids and all our stuff to the car and back(isn't that always the worst part?)-and hauling the kids to the falls, we had a great time.

We started off with a little picnic. I brought sandwiches(choice of tuna or p&j), Stacy brought chips and lots of fresh fruit(pineapple, canteloupe, watermelon, cherries, grapes) and Jamie brought drinks and snacks for the kids. The kids were too busy playing to want to eat but we enjoyed our food...yes the picture above is me with my mouth full.

As you can see I wasn't prepared for the kids to get wet and didn't bring bathing suits. Luckily my sister Jamie had a swim diaper with her(thanks Jamie) so I decided that I would rather have Maddy play in the water in a diaper than get his clothes soaking wet and have to ride home in his diaper. My sister snuck this picture while I was putting his diaper on and I couldn't resist posting it.

The three of us...

My sisters and their kids...

The boys had fun wading, climbing, throwing rocks, and splashing(at least Maddy did-Dallin wasn't too excited about it.)

Avery wasn't a very big fan of the cold water...

The kids kissing cousins Dallin and Claire-so cute!

Avery looking so content-she was actually quite wiggly-especially on the small walk to the falls.

Maddy loved the bridge and looking over at the river. He kept saying he wanted to go in the river again-I had to remind him that he didn't like it and he was scared.

Finally I was able to convince Maddy that it was time to go home(I had a hair appointment.) I thought this was a cute picture.

Thanks Jamie and Stacy for a fun day-I'm excited to hang out more often!

My New Hairdo...

I got tired of my hair and decided I wanted a complete change. I wanted it a lot shorter, darker, slightly layered and some (funky)red highlights in it. I also had it thinned out a ton because my hair is so thick and hard to manage. It feels so much lighter. This is the after picture. I really love it! Thanks Brooke!

This is a "before" picture from earlier today.

Right before she chopped it off...

I had her cut it short enough so I could donate it to "Locks of Love."

Cartoon Setting...

I took this picture of Steve and Maddy while they were watching "Finding Nemo" quite a while ago. Today I was playing around with Photobucket and saw there was a "cartoon setting." I tried it on this picture and thought it was kind of fun so I decided to post it this way.

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Happy Birthday Jamie! I just love that I have such an awesome sister and friend! I consider her a best friend and know I can always rely on her for anything! She is so caring and giving and has the whole package! She creative, smart(she has a bachelors in chemistry), beautiful, skinny(and getting buff), honest and very talented(scrap booking, cooking, anything artsy, etc.) She is also very grounded in her faith and puts her family first. She is the type of person that is easy to talk to and gives you her honest opinion-she doesn't sugar coat things. She is also very determined and can succeed at anything she sets her mind too. She is also very fun to be around. A special memory I have with Jamie is the night before my wedding when she spent what seemed like hours(my hair is very thick and was very long-longer than it is now) putting my hair in sponge curlers and talking with me.


Jamie-Thanks for being such a great sister and friend and letting me be a part of your life. I'm so glad that we live close and can raise our families together!

Memories...

I saw this on two of the blogs I read(Brooke & Stacy.) So I figured I would do it too. I think it will be fun because it's kind of like a tag but real short and simple. Here are the directions.

Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. Ready, Set, GO!

SYTYCD 4.5...

I absolutely loved this episode of SYTYCD. It is now down to the top ten(shown above.) Comfort(who was eliminated last week) got to come back because Jessica is injured. I really liked seeing the couples switched up. My favorite couple was Katee & Will. They are also among my favorite four(along with Chelsie and Joshua) individual dancers now. I've loved Will for the last few weeks and really liked Katee(although she wasn't my favorite) but after tonight's Pas de Deux Routine she(they) won me over. It was truly an amazing routine and I can't believe how well they did it because it was such a difficult routine! They danced it like they have been dancing it for years. I think they are the only couple that could have really done this routine justice. Their other routine(Broadway) was great too. As well as their solos. They were on fire! What a jam packed night-all couples performing two routines as well as individual solos. That's 20 routines. I love the new styles of dances they are adding to the mix-it makes the show more interesting. I also really appreciated LiL' C's comments. I think he is very constructive and to the point and doesn't ramble on like some of the other judges. I'm also glad that they are no longer being judged as couples but as individuals. Now we will really see who will shine. Also the judges no longer get to pick who goes home, whoever has the lowest votes with be going home. Here are some of my favorite routines this week...

My gold medal goes to Katee & Will's Pas de Deux(new to SYTYCD) Routine performed to "Imagine" by David Archuleta(how exciting for him.) This routine was choreographed by Desmond Richardson(new to SYTYCD.) It was about the thoughts of two people coming together. LiL' C also called it "artistry in motion." I thought it was amazing...I literally got chills watching it. I also agree with the judges that these two are just born to dance!

My silver medal goes to Chelsie & Gev's Contemporary Routine performed to "These arms of mine" by Otis Redding(I have loved this song ever since I saw "Dirty Dancing".) This routine was choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. The story was about a couple in love, soul mate status and how they feel when they are apart, their yearning and craving for each other. It was really sexy and they both did a great job! I loved the way LiL' C described Contemporary Routines. He said he likes them because they enable dancers to explore emotions. Which is probably why I like them so much!

My bronze medal goes to Courtney & Joshua's Rumba Routine performed to "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias. This routine was choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux. I also really liked this one because I'm also a big Rumba(the dance of love and passion) fan and thought they did a great job. Another sexy routine!

Receiving my Honorable Mention award was Comfort & Twitch's Hip-Hop Routine performed to "Forever" by Chris Brown. This routine was choreographed by Dave Scott. It was the first time I actually really enjoyed watching Comfort and it is one of my favorite Hip-Hop routines because they are both Hip-Hop dancers and tore it up. Like the judges said it was "Buck." If Comfort goes home again this week I'm glad she had the opportunity to go out on a high note.

My favorite solo was Katee's performed to "This Woman's Work"(MTV Unplugged) by Maxwell. I love this song and thought she did a great job!

My prediction for who goes home this week is Comfort(possibly Kherington-she also had an off week and was in the bottom three last week) and Mark(although I love his dancing he just had an off week.) My prediction for top four is Katee, Chelsie, Will and Joshua.