Enjoying A Journey

And... finally it was the first day of school.  :)

Lexie had to be to school at 6 am for Drill practice, so... this was taken AFTER school. :)  You have to catch her when you can.  She is a busy girl.  This year, Lex started her Sophomore year at Layton High School.  Go Lancers!









Do you like Collin's red vans?  When we were school shopping, they were his top priority. :)

In the summer, while most kids were enjoying the break from school, Lex and her team were hard at work.  They had practice at SIX in the morning.  It was necessary if they were going to beat the heat since the school didn't have air conditioning.  In addition to learning all of their routines for the year, they had the chance to perform a routine they learned at camp for a SLC REAL Soccer Game. 

The girls caught the team bus early in the morning.  They spent the day practicing at Jordan High School in SLC.  They also were given their Lancelle Jackets that day after practice.  It was official.  They were a team.



We were smack dab in the middle of summer and boy was it HOT at the game.  But, luckily at half time, the sun started going down and there was finally shade. 


Girls from all over the state participated in the event.  It was a powerful sight to see them all entering the field.  Whenever there are that many dancers in one place, we always joke, "Think about all the money that was spent to get them there; lessons, costumes, recital fees, travel, etc."  Dance is not an inexpensive sport, but it is so much fun to watch.  I love watching the girls express themselves through dance and seeing their self confidence grow.  As long as the girl loves dance, it is money well spent!

I'm catching up. :) :)  Kinda.

This year's fourth of July was a bit different than most.  With Lexie attending Layton High and being a Lancelle, we actually had to attend our own town's parade. :)

We found a shady spot and were pleasantly surprised we weren't overwhelmed by crowds.  I did have to claim our spot the night before, but in these parts that is all part of the fun.


All of the Lancelles met at the start of the parade route.  The girls ran through their military parade routine (thus the angry faces) and then it was time to go.


After dropping Lex off, we headed over to our shady spot.  Grandma and pa Dopp and Nikki and Clint were so nice to come and support Lexie.  In a lot of ways, we felt like we were defecting from the neighboring city.  But, in the end, it was still fun.  We knew a lot of kids in the parade and it was fun to see them do their thing.



Jackson and Col didn't seem to mind our new surroundings.  Izzy was around there somewhere.  I'm sad I didn't get a picture of her.  If I were betting, I'm sure she was on Grandma's lap. :)

I hesitate to insert this picture in the blog.  But... since this is our family record, I gotta.  See those glasses?  Sadly I had to wear them for TWO weeks.  It was torture for me.  But, the pain was worth the gain.  I was prepping for my eye Lasik surgery.  I had to tell myself, "This is worth it!  This is worth it!"  And, it was.  I love not having to worry about my contacts.  I just hope the results will last for at least ten years.  I'm afraid I'll be using reading glasses sooner than I would like.  Getting old kinda sucks. :)

Two of Lexie's cheerleader friends from last year are LHS Cheerleaders.  It was fun to see Krystal and Aspynn.  It was kind of weird to see them in high school cheer uniforms.  These girls will be graduating before we know it.

And finally, it was the Lancelles.  We're so proud of Lexie and her accomplishments and hard work.  The team puts in an enormous amount of hours and effort.  It shows.  They are great at what they do and Lex loves almost every minute.  ;)

 Lex is the second one in toward the middle.