This past weekend the 6 Clarks were back in St. George for more fun (actually 5 Clarks...Sambo got to go with his Grandpas to Lake Powell to get the houseboat ready). This time it was in honor of Millie. She had a dance event where she debut her first ever duet (she danced with her friend named Jezze). To sum it up, she did a great job despite her nerves and her "injury." I put that word in quotes because it is a mystery if she really had an injury or not. Here's the story:
There is a part in her dance where she is supposed to do a tumbling trick that involves flipping to a back-bend from her knees and then kicking over. She didn't take learning this trick seriously until about a week before her performance, despite our encouragement. Those of us who know Millie knows she's very cautious so we knew she was putting this off on purpose...she was scared to do the trick and had a negative attitude about it. We got so tired of her saying, "I can't" and whining over and over. She basically wasted a whole week's worth of practice with her teacher and we knew she just wasn't even trying to do anything.
To teach her a lesson about wasting the money we pay for her dance and tumbing lessons, Dad got some of her money from her bank and pretended to throw it in the garbage, you know, to show her that when she isn't even trying she's throwing money away.
She then yelled, "You're throwing away my college savings!" and ran up to her bedroom. A little while later she came down the stairs with her backpack on her back, a purse, and her coat and boots on. Then she told us that she was going away to sell herself so she could get money to pay us back for her lessons. She was carrying this note in her hands:
Of course she didn't get past the front door because of apologies and hugs but when I asked her why she would even think of such a thing, she told me that she knew someone would buy her for 200 million dollars and then we wouldn't have to worry about money. I love her self-confidence!Well after lots and lots of effort and pep talks, she finally nailed it! She had it perfect! She had the confidence she needed.......and then.......the "injury" happened. Five days before the performance she supposedly landed on her hand weird and hurt her wrist. Nobody witnessed this. As a nurse, I could tell she hadn't broke or sprained it or anything, it didn't even swell. I watched her closely the next 4 days and she was using it just fine. She was doing cartwheels, handstands, even back-handsprings with no complaint. Everything with Millie is so mental, bless her heart. In her mind she had decided that it was this trick that she couldn't do, even though she wouldn't even try. She said she would do it when she performed. We were all getting nervous but it was a very touchy subject. All we could do was hope she would pull it off on the big day.
The morning of the competition she talked herself into being brave and did the trick...perfectly! Yay! We were so relieved. But minutes before her turn to dance, she busted out in tears and said she couldn't do it. Well, she went out and danced her little heart out, but when the time came for her trick she just STOOD there while Jezze did it!
Being her first time dancing practically by herself in front of hundreds of people, she did great! It was pretty funny now that I think back. After her dance we were praising her but she was pretty hard on herself. Despite all the drama, they were awarded 1st place (they were the only ones in their division, but they don't have to know that).
Her team dance was absolutely amazing! She is such a good little dancer and because she was so confident in this dance (again, mental), she was incredible! They got the highest score and she was the lucky one to bring home the huge trophy so all ended well. We are very proud of her efforts and just hope that at her next one in a few weeks she can feel confident enough in herself to try it.
Just seconds before...look how nervous she is, and
then saying a little prayer
During the dance, "All that Jazz"
And after
Another great adventure! Thanks Grandma Cindy, Aunt Heidi, Alix, and Bode for coming with us and making it such a fun time!
As we get to the top of the mountain (Also known as "The King of the Mountain" we saw and experienced pure cycling bliss!
5 hours before the race started this is what the road looked like.
Holly was "lucky" enough to get her picture taken with the world famous Elk Dude, The Pope, and a drunk lady. Millie couldnt understand why the Pope wanted to drink the wine the drunk lady was offering. Another highlight of this day was the snow. It is crazy to think that you go to California to play in the snow. Here are the kids, with the Kann kids sliding down the hill in their jeans. The Kann kids had never been in the snow before this day.
Keep in mind we showed up to the race 5 hours before it began so we had a ton of time to hang out, write our favorite riders name on the street with chalk, and take leaks
So when the riders did make it up the hill to us we went crazy. Here are some pics of the riders. Do any of them look familiar?
and
That's Levi (the winner of this race) in the first pic, and yes this is Lance Armstrong and as of today has not called to chat with Millie!
