Summer Catch Up =) (mostly for my mom to see)

So, I always knew I would suck at this updating thing...but thankfully the reason it takes so long is because so much is going on! Lets start with getting back to Provo...

I got home late on a Monday night and had an audition with Todd on Tuesday... Pretty sure I scared the kid. He had only been home from his mission a couple of weeks and I gave him a huge hug before and after (I can`t help it, that`s just how I am lol). We danced through both latin and standard. It felt great. That night I got to go to my first tour team meeting. I am sooooo excited to be on the team this year! Everyone who made it is so much fun to be around and Lee gave us an outlook of how the year would go- ps, we get to do a midsemester tour in Northern California; going to be right by my hometown!!!!! yay!!!!!!!! Anyways, the next day I got a call from Todd- we are going to be partners. And let me tell you, he is awesome! I don`t think I have ever met a nicer guy in my entire life. He is so encouraging and sweet and I have so much fun being around him. He is constantly talking in Portuguese (he served his mission in Brazil) and I am proud to say, I now know a few phrases =) He is still trying to make our rumba a side by side, but I told him if he pushes that i`ll make sure I tell Izabela to make it the hottest rumba ever! He didn`t like that... good thing he loves me! Anyways, we have been dancing together about 7 weeks now and I love it! We goof around alot but have been having a blast getting to know each other and working together. He can outdance me in standard any day and I think at this point I might still have him in Latin, so we tend to even each other out a bit. I`m so excited to compete 10-dance with him!!! 

Anyways, fun things this summer:

   Back at my old job at Vivint- made friends with some way cool people- love how this summer is 10 times better at work then the last summer... maybe its cause I get away with more =) hehe 

Events:

Got to attend Stadium Of Fire for the first time with my best friend/roommate Nicole, and our two friends Jared and Alex... It had performances by David Archuleta (whom I am slightly in love with) and Brad Paisley. They were both fantastic! and the firework show was the best I have ever seen before. It was sad though, I was the only one in the group who knew the Brad Paisley songs...I guess people really don`t listen to country anymore... haha. Nonetheless, I loudly sang to every song I knew. The funniest part was the sky divers- the last guy caring the flag biffed it while landing... it was great =)

 I have to say it was probably my favorite 4th of July (well 2nd of July actually) ever =)

Next fun thing to note, was our dear friend Jared (not the one from the Stadium) Kelson`s birthday party. It was hosted up in the canyons and a ton of people attended. We had brought chocolate pudding to encourage people to go and mud wrestling...only it backfired and I ended up being the first of many to get attacked with it =) I guess that`s what we get for trying to attack Jared first...haha. Most fun I`ve had in a very long time

I got so much chocolate pudding on me! Nicole even ended up finding pudding in her belly button...               We attempted to clean up in the river, but it was freezing and it still didn`t get everything lol  

Also: Brandon and I decided that we watch movies too much and that maybe it was time for a crazy fun outdoor activity. He had the great idea of going out to Mona Lake for the day- and I used my "amazing" skills to round up a large group. It was AWESOME!!!

I was pretty proud of myself- I ended up being one of the first people to go =) and I used my diving skills to land pretty dives into the water =)

Pretty sure one of the highlights included watching Luke try to master the back flip in... epic =) the bbq after was great! We had some awesone hot dogs and the s`mores were super good! =) love love love summertime!

Other fun events, have included bonfires, Elisha`s sisters baby blessing (and lunch after), and tons and tons of movie nights! Our group has made an effort to do weekly So you think you can dance get togethers (which unfortunately I miss alot due to work), and we`ve managed to add in games nights as well. Can I just say summer is great! Also, I`ve got a new hair do- pictures to come soon =)

Chance of a lifetime =)

California is one of my favorite places on earth. Being out here and dancing, has made this the best summer. I live a short 5- minute walk to the beach and the temperature is always perfect =) And it worked out great that beautiful Torrance Beach is so close to work, so that is where Brian and I have taken to spending our long Thursday breaks =)

So, the saturday after my last post was a nice calm day. Brian stayed and worked on a latin shirt while I spent the morning at the beach. Followed by a quick walk to the nearest RedBox followed by movie night. It was a wonderful, relaxing day. Sunday, Kara and I went to the El Camino YSA Branch... I don`t think I have ever seen a smaller group... about 15 individuals... Weird change from Provo, for sure. But the people were great! Our lessons were amazing and it was fun getting to know more people. After church, Kara and I took a walk to return the movies and to chat. She is such a wonderful girl. We had a wonderful chat and I am glad that we are becoming friends. Monday, we went into the studio later, and got in a pretty good practice. We are learning incredible information  out here. I was discouraged because I felt my body wasn`t doing what I asked of it ( the whole concept was there in my head but somehow got lost on its way to my body... =( ...) Thankfully, Brian was patient with me and helped me get it better.
Tuesday was another full day of lessons. This time though we finished up and went to Burbank to have dinner with Brian`s childhood nanny. Mary Jane is one of the kindest and funniest people I have ever met. It is impossible not to like her right away. She reminds me of a mix of people: Brian`s mom Amy- one of the most amazing people I have met, Betsy, and Brian`s awesome friend Jen. So fun. I got to hold her darling son Nigel  while she finished dinner. He is sooo cute! and extremely well behaved. We stayed way late and just talked. It was fun to hear the two of them share stories. Fun night
Wednesday we had a lesson with Vicki...oh my goodness, she is AMAZING! She helped us in ways I cannot even explain. She knows her body so well and did an incredible job helping us figure out how to use ours more. She has such a wonderful take on competition as well. Just while talking she came up with amazing choreography and technique. And though I felt retarded because I wasn`t doing everything like her, it was hard to be discouraged since she was so nice. She told us to incorporate our strengths. She told me mine were spinning and my extensions. That made me happy. She also complimented my body shape alot.

Whew, that made me feel better- I have been feeling fat since we got here. Not that I am, I am I realize, just because we eat pizza and taco bell so much since we dont get home till way late.

 So yea. After the lesson I taught both the samba basics class and West coast. The basics class we worked on voltas and criss cross voltas- the class is great so it was fun. For west coast, we reviewed all that we have learned this month (next week starts a new month and different classes)/. Then I taught two additional steps. They wanted to video tape me doing the steps and since Brian had a lesson at the moment I had Jim help me. Jim is awesome. He is a very natural dancer and a pleasure to work with. He picks up the steps very easily and is just so sweet overall. Thursday was a fun day. It started early, but it wasn`t as hard to get up. At noon I taught Tom`s rumba class. It was so fun! We discussed arm styling and reviewed what they had learned. I love getting people`s feedback and take on new skills. I feel like when they get it and explain it, I learn even more about it. Then Brian and I went back to the beach. This time Brian passed out and got burnt and I just starred at the ocean... I tried to sleep but couldn`t. I love being on the beach. We got back and I had a lesson with little Emily. I love working with her. Its more fun to relate to kids I think. We could use analogies like reaching for chocolate and showing her bracelets off. It is always fun. Also Olga was here teaching. I would get distracted watching. So many amazing people come here. We got to see Anastacia and Victor Fung, and Urs and Agnes. I may not be a standard girl, but I was in love- plus it makes me laugh that Urs looks like Kelseys bf... WE then taught the cha cha class and finished the routine. Love this class. Friday: Today I got up and finished reading the Neverending story (again). Then Kara and I took a long walk along the beach front and over to the Redondo Beach Pier.

Then we just chatted as we came home. I went to go get Brian and was met with a surprise: I got an email ad found out the greatest news... I made the BYU tour team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was soooooo happy! I had felt so nervous... and was excited to find out I would be joined by some of my favorite people (Claire von Nieda- you`re at the top of this list =)...) I called my family and some of my closest friends. I cannot wait to start working with some of the most amazing dancers! That night we had the party and had a great time just dancing around. Thankfully more and more guys come so I get to dance as a girl lol.

Saturday, Brian and I had a wonderful non-dance day. We went to Cafe Rio, then to a hysterical movie. Then, we went to get cupcakes ( I was craving them), and ice cream, and headed to a nearby park. We ate a ton and then decided to just swing and talk... It was way fun. Sunday, we moved Brian`s stuff to his nanny`s house ( he is house-sitting for them), and mine to a friends house close by. We said our goodbyes to our families (The Moriyama`s are soooo wonderful!) and headed up. I spent alot of time chatting with my family and called it a night. Nothing too entertaining has happened since then lol. Today (Tuesday), I taught a west coast swing lesson and later will practice. Love California 

Already a failure...haha

So I had a feeling I would be really bad at updating a blog and its only been 3 weeks here and I already fail at the upkeep. Awesome I know =)
The last week was intense. Our Monday lesson with Anna kicked my butt beyond belief. We worked rumba and since I had said I wanted her to help me out- the whole lesson was basically for me... which is good for me but totally exhausted me. She is so nice in her comments and has great critiques but I still was not too happy with myself and my dancing by the end of it... ugh. To make it worse I felt like I wasn`t implementing everything she taught me quick enough when we practiced later... I ended up calling Brent not too happy. But as the great mentor he is, he gave me some encouraging words and helped me pick myself back up and just work on a few details at a time.. Thanks Brent =) My lesson with Song and his wife the next day was great. They are so cute! I can`t tell if they are arguing or not when they start talking in Korean, but thankfully she gives me a smile every once in a while so I know its okay. They are coming along great with swing. Its funny because they don`t have great english, so I have to come up with different ways to help them remember things- like the rock step and stuff. Its fun.
Wednesday was nice because it was a chance to finally sleep in (Brian doesnt have his early morning lessons on Wednesdays...thank goodness). So sleep in I did =) then I packed up a lunch and walked the 7 minute hike to the beach front... Beautiful. I meant to sit out and read and ended falling asleep for almost two hours... came inside to a nasty burn all over. I havent burned that much in forever! it was awesome! Being sunburned zapped my energy out which sucked for practice. Thankfully Bri was patient with me. When I went to teach my west coast class they all thought I was "so pretty' with my burn- I officially now know they lie to me ;) Brian had a lesson at the same time so I had to use one of the guys as my TA... you`d think I gave him a purple heart or some sort of medal, he was so happy lol.
Thursday was a loooooooong day! Brian had a lesson at 9 then we didnt have anything till 4. So since we are avoiding multiple trips out to Torrance, we had a beach day =) sooo nice. I think they were filming a surf movie...hated to tell them there were not really any waves... nor was their surfer good... haha. I went to change and when I came out Bri made a comment about me taking forever- some lady next to him retorted back that if he acted like that I would take even longer next time... haha- I like her. The next lesson I was substituting for Tom. It was a little girl named Emily. She is adorable! We went through a lot of stuff in the lesson- I definitely like working with kids most-I had fun coming up with analogies for her. Her mom loved me and said they wanted to start taking from me as well from now on. =) Then Brian and I practiced . I really like where our rumba is going- it feels a million times stronger. Then we taught our cha cha routine class. We are supposed to begin at a bronze level and work our way past gold to open by the end. So we made up the rest of the routine and as a joke added a really difficult ending with tons of spins to see the class` reaction. It was awesome!!
Friday we got up and went to our first lesson with Roman down here. I love him- he basically did to Brian what Anna did to me. It was great. But he focused so much on making sure out bodies correlated together just right. It was cool to see how he did it. And I learned alot of body movement from his time with Brian. He changed some of our routine up and gave us a new direction to work on. Then we went home for a bit before heading to the studio.  We were going to practice but Brian had two lessons and the second went over a bit... I was talking to my sister getting some great advice and we ended up with no time to practice before the party.
My sister is amazing. Sometimes I cannot see things clearly and she is really good at helping me clear my head and set things straight. Sometimes I confuse my emotions and cannot see thing clearly... Kels helped me figure out what I want- well told me to figure out what I want. Once I figure that out, everything else falls into place. Who would`ve thought Kels would have good advice ;) haha just kidding.
The party was fun. They make me laugh because I usually am the guy since we have WAY more ladies at the studio. Thank you Marci for teaching methods... It helps sooo much! I am forever glad for taking that class =)
We stayed and danced till about 11. I even had George (one of the standard teachers) teach me some tango as a guy so I can do more with the students. It was fun.
Saturday we headed up to the LA Fashion district to find fabric to finish off my dress. We found it at the first store for $1/yard... love this place. We ended up then walking around for a bit looking for odds and ends. I found and bought my little sister a present, and made a mental note of stuff to buy my family for fun... Then we went in search of this "supposed" store that sells rhinestones by the pound... it doesnt exist.ha! of course. Looks like we will still be calling up the Keck`s for rhinestones. =) We called it a day around 5 and went home to relax... Its good for us to have time apart I have decided. Hanging out only with each other drives us nuts! haha. So I called up my bestie Nicole and talked to her while walking up and down Pacific Coast Highway (highway 1) for the red box... passed it twice then found it was out of order. of course lol. It was nice to talk to her and get her opinion on stuff thats been crowding my mind lately... I realize I am totally the type of person that needs to talk things out in order to have it make sense to me. Drives Brian crazy but its the only way I can organize my thoughts.
Sunday was a fun day. I went to the Moriyama`s ward and there was a mission farewell. I didnt even know the guy but as we gathered in the Relief Society room after church to sing "God be with you till we meet again," I found myself in tears. This guy had shared his testimony about finding the gospel and what it meant to him in his talk... You could feel the spirit so strongly...maybe that was what made me cry. This young man will be an amazing missionary. We went to his farewell later that night too. His family is sooo kind and loving. and the women of the ward seemed excited to set me up with their sons or someone they knew. I "graciously" referred them to my 24 year old sister instead... you`re welcome kelsey =)
That night I had a wonderful heart to heart with my daddy =) I feel like my life has been a roller coaster of emotions as I try to figure out what is the best thing for me to do in life. I have been fasting and praying for an answer and talking to my dad helped alot. Love my family.
This week has been good but not too much going on. Business as usual I guess. We cancelled our lesson on Monday, and instead used the break to intensely go over things we have been learning. On Tuesday I got a wonderful surprise- an amazing call from Elisha =) I had forgotten that the tour team arrived home today! It was great to talk with her and catch up. Love that girl. Then I got to teach a lesson to this girl and her dad. Her sweet 16 is in the next week or so and she wants to do a daddy-daughter dance together. They are doing a waltz to My Wish by Rascal Flatts. So since we dont have alot of time, I decided to teach them the flashiest easy steps I know of =) Yesterday  we got to sleep in again. I took another walk down the PCH to the store to buy cookies =) I am so unhealthy its ridiculous lol. Then Brian and I met up to practice. We got some wonderful advice from one of the professionals here- Viktoriya Fadina (Vikki). Her and her partner
Vadim Lubushkin are so kind! They spent a while talking with us and giving us helpful competition hints. The WCS class went a lot smoother than normal. We worked on technique and fun variations. It is an interesting class to teach because there are very many levels in the class. One guy gets really upset if its too hard but then another guy is a natural thats known it for years... fun learning how to appeal to both. Which brings us to today- early morning lesson for Brian and glee catch up for me. Long break before next lesson so we will head to the beach in just a bit =) Love California

HAPPY MOTHER`S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Mother`s day, so before I go into the weekly affairs, I wanted to do a little tribute to my beautiful mother =)
Here`s a poem I wrote last night for my mother -

***Words cannot describe what you mean to me,

Your love, your care, your overall beauty,

As a child, you held me close and chased away the monsters I feared,

As I got older you are still here for me, to keep me safe from every day cares,

I know I am not alone since I will always have you,

Your support, your kindness, through and through,

No one gives hugs quite like you.

I love you mom for all that you are,

For helping me see the beauty in the world,

For teaching me that love and kindness go a long way,

For teaching me charity, and of my Father in heaven,

For taking care of my heart and soul,

For believing in my child-like dreams,

For lifting me up, for encouraging me,

You are my role model, though you sometimes drive me insane,

I hope one day to be more like you,

More loving, more caring to all that I meet,

It drives me nuts that you worry so much, but I know you want to protect me when things get tough,

I know no matter what you are always there for me.

It means the world to me. You mean the world to me.

So thank you for being my mother, my friend, my teacher, my support team. You are amazing and I am

thankful that God blessed me with you as my mother. Its one of the reasons I know my Heavenly Father

 must love me. =)

For those of you who don`t know my mom, here are the top 10 things I love about her:

1) Her smile- always a real smile, it shows her inner and outer beauty

2) Her hugs- best I have ever received

3) Her kind words- my mom always has something nice to say about everyone

4) How much she adores her kids- we claim suffocation at times, but we all know she loves us

5) Her support- she shows interest in all of our activities and is always there as our cheerleader

6) Her testimony- she has always strengthened my faith by sharing hers

7) The way she gets embarrassed over the smallest things- cracks me up to no end

8) The way she talks about her mission in Japan- I love the stories she tells and wished she would tell them more often

9) The way she understands people- she can always figure out what is upsetting me or making me happy because she knows me so well

10) For encouraging me to be strong when life is rough- I can conquer it all because thanks to her I am tough.

So thank you mom for all that you have done, all that you do, and all you will do- youre amazing =)

So to begin where I left off- Friday was a great day- we got our butts kicked. I had the car and went to go get Brian around 10:20. He was finishing up some stuff when I arrived, but then we got onto the road and headed up to Hacienda Heights for our first lesson down here with Anna =) Amazing how distance wise, it is farther to Hacienda Heights than to work, but it took us less time to get there... thank you traffic...

We found the place pretty easily and it is in a super nice location. The building is beautiful and the inside is very nicely done. We stretched and warmed up a bit, then ran through our samba. Anna showed up right at noon. The lesson was super intense! One thing I love about how Roman and Anna both teach, is that they both drill  into you the concepts and put it into your muscle memory so that you don`t forget it. Anna was so nice about everything, but really worked us.

 She went through some basic steps and worked some technique

 that I have never had taught to me so well. Its stuff that we can

 implement through all of samba. I do not think I have ever had a

 coach go so in depth with it. It hurt like crazy, but its good cause

 its in my body now-I will not forget it. My back hurts so so so much!! I am very excited that we

 get to work with her every week- its quite the drive, and expensive 

but the information is priceless. She is amazing! 

After our lessons we drove home (hit traffic- one hour to get home!). We went back with the intent of finishing the amazing dress Brian is doing for me... It took a bit longer than expected... I am absolutely no help when it comes to sewing, so I took a nap...

We quickly got ready for the showcase tonight, then left for the studio. Brian and I ran over the pieces we will do tonight then I had my first lesson. Song and his wife want to learn swing so I got to teach them the basics and a few steps. They are so nice! I love working with them!! He signed up for 20 lessons so I will get to work with them a lot =) After the lesson,
Brian and I did a few more things, then began the group class tonight- which funny enough is swing lol. We had a large class and had a good time teaching them steps.

Then we danced a few dances with the students- there is a way higher ratio of women to men, so a lot of the time I danced as the guy- thank you teaching methods for teaching me how lol. My mom and dad came to watch =) 

The first dance we did was cha cha! We added this fun part where Brian acts like a geek and I am supposed to be this hot girl he`s got a date with. He is such a funny actor. He is great about getting into character.

Then we quickly changed into our red outfits for paso. We had a short intro

into this but then went right into the dance. We did all three crashes. It actually went pretty well. The floor was a bit slippery but we managed somehow not to fall all over =) hehe.

Then we got changed once again and did jive. This time in my silver dress. This one we made up the intro literally in five minutes and it actually worked... nice.

I slipped on this one, but thankfully it was minor... After we finished we dressed back into our normal clothes and went out to dance with our students (I went to talk to my parents first- so nice to have them come...). We stayed until almost eleven, then packed up all of our stuff. Successful night I`d say.

Then we went and grabbed Jack in the box, ate at the top of the hill where I am dropped off and picked up each day, and called it a night. I stayed up and talked to the Moriyama`s then went to bed.

Saturday- Today was SUPPOSED to be a beach day but decided to be overcast. boo. So I stayed home. I decided to pack myself a lunch and took the short 8-minute walk it takes to get to Hermosa beach from the house. I was a little warmer, but not that warm. I had my jacket on and just listened to music while watching the waves. I LOVE the beach... it is by far one of my favorite places ever! Then I headed back up. At 6:30 Brian came and got me and we met my parents at Olive Garden. They decided while they were here, that we should celebrate my birthday. No complaints here =) The food and service were great and we got a huge table. Thanks mom and dad =) I had seafood alfredo and dr. pepper and a triple chocolate cake for dessert...yum. It was a great dinner, full of laughs and jokes, and was fun to have Brian join in. I am so glad I got to see my family =) and I got to open n awesome b-day present from Kelsey (missed you babe). Then we said our goodbyes =( Brian took me to Target to get some groceries, then we came back to the Moriyama`s. They had pie and ice cream waiting for us. Delicious. They also bought me some cute headbands and sang happy birthday to me. Then we all watched an American in 

Paris (great movie except for the excessively long dance scene towards the end, and the blunt ending). Then we called it a night,

Today has been great. Our YSA ward is small- but that may be due to it being mother`s day- but it seems nice. Talks were good, all in honor of mother`s. The rest went by pretty quick. Now just resting up for the week to come- Brian has a ton of lessons and I have got a handful myself, plus two lessons this week. Here we go. Love you always!!

fAMiLy

So this week has gone by pretty quickly... Monday we took advantage of having only practice on the agenda so we slept in =) Then it was off to the studio for a good 4+ hour work out. We ran through routines and fixed trouble areas and kind of recapped our weekend at the comp- trying to fix anything that didn`t work or what not. After that we went back to Brian`s house to eat dinner and ended up watching a movie (Just Friends-still one of my favorites). Tonight Bri was really tired, so I ended up taking the car home. The Moriyama`s live on a hill and I ended up freaking myself out that the car would roll down the hill and crash- on my watch. Needless to say I called mi madre to make sure I had the correct uphill parking technique- wheels faced into the curb and parking brake on... Can you imagine if I had crashed the car? Scary thought...Thankfully, the next morning showed that I did it correctly and the car was still around.whew.

Tuesday was a little bit more productive. First we went to Los Angeles for the taping of Chelsea Lately (ya we are that cool lol). Brian went onto some seat filler website and scored us free tickets to the show! I hate doing this, but nice work Bri =) It was so fun! The whole waiting in line thing sucked (especially since it was hot- and some girl faked heat exhaustion to get a better seat...brat). But it was great. And even though it was a night show, the taping was at like 2 in the afternoon. The host before the actual show was hysterical, though he dropped quite a few f-bombs out lol. His jokes were super natural and flowed great, highly amusing. The show itself was fantastic!

 Chelsea is hilarious- we quite enjoyed going and are trying to find other shows to attend while down here. The guest was some random girl that I am not familiar with... She`s in some movie called Jumping the Broom- which I took to be like a black tradition something similar to over the threshold? No clue, but kind of interested now in seeing it. After that we went to practice (though not quite 4 hours this time), then decided to try and find fabric to add to the dress Brian is doing for me. So we first went to this cool little shop that sells fabric by the pound, but were unable to find the fabric we needed. So then we went to quite possibly the LARGEST JoAnns Fabric that I have ever seen. Sadly, this one also failed in the needed fabric department. We decided it was an embarrassment to Joann stores (aren`t they ALL about fabrics?) Pitiful. We then grabbed food and Brian dropped me off home. I spent the rest of the night having a great talk with the Moriyama`s. This is the first time I really got to talk to the family, and they asked a lot of questions (They had found one of our youtube videos and decided to watch- so we had a talk about ballroom, among other things as well). They also decided I do not eat enough (we always eat at the studio or on the road), so they made me some eggs and got me fruit. Like I said... Nice family.
Wednesday was a tough day. First I got up and did some researching on cool west coast moves for class tonight... the ones I found were so fun! then we got together and went to practice, and I think the heat, stress and only being with each other got to us. We both had different views on how practice should go and they did not go together. So practice hit a stand still. So then we used the technique that I like- talking it out- followed by the technique Brian likes-stop talking about it and move on: Brian is trying to claim he was already over it... but I know him well enough, he was still pissed... He tries to claim he is over things but does not hide it. But yes, I do talk things out, probably too much, but for me it helps me understand it better and confirms to me that the matter is dealt with, not just swept under the carpet to make a mess later. Eventually we got out of the rut and got to work. This makes me realize why Brian and I are a good match  up- we have learned how to communicate with each other and how to work through tough times. We are not perfect, but we can overcome any obstacle thrown our way. It helps that he is one of my best friends and I know he will always be there for me- even if its at the grave after he murders me... haha just kidding. But seriously, its great knowing he has my back. It is so hard to see all these amazing couples and not be able to make ourselves like them- but thats just it, we never will be, because we are ourselves. So now we need to focus on what makes us work well and play our strengths, to be not them, but our best selves. I know we both have potential and are willing to learn, we just need to have more confidence that it`ll all work out the way God intends it to. We just have to work at being our personal best/ After our practice we got to teach classes! Brian taught a samba basics class first. The class loved him! He has such a great mix of being funny and of being on task. He did a really good job. I have to teach west coast swing after him. My class went well, though I do not know that I did as good as Bri did. We did a little bit of the basic then moved to some harder steps. The moves that I had found earlier were way over their head so I stuck to basics. It was really fun though. I also found out from Tom that I got my first student! He signed up for a package of 20 classes =) that made me happy. We also stayed a little late to help Tom tape up the walls so he could paint the studio (color choice-not the best). He told us one of his toughest critics (this guy who hates new teachers) loved us and told Tom he liked us =) yay. We went after practice to pick up this dress form Brian had bought, then we ran to taco bell for dinner and Bri took me home.

Which brings me to today... I could not wake up this morning... I finally made myself get up around 11:30. I got ready (looking at the beautiful beach) and talked to my sister Kelsey on the phone. Brian came around 1:15 to get me and we drove out to Long Beach for my brother Tanner`s gymnastics competition (Junior Olympic Nationals). Brian wanted to kill me getting there, b/c my dad had not given me clear directions of parking... but we found it and made our way in just in time. Brian used to do gymnastics and it was funny to hear him whining about some of the kids sucked and he could still do better... sure ;) "how hard is a double full? and "wow, they can`t even land with their feet together..pathetic" Thanks Bri. but Tanner looked great!
Poor kid broke him fingers right in the middle of his hand earlier this week so he only could do floor and vault (how he even managed that is beyond me). His floor was awesome!!!! He thankfully landed feet closed so
Brian approved (insert eye rolling here). We went to get drinks only discover how ripped off the prices were... $18.75 for the 5 of us to get drinks... just small bottles too. ugh. Then we watched vault. Nans got off on his steps, so it was not his best- I was still impressed. I went to go cheer him (big sister duties =) ) then Brian and I said goodbye and went to the studio.

 I talked to Nicole and heard William got his call to Tulsa, Oklahoma spanish speaking!!! so so cool! Then, we went over the changes made yesterday in rumba, then started in on cha cha. I elbowed Brian on what part and got the "I will kill you" look...oops. Then we did it a few more times and got back into good moods then took a break. Brian has this issue of social networking on facebook during practice so we allowed him to do that, then went over tonights cha cha routine we are to teach. The class was so fun! We had most of the same students from yesterday with a few new ones. The class has such a great energy to it! We both love teaching it and the students ask such great questions! Afterwards we came across a spectacle... A russian who actually smiles! Eugenia is a standard professional who works at Regency and she is so sweet! She was quite complimentary of the fact that I had good leg extenstions =) guess she moved here from Moscow quite recently and doesnt speak a ton of english.. Anyways, we like her already =) Afterwards we got our stuff, grabbed some pizza (which Brian practically broke open to eat asap) and headed to Brian`s to updated these and to catch up on Glee.=) Until next time.

Week one in California= success =)

So I realize moving out to California to dance is probably the craziest thing I have ever done, but also the most exciting. Never have I been able to have an opportunity quite like this. This summer will be spent working at Tom Hicks` studio in Torrance- teaching private and group ballroom lessons, taking individual lessons from Latin professionals Roman Kutskyy & Anna Kovalova =), and practicing our hearts out to become the best dancers that we can be.

 Basically, my partner Brian came up with a great idea to journalize everything that goes on this summer, and I am completely copying his great idea =)
So here is week one in a nutshell:
Upon entering LA, I met the incredible family that I am staying with. Bishop Moriyama, his wife Julie and daughter Kara are some of the kindest people I have met. And an added perk- you can see the ocean from their house which means I get ready in the morning looking out at the ocean =) This week has brought us beautiful 80 degree weather and with that a necessary trip to the beach. Redondo beach is beautiful- not too many people, easy access, and gorgeous views. I may or may not have gotten a little burnt, but it was worth it.  We met our new boss, Tom, who took us out to dinner (best Chinese food ever!), and got to teach our first group lesson. The studio has some of the top world professionals come in and teach as well as local professionals and we realized how lucky we are to work here with such amazing people- and how incredibly inadequate we feel. We were told that we get more clients by being seen, so basically we are encouraged to practice as much as possible. Dream do come true.
Also we decided a trip down to the LA fashion district was necessary =)


This weekend we got to work and compete at The Emerald Ball, put on by Wayne Eng. It was great to see some judges we have worked with in the past and to meet some new ones. When some of them found out we would be here all summer, they quickly jumped up to introduce us to people we "have to work with." One judge even offered us a job at her studio in Connecticut following our college graduation. =). The competition itself for us went pretty good- though we plan to do better next time. College finals and illnesses along with moving kind of put our pre-comp practice time to the lowest its ever been- that will change though.
So I had signed us up to work at 9am and they decided to switch it on me, and we ended up working at 7AM! If looks could kill, I would be dead after all the looks from Brian... 7 AM... sorry Bri. The other runner and I decided to let Brian take the first few hours as a break... It didn`t help. He still hated me for the early morning...=) But thankfully, it paid off in the form of chatting it up with the judges and Marianne Nicole (aka our ballroom fairy godmother) introducing us to people we needed to meet. I also had a fun time talking to a lot of  the male judges and getting winks from Corky Ballas...haha. After we worked, we came back to Brian`s house, watched Glee and several other TV shows then took a nice deserved 5 hour nap. Then we got all ready and headed to the Saturday night session...
The best part of the weekend by far was Saturday nights Professional international Latin. We were both pleased and surprised to see not only Anna and Roman, but current world latin champions Riccardo and Yulia as well =) The competition was incredible! We wanted to watch everyone at once-how cool it was to see all of these competitors we stalk on YouTube compete live in front of us. Needless to say, we were quite happy with the weekend. Also, I got to see my favorite judge of all time-Ken Sloan... love him.

Come Sunday, we are dead. We got all ready to attend the Torrance Stake YSA ward this afternoon only to realize today was stake conference... of course. So we quickly headed over to my host family`s ward and attended church with them- which nicely included break the fast at the end- yay food.
Over all, great week. Tomorrow we will find out our teaching schedule and set up our lessons with Roman and Anna... Bring on the summer