Happy New Year!

January is always a busy month. We got back to school, dance, and judo, and had three major events.
First and most important, of course, was Stasha's eighth birthday!

Opening presents first thing in the morning, with Tim still asleep, and blowing out candles later in the evening:

Stasha's birthday was immediately followed by the judo club hosting the Senda Cup, which the kids weren't directly involved in, but Tim and I were volunteering as timekeepers as announcers. The kids sat in the stands watching the matches and being quite good, for the most part, till they tried to climb under the bleachers. Since I was the announcer with a microphone and speakers at my disposal, I got to chastize them loudly from across the mat. It was strangely satisfying.

The tournament was followed the next day by Family Day, in which all the students, young and old, demonstrate what they've learned. It's also the first family day for which I have no pictures, since I was on the mat myself and Tim refused to bring the camera. However a friend did get a pic of us after it was all over:

Finally, the end of the month brought us their first big dance performance, Malanka, in celebration of Ukrainian New Year. Due to camera failure, I didn't get pictures of the actual event, but I did get pictures of the dress rehearsal that morning. It was a huge success, and despite the fact that we all spent the next day flat on our backs in exhaustion, all the work and preparation was worth it.

Theo in his Polissia outfit. That's right, it has pink ribbon trim. You have to wonder if those Polissians got beat up a lot.

Stasha is ready for her close-up

To keep boys from turning to a life of crime, or hockey, they've given them their own dance where they can show off their tricks. They're fine-tuning the choreography here, though not necessarily with the best example ever, since this is the guy who lost his pants in the Vesna performance last year. Happily, everyone's pants stayed on this time.

Finally, an early lesson in suffering for the sake of art. I had to get their stage make-up on and feed them before the performance, but without messing up their costumes. Thus poor Theo has to eat his cheese sandwich in nothing but make-up, underwear, and a kitchen towel. I feel so sorry for him, I will never use this for blackmail.