It's official....we are dancers! Not because we paid the money...not because we took the lessons...not because we dressed the part...BUT because we were in our FIRST DANCE COMPETITION...The Newcomers Competition at Fred Astaire Studios in Fort Walton Beach, Forida, April 9, 2010. Competitors came from Panama City, Crestview and Fort Walton...we were form the last locale.
That's right....Jim danced eight dances with Katie Guillen (our instructor and pro competitor with her husband)..and I danced eight with Jesse Benedetti (national champion with his partner in dramatic dance). From the rhythms of the rhumba, cha-cha and Eastern swing to the slow dances of the waltz, fox trot and tango...we had our work cut out for us...or shall I say, fun!
Then Jim and I rounded out our evening with eight dances of our own together...four fox trots and four rhumbas! Talk about a night! (Course, it didn't help that I almost broke a toe four days before competition and had to dance in stocking feet! Not the most graceful, to be sure!) What was a bit of an apprehensive start at 7PM....ended as a wonderful experience and "a whole lotta fun" time by midnight! Never in Jim's born days did he think he would be wearing dancing shoes and in competition...and I too never expected that Jim and I could dance so gracefully and energetically together! What fun!

So..the Wandering Wallaces have wandered to places...now they set their sights wandering around the dance floor! What next!

My Heavens...Has it already been a month since last posting? Well, one of two things...either we have done nothing to account for the days...or...we have been so darn busy it is hard to not only keep track of what happens but also relate it! Our life as Wandering Wallaces definitely fits in the latter. March was Madness for us too! After our Caribbean sailing...we headed for St. Louis to watch our Logan (6) and Carter ('bout 4) for a week...and that we did...starting with an evening out to "Disney Live!"...then it was playing, cooking, Olympian mimicking (from games to t-shirt making to Seuss story-listening!), swimming lessons, school visitations (of course, each one!), and Dirt Track building ( a "Boy's Project" that redesigned the Phillips' family room...with water, dirt, tunnels, a curvy spiral, and of course, monster trucks...Blue Thunder (Logan's) and Shark Wreck (Carter's)...Jim had to "play" with the others! Safe to say....Phillips' family room will never be the same! Once "Mom and Dad" (KImberly and Jeff) Phillips returned home...we headed home...to the calm of Sandestin, for a short time, at least. Then, Princess Abby (3) and Mommie (6 months PG with twins!) came for a few days of playing and togetherness..Abby enjoyed a new scooter form neighbors, a "Harry-T's" night with s'mores at the table with Mommie, and a restful read before bedtime with Gramercy. When they left the Sandestin homefront...we were back to dancing in full regalia for Saint Patrick's Day!

Then...off again...this time for points northwest...namely, Colorado...specifically, Thornton.
We went to town to "share the snowfall" with the Bride-to-Be, Robyn; the Maid-of-Honor, Kelly; and the Groom, John Akins. Kelly planned a Dave and Buster's engagement party...and we were there for the merriment...along with about 30 other friends. Then it was a week of wedding planning...with "MIssion: Possible" the staging that Kelly set for the bride, the MOB, the FOB, two maids and herself to "Find the Dress" for one day...then on to tour the site, choose the flowers and taste-test the food during the rest of the week...best of all the MOB and FOB got to share a fantastic week with the future Bride and Groom...fun, fun, fun!

AFter that, we headed southwest to Las Vegas for our "First Visit" to the City That Never Sleeps...the Bellagio will never be the same after our stay...and the shows, one grander than the next from "The Phantom" to "Jersey Boys"...and "Love" (a cirque presentation about the Beatles....talk about energy!)..and David Copperfield, who even eluded our sighted-keeness from stageside! We throughly enjoyed meeting with our dear friends, the Thietjes (John and Jan) who treated us to dinner in the stratosphere, high above the city...and to sights of the city and the surrounding gorgeous Red Rocks. What a sight to behold!

But, all good travels must come to an end, and ours did with April's arrival. By April 3 we were Back to Sandestin...with all its springtime beauty and color...and yes....the traveling was FANTASTIC...but..it is good to be home again!