It's been a long time......

Well I know that it has been a long time since I've posted...So here is an update in a nutshell.

Tony is well into his 3rd term at The Illinois Institute of Art. He is still doing a great job in all his classes. He has even been invited to teach book binding to the upper level portfolio classes several times this quarter.

Ally and Bella have finished the 2008-2009 Tumbling Team competition season. Both girls went to State and did quite well.

Ally finished 4th out of 10 earning her first trophy. This is the best finishe Ally has ever had in a state meet. She looked beautiful. Her coach says that she is becoming quite a good little gymnast. At this point Ally is working hard so she can start competing all events next January.

Bella finished 2nd out of 10 earning a nice size trophy. This was Bella's first year competing and she did very well for herself. Bella is working on hand stands and cartwheels. She is still easily distracted so we are proud of all the little accomplishments she has.

Both girls are in dance. Ally is starting to get back to where she was before she left dance a few years ago. Bella has started taking ballet to help with her hips. We visited an orthopedic specialist about her hips and feet. He suggested she take ballet to help turn her hips and feet outward. Bella is really liking ballet and thinks that she is a ballerina. She does not know that it is supposed to be for therapy, but that is okay as long as she is having fun that is all that matters.

Well as most of you know we had "Lira Family Photo Day" yesterday. Wow... there were a lot of Lira's in one place. It was probably one of the few non-holiday days when we have had all 22 of the Lira's in all together at one, time in one place. Dad seemed to be doing well with all the noise and we even had a nice visit with Uncle Lee and Aunt Debbie. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Tony and I agree that it was worth all the hard work to have such nice photos of everyone.