Chanelle 2011

As you can see on the "funnies" page, Chanelle has a great sense of humor. Either that or people have a great sense of humor around her, because there's lots of it attracted to her.

This year, like last year, Chanelle's biggest extracurricular focus has been being on the Freshman Ballroom Team at Westlake High. Chanelle is still in 8th Grade. Doubtless, she would be on Jr. Varsity or Varsity Team next year when she actually attends the high school (because those teams have actual classes), but next year she's taking off from Ballroom, even though she loves it. When you are in Ballroom, there's no time for other things, like musical plays or choir or volleyball. She almost chose those this year, but changed her mind. She loves ballroom, so doubtless she will audition again sometime in high school. Chanelle has discovered the joy and value of earning and paying her own way.

For couples competitions, Chanelle has two dance partners. James was also her dance partner last year and has been one of her best friends for 4 years. He's the one in the middle of the picture to the left. The other is Michael, who we've known for years, as Michael and Chanelle grew up together in Eagle Mountain.

Chanelle had to get her Ballroom shoes reheeled before a certain performance. She was only without her shoes for two or three days. She was surprised to find that she felt lost without them, and she felt protective of them like her child. I told her that it's normal to have a "relationship" with instruments of your profession. For instance, every band member I know has a "relationship" with their instrument. While they could play someone else's of the same kind, there's no relationship and it just feels foreign. She laughed, then realized how true that was for her.

Chanelle's favorite classes this year is Ceramics and American Sign Language, both of which she does very well in. She does well in Geometry, but goes back and forth as to whether she likes it or not. She absolutely does not like Robotics!

Chanelle is growing her hair out again. It grows quickly. Also, she got her braces on again. And in another month she will be attending Stake Youth Dances, which she is really looking forward to! The picture to the left is with her good friend and locker partner, Aysia.

Chanelle is an amazing pianist. She can learn a song well enough to accompany in a week, depending on the difficulty. She writes music. Below is a sampling of her work.