I (John) have been assisting Marriann with this website (read more here) and it just so happened that my wife and I were going to be in Southern California on the night of the finale. Marriann was very gracious and said that we could come backstage on the show and possibly get in to see the finale. The following 2 pictures were taken by Marriann of my wife and I with Chuck and Shannon.

They were both very nice to us. We had a nice little conversation with Chuck and Julianne and Chuck looked very cute together. Shannon Elizabeth looked wonderful. Near the end of Derek and Brooke’s dance at the finale, I glanced over to where Shannon was sitting and she was beaming. It was a very sweet moment that the cameras didn’t catch, but was really quite wonderful.

Sorry to borrow Marriann’s blog for a moment, but I thought that fans of Derek and Julianne would enjoy the pictures and would need to know why my wife and I were in the pictures. My only regret was that I wasn’t able to get a picture of Julianne with Chuck and Derek with Shannon. I’m sure Marriann will post some of those in the future.

Thanks Marriann for giving us a once in a lifetime opportunity to be at the finale.

Well, I spent most of the day yesterday getting my tires changed. I was going to change them three trips ago. Traveling back and forth from Vegas to L.A. for Dancing with the Stars does a number on the wear and tear of the car.

This friday in People magazine, Julianne will be talking about her endometriosis with pictures of her and her puppy (I’m in there too). Her puppy has been on antibiotics but after three weeks it seemed the medicine was also making her tummy hurt.

For all the animal lovers, which all the Hough kids are! You might be interested that we put Julianne’s puppy on a different brand of dog food. We are giving her vitamins and it has really seemed to help.

I was so proud of Derek and Brooke. They looked great Monday night. Derek choreograghed two dances one for Brooke and one for the team. He did a great job in both dances. I loved the blue costumes for the paso. And amidst all the teaching and practices, Derek spent two weeks every night after practice to decorate Shannon’s house for a Halloween party and scavenger hunt. The decorations were amazing. Lasers, smoke, spider webs, hanging skeletons, D.J. and dancing, it was a great success. Derek loves holidays. I always made holidays and birthdays a big deal. It’s fun to see the tradition carried on.

I am going to the results show tonight. I’m hoping to have dinner with Derek after the show. He is so busy after the show he goes to the studio with the band and works on their album that will be released in March. The band will be going on tour in December promoting the album. I am so excited. Their music has a very unique sound that distinguishes them from other bands. They are great musicians. Derek’s schedule is so busy but he loves what he does.

Julianne and I watched the show on T.V. Julianne thought the dance was great and beautiful. I loved the dress Brooke was wearing. After the result show, the dancers get their new music for the next week and they (Derek) design the costume they will be wearing usually that same night. The wardrobe team works 24 hrs. around the clock until Saturday. The dancers and Stars come for a fitting and Sunday they make any adjustments for Monday and even Monday they sometimes are making last minute alterations. I Salute the wardrobe team because they really work hard on a limited budget. I sew and I appreciate their work!

Til next time!

Sending pictures soon.
Marriann

Marriann also wanted to let everyone know that Derek choreographed the Paso Doble group number.

Marriann told me a little bit about a Halloween party that Derek and Shannon had at Shannon’s house. Marriann said that she always made a big deal on Holidays and so Derek seems to have carried it on. She described Derek and Shannon decorating the house like a haunted house with lasers, smoke and the whole 9 yards.

Sounds like a fun Halloween. Of course, I forgot to ask her if she took any pictures of the event. I can’t imagine that she’d go to such a nice party and not take at least a few pictures. We’ll see if she has any that we can post in the future.

Nice to see that even amidst all the dancing and singing the Derek’s doing he can still take some time out for some fun on the Holidays.

Sorry for the simple update. More updates coming soon.

Here’s a picture of Derek Hough’s grandma with Shannon Elizabeth. I love Shannon’s tender heart. She is a sensitive person. She is an advocate for animals. In fact, she has a few dogs herself that she has saved from bad circumstances. Yes, she shows her emotions but hey, you know who she Really Is! And I love that about her.

There is a saying, “Be careful what devils ye cast out, lest ye cast out the best part.” The sensitive part of Shannon does alot of good. But when she is playing poker WATCH OUT!

Next, is a picture of Katherine Hough (Derek Hough’s sister), Rocky her boyfriend, Mark Ballas Jr. and Kristi Yamaguchi eating dinner at the Grove after the first show of this season’s Dancing with the Stars.

Everyone ate sushi but I ate veggies.

Katherine is actually my super funny daughter. Her boyfriend Rocky is not only easy on the eyes he will help you out in a pinch. Actually he is a stunt director. And for being a really tough guy Rocky is a teddy bear!

I love sharing and may God bless everyone. Let us all find the good. Why? Because it feels better. I notice the difference’s in people, the variety, the talents, and I have opinions but I’m not really into putting people down.

Thanks for coming by Pure Derek Hough! I’ll be posting more about Derek soon.