the big recital...finally.

Clara had her dance recital on Friday, May 18.  The problem was that we also had a wedding to go to that evening.  The dancers had a dress rehearsal the night before, and we went as complete newbies, not knowing what to expect.  Well...the rehearsal lasted well over two hours because there were 23 acts!  23!   We showed Clara the stage when we arrived at Meridian Middle School, and warned her that if she walked close to the edge she could get big owies.  Then, we sat back and watched.

So the night of the big event, we arrived on time, with her hair done and her costume ready to go.  It went really well.  We warned our family that the recital could take hours, so it was a pleasant surprise when things moved right along!  Clara performed, "It's a Small World" as act #2.  Here are a few pics (Kurtis tried his best, but it was pretty tough to get close and get some good shots.  She's at the back right in her little Dutch costume.  You can barely see her white hat among the flowers!)

 Then here she is on the far right again performing act #14, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider".

 Checking to make sure she's on her spot...she is spot obsessed!

 dancing to the beat of her own drum...

We quickly escaped after her last song.  Terrible, I know.  But remember, we had a wedding to go to?

Here is the great performer with her stage dad!

 Here she is with Uncle Brian (Christianne was there too, she just had to leave early for a party).

 Here she is with Auntie Angie (Uncle Brad was out of town, so Angie represented!).

 Here is is with Gma and Pop.

 Why so serious, Clara?

 Never mind!

 Here she is with Oma!

 Goofballs!

 And here is sweet Clara with her parents.  We were so proud.  But we didn't bring a huge bouquet of flowers for our two-year-old or cover her face in make-up!  I could only go so far, and remember, I was sucked in to taking Clara to this class because the word, "tumbling" was in the class title!  There are some things associated with dance that make me nervous as a mom of a young girl.  But we tried it and were pleasantly surprised!

Dance was really a great growing experience for Clara.  She learned that in life, you have to listen to your teacher.  She also learned to follow directions, and to be independent.  She gained some nice gross motor skills.  And most importantly, she made friends and socialized with her peers, which she desperately needed practice with (we joke that Clara sometimes acts "homeschooled" because she is usually only around adults and has trouble interacting with peers in a positive way, simply because she doesn't have much practice or exposure to other kids on a daily basis).   I'll sign off, now that I've offended all the homeschoolers out there!  But not before I show you her official dance pictures for this year.