Dance Recital 2021

The girls had a great dance recital this year. Even though last year's COVID outdoor recital was great considering the circumstances, we were excited  about having a real indoor, normal recital. With dress rehearsal in the morning and getting ready for a 4:00 recital, it felt like all day was spent doing recital things, and the girls and I loved it!

The girls had dress rehearsal early Saturday morning. Even though I had to wake them up, they were ready to go! We snapped a few pictures before we left for rehearsal. 

Sweet Katherine had been so excited about her recital. Anytime we drove past the PAC, she'd yell, "That's my stage" She kept saying it was going to be the best day ever and that she couldn't wait to dance on the big stage. She also kept complaining that it was "going to take forever" before her time to dance on the stage, and when I told her Friday night that her recital was the next day, she said "I can't believe it. It's finally here." Sweet, sweet girl. She loves dancing so much! I was so excited for her. 

Katherine got a little nervous when I walked her back stage to her stage mom. She said, "This isn't my big stage." I guess I forgot to explain that part to her. She calmed down enough for me to leave, and then had a great time playing back stage. There were some girls Elisabeth's age in her back stage room, and she said she played with them the whole time. She called them the pink girls because their costumes were bright pink, ha!

Elisabeth was happy to be backstage with her friends. She danced with some of her best friends this year and enjoyed her dance class a lot. 

I couldn't wait to watch Kate dance during rehearsal, and she did not disappoint. Her smile radiated then entire auditorium. She's had her dance memorized for weeks and practiced it all the time. 

My friend Aubrie took this picture of her ending pose, and it's one of my favorite pictures of her. It shows her pure joy at getting to dance and perform. She's just so happy. One of the best things about being a mom is watching my kids do what they love. I teared up a little watching her dance. 

Everyone practiced the final bow, and we came home for a break to eat lunch, bake some cookies and play for a bit. Katherine kept telling everyone, "I get to dance on the big stage AGAIN, today"

I spent the afternoon doing the girls' hair and makeup. It was a girly, fun afternoon. Recital days always make me extra grateful for the blessing of raising daughters. 

Then the girls posed for pictures. We never buy the professional pictures and actually we were out of town this year and the girls had to miss picture day. But Matt takes great ones for me. 

This sassy girl had the cutest dance to one of her favorite songs. I thought her costume was adorable too. 

And my sweet baby ballerina was just precious. She reminded me of Elisabeth's baby ballerina year. I know watching those babies will be bittersweet from now on at the recital and will always remind me of this special day. 

I got a little nervous at the beginning of the recital because I didn't tell Katherine that she wouldn't be able to see me when she came out for her dance. She saw me during the rehearsal, and I thought she might be upset, but that girl did awesome, even when she forgot to carry her teddy bear to her new square 😉. She smiled the entire dance, and everyone could tell she was having the best time on the big stage. 

These boys had a pretty good attitude during the recital. They were definitely counting down the dances to the end though (so was their dad).

Elisabeth's rehearsal was a little shaky. Several of the girls forgot a few steps. Their teacher assured us, that they were just getting used to the stage and that's the reason for rehearsal. And she was right, because Elisabeth performed so much better at the recital. I was proud of her, because her dance was a lot more complicated than dances she'd done in previous years. It was adorable too!

I hate that the speaker was blocking her feet, so we couldn't see some of her footwork. 

Her ending posse was her favorite part of the dance 😘

The final bow is always fun too! I love cheering for my girls!

 

After the recital, we had fun catching up with dance friends and receiving flowers and gifts. 

I got the girls necklaces as a gift after their recital. Elisabeth got a dancer necklace, and I found a teddy bear necklace for Katherine. I told her I hope she always thinks about her recital when she wears it. 

After the recital we had my parents over for pizza and cookies to celebrate the girls. Then it was time for baths to get all the hairspray out of their hair, ha!

Katherine got to bring her teddy bear home after the recital, so we had to take of picture with it. 

Recital Day 2021 was a pretty great day! When I put Katherine to bed Saturday night, she said "I can't wait for my next recital." I think that statement perfectly summed up all our feelings about the day (well, maybe not the guys in the family, ha!).