The Freeman Family: Ainsley's dance recital

Ainsley had dance class every Saturday morning at 9, starting last fall and going through May. Let me say that again. 9 a.m. every Saturday morning. Talk about ruining your weekend. It was hard to get away for a weekend, and ruined any chance of having a lazy Saturday morning. But, she really enjoyed dance, and wanted to stick with it. I'm glad she did, because the big recital was absolutely amazing in her eyes. She still talks about being up on the big stage. (She's not anything like her mother there!)

I stressed over having to put her hair in a bun, and Ainsley thought that wearing her hair in a bun was the coolest thing. I'm glad I don't have to do her hair like that every week for class. The recital was bad enough. She takes classes at Sara's in Jacksonville, and the recital made for a long weekend. We had rehearsal and pictures Thursday night, and then one show Friday night and two on Saturday. It was a long time for a just turned 4 year old to sit back stage and wait for her next routine, but all the girls did really well.

Heading to rehearsal with hair and makeup done

She loved getting her makeup and hair done, and wasn't the least bit nervous. I was one proud Mommy! I was able to snap a few pictures the night of rehearsal.

Ainsley's way over on the other side in front of Sara

Ainsley's in the back row....second girl in.

During the recital, the girls all sat back in the gym and waited for their turn to go on stage. Since I was never in dance growing up, I had no idea what to expect. It was quite the experience. All the girls brought plenty of toys to keep everyone entertained, which was good, because each recital was around two and a half to three hours long.

Ainsley didn't exactly follow the dance steps once she got on stage, but neither did any of the other girls. It was still fun to watch. During one of her ballet performances, all the girls were suppose to lay down at the end, but Ainsley and Tessa decided they were going to keep standing up. During another performance, Ainsley started waving to someone in the audience. We have no clue who she was waving to!

Ainsley's in the back row...behind the girl still laying down.

Waving to someone in the audience (not us!)

Ainsley and Tessa doing their own thing...

There were lots of people that came to watch Ainsley on stage, and she was always anxious before each performance to hear who was coming to that one to watch. She also got lots of flowers from everyone. She decided that weekend that her favorite were roses!