The kids slept pretty late this morning - J was the lastest waker at 10am. I'm glad she was well-rested because it was going to be a big day - the 3 intense dance workshops, auditions, and then the party.

I scrambled around in the morning trying to find all black clothes for J to wear. She had the pants, but the top was a black leotard with pink rhinestones on it. No good, have to leave early now to go to the store to find something else (always last minute). So I tried the discount kids clothing store by me, which I LOVE, and there in the front was a rack of dance clothes - with a black bodysuit in J's size! I swear I have never seen this rack before. I got 2 bodysuits, a pair of dance pants, 2 pairs of socks (with a pink "J" on the side), and a shirt for K - all for $20.

We got to the studio at 1:15pm. The kids had a stretch class before the workshops began. They covered the viewing window, too. I tried to sneak peeks through a door curtain, lol. The first workshop was Tap with the National Director of "Dancer's Inc.". The second workshop was advanced jazz with this guy Steve (who's with Dance Rave) and the third was an intense choreography workshop with Michelle - also from Dancers Inc. (Dancer's Inc and Dance Rave run competitions and conventions all over the country). The workshops were over by 5pm. Then more loud music was put on and the kids had 10 seconds to show everybody what they got. They were all wearing a number and when it was called they ran out to the middle of the room and freestyle danced - showcasing all their moves. I had gone home but came back at this time to help set up for the party that evening. I heard everyone in the dance room applauding and screaming cheers for their teammates - and I wanted to watch soooo badly. But it was an audition and these are always kept very hush-hush. The whole dance company is down to 19 kids. I saw at least 5 or 6 new faces who are trying out for it - 2 for J's group(9-10y/o), 2 for the older group (12-13 y/o) and 1 or 2 in the oldest group (16-20). We'll hear all the results next week, I hope.

They were all done before 6 and soon more people started filtering in for the party. K was with the older team all night. They are all around the same age and are all girly-girls who love talking about what they're wearing, which boy is cute, and how does my hair look this way. They danced together, took tons of pictures of themselves, and were just being wonderful silly pre-teen girls. J was wired after dancing for almost 4 hours straight and every time I checked on her, she was still dancing! Well, so were most of the kids. I would love to have half the energy these kids have. She ran around with the kids, played games, and made up dance routines with S. We stayed til after 11pm. I had a great time chatting and laughing with all the moms and dads.

I was outside with the studio owner talking about the day and she just came out and said that she thinks homeschooling has been the best thing for J - "she is calmer and way more focused than she was last year". WOW! That felt so good to hear. It's amazing how that kind of acknowledgement can be so encouraging and empowering. This was a fantastic day.