We Had a Ball at the Ball

When Leila was four, I started the annual tradition of taking her to a very large ballroom dancing competition held every fall. It's an all-day event. We go in the morning and spend several hours watching, I take Leila home, and then my mom and I get dressed up and go back for the evening televised competition. This is something I look forward to every year and was so happy to be able to add Kara into our little ballroom tradition this year. Kara loved it so much, she did not want to leave. She barely moved watching the dancers and the beautiful gowns. Next year, I'm buying her tickets to the evening event, too. It ends well past midnight, but I think she'll love it! And if I can get Mia to sit still long enough, she'll get to go to the daytime competition next year, too.

It's hard watching ballroom dancing without adding up the expenses in your head... lessons, ballroom gowns that cost thousands of dollars each (yes, they do!), costume jewelry and hair accessories that run hundreds of dollars each, custom-made dance shoes, hair, make-up, spray tans, airfare and hotels for all the competitions across the country and around the world. It is super CRAZY expensive!!! I will not be signing up my girls for ballroom dancing anytime soon! And I will never make it in the ballroom world. Nolan and I tried lessons early in our marriage and I got in trouble with our instructor every single lesson for not letting Nolan lead. No, I'm not cut out for ballroom at all. But, I love to watch it!

These are all dancers in the "under 21" competition. Oh, they were GOOD!!! And their parents are broke!!! LOL

And please forgive me for the poor photo quality of the picture below, but I just had to prove that Leila and Kara were actually there. :)