A Ray of Sunshine and a Happy Leprechaun

Dance recital day! We were excited here at the Compton house. As Eliza says, she's been waiting every day for a whole year for this day. Highlight of her year. As we sat waiting for the performance to begin, Eliza said to me, "Mom, I can't wait for this magic day to begin!" Always a little extra drama with that sweet girl around.

On Friday, we spent part of the morning and afternoon at the Elsinore Theatre for dress rehearsal. Costumes, make-up and hair had to be done. All of the preparation had to be re-done on Saturday! I was grateful that Robyn offered to come help with the kids while I got everyone dressed. More specifically, to help with Jameson while I did Eliza's hair. Since Eliza chopped a big chunk out of her hair sometime this spring, I had to have her hair cut back into a bob. Which makes creating a bun on top of her head difficult. Jameson likes to interrupt the process. Usually this means sneaking the bottle of hair gel to squirt it out on the carpet. Then I have to let go of Eliza's hair to stop Jameson's mischief. And the process starts all over again. Praise Jesus for Gram's help.

Well, after a lot of Dep hair gel and hairspray, and a plethora of clips, bobby pins and a hair net, the bun was cemented in place. Eliza is thrilled because she gets to wear blush, lipstick, mascara and eye shadow. She watches me do my make-up every day and so badly wants to wear it herself. Her dream comes true once a year at recital time. Serious delight.

The recital makes me thankful that Marshall is a boy. Marshall is so easy. Just put on his costume. And a little blush so he doesn't look washed out under the lights. And he's ready to go.

Eliza's sweet little class waiting for the magic to begin

These are videos from Marshall's dress rehearsal. It is amazing to me to watch these videos of Marshall. Just two years ago, he was so shy that there is no way he would have danced on stage. Let alone in front of so many people. It was so much fun to watch him up there, dancing front and center!

[To hear the music on the video, go to the Mixpod box on the right of the blog and pause the music before you watch the video.]





Our videotaping of Eliza's rehearsal went a little haywire. So, here are a few pictures from her performance. Including a couple from her mama's backstage view.