what an amazing, exhausting, yet memorable weekend! hampton performed in her first kansas dance academy recital...including two dances, ballet ("i have learned a ballet dance") and tap ("i'm a cu-cu-cuddly duck"). i must say that i am amazed at the level of perfection the studio presents, while at the same time preserving the love of dance itself. hampton absolutely LOVES it all (perfect hair, heavy makeup, costume changes & all)! though the dress rehearsal was long (a mere 5 1/2 hours), and the actual recital performances (3 1/2 hours times 2) were exhausting, it was all worth it in the end. actually, not quite the end. after hampton's first performance in front of a grand audience, she said, "mom, that was amazing!" choked up a bit, i asked her if she had been nervous, to which she replied, "no mom, don't be silly...i love the stage!" indeed she does. no fear. simply an honest love of performing. me ma & papa, ju ju & evie, and brothers coleman & austin were so kind to sit through the extra long performance to see hampton's two dances. and daddy, to sit through it all...twice. funny thing is, this is only the beginning. i have a hunch we have a little girl destined for show biz. hmmm...proud we are!
