Ballet

Chase has been taking ballet for about a year - and then we took a break for a couple months. She was invited to preform at a children's dance recital in Hong Kong a couple weeks ago. And to be honest, I wasn't really sure how it would all come together. I never really saw her practice at home (nor did I insist on it), so when I asked her to pose for the camera, in her new "show" tutu, I was extremely surprised by how "professional" her pose was ...

















She sat up "properly" all the way to the show...













And Mads, such a big girl and wearing her sister's practice tutu in support, insisted on her own seat (with seat belt).

















Here she is with her dancing friends and of course, her little sister...












And a dear friend put some make-up (Chase's dream come true)...













And Mads had her make-up done, too ...













Chase's instructor, Miss Tina, showed the girls around the stage ...












And then they were told to get off the stage. The big girls went back stage to get ready. Mads howled like a little lion cub because she so desperately wanted to go, too. And looking at me the whole time, like what do you mean I can't go with my sister, "I'm wearing a tutu, right?"

















And here's a couple pics from the rehearsal. Our seats were back a bit so we didn't get any pictures from the actual show - but this does a pretty good job of capturing it.







































And then the girls left the stage and watched others rehearse.













In the end, the show was lovely. It was wonderful to see Chase preform. Really lovely to have her there with all her friends, in all their tutus. Very cute.

Happy Birthday To Me

So I'm pretty sure I just had the best birthday ever - except of course, those many surprise parties my dad worked so hard to coordinate when I was young. Roses, dark (90%) and the most gorgeous silver bracelet from my dearest hubby. Jojo made me a gorgeous sticky rice cake (which the girls decorated with red and green sprinkles). A dear friend dropped over the most incredible cupcakes and a gorgeous orchid.

And I took the girls to the bookstore and told them to pick out a book for me. Chase picked out a cupcake book, which she read for the rest of the day - soaking in each and every design one can do with a cupcake. Mads picked out a Charlie & Lola 5 -story-collection. And she looked through it and I read it to her several times for the rest of the afternoon. Really lovely!