Girls Night Out....

The Nutcracker came to town. Only tickets sold out faster then expected. However, I have connections. They come in the form of a neighbor who loves me enough to think of me when her husband gets free tickets from work. Because of this thoughtful neighbor, Kennedy and I were able to attend this exciting event. We decided we would go all out and start the evening with a little shopping. Walmart was our obvious choice. Kennedy just "really needed something cute to wear to the ballet" and I'm a sucker for cute little girls. Lucky her. After shopping, dinner of course. I asked her if I could take her somewhere she'd never been. I suggested Il Spazio or Ruby Tuesday. She chose Ruby Tuesday, then her eyes started to sparkle and she said, "Ooooh, Mom. Wait! Can we go to Country Kitchen?!" Really? Seriously? Somewhere between trying on clothes and walking to the car she thankfully changed her mind and decided Ruby Tuesday should be where we dine. I was perfectly willing to adhere to her original first choice, but grateful for the change of plans. She ordered chicken strips (of course) but really just wanted the garlic mashed potatoes. A girl after my own heart. Honey mustard came with her chicken fingers. She wanted me to document how she felt about this absurd dipping option.

After dinner we headed to dollar general so she could buy Ethan a birthday present (with her own money), Landon a Christmas present (she drew his name this year), and treats for the ballet. Then we headed to the Baldwin Auditorium to wait in line. It was 6:30 when we arrived and they finally opened the doors at 7:15. Long wait, but she was patient. We ended up sitting 5 rows back. We could see everything on the stage beautifully before it started so we thought sitting this close might eliminate her need to sit on my lap. (And a few friends of mine were in the same row). We took a picture before the show. Kennedy wanted to show off her choice in ballet nourishment.

Once the ballet started I was kind of disappointed where we were sitting. We could see everything happening, but we could only see from the dancers ankles up. We couldn't see their feet. To me, the magic of the ballet is seeing the dancers perched on their toes for excruciatingly long periods of time. I quietly reminded Kennedy throughout the entire production that these girls were up on their toes. If anyone ever gets a chance to take a 6 year old girl to a ballet production, they need to. If not for the experience, for the comments they present.

"Mom, there are 8 dancers up there now."

"Mom, is that Katies sister? Yep, that's her. Wait, that's her. No, I think it's that one."

"Mom, why are these called Mike & Ikes anyway?"

"Mom, are those boys going to lift those girls up so high they touch the curtains? When are they going to do more of those high lifting things?"

"Why are those boys wearing those super tight pants anyway?"

"Mom, where do you think that girl sugar plum fairy got that outfit? I really need one of those tutu kind of skirts that stick out like you're twirling when you aren't and those shoes and the strappy top with it. I need one to practice ballet in."

And how whenever a scene would end, or a dancer would finish a fabulous twirl and we all clapped "Is it already over?" repeatedly until I had to say politely "I'll let you know when it's completely over, okay babe?".

What a great evening I had with a fabulous little girl.