Brava!

Saturday brought us the delightful distraction (from house stuff) of Sophie's Talent Show performance!  If you'll recall, last year's show was her singing debut, and this year she really amped things up by going for a solo.  Singing a karaoke version of Alicia Keys "Girl On Fire," she brought the house down!  :)

I don't know where she got her guts from, because I would be terrified to get up onstage and sing by myself in front of a big crowd!  Especially as an 11 year old!  But she did it.  Afterwards, she told me she was so nervous right before going on that she was almost hyperventilating, but that she forced herself to sing along in her head to the group that was on stage and it helped to distract her and keep her from freaking.

 Grace insisted on doing her makeup for the show, along with her friend, Natalie.

Sophie's performance was towards the end of Act II, so we were there for the long haul of the night.  While I think the majority of us were totally fine with that, there was one little toddler who was NOT.   To say that Isaac is difficult in settings like this would be an understatement.  Hahaha.  Poor Scott was on Dumplin' Duty during all of Act I, since I had signed on to help out with the show, and was in charge of keeping kids moving in the right order and getting them backstage at the right time for their performances, but I took my turn with him for part of Act II and he was a handful.  He was freaking out about the loudness of the microphone feedback, he did not like the lights being off with just a spotlight on stage, and some of the performances themselves really scared him, too.  As a result, he started demanding very early "I want to get out of here!"  Hahaha.  After wandering the halls for a few performances, I convinced Ethan to take a turn so I wouldn't miss Sophie's solo debut.  In the end, Ethan burnt out rather quickly and Scott took over once again so that I'd be able to see Sophie and tape her performance.  {He had seen her sing at the dress rehearsal the night before and insisted that he was fine with taking Isaac out again.}

 Obviously we had to go shopping for a new outfit -- thank you Target for the super cute top and shoes.  They really sparked joy.  ;)

 Sophie with a group of her school friends.

Grace with a couple of her fellow Beehives who were so sweet to come and support Sophie in her performance as well.

By the time Sophie got up on stage, she was ready to kill it!  Being on the front row and able to see her up close while she sang was really fun, and I loved seeing her facial expressions.  She really did bring the house down!  I'm so proud of her for going after her dreams.  Look out world, here comes the next pop superstar!  ;)

I'd like to take credit for thinking of buying some roses to present to Sophie at the end of the show, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even think about it.  Grace's friend, Natalie, was the one who bought them herself to surprise her with.  It was so sweet!  And I know it helped Sophie to feel like star.  :)