Confessions of a Blogaholic

Kai ready to board the Subway going to China Town to look for hair accessories. Kai and Kolton taking a Pedi Cab on our way to explore the YMCA. She wanted to see where she would be staying a few weeks later. Kai, Maya and Kolton in Times Square Kai, Ariana and Tatum in front of the biggest Forever 21. I had a headache just from walking around this place. It was crazy.....four floors of clothes.

Kai competed her new solo in the morning, and then she was free for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We took a walk to Central Park again, and just relaxed. In the evening, we went to the Top of the Rock and enjoyed the view. The best was to see the Empire State Building lit up with Red, White and Blue. It was gorgeous. On the fourth of July, the girls all had to compete. All of their group numbers were on this day. We were done early, and we went to dinner and then walked over to the Hudson River to see the fireworks.

In New York, there is never any down time. When these girls are not busy dancing, they want to go shopping. This particular day was no exception. The girls wanted to go to H & M. We decided to walk there. Big mistake, HUGE. It was so hot on this day. New York was having record heat, and it was pretty miserable. After shopping for a while, we decided to head back, and to our surprise, we could not find a Taxi driver that would take us ALL back to the hotel. NYC has a maximum rider limit and we exceeded it. They can only take four people at a time, and their were six of us. Finally one of them took pity on us and took us to the hotel, but asked the girls to duck their heads if they saw a member of the NYPD . It was pretty funny, because of the holiday, they were almost at every corner.

This was quite possibly the happiest day of the whole trip. It was the night of the Mini/Junior Gala. For the first time in TDA history, they earned four spots in the Galas. Money, Money in the Mini division, Steam Heat in the Junior division, Can Your Hear What I Say in the Teen division, and The Fight in the Senior division. In the past, they have earned up to three spots, but all four was amazing. When we get to NYC, all the studios re-compete numbers that they have competed at Regionals. Each division has easily over 100 numbers. The judges pick the top five numbers in each division. On Gala nights, the five numbers go head to head and compete for the top prize. The top prize is called Critics Choice winner. When we went to Nationals in 2007, TDA had two numbers that made the Gala. Kai was in one of those numbers. Although they did not win, it was still an honor to have made the top five, and had a chance to dance in the Gala. When we went back last year, TDA had three...

This was our last and final day in NYC. The last day is always bitter sweet for us. Both Kai and I LOVE NY and it's very hard to leave. Kai, however wasn't to sad. She knew that she would be back in a few weeks. We started out our day early and headed to Soho for a day of school shopping. Both Tatum and Kai managed to do some damage in a few Soho stores. On our way to go shopping!!! Kai at her favorite store in Soho, TopShop! This was also the day for the Teen/Senior Gala. It was such an exciting night. We had Vicki in the top three for Teen Outstanding Dancer, and Cory in the top three for Senior Outstanding Dancer. Vicki danced beautifully, it was truly breathtaking. She ended up 1st runner-up. Cory also dance amazing and he won the title of Senior Outstanding dancer. It was another great night for TDA. We went out to celebrate, and the only restaurant we could find open was La Famiglia Pizza. We filled it up pretty fast. Danni, Mary, Maya and Kai celebrating M...

Every year the kids at TDA get ready for their annual dance recital. This year was no different. On top of getting numbers ready for competition, they also learn some recital pieces. This years recital was a lot of fun. All the kids did an amazing job. Tatum, Mary and Kai on their way to Chandler Center for the Arts they just might like the camera.... just maybe. Kai and Miss Fabiana Kai and Tatum getting ready for the show Kai and friends

I can't believe that is has been three months since I last blogged. It's been a busy Summer for all of us. We are a weeks into the new school year, and there are no signs of anything slowing down. I am going to try my best to update my blog with all of the Summer happenings. Every year Kai travels to Douglas for my sister's dance recital. My sister owns a small dance studio there and has her annual recital at the beginning of June. This year, Miss Fabiana taught Kai a pointe solo, and she performed it in Douglas. We were so grateful to Miss Fabiana for taking the time to teach her this solo. Soon after, we found out that Miss Fabiana and her husband would be moving to Kentucky at the end of the Summer. She was one of Kai's favorite ballet teachers. She really took her time with Kai and helped her so much. Kai, Alessandra and Devon