My Fair Kara

Karalee took a cotillion class through her school. They learned social etiquette, dining, dancing, and other skills. I got to chaperone one of the lessons. The dancing was my favorite part. It was awkward, but adorable. 

They were learning about table settings when I was there. Kara actually knew quite a bit thanks to all of our Disney cruises, haha. She won a package of skittles for answering correctly. I don't recall the question though. 

I was surprised to see her raise her hand when the dance instructor asked for a volunteer to demonstrate a dance they'd learned already. She is actually a pretty good little dancer.

They were taught the waltz, salsa, and some line dances. 

There were about 6 more boys than girls, so they had to rotate them in. The girls were irritated that they didn't get a break. 

She came home and made sure that Kiersten and Evie learned her new dances as well. 

The night of cotillion, Kara asked me to wave her hair. It turned out cute. She even borrowed a pair of my shoes so she would have a bit of a heel. 

Ben opted not to go, but I think he really missed out. 

The dinner was at Missouri Athletic Club, so we had to drive downtown. That part is not so fun. But we actually got there faster than I planned for. So we had time to explore a little. 

Kara thought it was hilarious to have a fancy chair in the bathroom. She was laughing so hard trying to take this photo. 

She was the first girl there, so she found her assigned seat, and then followed me around for the next 15 minutes while I tried to socialize with the other parents. 

I had to keep sending her back over to the kids' side of the room. Then I'd turn around and she was right behind me again. I was glad to see the other girls start to show up, so she would stay over there. The adults had our own tables, and we were less scrutinized on our table manners, though the teachers did make a few comments to us. 

She had a great time with the group line dances. I credit all of our livingroom dance parties for her awesome moves. 

They had a dance competition, and she got 2nd place in both salsa and waltz. She won the first heat on both, but ended up getting beaten in the finals. She came over to tell me how relieved she was not to win. I asked why, and she said it was embarrassing. 

It was really fun to see her just cut loose and let herself have fun. She gets so stressed out with school and activities sometimes. I like to see her just being a happy kid. 

At the end of the night they all got a certificate. She said, "Now I have a PhD in etiquette!".