party rock

Loudoun came home so excited one day to enter his school's talent show, but when he asked the school if he could pogo with no hands, they said absolutely not and he was devastated. He couldn't think of anything else he wanted to do and turned into that frustrated kid like the world was coming to an end.

So, I googled talent show ideas and high on the list was dancing with glow sticks in the dark. And we all knew we had a winner. Daddy and Loudoun picked out the song Party Rock and he went to school the next day to tell his after school coach his great idea.

The coach in charge of putting together the talent show had a background of 6 years in dance, and offered to put together a routine for Loudoun and his friend, Noah. He came home every night and practiced, playing the song on our iPad in the living room and yelling out: watch this! look at this one! check it out! He was so excited and we were rooting him on each step of the way.

On the afternoon of the talent show, I used double-sided sticky velcro and attached glowsticks to their chests, arms and back. Daddy tied the glowsticks to their belt loops and we also gave them some for their wrists, ankles, and a few to hold onto. All of the kids in the auditorium were already wondering about the glowsticks on their clothes, but they had no idea what was coming.

getting decked out in glowsticks before the show

Avalon waiting in the audience, sitting so nicely with us. We finally don't have to worry about her staying in her seat (she used to be a wanderer). Giving her a handful of her own glowsticks made all the difference. 

When the announcer called their names, they went on stage, the lights were turned out completely, the music started and the entire auditorium went WILD. Everyone was out of their seats, clapping and cheering and the kids LOVED the dark room and loud music. 

obviously the flash from my camera takes away from the pitch black room and glowing glowsticks.

 Loudoun and Noah totally nailed their dance moves and had big smiles on their faces the entire time. Rick and I were so proud, and couldn't believe how much Loudoun has grown in his confidence the last couple of years.

they even came off stage and interacted with the audience

After they finished and went back to their seat, all of the girls approached them, asking for glowsticks. And we heard so many kids say later that it was their favorite performance of the afternoon. Talk about good for Loudoun's spirit.

This all happened after work, on a Friday, on Rick's birthday, and Rick, Avalon and I had the BEST time watching Loudoun and all of the kids perform and share their talents with us. They were all so cute!

Avalon's handful of glowsticks, unedited photo