I would just like to add that if anyone has the opportunity to go to one of these things, and if the finances work out, you should definitely try to go. We just got home last night and had a really good time. The college campus, (in our case, Duke), is very interesting, and at Duke they had some hiking trails and an amazing garden, which we all enjoyed. The ceremony was also good, and we had a great couple of speakers. But I thought the most amazing part was the night before the ceremony, in the hotel swimming pool/hot tub. DH took her down, and they started out alone, but more kids and their parents came as well. By the time they had to leave (2 hours later!), their were 7 girls from Duke TIP talking. They talked about books, boys, etc, and I think this was one of her few moments where she kind of just "fit in". So yeah, long post, but you REALLY should try to do this if you can (for any ceremony, for any talent search)
