Karlee and I left for State with the team on March 17th. The charter bus was amazing and so comfortable! It definitely made the bottle drives and car washes well worth it! The hotel was gorgeous, and The Old Spaghetti Factory was YUMMY!! (I recommend the Mizthra for those of you who have never tried it) The girls left on Thursday night to watch the teams that were competing at the Coliseum. The "Team Moms" stayed back at the hotel and relaxed, talked, and had a good time. The next morning (Friday) we were up and at em bright and early. The breakfast at the hotel was to die for. I have never seen such an elaborate continental breakfast. I recommend the Marriott to anyone who has never stayed there! After breakfast the girls went into to hair and make-up, while Shawna and I prepared food for the hungry dancers. By 4pm we were ready to hit the Coliseum to watch our girls take the floor. Sarah and Bella came from Hood River to watch Karlee. I was so excited to see them!! The Belles did amazing! I always think they do amazing, but this night they blew us away!! It was like those girls were meant to be on that floor. They sparkled with their eyes, and they had such energy that it was breathtaking!
Saturday was more of the same. We had more family there that night, my Gram, Uncle Alan, Michelle, & Aunt Donna, Renee & Emily and BEST OF ALL Alex came to watch Karlee dance!! It was another fantastic performance and we all waited anxiously for the end when they would announce the placements. 14 teams performed in the same division as us (5A Small) and when they started to announce I felt like I was going to have a heart attack! They announced top 5 starting with 5th place. 5th place went to Lebanon! (Lebanon continually beat us during the traditional season!) 4th place went to Marshfield, and 3rd place went to THE SOUTH ALBANY SOUTHERN BELLES!!! We were so excited for our girls, and for our Coaches!! All of their hard work paid off, and for as many "baby Belles" as we had out on the floor this was quite an astonishing accomplishment!!!
And now we are on to the next season. Tryouts are next week, and Karlee will not only be trying out for the team, but she also wants to try out for the Choreography Team. I know I say it alllllllll the time, but I am so very proud of my beautiful dancer. She learned a lot this last year, and grew in leaps and bounds. She is a more structured, responsible, caring person now and I will be forever grateful to the Coaches, her fellow dancers, and the other parents. Dance team is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of dedication from not only the dancer, but also the families. It is however, ALL WORTH IT!!
The next post will let you all know if she made the teams, and I also will talk about other things that are going on in our lives. I wanted this post to be dedicated purely to dance.
