Vacation!!!

It's sooo much fun to get away and just be together. Our excuse to leave the lovely Hoosier state this year was because of Dance Nationals in Myrtle Beach. (Please read the below post alllll about dance and to watch Elijah's AMAZING championship video!) We left on Saturday night and drove all night and arrived in MB around 1pm on Sunday. We checked into our beautiful and spacious condo, took a nap, and then headed to the Evan's house to help Haley (One of Elijah's closest childhood friends) celebrate her 16th birthday. It was a such a blast to hug their necks, catch up on life, and have some awesome fellowship over some of the best food (prepared by Haley's daddy, Jeff...who was home on vacation that week.) By the time we got back to the condo, we were all exhausted.

The next few days were filled with doing the tourist thing; eating great food, going to the beach, seeing the sights, and relaxing. We ate at Planet Hollywood,
spent lots of time at Broadway at the Beach, saw the fourth installment of Pirates at the 3-D IMAX theater, ate some great ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, and beached it up at North Mytle Beach.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent doing the dance thing. But in the evening we had time to do some sight-seeing and shopping. We went to this great candy store, called It's Sugar, and spent quite a bit of time looking at everything they offered. Talk about a fun place. It was HUGE and there was so much to see! We picked up some of our favorite treats while looking at some "treats" that didn't seem so sweet....like bacon-flavored mints, ranch-flavored gum, and dill pickle-flavored toothpicks. Fun stuff...but we'll stick with the sweet stuff!

Friday night we went back to the Evans' house for some more of Jeff's homecooking. He introduced us to Shrimp and Grits and it was the most FABULOUS thing ever! I was in heaven! He made a fabulous apple crisp and topped it with vanilla ice cream. It was fun hanging out them. Jeff has one story after another and he is a hoot. He's like one giant kid in an adult's body. Then there is Kristin...this strong, amazing, fun woman whose kids adore her. Isaac was in Sydney's class when they lived here. It was great reconnecting with him. Then there's Haley. We just love this girl and hated saying goodbye to her.

Love this family!

Saturday consisted of beach in the morning and then finals dance competition in the evening. Sunday morning we were up early and on the road.


It's good to be back but we sure had a great time!

Elijah's Nationals Competition

We are back from Dance Nationals in Myrtle Beach. Good to be back but had a great time. It was HOT and HUMID but we had a ton of fun and most importantly, got to spend some quality time just hanging out together.

Elijah danced his heart out and we are SO proud of everything he has accomplished. Elijah danced tap and hip hop competitively this year as well as danced a production number. Out of all of his dances, hip hop was the best and most impressive. It was fast, current, upbeat, fun, energetic and it was the dance to beat this season.

Traditionally, hip hop doesn't do very well at competitions because it's not considered "technical." This year, Elijah's teacher, Miss Amy completely outdid herself. She and her kids should be very proud of themselves. Elijah kept telling me, "Mom, this dance is soooo fast. I just love it. I think it's my favorite this year." I had to agree. Watching him perform at competitions, the hip hop dance choked me up each time. It was different and exciting. I told his teacher this would be the "one" to win it and she agreed. Hip hop always did okay at competitions. They received platinum standings but never won first overall.

Before we knew it, we were off to Nationals. Over 1300 groups competed. Tap did ok. Production we knew, wouldn't make the cut. Hip hop had a chance, but when we received a second place overall, we weren't sure. What that meant, we didn't know. We just had to wait. In any event, Elijah had so much fun and there were some outstanding numbers to watch, beautiful costumes to drool over, and choreography that made our heads spin. A mass of talented kids who had the same passion as our son...dance.

After everyone competes, the top 80 groups make it to the finals on Saturday which are televised via webcast. The overall winner takes it all so it's literally do or die. We didn't figure any of our senior groups would make it. We figured if any groups would make it to the top 80, it would be jr. company tap. Friday at lunch, Elijah got the call that changed everything. His friend, Grace texted him and said, "We made it to the finals!" We sat in stunned disbelief. Even Elijah couldn't get excited. He texted her back and asked, "Are you sure?!?!?" Sure enough, hip hop made it to the finals. The top 77 groups were in the televised webcast dance-off for the championships on Saturday.

We were nervous, and excited, and not sure what to expect. The competition would be the fiercest they'd ever be up against. The groups were AMAZING and what's more.... Elijah's hip hop group was the ONLY hip hop group that made it to the finals. That right there speaks volumes about how good this number was. They performed and it was incredible, and inspiring, and energetic, and emotional. Watching my son, on stage, dancing his heart out, was perhaps one of the happiest moments for me and one I won't forget anytime soon. Seeing him live out his passion, doing what he loves, putting his all into something he's been working on getting right since he was six years old was awe-inspiring. My heart was bursting with pride watching him up on that stage. Watching him dance on the big screen, knowing that family and friends at home were watching and able to see them do such an incredible job and share in our joy was incomprehendable.

They didn't win but they didn't care. They were so proud of their accomplishments and they couldn't have done a better job on stage. Every movement was fluid, their choreography was completely in sync, and their facials on stage said it all. They were winners because they had done their best and made it to the top and we couldn't have been more pleased. Here's the Top 77 video link of their "do or die" performance. GREAT JOB, ELIJAH!