NCB ~ Simply ~ The BEST

Our North Colonie Pee Wee Large cheer team competed at the Eastern Regional competition last weekend in Trenton, NY. Our cars were covered in shoe polish with NORTH COLONIE BISON. The top two teams go on to compete at the National level in Florida, Walt Disney World. Last year we missed going to Nationals by TWO points.

After the NY competitions were done we had three weeks to totally re-choreographed our routine to kick it up a notch so that we would have a shot at placing in the top two.. We threw in one legged stunts ~ liberties, arabesques and a heal stretch. Practices were long and tiring, but the girls rose above all the sicknesses that plagued our squad and made it work.

When it came time for us to take the floor and practice one last time before performing ~ confidence was shaken to the core for Hannah. The noise level in the arena was high ~ the girls couldn't even hear us shouting out the eight counts to walk through their routine. For whatever reason Hannah's stunt group didn't get her up and there wasn't a second chance to practice again. Our team was ushered off the practice mats and we got in line to perform. Emotions were running high ~ there was electricity in the air with anticipation of performing our 2:30 minute cheer/dance.

Us coaches were getting the girls pumped up ~ wishing them good luck and getting ready to say goodbye to them before their performance. I glanced over at Hannah and saw her tear streaked face ~ she was totally devastated ~ she was shaken and I had to find a way to get her past defeat and focused on the huge task at hand. She is a flyer this year and goes up in the air a couple of times during the routine. If her confidence didn't come back and quickly it would have spelled disaster for the routine.

I rushed over to embrace her ~ looked in her red eyes and told her she was going to nail her performance ~ shake off the feeling of inadequacy and make it work. I stepped away from her to let the other coaches swoop in to boost her up, too. She got the water works flowing for me and I had to turn away to hide my tears from the rest of the team. We said goodbye and took our places in the tunnel where the coaches wait until our team takes the floor. What a nerve wracking 30+ minutes we waited!

When our NC Bison took the floor we were ushered to the coaches box to watch them perform. We all held hands tightly ~ my heart was beating a million beats a second ~ I said another prayer ~ took a deep breath and waited for them to begin. When our girls spirited onto the floor I could see their smiles and their energy was bubbly ~ they had taken the floor to give it their all and they were happy! Their performance was flawless ~ not one bobble ~ all the stunts went up ~ what an answer to prayer. When they were done we all leaped to our feet ~ screaming ~ jumping up and down. Our girls had given it their all ~ and now we waited for the results.

Truthfully, I didn't even want to watch the other teams compete. We had done our best and our fate was in the hands of the judges. When all the teams took the floor for the awards ceremony I had high hopes that we would place,but had no idea if we had done well enough to go to Nationals. When they announced our team as the THIRD PLACE winners it was bittersweet ~ yeah we missed the coveted second and first place, but we had competed with a tough competition. There were tears of disappointment, but by the time we left the arena our girls filed out with smiles on their faces and heads held high.

Not until a couple of days later did we find out what the other team's scores were ~ that's when our third place win became even more bittersweet ~ we missed Disney by one third of a point!! That's 0.333333333 ~ Last year we came in FOURTH ~ this year THIRD ~ next year ~ DISNEY.

United As One Team ~ Reaching For Our Dream!

What whirlwind of a weekend! Friday night we took the girls out of school around noon and headed down to New Jersey for the Eastern Regional Cheerleading competition. We were all decked out in our silver, blue and white ~ cow bells and banners in tow. Hannah's Jr Pee Wee Large team did awesome ~ we are so very proud of her and her team for going out there and giving it their all! Out of 15 teams, we placed 4th ~ we missed our Disney invitation by two places. There were lots of tears shed ~ the girls really had their hearts set on Disney, but I know that we will get there next year!

On the way home we stopped in a quaint little New Jersey town and had a late lunch with a friend from high school. It's been so fun reconnecting with long lost friends ~ you know, life is just too short not to! When we headed back home we drove right through a band of heavy rain and tornado warnings. My head was feeling like it was going to explode by then and I just couldn't wait to get home and get in bed! Today we are staying around the house to relax. Did I mention that there is snow in the forecast for the next couple of days? Seriously, just yesterday it was a balmy 73 degrees!

The Great Outdoors

This past weekend we all went on a hike in Woodstock, NY ~ in the Catskills Mountains. When I picked our hike location I knew it would be a bit of a challenge for the girls (5 miles round trip), but there's no time like the present to get them accustomed to longer, more challenging hikes. We chose to hike Overlook Mountain ~ one of the big perks of the hike is that about halfway up the mountain you will encounter the Mountain House ruins.

The Mountain House opened in 1871 and could accommodate about 300 guests back in the day. The hotel ruins are located at 2,920' ~ here's a link of photos someone has snapped on a foggy day up on the mountain. Apparently the hotel burned down twice ~ rebuilt ~ then fell prey to the stock market crash. in the 1920's.

We couldn't have picked a more perfect day for a walk in the woods. The temps were in the mid 60's with sun peaking out from behind the clouds now and again. We all made it to the summit and enjoyed some amazing views ~ and a yummy lunch. After we were refueled, Skyler proceeded to skip down the mountain with her walking stick ~ leading us the whole way down to the trail head.

I know ~ some of you are probably rolling your eyes and yelling at me for going on a 5 mile hike not even four months after my detethering ~ but truthfully ~ the adrenaline is the best drug out there. I have been plagued with headaches and neck pain for a couple of weeks straight now ~ it's really breaking me down again. But ~ that said~ my focus in on getting stronger ~ living stronger. The sermon in church yesterday was speaking directly to me ~ again ~ wait on God and his direction for your life ~ oi! Why is that so hard to do?

Great Lengths

My eldest daughter Hannah has been growing her hair out with the goal of donating her hair. I think she has been growing it out for at least a year now and she is only up to about ten inches. Cheerleading is only 4 months away and she wants to have enough hair for a ponytail. If we waited until she had the required 12 inches for Locks of Love it might be September and the hair might be completely chlorine damaged from a summer spent in the pool!

This past weekend we found out about Pantene beautiful Lengths ~ they only require a minimum of an 8 inch pony tail so we decided to finally get her hair cut. (I will post a picture soon.) "Pantene Beautiful Lengths was created to bring people together to share their strength and donate their beautiful, healthy hair to create free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment." It takes about 6 pony tails to make a complete wig.

Hannah says that new haircut is very fierce and stylish ~ we think she looks a bit like Katie Holmes! By donating her hair, she feels like she's made a difference in the world and she hopes to encourage her friends to donate their hair some time soon.

Run Run Rudolph (err ~ I mean Cheetah!)

Thespians beware ~ our girls can be so creative sometimes! They made up a Christmas skit in an hour ~ with costumes and props!