On the Road to Nationals

When we got our cheer schedule last year, we were all surprised to see a late April competition on there.  Usually our season ends mid-March, and we have the month of April off before try outs again in May.  A couple people even half heartedly mentioned the fact that it was silly to compete that late since winning wouldn't mean anything.  It was literally a millisecond conversation in which no one actually said it, but it was inferred, that we would NOT be planning a last minute trip should the opportunity arise.  Well, all bets are off when it actually happens.  The excitement makes you do crazy things.  Like book hotel rooms at 2 different places for two different nights because they’re the only rooms available and hook up with moms you barely know to drive there.  Lest you think I’m a crazy cheer mom, it should be noted that ALL 16 FAMILIES SAID YES! So the girls practiced on a Thursday night, friends and family came to cheer them on and say good bye, and we jumped in the car to hit the road to Virginia Beach.

This is what I left for Mark and Adrienne to assure proper care of my beloved baby girl.  In the 3 days I was gone she had a special day at school, Girl Scout Camp, and a visit to Kzoo to see the grandparents.  All of which hold great importance for the appropriate attire.  Dear God, do not mix up these piles.

Cousins make the best supporters! 

We got on the road around 9pm, and we drove about 4 hours before stopping.  We just wanted to get a little head start so the next day wasn’t so long. 

When we were looking for a place to stop the night before we passed this motel.

Our gym happens to be Liberty.  Andrea(the other mom I was traveling with) felt this was a sign and we should stay there.  Kidding, I think.  I said NO.  NO, NO, NO.  I did however offer to drop her off there on the way to the Holiday Inn Express the kids and I would stay at.  She didn’t take me up on the offer. 

The next day brought traffic, construction, and more traffic.  We were all very happy to arrive!

We met up with another mom, Kelly, and her daughter.  The girls went running around the hotel for a bit, while we unwound and looked for dinner options.

Hibachi seems to be a favorite for everyone!

Ummmmm, that’s straight up creepy.

The next morning was another early one.  We were checking out of our hotel(because we were only able to get a reservation for a beach front hotel for the last two nights) and we had to be at the convention center at 6:45.  The good news is that when you compete that early parking and seating is a breeze, and you’re done in time to enjoy the rest of the afternoon!

This team has been inconsistent.  When they are on, they are really on, but most the season they were off.  It was frustrating, knowing the talent they have.  They just couldn’t seem to get it together though.  As they headed back to warm up, we all lamented that we hoped they wouldn’t get last.  Just please don’t let them get last. 

Lo and behold, they went on stage and nailed it!  You’ve never seen cheer moms go wild like this!  We were over the moon!!  These girls who struggled all season, placed 11th out of 28 teams in their division!  This was a great accomplishment!

When in Virginia beach, you must take beach pics!

The girls were so excited to see this cupcake truck they knew from Cupcake Wars!

We got back to the hotel with most of the afternoon/evening left to enjoy!  It happened to be Derby day, and Andrea wanted to see it!  She scoped out a bar with TV’s and spread the word.  We thought it would be a drag for the girls, so we gave them money and sent them off on the strip to choose their own dinner and shop the souvenir junk. 

 

As you know, the derby doesn’t last long, so it was still early when it was over.  We ordered food and settled in.  I should mention that most of the parents were there with us, and only a few of the younger kids. 

I was texting with Lexi checking in on her, and she said they decided to go back to the hotel.  I thought that was odd, but whatever.  Then she texted to say the fire alarm was going off.  They went outside, waited for the all clear, and then went back in.  A little while later it went off again.  In the frenzy to get out again, Grace’s toe got run over by the door and made a bloody mess.  The good news is that EMS was already there so they were able to look at the toe!  You’ll be happy to know that at this point we decided Andrea(since Grace is her kid) should go back to check on them.  Lest you think our parenting is questionable.

Said toe was saved, kids were settled in, fire alarms stopped, and Andrea rejoined us.  We left around 10, and decided we’d grab the girls and get some ice cream. It was then, walking to get ice cream, that we realized maybe we should not have had our children walking around by themselves.  Unless of course you want them to get a tattoo or go to the hookah bar.  Actually, it was later revealed that they did indeed go into the hookah bar thinking they only sold sunglasses.  Yikes.  I’m sure there are very lovely parts of Virginia beach, I just didn’t see them.

The next day we gave the girls the choice of what they wanted to do.  Half wanted to go to the beach and the other half(Lexi and Kaylee) wanted to go to the ropes course.  So Kelly and I were off to the ropes!

 

It was such a fun day!  We all had a blast, and we did not regret the fact that we gave up our one beach day to do this!  We did get back in time for the girls to have a little fun on these…ummmmm…what in world do you call these things????

  Our last night there we ate Italian.  The service was bad, the food was bad, the drinks were bad, it was basically bad.  We got back waaayyyy later than we wanted and had one puking kid at 3am.  Needless to say, the 5am alarm to get going came all too quick!  Nevertheless, we hit the road for a long day of driving with an anticipated sweet homecoming.  It was a whirlwind weekend, but so worth the laughs and memories that came with it!