USTA Nationals 2016, Mobile, Alabama

A spent this past week competing at the US National Baton Championships in Mobile, Alabama. She competed in National dance twirl, strut, and solo, as well as three groups routines and intermediate level strut, dance twirl, and two baton.  She also competed advanced presentation. How did she do?  Extremely well! She finished her national events with a 5th place in dance twirl, and 3rd place in both strut and solo.  In her intermediate events she finished with a first place for presentation, 8th in dance twirl, 4th in two baton, and fifth in strut.  The team finished with a fourth, a second, and a first place win!

A has worked extremely hard this year.  Her twirling continues to improve with every practice and competition.  She's really starting to become a contender and is close to breaking out and making her mark in the twirling world.  Her twirling goals  include winning a national title and someday making the world baton team.  If she continues to work hard, I have no doubt she'll achieve those goals.

Next up she'll be competing at Notre Dame University at AYOP(Americas Youth on Parade).  This is the nationals for the National Baton Twirling Association and includes the prestigious Miss Majorette of America event.  A will be competing for juvenile Miss Majorette of America.  She'll also be competing her baseball themed show twirl, solo, x strut, and two baton. Until then we're enjoying some time vacationing with family and friends until we hit the road for Indiana!

Hitting the Road For USTA Nationals

Monday morning A and I, along with my mom, will head for Mobile, Alabama where A will spend the week competing at the United States Twirling Association National Baton Championships.  This competition is the first of three national events that A will compete in this summer, ending another outstanding season of twirling.  She has worked hard all year long to improve and grow in a sport that hooked her at the age of 5.  This s A's fifth season twirling and it amazes me to look back ad see how far she's come.  At ten years old, she is competing at the advanced level in most events and more than holding her own.  She's worked hard to get to this point and is excited to have the opportunity to compete at the national level this summer.  This week she will compete in advanced dance twirl, solo, strut and presentation, as well as intermediate dance twirl, two baton, and strut.  She will compete in two group routines and one trio with her teammates.  The competition will be tough and A will go out on the floor and give it her all.  Last year at nationals she exceeded expectations when she ended with a top eight finish in advanced strut, earning a spot to compete in the prestigious Twirl Mania Gold invitational this past February.  She'd love a repeat of that but is going in with the desire to do her best, maintain a positive attitude no matter what happens, and above all represent her team and her sport with class and sportsmanship.  I'll be posting updates throughout the week so stay tuned to see how our little twirler does at her first national competition of the summer!

Hitting the Road For USTA Nationals

Monday morning A and I, along with my mom, will head for Mobile, Alabama where A will spend the week competing at the United States Twirling Association National Baton Championships.  This competition is the first of three national events that A will compete in this summer, ending another outstanding season of twirling.  She has worked hard all year long to improve and grow in a sport that hooked her at the age of 5.  This s A's fifth season twirling and it amazes me to look back ad see how far she's come.  At ten years old, she is competing at the advanced level in most events and more than holding her own.  She's worked hard to get to this point and is excited to have the opportunity to compete at the national level this summer.  This week she will compete in advanced dance twirl, solo, strut and presentation, as well as intermediate dance twirl, two baton, and strut.  She will compete in two group routines and one trio with her teammates.  The competition will be tough and A will go out on the floor and give it her all.  Last year at nationals she exceeded expectations when she ended with a top eight finish in advanced strut, earning a spot to compete in the prestigious Twirl Mania Gold invitational this past February.  She'd love a repeat of that but is going in with the desire to do her best, maintain a positive attitude no matter what happens, and above all represent her team and her sport with class and sportsmanship.  I'll be posting updates throughout the week so stay tuned to see how our little twirler does at her first national competition of the summer!

Steps to Broadway: High School Musical

Two summers ago N signed up for theater camp at our local community playhouse.  He was a singing, dancing ape in Tarzan and fell in love with the magic of the theater.  Since then, he's performed in four other shows and worked tech on three others.  Three of the shows he performed in and all of the ones he worked tech on were at the local theater.  The fourth show he performed in was the spring musical at his high school.We're fortunate to have an amazing community theater right in our town.  The productions are always top notch, including the summer shows put on by the kids.  Kids in 7th-12th grade stage a full on musical.  The program has become so popular that this year they are having two camps.  Yes, N is attending both! Last night was the opening night for the first summer show, High School Musical. N had his first lead role as Ryan Evans and he knocked it out of the park.(We can't get away from the baseball terminology in this family)

To say I am blown away by N's talent is a gross understatement.  He quite simply amazes me every time he steps onto the stage.  He acts, sings, and dances with such enthusiasm and energy.  No role is too small for him.  Whether he's a lead or has a small part in the ensemble he gives it 110%.  I have no idea where he got this talent.  But he has it in spades.  At least in my totally biased opinion! And judging by the number of people who take the time to tell me they saw him in this play or that play and how much they enjoyed watching him and how talented he is, I'm not the only one who thinks so!

We had front row tickets for opening night and as I sat there watching him up on that stage last night I felt myself tearing up.  (Big shock there!)  My middle baby, independent, determined, wickedly smart and funny, and who has always followed his own path in life, has found his niche. A niche where he is comfortable and happy, that has shown him the path he would like to pursue in life, wherever it may lead him.  Once again, I have a kid intent on pursuing what some would call a crazy dream.  Perhaps.  But I am enough of a dreamer myself to encourage him to pursue it as far as he can so that he never has any regrets.  In the meantime, I'll look forward to enjoying every minute of this crazy ride with him.

 With J and A after last night's performance

No I didn't fall off the face of the earth

Wow! Almost two years have passed since my last post! Guess life got in the way of blogging! Happy to say I'm hoping to rekindle my posts since i do enjoy the outlet blogging affords me.  For now, I'll fill you all in on what's been happening since my last post. Which really means updating you on my kids because everyone knows that's what this blog is all about.

I'll start with J.  My oldest baby is now 20, yes 20 years old! He went off to Belmont Abbey College and was quite happy there.  He loved the school, the baseball tram, and college life in general. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well as they should have and he has spent his second year of college back at home attending the local college.  He's done well and is set to return to Belmont Abbey for the spring 2017 semester.  Baseball is even still on the table which gives him great motivation.  In addition to school, J has been working at our local Publix and helping to coach his sister's Little league team.  He has a real knack for coaching and  think he may be considering a coaching career.  Time will tell.  So keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a successful return to the Abbey and the ball field!

N has discovered his niche in the theater.  He go involved in the excellent community theater in our town two years ago and has appeared in several productions.  He' not only an excellent singer and actor, he also loves working the tech side of shows.  He thoroughly enjoyed his first year of high school.  A big change is coming for him this fall though.  The other high school in town is starting up a fine arts academy.  N applied and was accepted.  He's so excited about getting to immerse himself in theater.  This summer he has his first lead role as Ryan Evans in High School Musical at the community playhouse.  He'll be turning 16 in September which hardly seems possible.  He's starting to think about college and talks about his future on the stage all the time.  I seem to have a knack for producing kids with crazy dreams!

That brings me to A.  My sassy girl is 10 years old and as sassy as ever.  She loves playing baseball, though she is considering a switch to softball.  And she is still heavily involved in competitive baton twirling.  In fact, this past year and a half has been a time of tremendous growth for her as a twirler.  She's twirling at an advanced level and holding her own against some very tough competition.  This summer she'll be competing in three different national competitions for three different twirling organizations, in three different states.  Stay tuned for updates from the road as we travel the country!

School just ended for us and we're enjoying our summer.  In addition to the baton trips, we have a trip planned with my family and a weekend trip with an awesome group of friends.  We're also hoping to sneak down to Miami for a quick visit with Coach C.  He just finished his second year of law school at Georgetown and is interning with a law firm down south for the summer.  So the summer is sure to fly by and it will be time to return to school before we know it. In the meantime, I'll be posting on a regular basis.  I hope you'll enjoy sharing our summer adventures with us!

Another Goodbye

Or maybe I should say so long til later, because it's not like we're never going to see him again.  Today we bid Coach C farewell as he heads off to Georgetown Law School.  We're proud of him and excited to see him pursuing his dreams to the fullest.

 When we first met Coach C back in April 2011, none of us had any inkling of the wonderful friendship we were about to be blessed with.  I was simply hoping for a decent baseball coach for my kid.  What I got was so much more.  Coach C was certainly a fabulous coach.  He also became a true friend to all of us, a treasured member of our family.  Hubby and I often joke that he's our honorary fourth kid.  To J he has been coach, mentor, friend, and brother, always encouraging, pushing, and challenging him to pursue his dreams.  He's been a terrific role model to all the kids, always showing them kindness and love, even while arguing endlessly with N.  N loves to match wits with him and Coach C is always happy to oblige.   And he remains A's hero, the object of her first crush, and without a doubt one of her favorite people in the world.

Together the six of us have enjoyed  baseball games, dinners, chess games, debates, laughs, and good times. I think we're all going to miss being able to get together on a more regular basis.  But I'm confident there will be a lot more memories made.  After all, roads were meant to be traveled, and this friendship got it's start traveling to baseball tournaments.  So even though things will forever be different with Coach C at Georgetown and J at BAC, it doesn't mean they'll be any less special.  Our boys have bright futures ahead of them and I'm so grateful to get to see them achieve the greatness I know they're destined for. I have no doubt they'll make us all proud.

Abbey Bound

The time has come.  In approximately twelve hours, hubby and I will be driving J up to North Carolina to college.  All the plans have been made, his stuff has been packed, goodbyes have been said.  All that's left to do is make the trip.  Move in day is Friday, followed by orientation weekend.  We are staying until Sunday, then it will be time to hug my little boy tight one last time before leaving him to begin this exciting new chapter in his life.  He may be 18 and college bound, but he is still my little boy.  The same little boy who was born with a sweet disposition and a heart of gold.  The little boy with the big dream that he never gave up on.  The same little boy who gets to live the next stage of that big dream now.  He's ready, a bit nervous, but so excited to get on the field.  To prove himself worthy of the opportunity he's been given.  In his heart, he's already a Crusader, ready to give his whole heart to this new team he'll be a part of.  So even though my heart is full of tears, I can't truly be sad.  I know he's doing what he was meant to do, where he was meant to do it.  And even though I'm not a t-shirt girl, I'll wear my Crusader baseball mom t shirt with pride.  Because once upon a time, my little boy told me he was going to be a baseball player.  And he did it.  He became a baseball player, never letting anything deter him from his dream.  He's made it to college ball.  Who's to say the pros aren't right around the corner.  My tortoise is winning his race, slow and steady, one game at a time.