A National Champ!

 For years we have been planning vacations and for the most part, we have stayed on our vacation schedule. Jason's very organized with our travel funds and planning ahead so we can make the most of each one. We're a little backed up now, due to the pandemic, but we had still discussed going to Europe this summer- the summer before Victoria goes off to college. Well, late last summer, at the dance competition meeting, we learned that the competition team would go to nationals this year. It's not necessarily mandatory that each girl who's on the competition team go to nationals since it's during the summer rather than the school year, however, it's better if each girl on the team attends. Since Victoria never got to go, another mark for the pandemic, she really wanted to go. She told us, "I'd rather go to nationals than Europe this summer. Besides, I can win a national title and $500!" We kind of chuckled at that and were slightly annoyed that our family vacation would be to go to Niagra Falls for a week, rather than Europe. 

Bonus: Jason's parents wanted to attend and so did my mom and Jim, where he actually grew up. 

The day finally came to go to Niagra Falls. Jason's parents had already been to our house and were with their camper in the eastern states, ready to meet us there, though they would be staying at a campsite and us at a hotel. My mom and Jim "rented" one of our cars and we split up into two vehicles to drive out there. Somehow, Kai didn't have an enhanced driver's license, like we thought, and her passport was expired, which we knew, so one car went through the States for 6 1/2 hours and the other car went through Canada for what was supposed to be 4 1/2 hours. On the way there, the drive took 6 hours through Canada because of the very long line into the country. Jim got out to check out what was going on since it was our line that was moving the least. Well, the security didn't like that and threatened to have him banned from Canada! We made it after going through too much construction as well. (For the ride home, the boys came with Victoria and me since they're under 16 and only needed birth certificates, and our ride through Canada was much quicker!)

While in Niagra, we managed to balance everything very well between supporting Victoria's dancing and vacationing/sightseeing. On the first day, she went to audition for the National Performer of the Year dance-off performance. She was assigned a try-out number and learned part of a routine. She was given certain parts in the final performance and was observed by judges. All soloists who signed up to be entered got to participate in this opportunity. While she was busy doing that for most of the day, we all went to Palmyra to see the church history sights there. We enjoyed the historical stories and spiritual stories. Erik was in a mood so that put a damper on things at the beginning...

I really liked the new emphasis on Christ here. They reminded us that it's Christ's church, not Joseph Smith's.

Austin was the 14-year-old boy they referenced when making connections to Joseph Smith.

The Palmyra Temple.

The Sacred Grove. Erik thinks the First Vision was in this area.

The 4 churches that started Joseph's inquiries. 

Victoria had another dance-off practice Tuesday morning, similar to the one on Monday, including learning more parts. When she was done, we all got to go on the Maid of the Mist tour, including Vicky's best friend Susie's family. It was a wet and windy adventure!

My run that morning was leading up to the falls.

We were all very wet! But the wind on the way back dried us off.

Then, some of us hiked up the stairs right next to the falls and got even more wet! The water drops were actually hitting our phones and messing with our picture-taking!

Susie's dad, Joe, actually got these 2 pics of us at the falls because he's pretty tall and his body blocked the water drops.

That night, the dancers had a party in their instructors' suite (George, Dana, and Kaylie), after more practice. Jason and I took our other 3 kids to swim at the big hotel with Sammie, Susie's younger sister, and we played cards with her parents. 

In order to make this very expensive competition work for our family, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn where we had points for free nights. It also included free breakfasts. That was the only way to go when we had to be there for 6 nights. All the other dancers stayed at the Sheraton, which was across the street from the Convention Center where the competition was held. The Sheraton Ballroom was where all the dance practices and auditions were held. Victoria was not happy with where we were going to stay when we booked it, and she still wasn't happy about when we were there, but she coped with it. It was a 10-minute walk away or a two-minute drive. I promised her I would drive her there and back as much as I could, and I did. I think when we were in Palmyra, she had to get a ride to grab something she forgot. 

We passed this cool Catholic church on our walk from hotel to hotel.

The Sheraton's pool was better than ours, though most of the other parts of both hotels were the same. Obviously, the Sheraton was much bigger, it had no breakfast though. The biggest problem for us was that there was no free parking anywhere by the Convention Center or the Sheraton, so after I would drop her off, I would have to drive back to Fairfield and park, and then walk over. Sometimes it was a  speed walk, a few times it was a run. When I would have to run back to get the car to pick her up after performances, when she was wiped out from a long dance day, I could make it in 5 minutes. 

Here's our hotel's pool- a lot smaller than the other, but Erik and Austin still enjoyed it.

Pretty much every night, after Tuesday, the kids swam with Sammie at the Sheraton. On the street in between the Sheraton and Convention Center, which was more like a plaza, there were outdoor games like giant checkers, corn hole, ping pong, and connect 4. My boys spent a lot of time there and that saved us when we were watching dances and they only wanted to watch Victoria's. We gave them a number of dance numbers in between and they'd leave and then come back. Kai, Austin, and Erik were very good sports about it!

Kai and Austin even did the Worm to show off their dance moves!

Wednesday morning was Victoria's small group senior lyrical number, Make You Feel My Love. It was very early and all 9 of us made it there in time, amazingly enough. It received a platinum (highest achievement), a judge's award for Stunning Stage Presence, got 3rd overall for senior small group, and was called back to be a dance-off final number. 

*Note: the pictures I include of any dancing are courtesy of a friend who bought the package of her daughter. They're pretty expensive, so we didn't purchase them as we did for the first competition in Feb, which I wasn't impressed with the shots they got. They only got one of her solo that wasn't my fav. Maybe they would have been better this time since her solo was so much better, but it's ok. It's all written down.

The final pose of the dance.

Wednesday night was her solo. It was the best she's ever performed it! Her leaps, jumps, and turns were higher and more beautiful than ever! She scored a platinum, a judge's award for Beautiful Ballet, which surprised her, and me, since it was a lyrical number. But when the judge explained about her beautiful lines and how she must have had really good ballet training, then it made sense. I think that particular achievement was one of my favorites because she really does have beautiful lines. She got 2nd place in the senior downtown solos, which meant she was in the running to win the National Performer of the Year. The girl who got 1st place hadn't entered the dance-off competition part, which meant we knew Victoria would have a good chance of winning something. I knew she would perform well in the dance-off because it had a little Latin flair and she has an amazing stage presence! 

The soloists from Dancin' Feet.

The professional pic in her solo costume.

In between those two numbers on Wednesday, the rest of the group went to Fort Niagra to see where Jim used to work as a teenager. A lot has changed since then! They all had a great time and I missed going, but since Victoria had to be taken back and forth a couple times for practices and we were gone the whole first day, I didn't want to leave her hanging. 

Thursday morning was the morning with the rest of her dances, spread out within an hour of each other, so the boys really enjoyed the plaza games! It was tricky getting everyone where they needed to be at the right time and with the snacks/meals we might need, but it all worked out.  

Popcorn Pops!

Early on Thursday morning was her senior jazz trio, Everybody Wants to be a Cat. It achieved a platinum, 4th overall senior duo/trio, and made it as a finalist to the dance-off, which was good since a few of our group missed this early number, but got to see it again at the dance-off!

Look at her leap here on the right!

One of my favorite dances.

Stand By Me, a large senior large group lyrical, received a platinum, a judge's Best Costume award (they looked pretty, but Victoria's kept malfunctioning behind the scenes!), and 2nd place overall in their category.

Singing in the Rain, a large group senior jazz, received a platinum, 1st place for senior large group in the downtown level, and was chosen as a gala showcase performance number. The judges gave an award to George, the head choreographer, for this number. It was called Genius! It had the appearance of being simple, though they knew it wasn't, but eye-catching. I always refer to it as a breath of fresh air. Just so nice and classic. George truly is a genius.

She's on the left with another amazing leap!

The last number was Jailhouse Rock, which was the Teen Small Production Tap. It received platinum, a judge's award for Spotlight Precision, and 1st place overall teen production in their category. It was also entered into the dance-off and won 1st place in our category! It was Grandpa Jim's favorite. 

She's a police officer.

After the awards on Thursday, we went to Buffalo to eat wings at the place where Buffalo wings were invented, Anchor Bar. It was pretty busy for the middle of the day. Victoria had more practices for the dance-off the next day, and Kai wasn't feeling well, but Susie's family joined us. I know all the men really loved it! It had a fun atmosphere. After a good lunch, we went to find the "easy" little hike "off the freeway" near Buffalo. It was Eternal Flame Falls and seemed very intriguing. Susie's family left, but Jason and I with the boys and grandparents drove farther than we expected, though it was fun to see Buffalo through that, to a hike that wasn't off the freeway, as it had said. It turned out to not be very long, but full of obstacles. Roots all along the path led us down to a "trail" along the wet shale rock along a stream that led to the falls. They didn't disappoint, though, and we really enjoyed it! The Eternal Flame is a natural gas leak behind a small waterfall. Sometimes the flame is out, but if you bring a lighter along, you can easily light it. It was lit when we arrived. The boys helped Gramms and Abuelo out on the way back and earned a reward for that. We brought donuts to the pool that night to share with the Kish family. 

Anchor Bar

I loved the churches nearby.

Lots of roots!

It was small, but so cool!

Friday was the day that I knew nothing about because it was when all those call-back numbers were going to perform, and then the dance-off performance. I learned late Thursday night the order, but it was still confusing since the numbers of the dances were the original ones, but not all the original ones were performing, so we had to pay attention to the small text with the order of the callbacks. They were all in the late afternoon, so my mom rented two bikes for us to share and we enjoyed taking turns riding along the paths around the falls until then.

We didn't even have to adjust the seat for my growing kids!

On my run that morning I saw this rainbow!

Bike ride!

Big supporters!

A quick dinner for the dancers.

In the dance-off, we got to see all of her dances again, except the small group and her solo, since it already received second place. They had more awards, and then the dance-off number, Let's Get Loud. There were live congo drums off the stage and the dancers got to wear coin bracelets and roses in their hair. By this point in the night, I was freezing and shaking from cold, excitement, and nervousness. I had to move so I could see to record, even though we weren't supposed to, but Victoria requested that I do, and I was happy to oblige! I couldn't always tell where she was at the beginning since they all looked the same, but I knew enough to stop recording when the younger ones came on, just because I didn't want to get in trouble and I wasn't sure how good my recording was. I could see her at some point in the middle since she was more at the front for the second half. Her smile was beautiful, as always, and she was having the time of her life! It was very loud, though, due to all the screaming, which George discourages a lot of the crazy calling out during dance competitions. I did give a little whistle and a whoop when I saw her, but those constantly calling out girls' names got really annoying!

She's 3rd from the left.

2nd from the left here.

Somewhere in the same vicinity!

When it came time for the Senior Downtown First Place Performer of the Year, I was really nervous. Since the other two girls were from our studio and Victoria had placed higher than them on her solo, I figured she had won, but I couldn't get myself to record them announcing it until after they had said her name. You'll see my recording just after they announced her name was all over the place until I got control of myself. 

She did it- she won the $500 she said she would with the beauty pageant crown and sash! She won the National Title for Performer of the Year!! She worked so hard and even stayed in a different hotel so her family could join her. She really deserved it!

That night, there was a parent cocktail party in George's suite while the dancers went to see the fireworks over the falls. I'll never forget what one parent said to George in our toast. She thanked him for not only working the girls hard and teaching them but for not giving them "angry or sexy" routines. A lot of dances now are full of angst, anger, and boodie shaking. George has always kept the routines clean, classic, artistic, and beautiful. I am so proud of all the dancers and who they are through their movement. 

Our first group to leave from Niagra went the long way, through the States. Austin, Erik, and I stayed back while Victoria went to the gala party in her nice purple dress for a fancy lunch with all the dancers in the competition. Ours was the only studio with color-coordinating dresses and George wore his matching purple tie. 

The boys and I met up with the Kish family and wandered the plaza on the way to the falls. They played more of the big games and we even found a huge chessboard. Austin loves chess and observed the players there for a while. We also found a Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course that we promptly got in line for. They could definitely tell my boys have had Ninja Warrior training as they quickly and efficiently completed the two courses, even Erik with his still recovering finger. I couldn't resist either, and though I've never actually done a Ninja Warrior obstacle course, I knew I could do the hardest part because of my pull-up talent. It was trickier on the skinny balance beam for me and I definitely was slower than my boys at the beginning, but I was the first person to complete the entire course without falling because I could pull myself up on the bars at the end. I still got it!

Austin 

We bought some cinnamon bagels and stopped at the souvenir shop by the Falls for the Kish's. The boys found a wildlife game that they effortlessly completed in a faster time than anyone that day so far. We were just conquering everything there in Niagra! 

When we went through the border patrol into Canada, the guard enjoyed hearing about Victoria's win and I think it softened him up a bit. Those security officers mean business! 

We all made it safely home and enjoy reminiscing about when Victoria proclaimed that she would win the national title!