Well here we are on our forced vacation for nationals...and I have to say...I am not happy about it. But we had no choice. It's so funny because some families are looking at this like a vacation...and others, like us, are just trying to make the best of it. Having two girls who are in a lot of dances, this is hardly a vacation. Julia had her solo on Monday and two small groups today. Then both girls dance all day tomorrow from 9-5 (yes...it's the 4th of July!!) and the dance off is Thursday from 9-5. We'll have Friday off and head back home on Saturday.
We got here on Saturday and oh boy it was H-O-T!! After a long ten hour drive in the car, we quickly unpacked and went right to our pool to cool off and relax. The condo we're renting is very nice. The best part about it is that it is very very quiet. Something that was really important to me.
On Sunday we dropped the girls off at the competition for the day so they could watch their friends dance and Danny and I spent a very long and relaxing day at the beach. It was a perfect day.
Yesterday we got to spend the afternoon at the pool as Julia only danced in the morning. We had a delicious dinner at the Longboard Cafe...
and then went down to the boardwalk to check it out. It's 3 miles of stores, restaurants, amusement parks, ice cream, candy shops and lots and lots of riff-raff and honky-tonk. If that's what you like then you'll love Ocean City. Me??? I prefer the quaintness of Ogunquit and Cape Cod.
Julia competed two of her small groups today. I really love both of the dances and I'm sad to see them come to an end. Her first dance today was "Flowers in the Attic"...
I took these pictures from the balcony so they aren't the best. Hopefully the professional photographer got better ones than me. They placed 5th overall...
And her other small group "Never Walk Alone" won 1st place. They get to re-compete the dance in the Battle on Thursday. I'm looking forward to seeing it one last time. It's really a beautiful routine...
After they were done, I slipped out of the competition before awards and spent a few hours at the pool. Danny picked up the girls around 6:30 and we had dinner back at the condo. We're relaxing tonight and gearing up for the next two very long days of competition. Hopefully Friday will be a nice day as that's our last full day here without anything scheduled. We'd love to make it a beach day. The beach is just across the street and is very nice. No rocks or seaweed and the water is really warm.
And last but not least...my boy...
He didn't want to come with us...and I honestly don't blame him...so he is spending the week up in Ogunquit with his cousins and my sister. Turns out some of his hockey friends are up there this week too so he's spending time with them today. Lucky boy. He's having a very good time. I miss him so much. I've never been away from him for this long...ever. But thank goodness for FaceTime!
So we'll have to see what the rest of the week brings. Happy 4th of July! I'll be spending it in a dark convention hall with loud head-banging music. Fun times!
