Phew....the end of the year Clogging Nationals held in Utah are over for the year! We went down to Farmington, Utah for 2 days of competition at Lagoon and had a great time. Friday consisted of solos, duets and freestyles: Hailey had 2 duets- one with Taylor and the other with Troy, Hailey and Taylor both had freestyles, and Hailey had 5 advanced solos (they're short). So they danced on and off from 12:00 to 5:00. Then the dance-offs began at 5:30 and didn't end until 10:00p.m.. I was
so ready for all the music and noise to be over at that point. :-)
Here are some pictures of them in costume: Hailey and Troy before their championship level traditional duet. They received a first place.
Hailey and Taylor before their advanced traditional duet. (We love the traditional category!) They placed first too.
Here's a picture of them on stage. Aren't they cute? Taylor needs to grow here soon so they can continue dancing together!
The next day we began it all again for their team dances and had to be back at Lagoon by 8:00 a.m. I was worried that I'd sleep too late so I ended up waking every half hour all night long. (Isn't it so annoying when that happens?) Happily, we got everyone packed up and fed and arrived on time with all the right shoes, costumes, and hair curled and gelled. (We only accidentally left one big bag of clothes behind at our friends house but my dear friend Lani was able to get it and bring it back to Idaho- thanks, Lani!) Saturday's schedule had us all finished up dancing by 10:45.a.m.! So the rest of the day we were free to play at the park!
The beautiful vintage carousel is always our family favorite, especially for the little ones. Heidi, the cat lover, chose the pink kitty to ride, of course.
Torsten and Reagan on their dashing steeds.
Here is Taylor (red hat), Corey D., Hailey, Troy D. and Torsten on the "Turn of the Century" ride, another vintage original at Lagoon.
And here is the "Turn of the Century" once it gets going.....this beautiful old ride reminds me of a gigantic painted piece of confectionery. I just wish I could ride it without getting sick. :-) Me and rides don't get along too well anymore. My idea of excitement is riding the sky tram from one side of the park to the other.
Here's Joel and Reagan waiting for the kids to get done with a ride that Reagan wasn't tall enough for. He was less than an inch too short for a couple rides and
VERY disappointed about that. But
next year.....
Taylor and Joel finally paid the money and did the deed this year. They've both been eyeing "The Catapult" for a few years now. It sounds like from Joel's description that it feels like you're never going to quit going up, up, up. Here they are getting strapped in and ready for blast off.
There they go!
In the evening, we attended the awards ceremony for the conclusion of the competition. We found out that because Taylor had scored in the top 7 for boys freestyle, he was called back to clog for the MVP competition. That was a
very exciting honor, especially considering it was the first time he had even competed a freestyle at Nationals. Unfortunately, Taylor had ridden a few too many wild rides and eaten a little too much cotton candy, etc. and was feeling
horrible by this point. But he didn't give up- he threw on his costume again,
then threw up in the bushes a few times, and then went out on the stage and danced like he hadn't a care in the world! He did great! He ended up winning "All Star All American" for his freestyle.
Hailey also did very well. She placed in the top 15 for her freestyle and won "Rookie All American". She and Taylor were very excited because they both received "All American" jackets as prizes (the kind you have the year you've won embroidered on the back of). It was all quite heady stuff. But by 11:00 p.m. the festivities were winding down and we jumped in our car and skedaddled home. By that point, we'd all had quite our fill of Lagoon and we'd be happy not to see another roller coaster ride for a long, long time. Or at least until next year....
She's all ready been taught how to use the laptop :-) She really is a very sweet, adorable kitty. Heidi named her Snowbell, but I don't know if we're going to keep that name- seeing as she isn't white. Maybe 'dirty snowball'? Just kidding. Any suggestions? Here she is sleeping on Heidi's pillow. 
Heidi adores her.
The next day we began it all again for their team dances and had to be back at Lagoon by 8:00 a.m. I was worried that I'd sleep too late so I ended up waking every half hour all night long. (Isn't it so annoying when that happens?) Happily, we got everyone packed up and fed and arrived on time with all the right shoes, costumes, and hair curled and gelled. (We only accidentally left one big bag of clothes behind at our friends house but my dear friend Lani was able to get it and bring it back to Idaho- thanks, Lani!) Saturday's schedule had us all finished up dancing by 10:45.a.m.! So the rest of the day we were free to play at the park!
In the evening, we attended the awards ceremony for the conclusion of the competition. We found out that because Taylor had scored in the top 7 for boys freestyle, he was called back to clog for the MVP competition. That was a very exciting honor, especially considering it was the first time he had even competed a freestyle at Nationals. Unfortunately, Taylor had ridden a few too many wild rides and eaten a little too much cotton candy, etc. and was feeling horrible by this point. But he didn't give up- he threw on his costume again, then threw up in the bushes a few times, and then went out on the stage and danced like he hadn't a care in the world! He did great! He ended up winning "All Star All American" for his freestyle.
Thanks Jen for the inspiration! Now I have to keep practicing so I can do it without looking like I haven't any coordination- you know, knit with less awkwardness. I knit like I'm all thumbs! That same awkward look I have when I'm trying to french braid hair. :-)
