Winterguard State FINALS!

 It's incredible to think they made it the finals! Camille kept saying, "How did we beat the Smurfs? Their routine is amazing!" and I'd have to say, "Because YOU are AMAZING! TRHS is amazing! And that isn't me saying it, it's the judges saying it!"

Their routine this year was absolutely stunning and emotionally moving. We got millions of comments on how much people liked it. The Harmons did an incredible job matching the movements to the lyrics and music- it produced an incredibly powerful affect.

In the end, their performance was not as clean as yesterday. But, they actually scored more points than last night, and ended up in 10th place again. We are crying happy, happy tears! 10th is perfect!

I think Winterguard is incredible and I really hope Camille continues with it. This is some excerpts from an email sent to instructors from the RMCGA Announcer, Ryan Bigley:

 

Seeing the kindness, and sportsmanship, and support these kids have for each other, makes me believe that this generation will be the architects of a brighter future for all of us. They’re the ones bound for college, for degrees in medicine, and psychology, and performing arts. And when a guard student becomes a doctor, or a nurse, or a therapist, or a musician, or anything they set their hearts and minds to, they will bring with them the empathy they have shown to other students of winter guard to the rest of the world.

Showing support for their direct competitors, their rival schools, and still showing such tremendous empathy for the ones that you beat, and the one that beat you. Inclusion is a virtue of this generation. For cheering loud, even if you make a mistake. Encouraging each other to join the crowd for the Cupid Shuffle every week. Telling another group that you love them as they take the floor, just for being there. “We don’t know you, but we love you anyway.”

 

Showing fellow competitors the kind of support, compassion, and inclusion I witnessed this weekend tells me that they are teaching each other that empathy is not something to be feared or to be ridiculed, but rather to be explicitly expressed with reckless abandon. They teach each other that by cheering loud, even when a complex toss is dropped, we are not defined by our mistakes, nor should we dwell on them. They teach each other that even the smallest, least experienced, and probably most nervous group deserves someone shouting “We Love You” from the top of the bleachers. That even though you’re going to finals and I’m not, I’m very proud of you and honored to share the floor with you. And even though we may never speak one-on-one, now or ever again, because you are here sharing this activity that is so important to me, I love you.

The whole team got to go out for the full retreat;

Admittedly, these were LONG days- about 10 hours each day. But they were wonderful days. Absolutely wonderful days!

Winterguard State Championships

 What a weekend! Camille and I took Friday off of school, and Ben also joined us,  and we headed to the Magness Arena for the state prelims for Winterguard. 

This season has been quite remarkable. Last year was the first year Thunder Ridge has ever had Winter guard. It was a huge learning curve. For the most part, TRHS came in last place, or close to it, at every competition- and that's OK, because it was all new for everyone.

This year, the kids scored in the middle of the pack, and their scores improved every week.

We had no idea what to expect at the prelims. There were 24 teams in their bracket, and 13 would make it to the finals on Saturday.

The kids put on their best show ever! They were simply stunning. It was truly an epic performance.

When they were to retreat, we honestly had no idea how they would be scored.

Low and behold, TRHS got TENTH! They made it to the FINALS! Many, many tears were shed! They would get to dance their routine one more time!

I cried watching her warm up. It's beautiful. She has grown so much, and Winterguard has been unbelievably good for her in a million different ways. She has learned and is so talented!

Her call sign was "Prima" for "Prima Ballerina"

Book Club!

I hosted book club. We read a book that Claire insisted I read- The House of My Mother. It is about a famous Mormon Mommy Vlogger who eventually was arrested for abusing her children. It is a wild read, and Claire and I second hand trauma bonded over this book,and I knew I needed to do it for book club.

For the treats, I decided to do a Utah themed spread. Crumbl cookies (and they happened to have my absolute favorite- Dubai chocolate cookie) and a soda bar. I was quite proud of myself!

Mac and Ben's Birthday

 On the way home from the airport, we stopped at Costco to get a Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake for Ben's Birthday. It was delicious! Overall, his Birthday was a little lame because we were all still recovering from Cancun, but I don't feel too bad because, well, he was in Cancun. 

 
We are all incredibly lucky to have Ben in our lives! He is the best man that I know. Funny, hard working, my perfect partner and the girls' perfect dad. Not too many dads spend hours after work helping their kids with math homework, but pretty much every night you will find him at the kitchen table helping our girls. I'm grateful every day that God brought us together and for the beautiful life that we have created!

Cancun: Day 5

 And then, sadly, we had to head home.

From the beach at the resort, we could see cruise ships doc at the port across the way on the island of Cozumel. We have docked there 3 times. As we watched them sail away around 4 PM, I thought "hmm...I'm glad we can stay seated on this beach."

It's hard to compare a cruise to an all inclusive resort. There's pros and cons to both, but I decided that I would be happy and content with either. Basically, I just want to have the ocean, the beach, and lots of food. We had such a great time! In fact, I'm trying to convince Ben that we should go for our anniversary next year.

So, I guess, for a shorter trip I would say all inclusive resort, and for a longer trip a cruise so you can go to different places.

But, really, both are fantastic and we are exceptionally spoiled that we get to go to either!

Cancun: Day 4

 Our final day in Cancun was pure beach perfection. The sun FINALLY came out, and we almost got hot. We spent the whole day on the beach- playing lots of beach volleyball, boogie boarding in the ocean (well, I just floated on my boogie board which is my favorite thing in the world to do), drank lots of virgin drinks (my new very favorite is the sweet virgin strawberry mojito), ate yummy food, napped/read/sunbathed in our lunge chairs....it was absolutely perfect.

The girls decided to do a photo shoot. They had a full vision and plan for this.

We went over to their sister resort, Riu Tequila, to watch their Grease show. It was pretty fun, and I great way to end the night!