Road trip PART 3.5

I just posted about the morning of competition but I'm having to break it down a few photos at a time because of my Internet service. So here's the pool shots I took before we got ready and headed out to compete. 

State Comp. road trip PART 2

We got to the hotel around 11:00 Friday night. One of our other friends also got to go because her daughter placed in regionals as well. So all 3 of us won that day and it was awesome to know we would all travel together. We left the hotel up to her and simply told her to let us know how much we owed and where to go. She reserved all 3 rooms. She choose WELL. Better than well. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites. It was sooooo great. We were all so surprised and none of us wanted to leave it Saturday. 

Once we got there Friday night the mad scramble began to get everything up and unloaded. Room shuffles began as well and my besties daughter begged to sleep in mine and Makaylas room. She got her wish. A little after midnight the girls fell asleep. 

My bestie went downstairs to the van and sent me a pic of a coffee bar by the desk. We went back down almost immediately. The BEST coffee I've ever had. We had such a great nights sleep. Best $$ we could have spent on a hotel. 

State competition road trip! PART 1

This weekend was our State Cheerleading Competition. The girls got 2nd at regionals so they earned their place at state. My bestfriend (from kindergarten) also got to go since her daughter got 1st at regionals in her division. We decided to road trip together!! It was AMAZING! She brought her husband and 4 kids and then it was Makayla and me. It was a 5 hour one way trip. I have SO much to share about this but I'm gonna have to break it up into at least 2-3 posts. I'm gonna start with the ride up there. 

They came to pick us up and when they pulled up we were so excited to see they had written the girls names and cheer stuff all over their van windows. SO cool. I wish I had gotten pics because it rained almost right after and washed off. (More on that in a second.) 

So we pack up and get going and  less than a block from my house we hit traffic.  5:00 pm on Friday with construction traffic. We set the van to track our mileage. 10.2 miles in 70 minutes. Yes 70 minutes. It started raining and I couldn't get out so I had my bestie take one pic of the writing from the inside lol. Better than nothing right? 

We finally clear traffic a little and by then it was around 6:30 and everyone was starving. We had at least 4 hours ahead of us still to get there so we stopped to eat. Best Mexican food restaurant EVER. A little pricey but worth every single penny. We ordered and less than 10 minutes later our food arrived. We kept saying no way is that ours already. And let me tell you it was beyond fantastic. I've grown up on Mexican food and it may have been the best I've ever had. We were all so stuffed after we couldn't move. 

We took care of bathroom breaks and got everyone locked and loaded and headed out for our remaining 4 hour drive. It was so pretty the whole drive. We made it to our awesome hotel around 11:00 pm. 

I'm gonna end this post with these pics of the way up there and then start with our hotel in my next post. 

This right now

5.5 hour road trip to state cheer competition. Huge post coming soon. For now we are doing this before competition. 

Awards Night

Makayla had her cheer awards night 2 weeks ago. The 5 of us went but first we dropped her off for practice. Then the rest of us went to Auto Zone to get a bulb for my tail light. 

After that we headed to the ceremony where Makayla got her silver/blue pom. She now has a silver/blue and teal/silver. They move up in rank by getting new pom colors each semester. She was very proud and excited. 

State Cheer Competition

I think I posted a few weeks ago that Makayla and her cheer team placed 2nd at their regional competition so they earned a place at state competition. Yesterday was the day! Competition was FIERCE! I mean seriously intense and close. 

Our girls placed 3rd!! They were a little disappointed but with such tough competition I think they did great! I'm always amazed at how Makayla gets out there and competes when she doesn't like anyone to watch her. She has definitely faced her fear and now has no problem dancing in front of hundreds of people. So proud of her. Cheer has been amazing for her. 

There are times when the cost gets to be way too stressful on us and I contemplate pulling her. But in all honesty I will always find a way to pay for it because the benefits to her self esteem are priceless. 

We had a great time together yesterday and I'm glad we could enjoy it together. 

Cheer clinic

On Sunday Makayla had her cheer clinic again. Thankfully I was able to beg my boss to let me have the day off. She had a blast and we got to have lunch together in between registration and the clinic actually starting.

She got her new semesters practice uniform too.