Georgia State Twirling Competition

Last weekend Cohen had her 2nd competition of the year in Jesup, GA.  This competition is a weekend away for us because it is a long drive down.  We headed down on Friday once Kelly was home and got to our hotel around 9:00.  I knew Cohen had an early morning so I really wanted to get her settled in pretty quick.  Of course they were excited to finally be out of the car and really excited to ride on the hotel luggage cart. Since the elevator had mirrors on both sides we had to take a silly selfie!

Saturday we had to be at the gym at 8:00 so Cohen and I rode over with our friends Shelley and Baylie.  The girls started their day with modeling then had a break which actually turned into a long break!  We did a lot of sitting and waiting.  Cohen was 8th out of 24 in her modeling which was awesome.  She had some great routines through out the entire day, including a no drop solo and a no drop 2 baton solo!  I think out of all of her solos she had maybe 2 drops total.  That was a great job and I love watching her hard work pay off.  She was 3rd place in her open and state strut, 5th in her state solo, and 4th in her 2 baton.  I was very proud of this little twirler!  It was such a long day and we didn't end up leaving the gym until after 11:00!

ATRM Gang

 Practicing away

A big thank you to my sweet friend Mandy for getting these pictures of Cohen during one of her routines.

On the ride back to our hotel it didn't take these girls long to conk out!  Shelley and I had to get a picture!  I think they were even too tired to eat...me, not that tired but close ;)

Now while Cohen and I were at the competition all day, Kelly and Kate had a little fun of their own at the Okeefenokee Swamp.  Kelly took Kate to the park at the swamp so our little animal lover could maybe see some wildlife!  She did indeed see alligators and snakes and her favorite...those wild baby chicks!  It doesn't take anything exotic to please her.  Hubby sent me some sweet pictures during the day and I know she was enjoying their day!

We got up Sunday morning to make the long drive home.  One good thing about the drive home was that right around lunch time we were coming through Washington, GA and we decided to stop at Cade's for lunch.  We had eaten at this local restaurant last year going to a competition and it is seriously delicious.  If you love home cooked meals, this is the place to stop.  I have a picture of the girls there on our first visit so we had to get another on this one.

Most of the ride before lunch looked like this...Cohen fast asleep and Kate just using her as an arm rest.  A big thanks to Suzy, Sug, Pop, and Bebe for watching Bryce and Dooley for us while we were gone!

Competition Season Begins!

Last weekend began our 2016 Baton competition season.  We started with the Bulldog Classic competition in Athens.  I always look forward to starting competitions and so does Cohen.  She was excited to perform her routines and very excited to wear her new costume.  Cohen moved up in her age group this year so we knew she was going to have a lot of older, very good girls to go against and we were definitely right.  I told Cohen to hang in there that she is such a good twirler herself and not to be intimidated by some of these older girls.  She also will be in this older position in a couple of years.  I was so proud of her though.  She had a very large group and was still 9th place for the overall Miss Bulldog Classic title.  Not far out of that top 5.  I know the first competition is always a hard one...getting back into everything.  She was 5th place in her open strut and 6th place in her 2 baton.  She also did place 2nd in beginner basic skills title.  A good start to this season for sure!  So proud of her and all the ATRM girls!

Early morning start

Interview during modeling

Proud of our ATRM family!

Kate's Art Show

Last week Kate had her art show at First Friends.  Like most Moms I absolutely LOVE my kids' cute artwork.  Kate's teacher, Mrs. Lori, can do the cutest art projects with her class.  I always look forward to what she will bring home and it is always precious.  I knew this art show would have some cute little works so I was excited to see it.  Kate on the other hand was not in the best mood about attending the art show.  I'm not sure what was going on with her but as you can see in the picture below, she just wasn't quite feeling it.   Nothing I could say would make her smile so I just took the picture with her not so smiley face and then died laughing because her face cracked me up.  Kate is normally pretty laid back and happy so this was a rare moment for her but when she does get in a mood this pretty much is what it looks like.  Definitely a keeper!   She eventually warmed up and I did see her taking Aunt Sara around to see her art.  Just as I thought, her class had some really cute things on display.  I really need to frame a lot these little art pieces because I know I am going to cherish them.

Disney!!

Over winter break the girls and I got to spend some time at the happiest place on Earth...Disney World!  My friend Cindy asked me to take some senior pictures there of her daughter Abby.  It was a last minute trip and I think those are the best!  Since it was a girls trip I brought both girls with me and we were so excited!  We flew down on Wednesday afternoon and this was actually Kate's first time flying.  She was excited and I have the cutest video of her during our take-off.  Since Kelly wasn't with us I wanted him to see her expression.  We were in a small plane so I was facing her and she just sat back and then looked out the window and said "I'm flying!"  "I see houses!".  It was precious.  I think she asked me 15 times while we were flying if we were there yet or how much farther it was.  When we landed she looked out and said, "this doesn't look like Disney World."  I am pretty sure she was expecting to land right in the middle of Magic Kingdom.  I love it.  We got our rental car and made our way to our hotel.  We were staying at the All-Star Movies resort.

ready for take-off

We got checked in and into our room then decided to start our fun by heading to Magic Kingdom.  There were magic hours that night so the park didn't close until 12:00.  We made the most of every minute riding rides, eating and of course getting a Dole Whip!   It was so much fun and the girls hung in the entire night even though I know they were tired.  Kate was so tired as it got close to 12 but she sat up in the stroller and insisted on riding the carousel one time before we left.  Abby and I wanted to ride the Snow White mine train and since that line is always so long with it being a newer ride we jumped in right before 12 and got it in!  I really liked that one too.   We had rode the little Barnstormer roller coaster earlier in the night and that was enough roller coasters for Cohen.  Someone has become a little fearful of the fun roller coasters...I think Kate would have rode it but Cindy decided to push them on and meet us at the bus stop.  Both girls were out before she could get out of the park!  We managed to get the girls and stroller on the bus and headed back.  Night 1 was definitely a success!

Ready to ride the Barnstormer!

Dumbo!

Thursday morning we got up and headed to Hollywood Studios.  We wanted to be there when the park opened so we could get in line for Toy Story.  That was one ride we couldn't get a fast pass for since they are out so quick.  We still had a wait but we love that ride and it was well worth it.  I think this is Cohen's favorite!

Toy Story!

At Hollywood Studios we also saw the new Frozen sing-along show which was hilarious.  Cindy took the girls to a few more shows...the Little Mermaid, Disney Jr. Live, and to meet Princess Sophia, while Abby and I went to ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.  I love roller coasters and I think that is my favorite!  We decided we had did all we wanted to do there after those rides and then headed back to our hotel for some lunch.

At our hotel

Kate had been counting down the minutes until we could see some animals so we decided to head over to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.  Right when we got through the gates she was out of that stroller going from fence to fence looking for any animal she could find.  I think she was in her own little animal heaven.  One thing Cohen has done every time we have been at Animal Kingdom is get her face painted.  She had already asked about it before we could get there.  This time Kate wanted hers painted too and what did she choose...a lion face, her favorite!

After face painting we had to meet the main stars of the show...Mickey and Minnie!  Kate was precious giving them both the biggest hugs!

We covered most of Animal Kingdom seeing all the animals, then decided to head back to the room.  We rested up and then headed to Magic Kingdom...3 parks in one day.  We wanted to watch Wishes and Kate wanted to ride The Jungle Cruise ride and the "clock" ride as she called it.  She was talking about "Its a Small World".  No hiding her favorite rides!  We also got in Enchanted Tales with Belle.  I love this little show and the girls like the interaction.  Cohen was the wardrobe and Kate was the little teacup "Chip".  Its always fun seeing them meet Belle.  The park closed at 10:00 this night so we were a little earlier leaving but the girls were still so tired!  Kate fell asleep again and poor Cindy held her on the bus...standing up.  We all were standing and I was a little ill that no one offered her or another lady holding a toddler a seat.  We made it back though and took a late night trip to McDonald's for a very late dinner!  Its all fun on vacation though!  We just hated that little Kate was way too sleepy to eat.

closing the park for the 2nd night!  Kate was a little tired as you can tell.

Friday morning we had a breakfast reservation at Boma Flavors of Africa at The Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It was a delicious breakfast!  Before we were seated we went out to see the animals.  They actually come right up pretty close at the lodge.  While we were fascinated with the giraffes, Kate was all about the flamingos!

You can see Kate looking through the fence just amazed at the flamingos

After breakfast we headed to the Animal Kingdom for our safari fast pass.  This was one thing we had not been able to fit in the day before since it really requires a fast pass to avoid the long wait.  Kate loved it of course, which we all did!  Animals are really just fascinating for everyone!

The kids also loved the petting area even though it is just goats...

 That afternoon we had set aside for pictures at Disney's Broadway.  We had went back by the hotel and found that the maids had made the girl's blankets look like bows on the bed.  Cohen's blanket is her must have at night and that little thing has been through it all.  Even though we do keep it washed I give it to the maid for even trying to make something out of it!

While I was taking Abby's pictures the girls wanted to come along and had a blast!  I think they loved feeding the ducks and playing on the beach area as much as anything!  My girls are like their mama, they love the beach!  They were also great little helpers and even had a few pics of their own made...my little Ariel and Jasmine!

Abby and I ran in to Magic Kingdom to get a few pics before it got totally dark.

That night we decided to check out downtown Disney and eat at Earl of Sandwich.  We also went into a few little stores.  Kate had fun trying on the Mickey ears.

Saturday morning it was time to pack up and head back to GA!  Before we left though we had one picture stop to make.  Again the girls loved getting to have their picture made too and we even got a good group picture!  It was such a fun trip!  A huge thank you to Cindy for asking us to come!  The girls had a blast and I did too!  It really added a lot of fun to our winter break for sure.  Now if we can get that sunshine back here to stay!

This cutie was waiting for us when we landed and I was so happy to see his little face!  Love him!