To be completely honest, I had kind-of been dreading this first dance competition of Hadley's. I knew she was excited and nervous which made me excited for her but I just don't love the unexpected of how the weekend would go. I have only heard stories of dance moms and I had a preconceived idea of what I would be dealing with!
But much to my surprise....it was one of the most fun weekends I have had in a while. And Hadley had a blast. More on that but here is our weekend in pictures...
On Thursday we had a dress rehearsal for final costume fittings, hairpieces, jewelry, etc. They also practiced the dance about 20 times (or felt like it) in front of all the big girls. I could even tell Hadley was a little nervous just to dance in front of all the girls!
After dancing the company girls circled around the Littles and prayed for them for their first competition. It brought tears to my eyes as it could be felt how sincere it was. The Littles then went back into the dressing area and each were given a gift from the studio owner...Team J blue t-shirts. They would all be able to wear them to the competition to stand out as a team. Hadley wore it for 3 days straight!
We received the schedule that Hadley would be dancing early Sunday morning so we weren't in a big rush to get to Tulsa. She played in a basketball game on Saturday morning and then we went home to change and get ready. In the meantime, Mama and Papa came over with the RV and planned on taking it to the competition. The kids were so thrilled!!! They hooked up their car to the back and we all loaded up. Matt was staying with the dogs and planned on coming Sunday morning so my parents booked a spot at the RV park and Hadley and I got a hotel room by the competition to stay with the team. Hudson couldn't wait to stay in the RV overnight with Mama and Papa. It was a much easier drive than we were used to! Hadley and Hudson ate snacks, watched movies, and Hadley even got to take a nap.
Pulling into the RV park and the kids climbed up on the dash. They thought they were at Disney World. There was a big horse track and playground for the kids. While Dad got everything hooked up they ran straight to the playground to play. The weather was so nice for the beginning of February.
After getting it all hooked up we left to go eat pizza and then Hadley and I were getting dropped off at the hotel. We ate at Pizza Hut. Hudson is loving this little mini vacation even though he has no idea what he is in store for tomorrow. Hadley and I got dropped off about 8pm and it was so fun to check into the room (just the two of us). We checked out the entire hotel, found some friends and visited for a bit, but then called it a night since we had to be up at 5:45 the next morning!
Hadley was so easy to wake up and couldn't wait to get ready. We got her makeup almost completely done and her hair ready. We went downstairs for the breakfast buffet as we waited for Lottie, Kristin, and Madeline to get ready since we rode to the competition with them. I loved eating breakfast with my girl and her watching all the other girls walk by.
It was definitely a sight to be seen when we walked in the door. Girls rehearsing everywhere, hairspray filled the air, and makeup and clothes were everywhere. But here is the reason I LOVE our studio. It was calm. Moms were helping all the girls, not just their own. The studio owner came by and loved on the girls and there was no yelling or anxiety like I expected. There was lots of laughing and lots of picture taking. Hadley was eating it up already. After we were ready we danced a couple times in the hall and then got a phone call that daddy was here. Hadley ran out to see him and loved getting a good luck hug and kiss from Daddy, Hudson, Mama and Papa. Hilary (their teacher) said another prayer for them and it was time to get on stage.
They didn't allow pictures so I don't have any pics of Hadley dancing but I did sneak a video of it. They did fantastic. I hardly saw any flaws and they pulled it all together! They ended up getting 1st overall in their age group, best choreography, and a couple more that I can't even remember. It was so fun watching them smile when their names got called. I was really impressed with so many of the Studio J dancers. It ended up being a lot of fun to watch and much better than a recital because we were able to come and go as we wanted to watch.
A few more pictures once we were all done! Hudson loved cheering for Hadley and her friends. I also laugh at the picture of him peeking around the corner and staring at the big girls practicing in the hallway.
After all was done, we loaded back up in the RV to ride home. Hadley was excited to have Lottie come with her. They were exhausted and pretty much laid on the bed and watched Frozen the entire way home!
These are a couple of the pictures the studio posted on Instagram the following day. Hadley is kind of right in the middle on the first one.
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