We got to the hotel by around 4pm Friday and then to the comp venue by 5 to see the teens perform. We got back to the hotel by 8:30, ordered dinner in, and the kids went right to bed. J's Saturday was gonna be a long one and the weather was supposed to be cold, windy and rainy again. Saturday morning, I drove to get breakfast, got J dressed in her first costume (along with hair and makeup and team gear) and got us all to the comp by 9am. At about 6:15pm, J was dressed and ready for her 6th number of the day - her solo - and waiting backstage to go on when it happened...

The power blew.

In the whole town.

Right in the middle of some poor kid's dance.

It was surreal. It was dark, there had to be over 600 people in this small high school that had a few weak emergency lights, and little kids were screaming. W was scared, K was loving it, J took it in stride, B found J and kept everyone together, and I was pissed off that small towns with histories of power outages don't do enough to prevent subsequent ones.

Anyhoo, they did a quickie awards ceremony with a packed auditorium and no microphone, but it worked and I had a lot of respect for the emcee and whomever ran the competition. Everything stayed pretty organized and we were dismissed for the evening with further details to be announced.

Back at the hotel (which was in the next town over, so power was on) our whole studio just hung out at the bar, havind dinner and drinks and really enjoying the evening. It was only 7:30pm (we expected to be at the competition til after 10) and the kids were eating, swimming, and having a blast. I grabbed a piece of cake from the hotel store, stuck 2 birthday candles in it and about 40 people were there to sing Happy Birthday to W. It was so perfect. That morning we gave him his gift - a Disney video camera. He LOVES it. It's easy to use and he can edit his videos on the computer. And that night he got to be with his friends, swim, and be the center of attention for a bit.

On Sunday we had another early morning. The power was back at the high school and at 9am they were picking up where they left off. J did her 2 solos before 11am and we stayed until awards at 1:30. They did GREAT! There were a total of 20 studios there, and over 500 numbers performed over 3 days. This comps 3 highest awards are: High Silver, Gold, and Ultimate Gold (instead of the common gold, hi-gold, platinum). J's 7 numbers got 3 High-Silvers, 3 Golds, and 1 Ultimate Gold. Theirs was the highest scoring production number (1st place), their 2 small group numbers placed 4th and 2nd (in the overall small group category), and their large group placed 3rd (in overall large group category). After the Sunday awards, we said our goodbyes and took W to a big dinner out. He chose seafood (yum) and then we went to the movies. It was a really nice weekend, even with the blackout.

Today we start the new homeschool schedule. I'll post later or tomorrow as to how it goes.