Summer "Vacation".... Blackpool

Sorry for the hiatus... it has been a long few weeks. Want to hear about them? Finals finished and I was so excited for summer to begin. I finally got to spend some quality time with the husband during the day to go on hikes and picnics and long long drives to nowhere, I had big plans pull up some of the fitness pins I had on pinterest to get in shape for a half marathon at the end of the summer and get some killer abs, and there are many a summer blockbuster I have been dying to see; iron man, Gatsby, 42, star trek, the host, safe haven (remember don't judge my taste in movies). So far... basically none of that has happened, a few movies, one picnic and zero sit ups. Boo. But what has happened has been really exciting.

So the husband and I have, along with our team, been getting ready to go to Blackpool England to compete for the British Formation Championship. BYU has a reputation there, that is we DON'T lose. Because we are pretty much awesome we plan on keeping up with that tradition. So once school got out the real practice and preparation began for the competition. We've been preparing as a team for this for almost a year now working with multiple world renowned coaches and choreographers but it's getting down to the wire. So this means hours of practice a day plus even more time spent rhinestoning the dresses the girls wear. For those not familiar with the term rhinestoning it means individually gluing on thousands of rhinestones per dress on 16 dresses, which meant each team member needed to put in at least 30 hours to get it all done. So we've spent the last few weeks doing all this and we had the premier show of our competition routines. It has been an amazing, exciting, tiring, testing, unbelievable experience to be apart of. 

There have been moments where I didn't think I could do it anymore. I didn't think I could wake up one more time for seven a.m. practice. I didn't think I could listen to that teammates voice ever again. I didn't think I could remember everything I needed to fix no matter how hard I tried. I didn't think I could do my part in that section, because let's be real I was sure I had the hardest part. I didn't think I could get into my knees anymore. I didn't think I could show my molars. I didn't think I could do that last run through. I didn't think I could stone for another hour. I didn't think I could put on that pink shirt one more time. I didn't think I could be optimistic about the slips. I didn't think I could keep my mouth shut even though I knew I should keep my mouth shut. I didn't think I could be wrong. I think we as a team all felt these things at some point but we did it. We weren't perfect and I will be the first to admit I have made a lot of mistakes through this process but none of these things will matter when we take that floor together. 

Oh and p.s. that's the ballroom we compete in... WHAT??

We leave on Friday and there is still so much to do. More practice, packing, and who knows what else will come up. But then we're off to England, Germany and Switzerland! We'll be back on the seventeenth and then we're off to Florida for a few days. As long as we have Internet access I'll keep you all updated on the trip, if not be prepared for many a post when we return. 

Oh and here is a super attractive picture of the husband and I at the premier show... super attractive. Through this whole process I am so glad I've had him by my side to share in the success and frustration of the entire thing. 

And as the lovely Jessica Lyon has reminded us.... 

See you all in or after Europe!