If you follow us on Instagram you probably saw my little getaway to Indianapolis this past weekend. My oldest daughter and I went there for a big cheer competition she was competing in and we had the best time. I had no idea what to expect because I had never been to Indy before, but all I kept thinking about was the cute movie Turbo.
My son used to LOVE this movie. It's about a snail gets super speed powers and races in the Indy 500. If you have little boys and haven't seen this movie you should watch it...it is so cute!
I looked into flights, but waited too long and they were all so expensive so I decided to make the 7 1/2 hour drive instead. It turned out to be such an easy drive. When I saw that we were going to be heading right through Nashville we decided to forgo a quick fast food and instead make the most of our time there.
We ended up taking a pictures with the famous mural wall, walked around a bit, and ate at a great little sandwich shop that was nearby.
There were so many fun places to see and I just wish we had a little longer there. I definitely want to go back to Nashville for a weekend.
When we got to Indianapolis we got settled in our hotel, which was located right downtown. My daughter was surprised by a fun little good luck treat my mother-in-law had sent to our hotel. It was from Cookies by Design and was such a sweet surprise! Her team name is Moonlight and their signature color is purple, so these cookies were just perfect.
We met some friends from her team for dinner and then tried to get to bed somewhat early to be ready for the first day of competition.
Unlike other sports where my kids can just throw on a uniform and head to a game, cheer requires a lot of time for hair and makeup to be competition ready.
Y'all know I love theme wear so I'll take any chance I get to dress to match a theme. Most of the moms try to wear purple to support the girls and when I found this Shoot for the Moon necklace from
James Avery I knew I had to have it.
I love that James Avery creates one of a kind jewelry with meaningful messages of family, faith and love. This necklace is certainly meaningful to myself and my daughter. This team is so special because is her first year cheering at this prestigious gym. It is also a team that has overcome so many obstacles to be where the are now!
The way cheer competition scoring works is that they compete two days in a row. One day is generally worth 25% of their score and the next day is worth 75% of their score. A hit routine means they got zero deductions and that is always the goal!
As we get closer to the time for them to take the stage, I get SUPER nervous. I have butterflies in my stomach, my hands start shaking and I just feel sick. She is a flyer and I am always nervous she will fall so I think that is part of where my nerves come from. I'm not ever worried about her falling and getting hurt, I'm worried about her falling and being upset and feeling like she let her team and coaches down. They practice longer and harder and have more heart than any sport I have ever witnessed and I just want them to do their best! I was talking with another mom and the thing with this sport is that they only get once chance. It's not like other sports where you can make a mistake and then comeback from it to win. This sport only gives them 2 1/2 minutes to show what they can do and if they make a mistake, there is no coming back from it. The great news is that they looked amazing on Saturday and hit their routine!
Their coach was in tears by the end of their performance because she was just so proud and all of the parents felt the same way. The girls came off stage on a high and were SO excited.
Day one was done so she could relax for the rest of the day! That afternoon we decided to walk around the mall a little. It is located right int he middle of downtown and has tons of windows so you can see all of the city.
While we were there there was a photo op with the Navarro cheerleaders from the Netflix show CHEER She was so excited to see them person and get a photo with them. For all of you CHEER fans, Morgan was super nice to her and it totally made her day.
That night we walked around the town a bit and about froze! It was such a neat city though and I love how everything was easy to get to on foot.
That night we ate dinner with some friends at a place called Burger Study and it was delicious!
The next morning we were up early and ready for day 2! It's always more of the same...an emotional roller coaster and all I want them to do is come off the stage feeling like they did their best.
It was another beautiful HIT routine and you could just tell that they all felt SO good about what they had done.
Two hit zero routines over the weekend was a huge accomplishment for them!
They were awarded an execution award for their stunting which was such an honor because that is one of the things they work hardest on!
We knew there was a very good chance they could win the competition. After day 1 they were in 2nd place and with the routine they performed on Sunday they all felt confident they had moved up. It was incredibly heartbreaking for them all when they were announced as second place and even more so when we learned that they had only lost by 0.05. SO close!
However, a great thing came out of the weekend. Even though they didn't win, their score was SO high that they were awarded a bid to The Summit! Summit is in Orlando and is like the Super Bowl of allstar cheer for her level. You have to be invited to attend and it is a really big deal. They were all ecstatic when they found out on Monday night!
There is a bid reveal show so we planned a team party so they could watch it together and celebrate! The very next night they had a 3 hours practice so it was right back at it for this team. No rest, but they wouldn't have it any other way!
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