Ireland's Dance Team Season

Technically the season is not over yet- but for Ireland it might be. The swelling knees that has plagued her for years really hit a fever pitch this year. She's dancing a lot. Not just her regular dance load, but now she's taking pointe and then the intense CLCDT schedule on top of all that. We've had her seen by a bone and joint specialist, she's had an MRI, she's had excess fluid drained (Brent was there to hold her with those looong needles), we've done physical therapy and tried medication... all to no avail. As of right now, we are getting her in to a rheumatologist to see if they can do anything but that is not until mid-December and her coach needs to plan for competitions. In spite of it all, Ireland has had a fantastic time.

 One thing I love about dance team is they make sure to get a lot of photos. For homecoming, all the girls got a corsage and we gathered before school to take pictures of them all looking so very lovely.

Here's the entire junior varsity team.

Both varsity and junior varsity.

Parents were allowed to come to the pep rally to watch them dance. I thought I arrived right on time (when the email specified anyway) but all the parents were already there and seated. I wandered a bit, looking for a good spot when I found Liesel standing on the sidelines.

She told me where to look for Ireland and we watched her dance together. It was a fantastic pep rally! They had a couple of kids from each grade do a scavenger hunt. From the crowd they had to get a sock, a CLC hat, a pom pom (all the girls just threw them out onto the floor), a teacher, etc. Afterwards, the kids headed back to class while the band played and I watched as Liesel and her friends found Ireland and gave her a hug. I was so proud of how proud Liesel was of her little sister in that moment. 

One of my greatest hopes is that my girls grow up to be great friends!

Here are the photos from the session with Ron McKinney- I immediately made this first one Irelands profile pic on my phone. Look at that cascading, golden hair!

The freshmen.

Junior Varsity

Junior Varsity & Varsity