Thanksgiving Weekend -- Parade of Champions

Dear Family and Friends, Hello – we hope this email finds you all fabulously well and enjoying the beginning of the holiday season. All of you know that Shannon and Erin love Irish Dancing. You know that we spend many, many wonderful hours taking the girls to classes, shows, performances and local and international competitions. All of you always ask how they are doing and many of you ask if there is ever an opportunity to see them perform. My response to all of you is that I am too fond of you to expose you to it. Then I giggle, because I know it is so true. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, you all know that we travel to Philadelphia, PA. We spend the entire time with dance friends. The girls compete in one of the biggest regional competitions in our country. Well, this past weekend, as usual, we were in Phili. It was a very successful time for the girls. They competed in team dances and solo dances. They both did fabulous! We were extra fortunate this year because Erin won her solo competition. She dances in the Girls Under 11 category. She competed against 105 of the best girls in our five state region. She has been in the top five for the past three years and this year she was on top. One of the perks of winning is that the dancer gets to dance in something called ‘The Parade of Champions’. I wanted to share the ‘link’ to this dance. Erin represents her age group and performs a fun dance. You can watch it and see how fabulous she really is. She is in a white dress. Her hair is up. She is the fourth girl in the line. The girls and boys alternate back and forth and the age groups get older as they go. It starts with the Under 8 category and goes up to senior over age 20 dancers. I hope you all enjoy watching the video clip. We were very blessed and excited to have Erin be a part of this. Now you may have a little idea of what our family enjoys so much. We wish you all a blessed and merry holiday season. Love, Michael, Sharon, Shannon and Erin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKrDFlnn7MI

'Worlds' at Boston

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to post a follow up blog about the girls and our ‘Worlds’ experience.  Our trip up to Boston was such a whirlwind.  We were up there for a total of four day.  It was in our usual fashion: fun, crazy, busy everyday!

Sunday morning began early.  We got up and started getting ready.  That includes hair, makeup, dressing, stretching and warming up.  Our first competition started at nine o’clock.  The girls were both dancing at the same time in different venue halls.  Michael and I would be very busy running back and forth.

We all saw the girls dance both of their first two rounds.  That included their hard, heavy shoe and then their soft, light shoe.  Erin even got to see big sister dance her light round.  Erin had finished before Shannon.

At the end of the first day, Shannon got 66^th.  She is ranked 66^th in the world in her age category.  Erin got 16^th.  She is ranked 16^th in the world in her age category.  She is a World Medal holder; she was the second highest American dancer.  It was a fabulous day for our family.

Monday brought another day of dancing.  Our day started about the same as the previous day.  Erin had a team competition.  She was dancing on an Under 11 mixed ceili team.  There are eight dancers on this team, four girls and four boys.  Their competition began in the morning and her team did well.  They got the recall.  That means they dance another round.  Awards went off very late at night and her team got 23^rd.   It was a great accomplishment for the dancers on this team.

Believe it or not, Tuesday was another dance day.  For the third day in a row, it began the same way.  Up early, hair, makeup, stretch and warm up.  Today, the girls dance on an Under 13 mixed ceili team.  The girls are on the same team.  This is the National winning team and also the Oireachtas winning team.  There are three sets of siblings on this team and it is a great source of fun and team spirit for the girls.  This team danced well.  They got the recall and danced again.  At awards, the team was ranked 3^rd.  It was such a wonderful outcome.  We were all so overjoyed.  It was a great way for our family to end the ‘Worlds’. 

We headed home to New Jersey with four medals for the girls.  It was truly successful.  What a terrific experience for our family. 

At this time, we will take a little break from dance, relax a little and enjoy the Springtime.  Normally at this time, we would be already revving up for our National competition in July.  However, our school will not be going to Nationals this year.  Our teachers are judging this event and therefore, we will not be dancing.  Our traveling will be put on hold. We are already looking forward to ‘Worlds’ next year.  They are taking place in London!

I hope you enjoy reading about the girls and all of their accomplishments and all of our travel experiences.  It is a pleasure to share it all with you.

Fondly, Sharon

Boston -- Worlds

Hello Everyone, and greetings from Boston, Massachusetts.

We are off to the ‘World’s’ of Irish Dance.  

Boston, Massachusetts is host to the 2013 Worlds Irish Dance Competition. 

We arrived up in Boston on Friday night.  We are staying at the Sheraton and this is right where the competition is.  The dancing is taking place in the Hynes Convention Center and the Sheraton Hotel. 

Dancers from all over the world will be competing.  It is a great honor to be here and to be a part of this all. 

Today was a day of preparation.  We were busy getting ready for Sunday.  Both Shannon and Erin dance their solo dances on Sunday.  We spent most of the day Saturday stretching, getting last minute supplies, practicing the girls and staying focused.

We want to wish the girls ALL the BEST in the WORLD and hope they have the time of their lives dancing on the Worlds stage among the best of the best in their sport!

We are so very proud of them.

Sharon 

A Day in London

London –

Cheerio All,

Today we did London.  We were all over this huge city.  We did not realize how large the city of London actually was.  We started at the Westminster Bridge.  Westminster Bridge is the oldest bridge in London.  It is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London.  The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same color as the leather seats in the House of Commons.  

We went on the London Eye.  It is a gigantic Ferris Wheel that looms over the River Thames. The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom, behind the River Severn.

The London Eye is a structure that is 443 ft tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 ft.  It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and is one of the most popular tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.  The ferris wheel has 32 sealed passenger capsules, that are attached to the external circumference of the wheel and rotated by electric motors.

We went to Big Ben. Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. The clock tower is now officially called the Elizabeth Tower, and was renamed to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee. The Elizabeth Tower holds the largest four faced chiming clock in the world and is the third tallest free standing clock tower.

I have a message from Erin for her PACT Teacher, Mrs. Vogt.  Erin found another reason why the penny coin should not be eliminated.  Look at this picture and the information about Big Ben and how they use pennies to help set the time.   

We went to Westminster Abbey; The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster.  Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly gothic church.  It is located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.  It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for monarchs.  It was beautiful.  We took the self-guided tour throughout the entire church.  It was so informative.  Shannon enjoyed it very much.  We spent a while here, just sitting and looking around.  The ceilings, walls, floor and windows are simply beautiful.

We went to Buckingham palace. Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal workplace of the British monarch.  It is located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.

We ended our night out for dinner and dessert.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner and had ice cream at Fentons.

We are heading home tomorrow morning.  We had a terrific time in London.  We enjoyed our time and will look forward to coming back. 

This was a terrific trip.  It was a whirlwind between Scotland and England, the dancing and the sightseeing.  Our next trip will be much closer to home.  We are heading to Boston is a few weeks.  The girls are dancing in the ‘Worlds’.  It will be our first time to that great city and are looking forward to it.

Cheerio for now,

Sharon

ONE DIRECTION -- London, England

England ---ONE DIRECTION

HELLO EVERYONE,

I can simply say that our day was all about the hottest new boy band -- ONE DIRECTION!!!!  We headed to London, England to take the girls to the ONE DIRECTION concert. 

Our day began with a train ride from Glasgow, Scotland to Euston Station in London, England.  We took the Virgin rail train.  The trip took four hours.  I highly recommend it, if your travel plans include this kind of transfer across the United Kingdom. 

We arrived in London by two thirty and hopped into a cab to our hotel.  We are staying at the Fraiser Suites by the Canary Wharfs.  It is very close to the O2 Arena where the ONE DIRECTION concert was being held.  We have a great room, with a beautiful view. 

We headed to the O2.  What a fascinating arena!!!!  It is an enormous entertainment center.  It has at least two theatres.  It has a movie cinema complex.  It has a numerous amount of restaurants.  It has activities and events nonstop.  The concert was in the main hall; which held 20,000 people.  We had a yummy dinner at an American café within the O2 that was hosting a ONE DIRECTION theme night.  After that, we headed to the VIP lounge.  Our tickets included this service.  It was a lovely place to relax before the show began. 

The show opened with two other acts and then at around 8 o’clock, ONE DIRECTION came on.  I have to say that they put in a great show --highly energetic, highly entertaining and enjoyable.  The girls had such a terrific and it was so much fun for Michael and myself to watch them sing and dance along to the music. 

I took tons of pictures for the girls and will post some. 

Tomorrow we are going to tour around London.  We are looking forward to it. 

Blog later, Sharon 

Edinburgh

A Day in Edinburgh,

Hello everyone and greetings from lovely Edinburgh.  This is the second largest city in Scotland and it is the nation’s capital.  What a pretty city.  We headed up to Edinburgh this morning on the train. From the Queen’s Street Station in Glasgow to the Edinburgh Waverly Station, it is an easy commute, about 40 minutes, with pretty scenic overlooks.  We traveled with dance friends and the girls had a ball hanging out with them.  

Once in Edinburgh, we went right up to the Royal Mile.  This street is the most popular within the city.  It spans the Queen’s Gallery at one end and the Edinburgh Castle at the other end.  It is a wonderful walk; up and down the street, there are fabulous eateries, terrific shops and amusing and talented street vendors and entertainers.  There was a bagpipe player and Shannon asked him if he knew how to play a ‘reel’ dance?  He said ‘yes’ and began to play and she actually did a dance step right there in the middle of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh!!!!! It was fabulous.  People clapped and gave the bagpiper some change!!  

We ran into a very ambitious and motivated group of Rugby supports.  The Scottish team plays tomorrow and these young men wanted everyone to know about it!!

We had a delicious Scottish lunch at The Royal McGregor and again, when you come over here; you have to get the soup of the day.  It is always terrific!!  We toured the Queen’s Gallery, where the Queen stays when she is in Scotland and the Edinburgh Castle.  It was a great day.  Highly recommended!!

Check out this picture of Michael.  He loved it!!  FREE BEER.  But look very closely. . .  It actually says, FREE wifi and awesome BEER.  It’s just that the FREE BEER words are huge and the wifi and awesome words are tiny. 

Tomorrow we leave Scotland.  We are heading to England.  We are traveling by train.  We leave in the morning.  We are taking the girls to the ONE DIRECTION concert.  They are playing at the O2 Arena in London.  The girls are super excited!!

Here are some more pictures of our day.   Hope you enjoy them. 

Sharon