Cheerfest

 I think I mentioned before that our Stake was putting on a cheerfest. Each ward in the stake would come up with their own ward cheer and then we got together and performed them for all the other wards. It was quite the event. Each ward practiced EVERY WEEK for 8 Weeks. Impressive, at least to me. Our cheer was about 12 minutes long but consisted about 6 cheers, each with a song and dance. I was a bit tramatized to do it since I can't even watch the tapes of me in Pep Club at East High. I watch them and cringe (and laugh hesterically as myself) as I am about a half beat off of everyone else. I can shoot a basketball but I can't really dance or cheer. And here we are among the people who dance and sing and have super powers of rhythm and I am going to join them???? But, parents often do what their children are involved in. And since my children were going to the practices, I was going too, and I wasn't allowed to sit on the sidelines. Seth "offered" to stay home with Jake, so he had a free pass. So I sucked up my uncoordinated pride and joined in. I almost jumped ship the last practice when they announce that now all the releif society(meaning me and all the women) had to come to the front and do the funky chicken and as Jayne put it- "shake your booty Mom." I didn't sign up for the funky chicken. I am obviously not very good with peer pressure. I like to think of it.... as scarifice for my children. Hence, I shook my booty to the funky chicken. But it wasn't normal booty shaking, it was set to the Tahitian drum and was suppose to be Tahitian's hip shaking. But as Kristin and Bethany can atest from my college days at BYU Hawaii in our Island's Dance class- I am not very good at it. I wasn't then and didn't improve with age! But it was too much fun, I will admit. Our costumes were as you can see below. Spray painted garage bags skirts, white shirts with Laie 8th Ward stensiled on the front, hair in high ponytails, magazine curled pom-poms, and pink bows in our hair. All the girls and women wore these. Then the boys wore team jerseys and black shorts. This was no small production. We were the largest ward with over 80 people participating. I think 10 other wards performed as well. I videoed our cheer but it was too long to be uploaded onto the blog. I will figure out how to post it because I am sure you are all dying to see the funky chicken.

The girls getting ready outside the basketball stadium at BYU Hawaii. Jayne was in heaven since all she wants to be when she grows up is a cheerleader. She even organized the little girls and made them march behind her and do as she did. So Jayne. 

 Dress rehersal just before we went into the stadium. The man on the stand is our bishop and he is leading the men and boys in the Haka. Sam is in the front in the blue shirt doing the Haka. He looks a little white and scronny to be doing the Haka, but he had fun and yelled and slapped as hard as the rest of them.

In the bleachers waiting to perform.

 You can't resist these little cheerleaders. Next to Ellie is her good friend and neighbor Mckenna.