A long time ago, when this website was still on Geocities, I began to document my time as a dancer. Sparing no detail, I wrote about each class, each performance, each competition, each activity that pertained to dance. After a couple years, my online presence moved to LiveJournal and the Irish Feet website disappeared, so these diaries have all been lumped into a category I like to call really old archival memories. They began in 2001 and ceased sometime in 2003, then picked up again in 2006 (with a little interlude on Livejournal in between). Most are dated and will be organized as well as I can, but my memory is faulty and some lists, particularly of our performances, are incomplete.

Session One
Session Two
Session Three
Session Four

2003
2004
2005

2006

Between Lessons 2001
Between Lessons 2002

Dance Camp 2001
Trinity Workshop

Dance Camp (3 - 5 August, 2001) For three days in the summer of 2001, I went to a dance camp set up by my teacher and her family. We spent the time there learning more advanced dances and figures, as well as goofing off. This is what went on.

August 3, 2001

I packed the same day right before we left. Kettle Falls is just a couple hours away, so we didn't need to leave really early. We were picking three people up on the way there though, so it took a little while longer to get there.
We picked up a nine-year-old girl named Rachael and her mom Loni, first. Then, we picked up Kelli, a girl from my class.
The ride there was really hot and we kept laughing about stupid things, like a grasshopper that wouldn't get out of the car.
We stopped at a shoe store in Colville to get some poodle socks. They were SOLD OUT!!! Again! First at the feis! So, we ordered some.
When we arrived at the studio, there wasn't many people there yet. We dropped our stuff off inside either Deirdre's, Claire's or Caitlin's car. I dropped my stuff off in Claire's. Next, I went inside and got into my shorts and then went into the big room to get on my ghillies. It was way bigger than our studio in Spokane! And way colder too! I loved it!
We warmed up. It was painful! As I have said before, Deirdre is very touchy about posture. She's more than very, she's extremely! But that's good, because we need that extra touch for competing.
Our school is run by a family, and the ladies in the family were there to teach. Caitlin is the oldest girl, and Deirdre is their mom, and the certified teacher. Claire is the youngest, but she's almost seventeen, so that's not that young.
After warming up, we took hands and learned the sevens and threes for figure dancing, then we learned hop backs. They hurt when you do them over and over.
We began the 6hand after that. We filed into the small room to watch a video that Deirdre used for her TCRG test. We learned The Fairy Dance (6hand). I was really confused at first! We then had some dinner. It was lasagna. It was good too!
Deirdre told us something really awesome! She said that every April she takes about fifteen or so kids to Ireland! I hope I can go one of these years!
We then learned part of the 3hand reel (I think), and then we finished by learning The Waves of Torrie. An awesome ceili dance! very fun!
I was with Alex, and the other Sarah (tall Sarah) was with Devon. We were always the lead couples (meaning, we were the first two couples at the beginning of the line. That's when my toes felt like they were dying.
We ended up with the same people in the car driving with Claire to their farm for the night. We were really talkative (sarcastic voice).
We made it back to the farm and unpacked. I got a tent with Sarah, Kelli, Bekah (or is it Becca?), and Marie. The older guys were next to us. That proved to be fun.
We hung out on the deck that night and Rachael told "ghost" stories (I don't think they are true...at all). Caitlin kept cracking up like crazy, and leaping around acting like a crazy person, but it was hilarious. We were laughing really hard. Soon, Sarah and I decided to play Hide and Seek. We were "It" but we had to go to the bathroom, so we did, and when we got back, no one was hiding, so we started over, and went to go look for them without a flashlight, but we got scared after just seconds of walking in the dark (we saw a barrel, and I scared us by saying, "I wonder if anyone is in there", and then Sarah spooked me), so we ran back, and Rachael gave us her flashlight. We caught Alex, but he ran off, then we caught Johnathan (Johnny Boy), but he ran off, then we caught Devon, but he ran off.
Boys.
While Sarah and I were wandering around, we saw someone run though the fields. We thought it was Claire, but upon asking her, she denied it, so we knew it was a ghost. But upon later questioning, she said it was her, she just didn't remember she was out then.
After everyone went into their tents, Sarah and I went to the house to get some Vitamin E oil for her blister. I got something (it starts with an "A") for my shin splints, and then we talked about competing with Deirdre, Claire and Caitlin.
Deirdre doesn't know which feis to put us in first. Caitlin recommended the Portland Feis, but Deirdre thinks it's too soon (it's in October). I don't think I'd mind competing in October. Deirdre thinks it's too close to starting class over again. Our second session begins in September.
When we went to our tents, more chaos happened. Sarah and I shouted Devon's name, and that's when everything started. We talked forever, then we decided to sneak up on the boys, so we did, but that didn't work, so we went back to the tent, and I threw one of Sarah's shoes at the tent, and they started getting restless. Sarah brought Aaron Carter's CD on accident, so we played it just to get some good laughs.
Soon, we decided (Sarah and I) to talk really loud and get the guys' attention. We talked about Britney and Justin and the little girls next to us responded with a "Britney dated who?" and then an awesome "Spear Britney!" It was so hilarious.
Then, Bekah threw the other shoe at the tent. Sarah and I snuck out the back way and around to the window of the guys' tent, but that didn't work either.
At about 11:30, Deirdre told us to get quieter (all too nicely), and then Kellie woke up and did the Wicked Witch of the West song. It was so funny! Deirdre heard, but it didn't click right away. She laughed about it the next day.
Finally, the guys threw one shoe at our tent, but the other didn't return until later on. Turns, out, Devon put it in his bag, but we all know (including Johnny Boy and Alex) that we slept with it because it was Sarah's shoe.
After that, we all fell asleep. Alex later returned the missing shoe to our tent NICELY.

August 4, 2001

This day was just plain weird.
Or, shall I say, psycho (eh, Bekah?). First off, we stretched as usual, then reviewed the 6hand and 3hand, then we learned the 2hand. I had to dance with the little kids because I'm short, and we learned the easy version. It was great.
The taller kids (the kids my age) had some major trouble with theirs.
We stopped for lunch, which was sandwiches, then we danced The Waves of Torrie, and learned a very, I mean, very boring dance that we all call the Toe Heel dance. It's a ceili dance.
We stopped dancing (which is great because my feet were dying) and went to the beach. It was a windy but hot and sunny day, and the beach along the river was sandy and great! We floated and swam in the water for a while, and tried to get Devon, Alex and Johnny Boy to come in, but they wouldn't. Chickens.
I drew some pictures in the sand, and wrote our names. Sarah made a cake in the sand. Marie joined us as Sarah and I walked way down the beach. We tried to do a 6hand, but we only had three people, and we didn't really remember the 3hand.
After walking back and pigging out on more chips (first the red tortillas, then the blue ones), we went back to the farm for the evening.
We took a major detour with Claire, and picked some cherries in an orchard (we couldn't figure out whose it was. It was close to Logan's house, but we weren't sure).
When we got back, we noticed that the guys were hanging out at the old swing set, so we went and talked about weird things, from men in drag, to the color of Gertrude.
That started because Devon said brown, and Sarah though he said Gertrude, so then we started laughing, and Caitlin asked what the color Gertrude would be, so we finally came up with a mustard color.
Before the whole Gertrude incident, Claire and Caitlin joined us at the swing set, but they moved a bench over to sit on. There were some really low branches and Caitlin was being attacked by them, so she decided to move it, but Claire didn't want to, so they stayed there. Eventually Claire got attacked by the tree, and so they started picking dead branches, but then Claire and Caitlin got in a fight (just a little pretend one), and they started whipping each other with the branches, then they started wrestling. Caitlin walked over to us afterward and said in a worn out voice, "I just got beat up by my little sister." It was so funny.
We went inside to go get dinner soon after and then we went out onto the deck to eat. That's when it all started.
Alex, Rachael and Sarah were at the table with me. Rachael was eating in sort of a trance, and in her left had was a spoon. Suddenly, it dropped. Rachael began eating quicker, ignoring the fact that her spoon dropped. I think that the lack of sleep made it seem funny, but whatever the case was, we started laughing so hard, we couldn't breathe, and eating was impossible. Then Sarah said, "The bread is swelling in my throat,", and Alex thought she said, "The bird is swelling in my throat", and that just did it for us. We laughed at everything. Then Devon and Alex started hugging the water cooler that was on the table. I got pictures of that incident.
Then we went frolicking through the yard, and somehow, that turned into a Nature special (Kelli was narrarating), then a grass fight.
Devon kept stealing Sarah's shoes. I figured it was because they were shiny, but we all know the truth. She wears them, so he loves them.
Finally we calmed down a bit, then Rachael decided to do the Limbo, and so everyone (except for me and Johnny Boy) lined up and they limboed for a while, before Caitlin decided to dance. She waltzed with her boyfriend, then Claire waltzed with Caitlin's boyfriend, and she was ordering Caitlin and her boyfriend around. It was really funny.
After that, things calmed down a bit, and eventually Deirdre came and we chatted and started learning an Irish song, but then we stopped.
After that, we got in our tent, and within twenty minutes, we were asleep.

August 5, 2001

We woke up fairly early, then packed up our stuff and put it in the truck, and went to breakfast.
We arrived at the studio, stretched, and reviewed everything we had learned so far, then finished off the 6hand, and then we learned the 4hand. CONFUSING DANCE!!! Our group didn't get the figure at the end. We totally messed up on the spins. At least we got to learn it. The other groups (other than another older kids group) didn't learn the figure step.
Then Logan came (he is Caitlin and Claire's brother) and brought the boys into another room and taught them some steps, and then Deirdre and Caitlin taught us the Down In Out Reel! It's really tricky, but really fun! Then the boys came in and did their step, and we did ours.
We went to the beach after lunch and this time I didn't go in the water. Instead, I stayed on the beach with Johnny Boy and we tried to run away from Devon, because he was splashing Sarah, Miranda, Rachael, and anyone else who got in his way. He tried pushing me in, too.
Eventually, he ended up "wrestling" (mainly splashing, or what we called Flirty Frolicking and Water Waltzing) with Sarah.
We went sailing after that. Sarah and I sat in the bottom of the boat. It was leaning really far! It was so fun!
When we got out, one more group of kids went sailing, then we made the long walk back to the cars.
On the way back, Johnny Boy ran up to me and said, "I think we all know who Devon likes." I had to laugh. It was really obvious. He totally loves Sarah.
Of course, I'm the one who has to deal with him during class now.
We were covered in sand when we finally got back to the studio, and parents were lined up all over with cameras, video cameras, and more! It was our last day, plus we were going to have a exhibition, so that's why. I danced the 6hand, and The Waves of Torrie. That was really fun. Then we had to say goodbye. I was so sad! I really really really wanted to stay longer! I had so much fun even though I was in major pain when from all that dancing. We did do eleven-and-a-half hours of it!

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