Gymnastics #10 {Y Nationals}

Y Nationals is a huge meet that I believe is open to all the YMCAs across America. Our gym does not travel as a rule so when Y Nationals came to Long Beach this year it was our opportunity to participate.

It was a fun event and pretty overwhelming. We were at the Long Beach Convention center. There were three different levels competing at the same time. We got to watch from the stands for a birds eye view.

This was not Miss E's best meet, but it was her last meet as a level 3 gymnast. She missed a skill on the bars and she later told me that sometimes that happens. She wasn't upset, she just said her facts and moved on. I'm proud of her.

She ended the meet with several medals and overall, feeling good. 

Changes Better Called New Opportunities

Changes... sometimes they are hard and sometimes they are just a part of life; sometimes they bring anxiety and sometimes they bring excitement. There are times in life when people come and go. Our recent experiences with 'see-ya's' are to people who have had a great impact on our lives who are moving on to better opportunities. The most recent 'see-ya' has helped me to see the Lord open doors to new opportunities for one of the kiddos.

This guy has been doing gymnastics since he was 3 1/2. He started a little bit younger than his sister, but he showed great skills early on. Due to schedule conflicts he was never able to 'move up' in the program. At roughly 5 1/2, the boys coach invited him to join the 'big kid' class. Technically you are not supposed to join the 'big kids' class until you are 6. It did not take long for everyone to see that he had skills beyond the beginner class and we moved him to the intermediate/advanced class. During this same time, talk was going on about starting a boys team at our gym. 2 years have passes since the beginning of those discussions and there is still no movement in that direction. I've had many talks with Little Man and he would love to compete and be a part of a team like Miss E. So, we are taking him out of our current gym and moving him to a gym with an established boys program. 

I took Little Man over to a gym to 'try out' and he was invited on the spot to join their team. We've got a few more steps to take before he is officially a part of that team, but I am seeing the Lord moving us in this direction. It is an exciting time for this guy!!

Miss E will stay where she is. I will become a literal taxi. Schedules are going to be crazy for awhile, but I'm excited to see the growth in both kids. 

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Update #1: The first 'try-out' class went really well. The coach was impressed with Little Man's strength and skills. He was really tired and didn't have too much to say. We will do one more class in a couple of weeks before we make our final decision on what to do.

Update #2: Our second 'try-out' went really well. The new coach actually said that they would like Little Man to compete in their in house meet the end of July. I said thanks but we would not be able to. This is going to be a great move for him. August 1st, he will become a part of a team and will be a boy's level 4!!

Gymnastics # 9 {YMCA State}

Our gym had the privilege of hosting YMCA State. The only gyms that participated in this meet were YMCAs from the greater San Diego area and a couple from the greater LA area. As a mom, the meet was a lot of work and very tiring, but I think the girls enjoyed being at home.

Miss E had an amazing meet and finished the season really strong. Like I've said all season, I'm so very proud of my daughter. She has a goal and she is fighting for it. She dug deep and came out on top. I'm so excited to see what is next for her.

Miss E started the meet off a little bit shaky. As she was warming up for Beam, she fell off. She shook it off though and finished the meet on the Bars. She got her highest score for the season on the Bars and that pushed her to 1st place All Around. She was shocked!!

The meet was June 4, on Friday June 17 it was announced that she will begin practicing with the Level 4s. WOO HOO!!!

Gymnastics # 8 {Flower Cup Invitational}

The second meet of the season was her best meet to date. The Flower Cup Invitational was held at the Cameron YMCA in Santee on May 15, 2016. For our gym, she actually received the highest All Around score. I wished I was able to record her reaction as she saw her scores after each event. Excited is not a strong enough emotion. Miss E has worked really hard and it has paid off. I'm a really proud gymnastics mom.

Gymnastics # 7 {Spring Fling Invitational}

Here is the first meet of the spring season.

ENJOY!!

Spring Fling Invitation was held in Chula Vista on May 1, 2016. Miss E did a fantastic job. She improved all of her scores from the fall except for vault, which she still did great on. Her goal was to get an All Around score of 35. She exceeded that score and also had her first meet with three 9s. As we were leaving she asked me what celebration we could have because she did so well. I asked her what she wanted, preparing myself for something huge. All she wanted was a snowball from Baltimore Snowball. Easiest celebration ever!! (however, I was ready for Disneyland to be on the table.)