Battle Bound!

Eeks! I haven't posted anything since the 1st? That's pretty bad, even for me.

Friday, March 5th, my friend Kim and I drove the girls to Washington D.C. for Battle at the Capital a huge cheerleading competition. We drove down on Friday to do some sightseeing before the competition started on Sunday. Emily's brother Nick went along.

Emily broke her toe a couple weeks ago and all the walking we were doing was making it hurt, so she got a lift from Nick.

It was very windy, but we were lucky the sun was out and it wasn't raining.

Rachel took this picture of the Washington Monument. We only had a couple hours, so we went to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian. Then we went back to the hotel for dinner before letting the girls swim before bed. We were going to go the Outback Steakhouse, but found out it was 6 miles away from the hotel. Plus, it was Friday and since Kim and her kids are Catholic, no meat. So we ended up at the little mall area under our hotel and had pizza from Sbarro. BAD CHOICE. That's all I have to say about dinner.

The girls swam for an hour or so with some of the other cheerleaders staying at our hotel, and then it was time for showers, hairdrying and bed. We have to dry their hair real good before bed because the coaches want it straight. So even though Rachel has straight hair, I blow it out and put Chi Silk Infusion in it, and it turns out real soft and very straight.

First Place Again!

Rachel's team came in first place again this weekend! There wasn't a whole lot of competition there, but still, a win is a win! And they did really good. The stunt they're doing here is an arabesque. This stunt starts as a pop-up, then she changes to a heel stretch, then a scorpion and ends in the arabesque, and then she cradles out of it. Rachel's job in this stunt is the back spot.
Rachel's team is a Youth Level 2. Youth designates the age group; 8 to 12 year olds, basically. The Level 2 part is their skill level. I don't really know all the details, but I know that for tumbling they can't do anything above a back handspring. They can do front and back walkovers, forward rolls and roundoffs. I think there's some rule about their stunting, too. Maybe something about the flyer's hips can't go higher than their head. But like I said, I'm not really sure. Anyway, the organization where Rachel cheers has several different levels. They have tiny 1, mini 2, Junior 3, Junior 4, Senior 3 and Senior 4.2. The 4.2 means their tumbling is a level 2, but the stunting is level 4, or something like that. Our Junior 4 team is phenomenal. I hope to get some pictures of them at this weekend's nationals.
This will be our first big competition. It's a two day event, and the teams perform both days. Your best score of the two days is the one that counts. It should be a fun weekend. I'm driving and taking Rachel, her friend Emily and Emily's mom Kim, who is also my friend. :) We are leaving Friday and will be home Sunday night.

University of Delaware Competition

Here they come!!! On their way to a First Place finish!!
This was actually last Sunday. We pulled out of today's competition because of all the snow. (More on that in the next post)

What we didn't know at the time was that Emily hurt her knee pretty bad at tumbling the day before. She was a trooper and did everything in the routine, including her back handsprings. But my friend Kim took her to the hospital and she's now on crutches. She's waiting for an appointment at AI DuPont Hospital for Children next week. The first hospital told her it was her ACL, but the follow-up orthopedist said her patella punctured a hole in the bone behind it. Either way, she's off her knee for ten days. So for Emily, it's a good thing we pulled out of the competition today.

I'm having hardware issues....the card for my new camera won't work in my computer, and the card reader I use is broken. So I can't access those pictures until Fred gets me a new one, hopefully today.

Pyramid

Here I showed you how Rachel's team begins their routine. This is how they end it.

Toe Touch

Rachel went to a friend's birthday party last night. It was a tumbling party. She practiced her jumps on their trampoline and into the pit. Her toe touch looks pretty good.

This is a herkie. It's my favorite jump.

Villanova Competition

Rachel's competition this weekend was at Villanova University. Her team took first place out of three! They looked so good, too. The middle of the pyramid that ends their routine collapsed, but aside from that it was a great performance. It was a long day. We thought we'd be home by 2:00, but we didn't get out of the gym until 2:00 or so. After stopping for lunch, we didn't get home until 5:00. It was a fun day, though. There was a parent team that performed, and they did surprisingly well. In fact, I think they inspired our organization to start one. Should be interesting!!!

First 2010 Competition!

We were in Trenton this morning for a cheerleading competition. It was Rachel's (and my!) first all-star cheerleading competition. She did cheer for six years for a rec squad (pee wee football) and did competition with them for four years, but this is her first year doing all-star.
We woke up at 4:45 and left the house at 6, got to Trenton by 7:30. I played with the camera while watching the other teams perform, but I still need to figure this new camera out. Once again, every single picture I took, except for the close-ups, was blurry. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, so I'll have to get the manual out I guess. I also need to invest in a telephoto lens sometime in the next month or two.

This is how Rachel's team lines up to begin their routine. They did so good. I'm so proud of Rachel and all the girls. The looked great!

Rachel and Emily having some post-performance Dippin Dots.

This is all the teams from the morning session on the mat for awards. It was fun, but I'm exhausted. I am not a morning person, and when I have to get up earlier than usual, it just knocks me out.

Window Painting

Rachel has a cheerleading competition tomorrow, her first one with this organization. I am SO excited to be able to go and just be a spectator/parent and have nothing to do with coaching! I can just sit and watch and cheer the girls on. Our van windows are now painted red, white and blue and have Rachel's and Emily's names on them. Emily and her mom will ride with us to all our competitions. And tomorrow we'll have an old friend with us, too.

So check back some time later tomorrow or Sunday to hear all about our first all-star cheerleading competition!

Dress Rehearsal!!!

This morning was dress rehearsal where Rachel cheers. Competition starts next weekend, and the dress rehearsal gave the girls an opportunity to perform in front of a crowd. It also gave me an opportunity to practice Rachel's makeup. I don't think I did too bad. We had to buy the makeup. The gym decides what colors and how they want it applied. But you can go as dark or light as you want. Rachel's was pretty much right in the middle - some girls had it much darker and some were much lighter. By the time they actually performed, Rachel's lipstick was much lighter. I might try putting something on her lips next week to make the lipstick last a little longer.

This is Rachel's team. There are 36 girls. She is not one of the flyers. She is the backspotter for the second stunt group from the right. The stunt they're doing is called a scale.

Rachel and Emily's friend Morgan came to cheer them on. We were so surprised to see her there!! She cheers with a different organization, but the teams are on different competition levels, so we will never compete against Morgan's team. It's the same with another cheerleading friend who cheers for yet another organization and who we will see at our competition next weekend. They're at the same competition, but different levels.

After the dress rehearsal we went to look at kitchen cabinets. We're seriously considering remodeling the kitchen....we're talking knocking out a wall and everything. So we're doing some shopping around to see if we can afford it.

After cabinet shopping Rachel had to finish a project for school. She and Fred have been working together to build a pueblo. Rachel designed it and picked out the materials. Fred is help assemble, mainly with the hot glue. I think the cheer bow adds a nice touch.

Rachel did the gluing of the smaller parts. I'm so proud of her in so many ways!

Cheerleading

This is where Rachel goes three or four times a week for cheerleading and/or tumbling. Tonight she was there for five hours. They bring a choreographer in to teach them the dance portion of their routine, and he's only there for one night per team. Actually Rachel's team got out a half hour early because they were so quick picking up the moves. By 9:00 they looked pretty good. I can't wait to see them at their first competition in January.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! (Days 73, 74, 75)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!

We wish we could have spent it with you, Dad/Grandpa!

You, too, Dad/Pawpaw!

Along with a couple DVDs, Whoppers and a jacket, Fred also got lottery tickets. I think these were his favorite. Rachel helped him scratch them off, but he didn't win anything. :(

Violet checked to make sure they didn't win.

Ferris was rather bored by the whole thing. He said "pfft, if I'm not getting a present, I'm going to bed.

Friday was Rachel's last day of 4th grade. She looks thrilled, doesn't she? But she came home with report card full of A's, and she got a teacher for 5th grade that she really likes, and one of her good friends will be in her class. She's already excited for 5th grade, and on Sunday Fred let her buy a few school supplies at Staples.

Saturday Rachel had a surprise visitor. Her former coach, Ashley, came to visit us. Ashley moved to North Carolina after our season ended last year. Rachel had gotten really close to Ashley and was sad when she moved. It was a nice visit with Ashley, but Rachel wasn't feeling 100%. Her mouth is really bothering her from canker sores and her braces. Then Saturday night we realized one of the brackets had become uncemented and was not attached to her tooth anymore, but it's still attached to the wire. Our orthodontist's office is only open Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the orthodontist is on vacation this week, so I'm not sure what's going to happen. I got up and called first thing this morning. I'm waiting for a call back, but I'm not holding my breath. I have a feeling I won't hear from them until tomorrow. I really hope these sores in her mouth clear up before we leave for China next week. She can barely talk or eat.

I've been busy trying to get caught up on all my work, get caught up on laundry and get things ready for our trip. I still have shopping to do, but not really for anything big.....dog food, cat food, toiletries to take with us, little gifts for the orphanage staff, a fanny pack for Fred, Ziploc bags, extra luggage locks. And I still need to transfer about 1,000 pictures from my camera card to the hard drive, write instructions for the neighbors taking care of the cats, instructions for family taking care of Ferris and PACK, PACK, PACK!

Three Person Stunt (Day 44)

Sorry for the blurry image. It was the best I could do from where I was. This was actually taken through a darkly tinted window, so I'm surprised it turned out at all.
This is Rachel and her friend Emily at their second cheerleading practice with the all-star team them joined. They've both been cheering for five years and have done stunts for that long. But this is the first time they've done a 3-person stunt. They've always had a backspotter, usually Rachel, behind the flyer, holding the ankles of the flyer. This picture was the very first time they tried this stunt, and for being the first time, it looks great! The team actually had 11 of these stunts going up simultaneously! I'm very impressed with this organization.

Separators (Day 42)

Rachel doesn't have blue gum stuck in her teeth here. She got separators today in preparation for braces. I guess the separators make it easier to get the actual braces on the teeth. She said they only hurt a little bit, and I was told chewing would make it feel better, so after her appointment we went to McDonald's for breakfast. I wanted to go to Denny's, but the Queen Bee wanted Mickey D's. And what does she order? French fries and a milkshake! Fries weren't made yet since it was only 9:30. She she had to make do with hashbrowns. And the milkshake wasn't ready until we finished eating. Glad she chose McDonald's! Then we went to the mall. The Macy's at our mall doesn't have athletic shoes, which was one of my main reasons for going. Couldn't find any at Kohl's, either. I'll have to hit either Famous Footwear or Sports Authority this week.
Her teeth bothered her a little at dinner last night, but we had spaghetti, so she suffered through.
She had her first cheerleading practice with her new squad last night. There were 37 girls! The biggest squad she's ever been on was, like, 22 girls. Some of the girls last night can do double back handsprings and back tucks. It's an all-star squad....they only do competitions....no more football games! At least until middle school, if she cheers there. So far she really liked it. She looked good, too. She backspotted one flyer doing just a basic stunt. Then she based another flyer doing basket tosses. She's been a backspotter for five years. She based a little bit last year, but backspotting is really what she knows. So I was proud to see her doing such a good job basing last night, especially on something a little more difficult like a basket toss, where the setup is different and you really have to throw the flyer up more.