lacey's gymnastics performance

this morning lacey had her gymnastics "recital." she did really well as we walked through the apparatus with her. she hung from rings, flipped over bars, walked on balance beams and even jumped down the trumble track into the foam pit. lela's teacher was there and made the comment about how both of the girls had a natural ability for the sport. really? are you kidding? i was totally taken off guard by such a comment. i have no athleleitc ability in my bones, so this really surprised me. kev said that she probably tells everybody that. gee, thanks honey.

well, when we got to the end of the "obstacle course" the gentleman who owns the gym and assessed lela last night gave lacey her trophy. he remembered exactly who lela was making the comment that both the girls looked just alike. of course, after he made the comment about lela i got all excited thinking she must had made some sort of impression upon him if out of twelve girls her remember exactly who our daughter was, but then again when you have super dark hair and bright blue eyes and an unusual name that too might have something to do with it. oh well...we just have to wait.

now we wait and see

lela had her gymnastics assessment last night. she did really well i thought. well, a lot better than i ever would have done. her lines are beautiful if you ask me. she points her toes and stands tall. she has nice long legs which look even longer when they are stretched out. for an entire hour with about twelve other girls she ran, jumped, did chin ups, cart-wheels, splits and even had to do a hip circle on the bar. i stood at the window with lacey taking everything in. at times i noticed my hands where clasped together so tight with the excitement of watching her perform. now i must say i'm glad that's over, but now what? we were told that sometime in the next few days we will be getting an email letting us know what the next course of action is regarding lela's gymnastics. so now all we can do is just wait and see.

it's mother's day and

what a wonderful day it has been! going to church, spending time with my family, my sister's family and most importantly my mom, how blessed am i? yesterday we had a wonderful lunch with kevin's mom and buster bud. talk about an awesome weekend. i just hate that tomorrow is monday and back to the grind. it's hard to believe that lacey only has two more weeks of school while lela has three more weeks. talk about a fast flying year. i still can't believe that we will have a second grader and a kindergartner. all i keep thinking is how did that happen?

this is actually a big week around here and i'm trying to stay cool and calm, but at times when i actually think about what is going on i get really excited. come friday of this week, lela has been asked to go through an assessment at gymnastics to determine what the next step is in her training. she has somehow moved from a level 3 to a level 4 all in the course of year. it is not unusual for an athlete to stay in the same level for a couple of years. just because you get older does not necessarily mean you move up; you have to meet certain criteria in order to move up and it seems that lela has and can do this. from what i understand that at level 4 you can start to compete...yikes! lela kind of understands what is happening but at the same time we are totally downplaying it. we don't want to put any pressure on her and we want this to be fun! i guess never in a million years would i have dreamed that we would have a gymnast for a daughter, but she is definitely in her element. i can't wait to post some video of her performing.

a new season...

yesterday, we packed the car and ventured out in the freezing cold amongst the snow covered ground heading toward athens. school ended up being cancelled due to the weather. so, that helped in getting ready to leave. we were on our way to a reception for the gymdogs. the girls couldn't contain themselves because they were so excited to be staying in a hotel not to mention meeting the gymdogs, themselves. the drive up was extremely beautiful with no problems encountered on the roadways. yeah!

the reception last night was held at the athens country club and it was very nice. we met the team, got autographs and lela and lacey even had their pictures made with the girls. it was so fun watching our girls interact with the gymdogs. they got very quiet and shy as they were standing in front of their "role-models." it is so funny because lela and lacey love watching the meets on tv while they pretend to be "hillary" or "courtney." it cracks me up...

the meet will be against stanford. georgia is ranked #1 while stanford is ranked #7. despite the rankings, you can expect a close competition. it's funny, but the coach said something which i never thought about in regards to gymnastics. it is the originator of the extreme sport (x-games). it never even occurred to me with all the flipping and flying through the air that what these gymnasts do is definitely considered extreme and dangerous. instead of using a snowboard or skateboard they are using their own bodies to fight against gravity. talk about wow!

but i think the one thing that really surprises and shocks me is that lela wants and really likes doing it? for her to do a cartwheel off the beam doesn't bother her at all. it scares me to death especially when i think about what she is doing, but to her its fun and she loves it! and to think that it hasn't even been a year and here she is walking and flipping off the beam. where in the world did she get this courage? definitely not from me!

lela and lacey with 1994 silver olympian and gymdog senior - courtney mccool (courtney is one of their favorites!)

senior gymdog - marcia newby (her fiance is from newnan).

sophomore gymdog - kat ding. her story about how she made the team is very inspiring.

newbie and freshman gymdog - noel couch.

another of the girls' favorite, senior gymdog hillary mauro

it just amazes me

watching lela at gymnastics. she is truly in her own when she is at the gym. yesterday, i decided to stand at the window and watch. (it had been a few weeks, since the last time.) talk about making progress. you could so see it. she was doing back walkovers and working on back handsprings. i'm just in awe plain and simple. i can't but help smile to myself thinking "hey that's my daughter!"

they have this rope that hangs from the ceiling. they climb up it and then fall into this pit of foam. the purpose i suppose is to build upper body strength. i can promise you that when i was six this is something i could never do! not, lela. she climbs on and starts moving her way up the rope to the top. i just want to know how in the world do you that?

it's funny because when lela told us she wanted to do gymnastics i was a little unsure. i was a dancer growing up and to this day that is my thing. i so wanted our little girls do that very same thing. one day it dawned me that they are their persons with their own likes and dislikes. i'm glad we decided to let her try it. she truly enjoys it and its obvious she does. talk about a natural ability, you can see it. she started in june only being able to do a cartwheel. she is now doing cartwheels off the beam, back walkovers, back handsprings and round offs. this spring will be interesting to she what she has learned. the girls will put on a "little recital" showcasing their abilities. i truly can't wait!

in the swing of things

it's officially the second week of school and everything seems to be going well from our new activities to having to get up every morning, everything is falling right into place as it should. lela seems to be really enjoying her school and loves having homework. she is so good about coming home and doing it. thank you! i just pray that a few months from now we are still this good about getting things done. choir officially starts tomorrow and then we will be in full swing with all our activities. lacey won't start school until september 1, so she still has a couple of weeks left. i have so many things i want/need to do and it's kind of hard having lacey around to help such as painting the new trim that went up. talk about more trouble than it's worth. lacey "tried helping" but ending up making more work for me. i don't know if there was more paint on lacey? the floor? or the wall? i've got to come up with a plan...any ideas?

on another note, lela wanted me to tell you that yesterday at gymnastics she received the "straight leg" award. she was on the bars practicing some move and ms. terri announced to the class that lela got the award for the straightest legs. good job, lela. keep it up!

gymnastics and spirit night

today, marked the start of both lela and lacey's new gymnastics career. for lacey it's her very first time ever doing it, for lela it's old hat so to speak. lacey seemed to really enjoy herself climbing, jumping and swinging like a monkey at the zoo. lela on the other hand advanced to the highest balance beam in the gym and proceeded to do a roll on the beam with the help of her teacher. it still amazes me watching her progress in the sport.

after gymnastics we headed home for a quick bite and on to spirit night at bruster's ice cream. it was so nice seeing so many parents out and in support of the school and pta. 20% of everything they sold between 7-9 went to the school, so it awesome seeing everyone taking advantage of it. lela's teacher, mrs. perrotta even was serving ice cream and taking orders. lela was so shy when mrs. perrotta asked her what type of ice cream she would like...typical of her these days it seems.

if you are curious to know how i'm adjusting to being in a large public school. well...i'm working through it day by day. kevin is definitely being my rock during this period of change in our lives. at the moment i feel kind of lost in a sea full of people. for the past 4 years, i knew most if not every parent and child in the preschool. i sit on the preschool board and am a dept chair on our consignment sale committee. now i'm in an entirely different environment where i have no idea who or what is going on in our school and that is extremely hard for someone who wants to help. yesterday it was brought to my attention that two spots have become available on the school council board and i have to wonder if this is the path god is leading me in? i have had a couple people encouraging me in this direction, but do i really want to commit two years? such big decisions. if you would just please keep us in your prayers during this season of transition.

night and day

no two sisters could be anymore different than lela and lacey. last night they were playing around in the yard doing, gasp, gymnastics. lela this week has started working on a handstand and lacey well...anything that requires to go flipping through the air is what she is gonna do. i decided to grab my camera and play around as well. you never know what you'll shoot and catch on the spur of the moment.

i love this picture of lacey because is so quiet feeling. her sitting in the grass watching lela. i love the fact that she is holding a piece of grass in her hands. its so sweet.

as i said before, you never what you'll get when you shoot on spur of the moment. could this be an olympic gymnasts in training? or even a future gymdog? (if you look closely, you'll notice she has her tongue stuck out in concentration. from what i've been told her daddy did this as well, especially when he was dribbling the ball down the court in basketball.)

new adventures

this school year will be an exciting year for us all. not only will lela be starting first grade, but she will continue with gymnastics; something she started this summer and fell in love with. she has surprised us all and has shown that she has a natural ability for the sport. it makes me sad that dance won't be so prevalent in our lives as it has in the past. she has been dancing since she was three years old. i feel a little lost that she will only be taking one class, pre-jazz. something that i'm finally accepting is that she is growing up and needs to find her own likes and dislikes. never in a million years would i have chosen gymnastics, but who can deny a person something they love so much and are good at. when she was evaluated for the up coming season, she was placed on a level 3 with girls who are between 8-10 years of age. so, what does that tell you about her ability? the times i stand at the glass and watch her she really seems to take it all in as she stands there watching the other gymnasts. i love watching her doing the bars. her little body becomes so elegant and strong that i find myself just in awe as she lifts herself up and then flips down. is this really our child?

lacey who is never to be out done by her sister has also decided that dance is not something she wants to pursue. she wants to try her hand at gymnastics as well. i've already bought her a leotard that is lime green and aqua blue and she loves wearing it. on most days you can find her trying her hand at cartwheels dressed in her leotard. i'm still trying to figure out how we got to this place. i'm still not quite sure. both of them will have class at the same time, so this will definitely be a new experience. yeah me! when i think about it i get really ambitious dreaming of me sitting there as they practice and i read a book. woo hoo! talk about a new adventure...i can't wait!

gymdogs...in the making

this is what i pretty much deal with on a daily basis. lela doing cartwheels. she has now progressed to doing one handed cartwheels at the moment. not to be out done lacey has now gotten in on the fun. i feel as if i'm living in a gym. watch out gymdogs, here comes the daniell sisters.