Madison's First Gymnastics Meet

This year Madison decided that she wanted to compete for gymnastics. At her level the competitions are very low pressure. Each team member does a brief routine on bars, vault, beam and floor. They get a ribbon for each routine and a medal at the end. Basically the kids are critiqued by their own coaches. Because she is her mother's daughter, Madison was nervous and had a little tummy ache before the meet. She was concerned that they music would go too fast during her floor routine. Of coarse we tried to encourage her and reaffirm that it was all about having fun. She looked so cute in her leotard and warm up suit! We were so proud of her. She didn't let her nervous get the best of her. She gave her her best and had fun. It seems like yesterday that we were chasing her around a parent and tot class. Molly started in a parent and tot class too. And now she is in the 5 year old class. She is thrilled because just last week she finally made it across the monkey bars all by herself. The look in her face was priceless! Often Molly will give up quickly when the task is challenging. She doesn't always have faith in herself. Lately she is starting to figure out that when you try your best and don't give up, you'll get it right eventually. Gymnastics has been great for them. I'm hoping to get Mallory in a parent and tot class at the rec center this winter. The special time with mommy, playing with other kids and physical activity will definitely be a plus this winter. We've got some active girls that's for sure!

The Blue Sharks

Madison wrapped up another soccer season. She has especially enjoyed it this season because her dad is the assistant coach. A few seasons back, she had a fantastic coach. Brian taught her so much. Luckily he was looking for an assistant coach and remember Duane. He's learned a lot too. He had been thinking about head coaching, so this was a great warm up for him. Every season Madison gets more and more aggressive. She used to wait for the ball to come to her and was afraid of getting hurt. Now she gets right into the mix. Duane and Brian make a habit of telling the girls when they only have a few minutes left in the game. It lights a fire under Madison! She works like crazy to score one more goal. Now she gets frustrated when she has to take a break. She doesn't like to miss any of the game. The team as a whole has improved every week. You can see them apply what they learn in practice. I have loved watching Duane coach. it is a natural. He is great at getting down to their level and praising and encouraging them. I'm missed him the crowd side of the side lines. But he is definitely in the right place. Molly always finds a friend to play with and Mallory is fine as long as she has a snack and a drink. They both do their fair share of cheering for their sister. To top it all off, her team won the tournament for her age group! They played three games over two days and won all three. The last game went into double over time with no goals and a 0 to 0 score. Talk about intense! I can only imagine what it will be like when she gets older. It's been another great season!

Windmill Farm

Our family really loves this time of year. We always try to take a trip to a farm. It' s a wonderful place to be with children in the fall. A few weekends ago Madison's Brownie troop headed to Windmill Farm for a hayride and some fall fun. The rest of us decided to tag along. It was a beautiful morning. The girls loved seeing the farm animals and snacking on popcorn and carmel apples. The hayride was pretty wild. We took off into the woods that was full of twists, turns, hills and mud pits. When I was about 8 1/2 months pregnant for Mallory we decided to have one last hurrah as a family of 4. We heard that Windmill Farm had a great hayride, so that's where we went. When we got in line for the hayride, I noticed several people staring at me. When we boarded the hay wagon, I got even more questioning stares. I thought to myself, I know I'm huge, but haven't these people ever seen a pregnant woman before. We'll it didn't take long to figure out why they were staring at me. They must have thought I was insane to go on that hayride! I had no idea how wild of a ride it was going to be. Lets just say, it was one of the roughest rides of my life. It was amazing that I didn't deliver Mallory right there in that hay wagon. Honestly, at that point, I don't know if I would have minded all that much. I was very ready for her to arrive. It was very serial looking at that almost 2 year old's smiling face taking that bumpy ride again sitting right next to me. The pictures are from our recent trip and the one a few years ago.