Cheer Competitions

We’re in full swing competitive cheer season for Sof and Lexi.  When I decided to switch Sof to cheer, my decision was largely based on convenience.  I figured Adrienne would be driving herself, and Sof would be getting dragged along to all Lexi’s competitions anyway.  Why not have her performing too?  What I didn’t think about is the fact that they are levels apart, and don’t compete in the same division.  Ugh.  This makes for some very long days.  For example…this past Saturday Sof had to be there 7am(an hour away from our home no less), performed at 8, and had awards at 10:30.  Lexi, on the other hand, had to be there at 2:30, performed at 3:30, and had awards at 5.  That’s a very long day for us all to endure, so we’ve had to do some divide and conquer.  To make it bearable, we’ve been taking two cars, leaving early with one kid, coming late with the other, etc.  Despite the time challenges, the girls are doing amazing!  Both have really grown in their skills!

The girls have buddies on the other teams.  They exchange little gifts and notes of encouragement.  Sof loves her buddy Faith, and is constantly on her hip. 

First competition both girls team’s placed 2nd in their division!

    

The second competition had good times, so we were all able to go!

We left with a second and third place this time!  It’s funny looking at these pictures.  There’s always so many picture opportunities with the little ones.  The moms are always around making them get together and pose.  Lexi just runs off and joins her team and they’re not interested in posing for annoying moms!

The girls came home with some new bows:)

The third competition was painfully early for Sof and I!

We had a ton of fun with these signs!  I wish Lexi had been with us to get pics!  She came later with Mark though.

Sof came home with another 2nd place, and of course Lexi got first and I missed it!  Daddy was there to cheer her though!

Good thing we left though, because Sof literally fell asleep in the middle of eating a cheeseburger.  She slept the whole hour home and another 2 hours parked in our garage!  Lucky for us it was an unusually warm day!

The life of a cheerleader is exhausting!

Sweet Sixteen

It’s old news, and yet it still feels new.  Adrienne is driving.  Like by herself, legally!  She dedicates herself to dance and has given up many things over the years, including celebrating her birthday. This year we were determined to make sure it didn’t go unnoticed.  We did it up right!

Her birthday fell on Saturday, so it ended up being an all weekend celebration.  On Friday she had her road test.  I have to admit, I was nervous for awhile.  She had to pass the parking before she could go on with the rest of the test.  She passed literally by the skin of her teeth.  All’s well that ends well though!

    

Mark sent me a text that morning to make sure we were ready. 

We’re awesome parents like that. 

The important thing to note here, is that she PASSED!!!  This put her friend Allison out of a job, as she’s been driving Adrienne for the last 2 years.  Luckily she’s a good friend and brought her balloons anyway!

 

You might be able to see that most of these were filled with glitter.  Which was awesome.  Kinda.  Until one popped in the kitchen.  Oh, and about half popped in the car on the way to her b-day party.  It looked like a unicorn projectile vomited in the back of my car.  We were happy at least some of them made it to Lucky’s for the party. 

 

The party was 2 hours of bowling and food, and one hour of games and dessert with 14 of her best buddies. 

Yes, they all look alike.  Long hair, no bangs, black leggings.  The addition of bowling shoes just adds to the madness.

My friend Beth made the cake pops, which were a huge hit.  They look so unique compared to a cake! 

These are the parents of a 16 year old.  I can’t help but think what this will look like in 10 years when we’re doing this for Sof.  Scary…

It was an awesome night, and I was so happy we did it.  There was a cheer competition the next morning, so sadly she woke up to an empty house on her 16th birthday.  Although, isn’t that what every 16 year old wants anyway?  Between cheer and dance, it was about 10:00 at night before I actually laid eyes on her.  We stood in the kitchen and opened a few gifts before retreating to bed.

The next day we celebrated her and Ethan with friends and family.

 

There’s a lot of history here.  These 2 started our broad.  They introduced us to mommy and me classes, play groups, and new traditions.  It’s mind boggling really.

We don’t need much of a reason to have a party, but these two deserve to be celebrated.  They are both great kids, and ready for the responsibility of this milestone.

Dear Adrienne,

I could go on forever about how proud I am of you, but I’ll spare you the embarrassment.  I have loved every stage(well maybe not every stage) of your development, but I don’t pine over the lost preschool days or Gymboree wearing days.  I love being your mom right now, in this stage.  You are looked up to by your sisters and nieces, and driving them to cool places will only enhance your rock star status with them.  You have many talents and accomplishments.  I hope you always strive for success in life, but stay humble and grounded.  I love you very much!

Mom