Gymnastics Show

Today was Julia's big gymnastics show, which meant Ethan, Madeleine and I got to sit in the gymnasium of Dedham High School to watch every single class perform a dance and gymnastic routine.  We arrived a half hour before the show was to begin and dropped Julia off with her classmates, all clad in their white tees and navy shorts:

Then the rest of the Rowes settled in for a LONG time sitting in the bleachers.  Luckily, Madeleine was really a trooper, and sat about as well as one could expect for a three-year-old.  Although there were the occasional attempts to do illicit things ("Can I lick Daddy?"), and the intermittent over-excited raspy-voiced demonic outbursts as she got lost in pretend play fantasy world, good old Madeleine mostly held it together.  It also helped that Julia's class performed second in the overall order, so by the time Madeleine got antsy, Julia's group was already done, thereby allowing us Rowe parents to take our eyes off the gym floor and focus more on Madeleine.

Hangin' in the bleachers

Julia's gymnastics group started off with a choreographed routine to Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies."  Be prepared to be WOWED by this amazing feat of gymnastics skill:




After the dancing and prancing around, the kids did get to show off some of their specific gymnastics skills, performing on each individual apparatus, as well as doing a coordinated floor routine with forward rolls, straddle jumps, cartwheels, and high kicks.  Madeleine appeared to momentarily forget we were watching Julia's gymnastics class - and not her swim lesson - as the floor routine progressed.

ME: Look!  They just did a straddle jump!  Now they're doing cartwheels!
MADELEINE: Mom?  And NEXT are they going to do belly flops?

Julia's beam routine was short but flawless.  Are you all thinking what I'm thinking?  The next Aly Raisman right here, folks!




Yes!  NAILED that landing!  I give it a perfect 10!


And wait 'til you see her vault.  Never before have I seen this particular technique of running straight up to the horse and coming to a complete stop before hopping aboard.  I think we've got a new style of vaulting that's about to catch on!




At any rate, Julia has thoroughly enjoyed her gymnastics experience, and she was able to have fun and learn a few things without major pressure.  I'm definitely glad she has stuck with swimming as her main sport, however, since I think that's the area in which her athletic strength lies.

As we headed to the car after the show, Julia pointed out our blaring parental/cheerleader error.  "Mom?  How come lots of kids are holding a bouquet of FLOWERS?"  Whoops.  Hadn't even thought to bring flowers, to tell the truth.  No worries, however; when we stopped at the Trader Joe's to pick up groceries on our way home, Julia pointed to the display of tulips, crying gleefully, "Oh, well Mom, NOW we can get my flowers!"

She held onto those babies good and tight throughout the whole shopping expedition:

Brava!