Elizabeth and Ella: Updates

I need to get these written down before I forget and I really want to remember these.

Eventful Sunday number 1
10/28/12 - The day before I had smelled what I thought was gas on the front porch. It is a standard porch that was closed in with combination windows but it not used for living space. We have a porch swing on there and we had put our pumpkins there to save them from the squirrels. So, I wasn't sure if the smell was rotting pumpkins or gas. On Sunday I asked Elizabeth if she smelled anything bad and she did. So, I called Excel and told them we would be back after church. I unlocked the storm door to the porch and we got to church at 9 am. That meant we were not able to go up and get Dad as there wasn't time. After church we went up and brought Dad the donuts, explained the situation and left. Dad actually asked why I was even there. :-)

We got home and Excel was there. The man came in and checked the house and the readings were fine. Poor Ella though. She has been freaked out about Carbon Monoxide and asks questions all the time about the CM detectors we have in the house. She doesn't even like being in the room where the detector is, even though we have explained that those are good things and used to protect us from harm. So, when the guy came in to check for gas she went to her room. I tried to get her to come out on the porch to see that this gas has a gross smell but she wouldn't at first. When she finally did, she had paper towels and her hands over her mouth and nose.

We were then told that there was a gas leak in the front of the house due to the connectors probably having a crack. So they were calling in the big machines to dig. They also told me they would have to turn off the gas to the house including the furnace. So, I turned the heat up while we were waiting. About 45 minutes later we had 3 or 4 trucks in front. One of them had a back hoe. But, the hole was hand dug and the cracked part replaced and they did a great job. They filled the hole back up and put the plant back. We will see if the plant makes it - it was looking sick and was probably affected by the gas. The utility guy turned the gas back on to the house and all was well.

11-4-12
Elizabeth had her first gymnastics meet. This has been a long road for her. She had a few skills that were really hard for her to get before she could compete.  The last on the list was the cartwheel on the high beam. She was afraid of falling and getting hurt. The coaches worked with her and Elizabeth dug deep and worked through her fear. There were times she wanted to quit and I told her I would support her decision. But, I also asked her to think about all the work she had put into team gymnastics and that maybe she wanted to keep trying because she was so close to the goal. But, I made sure she knew I would support her no matter what. Last Sunday we went to support her team at the Ghost and Goblins meet. And that is when Elizabeth decided 100% that she wanted to be part of competing. (We have gone to other meets so I don't know what was different for her with this one). That led to a week of working even harder on the balance beam. One night she did 100 and was able to connect on 2 without being spotted. This was on the high beam but it had a big cushion below her.

Thursday it was our turn to stay home. We trade off transportation duties with another family that lives near us. I bring the girls home on Mondays and they do it on Thursdays. Elizabeth asked me to stay but I reminded her that Selia's parents were taking her home and if I was there, she would not get to do that. So, she changed her request to Saturday. Ella and I worked on her homework and about 8pm I got a text from Mary W that E got her cartwheel on the beam without any mat or cushion below. Mary also said that the other girls on the team were cheering as were the parents in the lobby.  When Elizabeth got home, she was so excited and was pretty sure she would compete on Sunday.

I emailed the coaches to thank them for all the emotion and support given to Elizabeth and to ask about competing. They said if she continued to get her bar and beam skills on Saturday - she would compete. Elizabeth struggled on Saturday with the bar skills but did get them before the end of practice and she nailed the beam in record time. So she was cleared to compete.

Sunday we went to church with Dad and then Ella's swimming class. This was the first week Ella has used flippers and she was a speed demon.

We also stopped at Target to get hair spray and other hair stuff because I don't know how to do gymnastics hair. We tested out a style on Saturday but I knew it needed glue. We fixed up E's hair and got her in her leo. I packed her snacks in her gym bag and made her a grilled cheese sandwich. I also messed up the stove. I was trying to change the time on the clock and hit clean instead of clock. I thought if I opened the door it would reset. But, it just locked it so now I can't shut the door on the stove. I wonder if that was old eyes or nerves. :-) I'll get the door fixed soon.

The girls had to be to the meet by 4:00. We got there at 3:30.   Since the meet was going to overlap over dinner time, I gave Elizabeth grilled cheese and Ella a turkey sandwich.  The Level 6 girls were still competing when we got there so the Level 5 girls got to watch. Then it was time for stretching and Elizabeth was finally on the floor with her teammates. Roseville level 5 has 23 girls so they split them into two groups. Elizabeth's group was going to do the bar, then beam, then floor and end with the vault.  After the stretching they called the girls from all the teams into the hall. Right about then LB's pen fell. She is Selia's mom. And since we were on one of the upper rows of the bleachers I asked Ella if she could try to go through the other side from the ground floor and go under to to it. But, as she went under, the gym lights were turned off to create drama for the gymnastics to march in. I was worried we would have other drama with Ella being scared. But Ella didn't scream and found her way back to us with no panic!

The first event was Bars. During warmup, Elizabeth was not able to get her low bar kip without help from the coaches. So, they decided she would scratch that event. I could see it in E's body language that she was sad. I also saw her teammates being helpful with hugs and words. I was tearing up in the stands because I was worried it would affect her whole meet. But, Elizabeth dug deeper and found the resolve to continue. I was so proud of her for showing that level of character!

From the bars her group went to the beam. During the warmup, Elizabeth's coach spotted her on the first cartwheel. The next run through Elizabeth did it on her own. I was standing up and quietly cheering. I didn't want to distract her. Then it was time for the scoring portion. She ROCKED it. Elizabeth got a 7.75 on her first beam ever and stuck the cartwheel as well as all the other skills. The Roseville parents all cheered when she was doing the cartwheel and when she was done. I was cheering too. Elizabeth was smiling and all was well. Ella was watching a movie on the ipad. :-)

Then it was her turn on the floor and she got a 7.00 - not bad for the first one. She was able to do her roundoff backhandspring, backhandspring which was a skill she had been working on as well. She was so pretty on the floor and the fans cheered again. This time Ella watched and was saying "Way to go Sis" :-)

From there it was her turn on the vault. She did good but got a 6.90. The judges were scoring vaults low according to the experienced parents around me. Girls that normally would get 9s were getting 8.3 so I think that was a good score for E.

All in all she did great! Ella was a great trooper and was able to stay entertained during those 3 hours and I was so proud of both of my girls. In the end the Roseville team took 1st place too. Not a bad way to end your first meet.