Tonight was Audrie's first night of gymnastics. I don't know who was more excited... her or me!
(Couldn't you just see this next photo as the first page in her autobiography some day...)
Jamie and I had been talking about doing this as a birthday present for her this year. So we signed her up and I picked her out a leotard (polka dots, of course). We had been discussing it with her for awhile and I showed her some You Tube videos online of famous olympic women gymnasts. She was pumped up and ready for her class to start!
When we got there she was in awe of everything. The place we chose is Aspire Gymnastics in Bentonville and it's a serious training facility for gymnists. So from the viewing area we were watching some crazy flips and vaults and girls flying through the uneven bars.
Audrie LOVED watching it all as we waited for her class to start.
I thought she might be nervous or act shy (believe it or not... Audrie can turn on "shy" when she wants to). But as soon as her class started she didn't miss a beat! Took off into her class without even a wave to us. She was SUPER excited.
She is in a class with 6 kids and 2 coaches. And I love that she is with the 3-4 year olds so that she can learn from the older kids in her class.
These photos are a little blurred because I was shooting through the window panes of the class.
I almost cried watching Audrie. She did SO good. Following every instruction her coaches gave her and not giving up when they had her redo many of the steps.
There are some things we noticed we need to work with her on. Like skipping. Oops, apparently kids her age know how to skip. And learning how to lock her arms instead of bending them. And a few other little things that we can make a fun game of at home.
Her coaches were great and spoke highly of Audrie after her class was over. I was beaming with pride.
I'm not sure if this is going to be something Audrie sticks with (until the Olympics... ha!) but for now I can tell it's going to be a wonderful experience for her!
