Whirlwind

I am digging out from the piles of laundry, suitcases, toys, and books. Most everything is in the house and put where it belongs but I still need to clean the car and put the house back together after unpacking overtook the entire house.  This was one of those weekends away that was not relaxing - we were constantly on the go - but it was really fun. It was nice to get to know the other families on Morgan's gymnastics team, let the kids play and swim, and explore (just a bit) a new town.

Morgan watching the older girls compete

Former Olympic gymnasts Carly Patterson, Jaycie Phelps, and Shannon Miller 

 Morgan and I attended an ice cream social where she was able to get autographs and take pictures of the former Olympic gymnasts. There was also an open question and answer time at the end. As the gymnasts were packing up to leave, Morgan ran up to Carly Patterson to get a hug. I think she is still on cloud nine - a definite highlight to her weekend.

This was on our door one morning. Some of the older girls made signs for all the gymnasts.  So sweet!

Landon and Mauryn hanging out at the edge of the hot tub.

Landon at Mogan's meet on Sunday morning. He was "done with gymnastics" by this time so he found a quiet spot to sit for a while.  

Morgan on beam - she earned 1st place in her age group. They had the beam up on a stage with a giant American flag behind it. It was a very cool backdrop for their beam routines.

There were about 1500 gymnasts at this meet ranging in age from 6-18 years of age.  It is one of the largest meets in the country. There were teams from as far away as Florida, but most of the teams were  from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California.  This meet was very organized and they did some really fun things for the girls. When they marched in they had music playing, they turned off the big lights and just had spotlights, and they had a dry ice machine running to create fog when they ran in.  They thought that was so cool! The MC of Morgan's session was great with the girls and knew how to make them laugh and just have fun.  

Mauryn did start sleeping better by the day we left, of course.  She still didn't nap great but at least she would go to bed at a normal time and sleep in later than 4:30 am.  She did get some cat naps on us and one good nap in the stroller over the weekend.  Considering her lack of naps, she wasn't too miserable.  There was enough action to keep her entertained and plenty of girls who liked to play with babies!  

The kids were all great travelers!  We took the interstate home instead of coming down through the curvy mountain pass.  It was an easier drive, more miles, but about the same travel time. Landon and Mauryn slept the first 2 1/2 hours of the trip home and Morgan talked straight for those 2 1/2 hours.  I think she was a little excited after the meet.  Thankfully no one got car sick this time!   All in all, it was a good weekend - now to just get life organized and back to normal.