House of Estrogen

Junior Olympics, 2015

This year, Elise qualified for and chose to compete in the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Junior Olympics is a huge, multi-sport 9 day event with over 12,000 amateur athletes competing in sports like swimming, track and field, gymnastics, jump rope, wrestling, field hockey, and karate.  This was Elise's first time competing in a national level jump rope competition, and I think we were both excited and nervous as we donned our purple team tees and hit the road.

 

We had fun imagining what conversation led to this sight that we passed on the road.

"Honey!  I told you to pack Junior's play structure from the backyard, remember?"

"Crap. There's no space in the truck. We'll just leave it here and buy a new play structure on Craigslist after we move."

"Um. No. Junior loves his play structure. Repack the truck and make space."

"Fine. Happy now?"

 We got checked into the hotel, picked up credentials at the competition venue, had a nice dinner with friends, sat through a tense team meeting, and tried without much success to get a good night's sleep before the first day of competition.

Braids ready...

Glitter very thoughtfully and seriously applied to hair as a group effort...

Let the games begin!

It was an intense four days of competition. Elise jumped in 3 singles events, 3 pairs events, 5 double dutch events and team show.  She came away with 7th and 9th place finishes in double dutch power and double dutch single freestyle. She was thrilled to have two top 10 finishes. There was a lot of tough competition there.

The team had been hoping for a podium finish for their cool Beatles team show routine. They came in a disappointing 6th, but I still think they did a great job. It was a very creative routine.  Elise struggled with this one all year with her breathing, so on a personal level, she was just thrilled to have it behind her and never have to jump it again!

Most nights, we hung out with the team,

but one night, Elise decided she had had enough togetherness and needed a break. The two of us took off to the coast and had a nice seafood dinner.  It was good to have a little quiet mother/daughter time in the midst of all the chaos.

 

There was coloring and sleeping going on in the bleachers,

lots of silliness at the hotel,

and hugs during competition.

It was all bittersweet though. This was the last competition these kids will have together in purple as a team. Our team had a rough year and was actively imploding during this last competition of the season. We got the news yesterday that the team will be shutting its doors and will not exist next year.  It leaves 40 kids without a jump rope home for next year. We are all scrambling to find other options. Unfortunately, jump rope isn't like soccer, gymnastics, or cheer where there are plenty of other leagues, gyms, or teams in the area. It has been a hard pill to swallow, and we have no idea where we will end up next year. My hope is that Elise will find a place to continue jumping to keep that big jump rope smile on her face. I'm not sure what we would do without it.

Letter to Nina, Age 11-ish

Dear Nina,

I seem to have completely dropped the ball on writing letters to any of you on or near your birthdays. In the grand scheme of things though, it really shouldn't matter when I write these letters, as long as I write them once a year or so. At least I like to tell myself that.  That said, you had a big milestone this week, so what better time to write a letter!  Tuesday, you graduated from elementary school.

 

(First day of kindergarten picture)

You couldn't be more ready for middle school. At 5'7, you are now taller than every elementary school teacher you've had over the past six years. Not only have you physically outgrown the pint-sized chairs and desks, I think you have mentally moved beyond it and have just been ready for this chapter to come to a close.

 

After the ceremony, as friends in your class shed tears about their last day at the school and posed for pictures with every classmate, you eagerly held on to your diploma and exclaimed, "Can we leave now?"

 
It wasn't that you didn't enjoy your time there or aren't going to miss your friends who will be attending different middle schools. You had many happy years there and will definitely miss certain friends. You are ready to move forward though. You have seen what a great experience middle school has been for Elise, and you are excited about this next stage in life. You are ready for new friends, new challenges, and new experiences in a new school. For some of your friends, graduation day was an emotional day filled with sad goodbyes, reminders of elementary school memories and a slide show that tugged at their heartstrings. For you, it was simply the last hurdle to cross on the way to the finish line.

I am excited for you. I love that you are open to the new adventures that await you in middle school. As you love tell anyone who mentions middle school electives, your parents are making you take band next year. You love to point out what cruel parents we are to force this on you, but secretly, I think you may actually be looking forward to participating in band. You are such a music loving soul. You love to listen to music, find new songs on iTunes, and you thoroughly enjoyed playing the recorder in music class. Your one and only aversion to band is the stage appearance twice a year for the concerts. Your dad and I are taking the "we know what's best for you" role on this one. I predict that you will love it. Band has been such a positive part of middle school for Elise - the fun, the music, the band director, the friends, and the performances. We are hoping for a similar experience for you, and I think the many pros of band outweigh the cons of a little stage fright twice a year. How it all plays out remains to be seen though. We have assured you that if you hate it, you can drop out after the first year.

Right now, your major love is volleyball. You play any chance you get. Your goal is to be a manager for the middle school volleyball team in 6th grade and then play on the team in 7th and 8th. I think it is great that you've found a sport that you love. It is definitely a good fit for you.

 

Like band, volleyball was another activity we "forced" you to do. About a year ago, you had become rather sedentary. There weren't any activities, hobbies, or sports that interested you. We told you that you needed to choose something to do outside of school or we were going to choose something for you. You never made a selection, so without even asking you, I signed you up for volleyball. I didn't necessarily think you would love it. I wasn't even sure if you would like it. I just wanted you try something new. Of course, there was also that little overly optimistic voice in my head that said, "She has the height for volleyball... maybe she will love it, get really good at it, and get a scholarship." We are all allowed those pie in the sky parental dreams occasionally, right?

You played in a fall league for the team with the most losing record in the league. You lost every regular season game, but it hooked you. You had the time of your life. Last week, you started playing for a new summer league team which encompasses an older age group and higher skill level. I think you will grow and learn a lot as a player in this league. You plan to play in the fall again too. Volleyball has been great for you. It gives you a focus, an identity, a team spirit, and a great outlet for blowing off steam and getting some exercise.

Your other big interest lately has been sewing. You received a sewing machine for Christmas and have spent many hours designing, creating, and sewing. I think you enjoy the design aspect best. You are going to a week of fashion design camp this summer, and I'm anxious to see what you learn there. You have taken to doing a lot of "upcycling" - taking old worn out, outgrown, or out of style items from our closets and upcycling them into something new. This is one of your upcycled t-shirt creations.

 

I feel like this has been a big year for you... you have grown a lot, matured a lot, and really turned into the middle schooler that you soon will be. You have taken on more chores around the house and more responsibilities for taking care of yourself. If I need help putting Addie to bed or making her lunch, you jump right in. Of course, with this new tween maturity, we sometimes get the tween attitude as well. You have perfected a grimace that I have interpreted as a cross between, "I hate you", "You are the meanest parent ever", and "This is my evil look". Your glare with those piercing eyes can be a bit disconcerting. I'm hoping it is just a phase. Fortunately, you don't use it on us too frequently.

This coming year will bring a new school, new adventures, new friends, and lots of change. You seem wholeheartedly prepared and ready to tackle all of it though. And that... that is awesome.

I love you, Nina!

Love,

Mama

 

 

 

The Lesser Known Benefits of Jump Rope

Jump rope has done a lot for Elise. The most obvious benefit is that It keeps her active and physically fit. It also provides her opportunities to perform and challenges her in competition.

What people may not realize is that skipping rope requires some serious development of people skills too - negotiation, collaboration, communication, and compromise. Being in a double Dutch group is hard work. Three to four people are put together by the coaches with their different ideas, different skill levels, different strengths, and different personalities and are expected to work together for nine months to create, practice, and perfect a one minute routine. It can get ugly along the way, but when it all comes together, it is amazing.

Jump rope is also a team sport. Elise has all the camaraderie and team pride that comes from being part of a team. Unlike many sports where teams are grouped by age though, she learns from and has role models in the older athletes on the team, and she is able to mentor and be a leader to younger athletes on the team.

Every now and then, the really special moments come along when jump rope allows her to share her love of the sport, give back to the community, and create great memories all at once. Earlier this week, Elise's team spent an afternoon with a group of special needs middle school students. I'm honestly not sure who got more out of it or had more fun - the jumpers or these kids. The smiles in these pictures really tell more than I ever could in words.

What a fantastic day... and what a great experience she had through this crazy little sport called jump rope!

Mr. Clean

I've been MIA. I know. If you've stopped checking in, I get it. I don't blame you. I'm still here... just quiet.

I had a proud mama moment though and had to share. In jump rope, a clean routine is defined as a routine where all 10 judges agree that there were no misses. Jumping a clean routine is a big challenge for a single jumper. The more jumpers you add (pairs, double dutch), the odds of getting it clean are even smaller. At the end of the season, Elise's team awards jumpers who jumped clean in competition with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser box. It sounds crazy... it isn't a medal or a trophy, but for many athletes, receiving a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is their proudest moment of the year.

Elise's double dutch group earned a Mr. Clean a couple weeks ago. It was the first competition of the season. Out of 80 athletes jumping singles, pairs, 3 person double dutch and 4 person double dutch, their group had the only clean routine of the day. They came in 2nd, but knowing they jumped it clean was all the recognition and reward they really needed. Their faces and reaction as soon as they finished says it all. Happy. Proud. Thrilled. Hard work that paid off.

You go girls!

Emerald Isle Picture A Day, Day 1

Straight from volleyball game to the beach...

 

#mascotselfie

Sell beer and brats during a minor-league All-Star game, and this might happen.

Single Rope Freestyle

Over the past two months, Elise has competed in two jump rope competitions. I had planned on one big blog post with videos, results, and details. Unfortunately, my video editing skills are as bad or worse than my video taking skills, so that's just not going to happen in any sort of timely manner. At this point, I have one video to share. It is from Elise's single rope freestyle routine at the USA Jump Rope Region 2 Qualifier. I had the good video camera with me, was set up in a good spot, ready to record. I judged for most of the day, but was fortunate enough to be on a judging break while Elise was jumping freestyle, so I could record it myself. That was my first mistake... assuming that I could successfully operate the video camera.  Nina had been using it earlier in the day and set the camera on "still photo" mode. That should be enough explanation to know what happened next. Thankfully, at the last minute, I had the foresight to ask Elise's friend to take a video using my iPhone as "back-up". Whew. I should always have a back-up. So, as you watch this video, imagine it is the one I took horizontally, with a nice video camera, zooming in on her opening smile, and capturing the coach's reaction after she finished. Of course, all of that came out as a single still photo of her opening pose. Sigh. I will never learn.

Anyway, this was a great competition for her. In the March competition, she came in 6th out of 18. In the weeks between the two competitions, she added more difficulty to her routine, and this time she came in 3rd in single rope freestyle out of a competitive group of 20 twelve year old girls. Technically, that placement qualified her for nationals, but she was competing as a non-qualifier because she chooses to participate in only the local competitions. I haven't figured out exactly why she doesn't want to do the bigger competitions, but it saves me thousands of dollars in flights to California, hotel rooms, uniforms, and practice time, so I don't push the issue.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the not-so-great iPhone video with the wrong date in the title. (The competition was April 12, not April 22. Oops).

An Appalachian Weekend

This past weekend, Elise's jump rope team had plans to perform at the Cyclo.Via Festival in Boone, NC, so we decided to make a family trip out of it. We drove up Friday afternoon with our friends the M family. Our first stop on arriving in town was the Dan'l Boone Inn which had come highly recommended by several friends. All I can say is... um... YUM... and... YUM again!  The restaurant placed third in Southern Living Magazine in the reader's choice awards for country cooking restaurants. I can't even imagine how good the first and second place restaurants must be!  If you ever find yourself in Boone, NC, a trip to the Dan'l Boone Inn is a must. I'm already regretting the fact that we didn't go there one morning for breakfast as well.

We had to wait a while for a table, but the gardens outside the restaurant are so lovely, we didn't mind the wait.

Of course, Elise is never without a rope.

It was getting dark as we approached the cabin we had rented. We were rambling along a gravel road, following directions like, "turn right at the little white church, then take a left after the bridge over the creek."  We got to the "turn left at the tree with four blue reflectors on it" and started up the hill. Then we got to the part in the directions that said, "gun it!"  I hit the gas hard, spun the wheels a bit, but made it all the way up to the cabin. The M family was behind us in their minivan. They gunned it and spun, gunned it and spun, gunned it and spun. They finally gave up and left the van parked halfway down the steep driveway. They had a bit of a hike with the suitcases, but fortunately, the cabin was great.

We put the four girls in a room with two bunk beds. That led to a late night of whispering and giggling before the start of a busy weekend. The show must go on though. The next morning, we got up and headed to Tweetsie Railroad.

Tweetsie Railroad is kind of hilarious. It is a Western theme park that opened in the 1950's. I'm pretty sure nothing has changed since then. That is part of what makes it fun though. There is definitely no "Disney Magic" happening at Tweetsie, but it is quaint, old-fashioned, hokey, and fun. Picture the Brady Bunch episode, "Ghost Town, U.S.A.", and you've got the idea.

See what I mean?

There is no shortage of fun photo ops at Tweetsie, and the kids tested all of them.

The main attraction at Tweetsie, as you might imagine, is the train ride.

(Totally unrelated side-note... it was not until I saw this photo that I realized all of my kids have very, very (almost obnoxiously) bright colored sneakers. How did I not know that?)

The train ride is fun. It stops along the way for staged gun fights and bank robberies.

Is there anything more politically incorrect than this "Indian" (I realize he should be called a Native American, but in the 1950's, you know his character was created as an "Indian") with his face painted red?  It is in scenes like these when you realize that Tweetsie is a true relic. I doubt this show has changed a single line, costume, or set in over 50 years.

Besides the train ride, we also took a ride on the chair lift (love the view!)

saw a couple shows, ate some fudge, and went gem stone mining.

This little guy was pretty well soaked by the time we left. He had a ball though.

The Tweetsie plans mostly came about because the little guy is a big Thomas fan, and Addie fancies herself a cowgirl these days. We had the little kids in mind as we planned the outing. It turned out the big kids had a blast too though, so what a success!

The next day was Cyclo.Via. We timed our lunch horribly and ended up having to ask the waiter to hold our table with our food on it while we ran out to watch the jump rope performance. The performance was great, but we returned to soggy, cold food. We failed proper trip planning that day.

Since our lunch was a little less than satisfying, we stopped for some ice cream before heading out of town.

After that, we left Elise with her team for their other performances and headed back home along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It is like a little drive through Heaven up there.... so beautiful.

I'm glad we took advantage of Elise's team trip to take a little weekend vacation. I think everybody had a good time.

Here's to Hoping Today is the Worst Day of our Vacation

1.Early this morning, my sister-in-law and her boyfriend went out for a 50 mile bike ride. Her wheel got caught in a railroad track, and down she went. She scraped up her hand and knee.

2. A little later in the morning, after proudly making her own scrambled eggs, Nina accidentally grabbed the side of the pan and burned her thumb and two fingers.

3. Shortly after that, we heard sirens nearby. It turns out someone drowned and was pulled out of the ocean just a few blocks from our beach house.

4. Then J.C., the girls, and I headed out for go-karting. As I was trying to pass Elise, I managed to slam my kart into the wall which made my knee collide with the steering wheel. I now have a giant painful purple bruise on my knee and it hurts to walk.

5. A bit later, my sister-in-law, her boyfriend, and her son and daughter went out paddle boarding and kayaking.  The surf was rough, wind was strong, and the rental place really shouldn't have let them go out there. They started paddling and quickly found that they couldn't steer. They were just being pulled by the wind. They had fun for a while until it became apparent that there was no way they could turn around and paddle back. The kayak could be maneuvered a little but the paddle boards weren't going to make it. Then, they floated into a WWII mine field which has warning signs posted everywhere about unexploded mines. No joke. For real. A WWII mine field. They had no phone, and nobody else was out on the water who they could approach for help. Finally, knowing that they were seriously in trouble, my sister-in-law's boyfriend got in the kayak, leaving the rest of them floating on the paddle boards. He paddled as hard as he could back to the rental place where they called 911. A rescue jetski came out to check on them, and then a rescue boat brought them back to shore where they were fully checked out in the ambulance. They all survived unscathed except for a cut on my nephew's foot which will require a tetanus shot.

It is dinner time, and we have vowed to spend the rest of the day away from water, boats, go-karts, paddle boards, bicycles, and cooking.  Let's just hope the rest of the week isn't quite so drama-filled. If today isn't our worst day of vacation, we're in trouble.

Awesome.

This past weekend, eight of the USA Jump Rope All-Stars came to town.

These kids are amazing...

incredible athletes, fabulous jumpers, great role models, and just really fun kids.

I had the honor and privilege of driving them around to their performances on Friday and getting to watch every show.

Their schedule was insane - practice from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m., then two half hour school performances, then lunch, then more practice, then two more peformances, then more practice, then dinner, then practice from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  That's some serious endurance.. and commitment... and dedication.

I love that my girls have these athletes to look up to. Two of the performances were at their school, and as they watched with their friends in awe they were able to say, "I know them!" with pride.

On Friday night, we went out to eat with them. Elise sat at one table of All-Stars. Nina sat at another. They loved every minute of it.

Who would have ever imagined that you could go so far with a rope and a couple of handles?  These kids are at the top of their sport though and jump rope has given them so many great opportunities.

 

I'm just thrilled that my kids get a chance to learn from them and hang out with them. That's a great opportunity in itself.

I can't claim to be a great videographer, but I did manage to film some of their performances. It is fun to watch, and if you've never seen world class jump rope, prepare to be wowed! Enjoy.