11 in '11

I have been a blog slacker. Part of it is pure busyness, but part of it was a hope that I could post lots of good news at once. I had it all worked out in my head--I was going to report that my nephew got a heart transplant, Kaiya had a birthday and that she qualified for Level 6 state gymnastics. Well, Kaiya had a birthday, but neither of my other hopes came true.

It was a gut-wrenching gymnastics season for Kaiya. It was a big jump from level 5 to level 6 and the judges even warned us that this level is tough. The judging is picky and the skills are tough. It's the last level in which they all do the same routine. Level 7 becomes her own stuff. She had 5 meets in the last 7 weeks and she just missed qualifying at two of them by tenths of a point. She is crushed, but she also knows that through adversity, she will grow. I offered to switch her to tennis or volleyball, but she won't listen.

I love this shot because her hair seriously glows!

Her favorite event

Floor

Upside down

Her nemesis, the darn beam!

Top finisher on bars at DU

Her birthday was a big success. This was an off year for a party, so the family outing was to see the Broadway show, Lion King. I saw it ten years ago and it was just as amazing this time. It was even more fun to watch my girls' eyes light up. We had dinner at the Olive Garden and then went to the show. It really was a great night. We let her have a couple of her gymnastics friends over the weekend before her birthday for a sleepover and took treats to her class. She has grown into such a beautiful young lady this last year. She maintains A's in school, plays piano, devotes 12+ hours per week to the gym, and has even started babysitting other people's kids. She's also a great big sister and Kinley really looks up to her.

Birthday dinner at Olive Garden

Lion King!

With her teacher, Mrs. Wolfinbarger . . . love her!

Her gym buddies have quickly become her best buddies

No party is complete without a hair salon

So proud of this girl. Through her tears, she gave her teammate a big hug to congratulate her for qualifying. Fortunately, we leave the next day for Utah and as I think about what will face us when we arrive at Primary Children's Medical Center to see Spencer, I am brought back to what's really important right now.

Im looking forward to reporting about our visit next week! Until then, here are some pictures of my beautiful girl.