Superstar Saturday

Though I’ve had plenty of thoughts and events about which to write, I haven’t seemed able to get them posted to the blog. I want to change that. My memory is weak and if the experiences of my life aren’t recorded, they will get lost in the shuffle of the madness inside my brain.

This past weekend was all about having one-on-one time with our kids.

Jon and Caleb enjoyed a quick fishing trip to Whistler, Canada. The drive was long and DVD-free but evidently the scenery proved entertaining enough. They camped overnight then spent the majority of the next day learning to fish. The plethora of black bears didn’t frighten Caleb since he’s quite sure they consume only fish and honey. From what I can tell, it was the perfect outing for a dad and his ten-year-old son, even if they did have to give up a Saturday of college football. What was the best part? “Everything!-- except getting wet!” Drenched denim is not only difficult to remove but quite uncomfortable.

While the boys were off having all sorts of manly fun, Alyssa and I were enjoying an outing of our own. The Tour of Gymnastics Superstars rolled into town, fresh from their Beijing Olympic glory. We got tickets with many other gymnasts from her gymnastics team and one mom made matching t-shirts for the girls to wear. The Tacoma Dome was swarming with squealing little girls, all with the same—most likely improbable—dream of achieving their own Olympic greatness.

This is what happens when you have a bunch of gymnasts waiting in a long line. They just can't stay on their feet that long. I remember the feeling.

Because we purchased our tickets as a group, we got to go early and participate in what they called “Chalk Talk.” They had three gymnasts talk to us and take some of their questions. While the three—Shannon Milller, Raj Bhavsar and Justin Spring (remember Prince Harry?)—spoke with the girls, the other members of the cast were hanging out and warming up for the show. We watched Shawn get stretched out, Nastia warm-up on the bars in her slippers and then send a text on her phone, while Alicia Sacramone flirted with one of the guys. Paul and Morgan Hamm seemed to stay to themselves and the rhythmic gymnasts loosened up by bending their limbs into positions no human body should go. It was really exciting!

That's "Prince Harry" with the microphone with Raj on his left and Shannon sitting next to him on the right. You can see Nastia sitting on the stage on the right of the high bar.

The actual show started with a performance from Mitchell Musso of Hannah Montana fame. I’d never heard of him but judging by the crowd of shrieking girls, he’s quite popular. I thought he was alright but I didn’t come for a teeny-bopper rock concert, I wanted to see some flipping. After about three songs, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin came out to introduce the show. It really was very entertaining. Many of the routines are watered down in difficulty when compared to what was done in competition, but their skills were nevertheless impressive. They had three high bars, which I think is one of the most amazing events, and they’d have up to six guys (two on each) swinging around them.

The show also included a girl’s rock band called KSM. They were MUCH too loud for our sensitive ears so we were careful to plug them through their several songs. What a relief it was to have Nastia follow them with a floor routine to Ave Maria. There were, of course, many numbers with a lot of dancing and some of the gymnasts are certainly more suited for double layouts than they are for hip hop. But overall, I’d give the show two big thumbs-up!

For me, the best part was being with Alyssa and watching her so thoroughly enjoy herself. She hooted and hollered for her idols and was doubling excited to see Shawn Johnson don a “fancy” pink costume and perform to a Hannah Montana song. Her performance included the occasional air guitar strum in between leaps and flip flops. Any budding gymnasts dream, right?

Here is Shawn Johnson doing her "American Woman" routine. Unfortunately, my camera is just no good in big arenas like this. I didn't get very many good pics.

Natalie spent her one-on-one time with a favorite babysitter. She gets her solo time with me every day when the big kids go to school so I didn’t feel too badly about leaving her all day long. And she thought getting the babysitter to herself was quite the treat.

It was a great Saturday for all!