1st place!

     My daughter, Ashley, has been in cheer since last August, and she absolutely LOVES it!  She gets to be goofy with her friends, shake her booty to some music, and show off her athletic abilities.  This past weekend, we went to her 3rd competition.  The first, there were not any other groups in her level, the second, they got last place, out of 3 I believe, and this one, THEY WERE FIRST!!!!  So what if there was only one other team they were competing against.  Not only did they win, they looked amazing.  I did everything I could to hold back the tears, that were about to come bursting out, from how proud I was of her.

     This is the beginning of their routine.  There's Ashley, front and center, loving all the attention.  She is doing some jumps, while the other girls are doing an elevator.  This is when four of the girls are lifting one in the air. I was so proud of these girls.  In practice, while doing the elevator, they needed one of the coaches to come help them lift her up.  Not during the competition. They did it all by themselves!  They lifted her before the spotter got to them!  Amazing Job!

     Look how happy she is.  Boy does she love being in front of a crowd.  For a group of five and six year olds, they really were great.  Lots of practice definitely paid off for them.  

     The routine only lasts a total of two minutes long, yet we were watching that session for about 3 hours.  You can imagine how silly the girls will get.  Here's Ashley and one of her best buddies hanging out in the audience being goofy.  I guess there are only so many times I can get them to take a normal picture!

     Ashley with the first place trophy.  Too bad they don't all get one!  Oh well.  At least they can see it proudly displayed in the gym when they go to practice.  Wish us luck for the finals at the end of March!  I'm sure our girls will be fantastic yet again!