and the fab five takes the gold

I don't know about you, but when it comes to the Olympics I get pretty obsessed. Mostly because this means gymanstics! Every day! And oh, but my heart belongs to gymnastics! Although, are we really surprised? Probably not.

Growing up I always pictured myself as a gymnast, twirling here and there. Cartwheeling all over the place like it was my job, I have no words for the happiness I felt with chalk on my hands and a trampoline under my feet. The first time I set foot into a gymnastics facility was about 12 years ago. I was ten and my mom bought me this silly pink leotard with a skirt and I wore it like it was the official Olympic outfit for the American team. 

I made short work of the three levels I had to complete before I could compete. I was driven. I was passionate. It was my life. Soon I traded in that pink leo for a red one and then a black team leotard and then a purple one. I loved every second of it. 

I took pride in showing up to school with rips and callouses on my hands. In gym class I could crank out more push ups and chin ups than half of the boys and I could tumble across the floor to the music in my head. 

Walking away from the sport is something I regret, because I had the skill to make it a lot farther than I did. Even now though, an empty gymnasium floor or large flat field call to me. They beckon me to come over and do a flip. Just one! They shriek. You know you want to! You know you'll like it!

And there's nothing more satisfying than sticking a round off back hand spring back tuck across the lawn. Breathe in, breathe out, muscle memory, stick it, salute. 

So when the Olympics are playing women's gymnastics, you're not going to get me away from the TV easily. I remember watching Carly Patterson and then Nastia Liukin and now this Fab Five. I can't get enough. I want to go back in time. I want to be them. I want to feel that floor under my feet, the chalky bar in my palms and I want to breathe in the hard work and sweat. There's just nothing like it in the world.

Visiting The Past

Oh Sundays. I love going to church with my boy. What I don't love about Sundays is leaving him and coming back to Moscow. But school comes first because I'm paying for this education - it isn't free. Ha, ha.

But I didn't get to take any new pictures today, though I did think that the little bird prints in the freshly fallen snow would have made a sweet photograph. I just didn't get out there with my camera before it was dark.

I stumbled across these pictures on my laptop. I got them off of a CD a while ago and today when I was looking for pictures on my blog I thought they would make for an interesting post. They are all older pictures - me when I was younger. And they brought back some awesome memories.

Fishing. I have been fishing since I was big enough to hold a pole, aka about 2 years old. I didn't always like fishing, but I do enjoy a good fight. And the best camping dinner is a fresh rainbow trout cooked over an open flame with a little bit of mustard smeared on the inside. Okay, okay, so it doesn't sound like it tastes the greatest, but believe me. It's awesome.

Riding Horses. A passion. Always has been. Westport, WA. I love the smell, I love the experience. I love being in the saddle. I love the freedom that you feel when you are riding on the beach, when you are riding through the woods, and just what you feel when you are sitting on top a horse. The air smells different. The world feels right. I love it!

Goofiness. I have it. I've always had it. I think it comes with being in my family. In fact, I'm pretty sure we ALL have it.

One of my favorite places. The house on James Crowe Dr. I grew up there. It's my home. I miss it.

The backyard. The happening spot in the neighborhood. My thirteenth birthday party? I think. Or my 12th - I don't really remember. The girl on the right, if you don't recognize her is my lovely roommate K and my partner in crime. We have been friends for a long, long time.

Gymnastics. My favorite sport ever. Sure, pole vaulting in high school was fun too, but this will forever remain my favorite. When I was six I wanted to go to the Olympics. This picture was taken in the Memorial Gym which is actually on my campus at school. I was 12 in this picture I think. How funny that I competed here before I actually attended the school.

Arabesque. My favorite pose on the beam. This meet was an over nighter and I slept on a big squishy mat. One of the best places I've ever slept. Too bad those mats cost hundreds of dollars or I'd totally buy one to sleep on every night. :-)

Bars. This picture was also taken in Memorial Gym. I once scored a 9.9 on bars. The best score I've ever recieved. I was so excited and so were my teammates. We'd thought for sure I'd nailed the first place spot. And then I was beat out by a perfect 10.0. What a joke! Ha, ha. The gymnastics way of scoring has always been controversial. I'm not sure why. The judges I guess just don't realize the skill and strength required to do the moves. But that's part of the reason that I left the sport in the first place. Boy, do I miss my gym days. Ha, ha.