Alyssa's First Competition!

This July will mark the 10 YEAR Anniversary of Head Over Heels.  Yes, 10 years of my life I have put into this amazing sport that I love, into this gym that I am so proud of, and into each of my athletes that have held special places of my heart.

Last weekend, for the FIRST time, I took my own little Princess and we had a weekend about her... it was her FIRST CHEER COMPETITION!

We had to be at the high school for the competition at 7:40 Saturday morning, which is WAY TOO EARLY for me (and my daughter who has slightly picked up on that 'bad morning' trait her mother has!), so I decided to get a hotel room right by the high school to give us a little more HAPPY SLEEP TIME!

On the way to the hotel we hit IHOP!  Yes, this is Alyssa's favorite restaurant!  And yes, for those of you wondering, that is a picture of RED VELVET PANCAKES... I am NOT kidding and they are the BEST thing in the whole world, and I would definitely recommend them to anyone who enjoys red velvet... yummy!

Then we headed to the hotel where Alyssa did some swimming, took her bath, I braided her hair and I FINALLY got her into bed!  Then I just laid there in a panic state, nervous... oh so nervous for my little girl!  

I set out her uniform... and finally got some sleep!

Morning came, and my anxiety deepened!  I have never been so nervous (but I have never had my own daughter competing!!).  Needless to say, I shouldn't have spent so much time worrying, because they were AWESOME!   They had so much fun and I was SO INCREDIBLY proud of my little girl (her squad too!). 

Alyssa's Mini Elite Squad took FIRST PLACE and received a HIGH SILVER ranking!  They were unbelievably CUTE!  It was so much fun watching them!

Kalystah, Harleigh, and Alyssa 

This is their routine (the angle is weird, but it doesn't change how cute they are!)

Here you are with the trophy... which is taller than you!!

 Oh, Alyssa, one day you are going to read this, and I really don't know what kind of emotions you will have.  I want you to know RIGHT NOW, that I have NEVER been so proud!  My little tiny 4 year old was out there rocking that cheer dance on Saturday - you were AMAZING!  I love you and I love that you had such a GREAT first competition!  I hope it is the beginning of something special!

Love,

Me

Princess Day!

So... Alyssa had some friends over!  What started as a normal playdate, turned into a princess extravaganza!  There were dresses, crowns, and jewelry!  There were tea parties with Sprite and grilled cheese (because only the TRUEST of princesses have grilled cheese!)  It was so cute, and so fun, and I spend the two hours of this princess party smiling...





for my little girl that loves to be a princess.

for her little friends that play princess right along with her.

for the blessing of a little girl... of her big dreams, and her princess desires!

I thank heaven for MY LITTLE PRINCESS!

Our Mexican VACATION!

I love vacation!  I love time spent with my family when there are no interruptions, no technology distracting our attention, and no stress sitting on our shoulders.  It is the most important thing that we do as a family.

Time together to regroup.

Time together to understand and learn from each other.

Time together to strengthen our relationships.

Sunday we arrived home from a 7 night Carnival cruise to the Mexican Riviera!  It was such a fun week!  We went with John and Judy (Shane's parents) and Jake and Marla's Family (Shane's Sister).  They didn't know we were coming, so it was a fun surprise the first day on the ship!  

The weather was AMAZING!  Beautiful sunshine... everyday was 80-85 degrees.  Perfection!

We spent the first day at port in Cabo San Lucas. 

Shopping, checking out the tourist attractions, playing on the beach, laying out and then...

WAVE RUNNERS!! 

 I finally got to take a wave runner out on the ocean and it was all I had hoped it would be.  

The second day at port we were back in Cabo!  It was a shorter day, so Shane, Alyssa, and I got a taxi and went to a small beach that was undoubtedly the most beautiful beach I have seen in Mexico.  The water was clear, the waves perfect, and the sunshine... oh the sunshine!  After the beach, it was to the TACO STAND.  Seriously, they have THE BEST tacos!  We gorged ourselves (shrimp tacos for me, smoked marlin for Shane, and a quesedilla for the little miss!)

Our last port was Puerto Vallarta.  Six of us took a taxi to the downtown shopping district where we found McDonalds (Chicken Mac and OREO cones for ice cream!)  We did some shopping next to the beach and then headed into the jungle area to ZIP LINE!  We stopped by to do the tequila factory tour and then tried seafood burritos before heading back to the ship!

 The cruise had 3 days total at sea.  Those are awesome days.

Sunshine and swimming.

The best food EVER!  Available ALWAYS!

Shows at the comedy club.

Shopping, wandering, and watching late night movies on the big screen!

Did I mention I LOVE vacation?!
Now we are home and back to work, definitely looking forward to our next big trip!

Love,

Taryn