Thanksgiving and Beyond!

Wow...a month!?! That went by fast. Where to begin? Well, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was the first time in a long time that the entire family was together for a holiday. It was fun to hang out, eat, play cards, and just be with my family. I was able to spend time with my nieces and nephews. We went to see "Megamind" and "Harry Potter" that week. Both are very cute movies. Now we are on to Christmas. I have some serious shopping to do! Yesterday, I pulled out all the gifts I purchased and was like, "WHAT THE HECK!" I thought I had more stuff. I'm very disappointed in me. I will be doing a lot of shopping this week!!! I'm very ready for break...3 weeks off for me. YAY. The kids only get 2 ha ha. And, yes, I do rub that in their faces. I started a week earlier than them in August and they rubbed it in mine. It's payback time. Last but not least--This past weekend was Mahkala's last meet. It's been a busy, fast season. It was the State Championships in Sacramento. Out of 17 girls, 9 on her team made it. You had to get a certain all around score during the season to make it to state. State is when you compete against girls from all over, many of whom we've never seen before. It's extremely competitive. Kala competed against 13, 14, and 15 year olds. I was a mess...naseous, stressed, and so nervous. I attempted to keep it all concealled until she went out on the mat. Then it was my turn to panic. Eric knows to not sit too close to me during meets. My sister, Sally, and my niece, Emily, came to watch from Santa Rosa. Eric drove up the morning of and brought one of Kala's BFF's, Sara, along with him. Kala was awesome!! I'm so proud of her. She hung with the older girls and let 'em know who was boss. She surpassed her averages on all events and in the all around. The scoring was much tougher, but she did great. She earned 8th on bars, 8th for beam, 4th for floor, 3rd on vault, and 4th place in the All-Around!! GO KALA! Not too shabby for State Championships and for her first year competing. We are very proud of her. She is proud of herself, but she's ready to move on to the next level and learn new skills. This week begins her school gymnastics season, so we are starting a new round. It's much more relaxed and all the meets are here in town (YAY for no traveling). Kala's favorite part of the weekend: getting her nails painted yesterday. They cannot have polish on during meets, so I wouldn't allow to her get manis/pedis all season long. She and I went and got our nails done. I was dying to get mine done too because I waited for her season to be over. Also, her other teammates did very well too. Her friend, Madi, got 2nd place. Abby got 8th, Caitlyn got 3rd, and Taylor got 5th. Every girl from her team got a medal in one event or another. We are very proud of Clovis Academy and Mahkala!!! WARNING-TONS OF PICS!