Birthday cake and cheer competition

This goes under the "better late than never" tab:

Sunday, January 16, was my eldest grand daughter, Kennedy's, 8th birthday.  She also had a Cheer Competition on Sunday, the only one in the San Diego area, and I had planned to attend.  It was in the arena at San Diego State University.  My kids were out of town, so I met up with Kennedy and her teammates at the arena that morning.  Kennedy had a sleepover with a teammate, and the friend's mom did Kennedy's make-up and hair and got her into her uniform and drove them down earlier that morning.  (It's quite a process!)

It was a great performance - everyone on Kennedy's team did a great job, no falls or flubs. 

Kennedy is the little cutie with the blond pony tail, back left.

 Kennedy on the left.  She smiled throughout the entire routine.  So cute. 

The poor girl being raised up is really getting manhandled, but they did it!

 The Finale!  Cheers and Applause!

Aren't they just the cutest little things?  Kennedy turned 8 on this day, and I'd guess the rest of the girls are around the same age.

And here she is - their second First Place Trophy. This is the trophy that will be in the display case where they have their cheer/gymnastic classes.  All the participants got a white participant ribbon, and the winners got a pin.

All the participants also got a "goodie bag," similar to what they give you at 5Ks, etc.  It was funny when these younger girls were opening theirs:  I think they got a headband, probably some foodie type things, then one by one they pulled out a "woman's" deodorant.  They were all saying, What's this?, turning it over, then reading it.  Kind of embarrassing for some of them.  I thought it was kind of funny. One of "those" moments. There were lots of older teams, too, and I'm sure they were the teams being targeted by the manufacturer.

There was also a team of handicapped kids - they were in wheelchairs, on crutches, in walkers, blind, deaf, mentally challenged, etc.  Each team member had a spotter helping them depending on their needs.  It was the coolest thing to see, they did a fantastic job, and you can imagine the applause when they finished.  Still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.  They also won a First Place Trophy, and it was definitely earned.

After the awards ceremony, we drove back to my house to bake Kennedy's birthday cake.  For the first time she made the entire cake - read the directions, helped me fill the measuring cup with the water and oil, cracked the eggs, etc. 

 Pouring in the eggs.

Kennedy even handled the mixer for the first time, but I helped her keep it steady.

 Pouring cake batter into the baking pan.

I have a new frying pan that can be put in the oven, and we decided to try it out with our cake, so we made a large one-layer cake, an upside-down-cake, but with chocolate batter.

 

I had some white frosting, so we divided it into three and made pink, purple and blue frosting with food coloring drops.  Believe me, this cake was a creation entirely out of an 8-year-old's creative brain!  She made three circles, one of each color, outside, middle and inside.
 

Then Kennedy used the "writing" frosting tubes I keep in the cupboard for these events.  First circles outlining the inside two colors, then four purple dots on the pink, and finally her initials in the center:

OMG!  What a beautiful cake!

All kinds of sprinkles later, with "princess" sugar decorations and candles, and we're done.    We put it in the back of the car to take home with her, and headed out to Hometown Buffet, Kennedy's choice for our Birthday Dinner Out.

 Birthday Girl with her Dinner

Poor Kennedy, her parents were out of town all weekend, and she had a sleepover for two nights, Friday and Saturday, then the Cheer Competition and coming to my house for our birthday celebration together.  She was so tired at dinner, I'm surprised she stayed awake, but she was asleep in the car on the way to her house.   A really fun day from beginning to end.

Have a great Thursday evening from Me and My Dog, Katie! :)

Lots of new Followers, and a First Place Winner!

Well, I have an embarrassment of riches today - four new Followers - WOW!  WELCOME to you all, and thank you for joining Me and Katie as we get ready to pursue our (my) dream of full-timing.  Well, actually, if she could talk, I think Katie would say this is her dream, too.  You've seen her in the car seat - she's always ready to go!  Just yell, "Road Trip!"   : )

Dee and Jim, Tumbleweed - I've been following your blog, too, and always enjoy your posts.  Nice article about you guys in the Garner newspaper - congratulations!

Terria Fleming from Daily Good, I LOVED the story about The Whale!  Definitely nice to read about Good Things.

Laura from Pursuit of Idle Pleasures - great blog and great house and great RV.  You've got it all covered! And you're retiring next month.  Soooo covered!

Kate and Terry - Travels in Cholula Red - I've been a Follower of your blog also and love your photos. Sunday's hummingbird shot with the feeder is fantastic. How'd you do that?

My eldest granddaughter, Kennedy, who is 7 years old, is a member of a competition cheer squad.  They practice twice a week, during the week they practice cheer, and on Sunday they have a gymnastics class.

 Kennedy's flip in September at practice

On Sunday Kennedy attended her first competition.  I called her when they were on the way home from Los Angeles (I think, somewhere up there) and she said she was kind of nervous before competing, she didn't know what to expect.  And guess what?

They won First Place for their division!  

That big trophy will be displayed at the facility where she practices, and on Tuesday evening they are having a ceremony where all the team members will be awarded ribbons.   I'm very proud of her and all the hard work she put into earning that trophy with her team!

Is Katie's Daily Puppy Pic the cutest thing, or what?

Short week for us at work.  Today, tomorrow, Wednesday, and that's it.  Nice! I'm also taking Monday off in lieu of my paid holiday Friday, which is a regular day off for me.  My boss isn't happy about me taking an extra day off, but the rest of the company gets Thursday and Friday off, paid, so we had a little discussion about it this afternoon, and he agreed to give me an extra paid day off.   From the research I've done on-line, that seems to be what most companies do, so...  He thinks I'm taking advantage - what do you think?  Any opinions?  Am I wrong?  I'd appreciate any input, and am willing to be flexible.

That's all for today - From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a wonderful Monday evening, everyone! : )