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!
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.
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! :)
