Gymnastics Camp!

The week before we left for California I had promised Ava that I would put her in some kind of organized activity. I know a lot of people over-book their preschoolers and frankly I don't know how they do it. It's exhausting. First you have to make all kinds of phone calls and then make sure they have all their stuff and drive them to and from every day, not to mention how expensive it is. But I managed to get it all together and put her in a gymnastics camp. I'm not sure where she gets it from but she's pretty coordinated and she's always loved to do "tricks." Mostly this means she can jump on one foot while winking and clapping but I figured it could translate to gymnastics pretty easily. Of course she absolutely loved it. I walked her in, gave her a kiss and she said, "Bye Mommy, I'm going to go make up some friends." Before I had time to put her shoes and backpack away she was on the trampoline introducing herself to a little girl named Natalie. I was a little nervous as I've never really left her anywhere besides church and my parents house but she did great. I decided the first day that I would only leave her for 2 hours to see if she liked it. When I came to pick her up she was hysterical because she was the only person leaving, so I promised her she could stay the full time the rest of the week. Now I must say I quickly realized why parents go through all the hassle of putting their kids in organized activities. I was able to get the house cleaned and go grocery shopping without having to navigate the giant sports car shopping cart. I got to shave my legs and wash my hair on the same day and I never had to feel guilty about Ava watching too much TV. Ian and I had some wonderful alone time and I even read a book. Ava made friends and although I'm not really sure what she did for 5 hours a day other than "eat popcorn and drink green juice," she loved it. Even on the last day when I came to pick her up and her clothes were covered in blood from falling on her nose while trying to do a flip off the trampoline. She was just happy that they consoled her with an icy pop. All in all I would say that camp was a success and I'm sure in another 6 months I will have the energy to do it again.

Natalie and a bloody Ava

Sad that we have to go home

This is her new pose, it cracks me up